Critique The Punch

[Stuart Philpott]

some of ya might know I'm slightly besotted with the brown hare......I love 'em..I find it astounding that an animal built for speed and flight will come to me spend time with me. I've spent over 2 hours lying on the deck with one trusting adult ha I'm old had to sneak away have a break, and then go back, fella still let me in. An dats not talking kidlets whom are beyond cute and can be silly trustiing....

so I'm years in now of making images of Lepus europeas.....years in means one is trying to find sommit one has not yet made..it sort of pushes ya as an image maker.which is profoundly cool.

Boxing hares has been this sort of nemasis.sure I already have some and sure already this year I have seen more boxing incidents than I can remember.but getting a frame upclose is hard. Recently I had a moment after a whole day of battering myself for a pic.........ha put us in just the right place watched male hare come in to female made pics as they started boxing stu took camera away from eye to watch

There is little hope for me to oneday be a wildlife tog.

So,it's easter I can step back from the train ride called work battered senseless pulling 12 hour days on some godforsaken buildiing site and search for hare fighting

I can't get to me usual haunt,, so we visit another space where I actually have permission I rarely use ,so we drive around this big ole triangle.......we leave the 4 half asleep doing little we leave the male guarding his lady, the singles.....we keep pushing Keep moving after observation.

We come to a corner as the fog is starting to burn off light is getting harsh...........3 hare there which weren't not long before and a 4th is making his way in.

He'll be a boy he is trailing a scent ya learn this stuff with time, he might be the catylist............ he is

With me recent taking camera from eye mishap and me stren talking to self ringiing in my ears I machine gun the DXii. hares move back a bit trigger happyness continues.

If I had my time over then I'd push SS higher than the 1/2500 you will see....hare lags move so fast.so so fast .techs 1/2500 f8 ISO on auto came out at 2500. Image is waaay too big a crop so the quest continues.

But that said, the ever present wet of life right now is apparent and also there is a joy in shooting that against the light ahh man those water droplets.a slow mo tail of what's going down

Ok that's enough waffle 1dxii 400DOii 2Xextiii image made from campervan window not mud scrubblin' ahh the shame bloody light weight

rip it up crit wise anything ya can offer gratefully received

Ta for reading soz for the long tale tis me init

bye

stu

_S2I1510 The punch snj Tdn by Stuart Philpott, on Flickr

 

[Gav.]

Nice frame, backlit waterdrops work well.

That camper is going to make you soft, next you'll be saying you had coffee to hand too...
Get back in that mud!

 

[Jannyfox]

Love the backlighting and pattern of the water spray Stu. So graphic - they create the drama
It's great that you 'forget' to take photos and just watch. When you stop doing that you stop loving wildlife for just being wildlife, and you never want to do that

 

[Tulipone]

That image was worth the trouble. Well done.

 

[Stuart Philpott]

Nice frame, backlit waterdrops work well.

That camper is going to make you soft, next you'll be saying you had coffee to hand too...
Get back in that mud!

We aren't allowed to drink and drive Gav Did have free van coffee before and after though bro ahh the ickle fings

wish it was a shed load close mate....real shame the close frames didn't have so much water " action.go figure huh?

I kinda like the wet mud buddy....the wold scree is so harsh on the old bones me tree suit keeps most of the wet out but yeah I can take a bit of soft right now bro the graft is preddy harsh right now....... read horrendous. I deserve some soft jees mate I'm really old

Tell ya wot though, although camper shooting will never really be my thang it really does allow me to cover some ground.this photo op lasted mins we just landed at the right time could not have done that on foot. Van is a fair ploy to nab boxing pics but it will never replace being low right there with 'em for me

 

[Dale.]

Bosch, have that!

Cracking capture Stu, the backlight really caught the droplets.

 

[Stuart Philpott]

Love the backlighting and pattern of the water spray Stu. So graphic - they create the drama
It's great that you 'forget' to take photos and just watch. When you stop doing that you stop loving wildlife for just being wildlife, and you never want to do that

Hey mate ya good ?

you are right of coarse , mind I don't fink I'll ever stop luvin 'en for who they are.if I did that I'd never find the images I want to make .

Jan I don't think one can really be what I aspire to be " a wildlife image maker"..without being entranced by nature ( damn this is hard to pop in words!! ) One has to feel wildlife try and be part of their world and adore to really steal their soul('s) in an image

So with that in hand it is still hard when I have a moment I want to be a tog,but maybe one day it all come together?

Ha tis still soul food

 

[Stuart Philpott]

That image was worth the trouble. Well done.

thanks Chris. bless ya for the time to comment ............but it's not trouble.............. tis a joy bro..this beasty is me joy in life

 

[Stuart Philpott]

Bosch, have that!

Cracking capture Stu, the backlight really caught the droplets.

See told ya they don't lead me down wabbit holes.............OMG but they do

thank you Dale

 

[Box Brownie]

Well Stu, that one is a bit special and to think that you didn't need to crawl in the mire as you usually do

As for age catching up with you, well just you wait until you get to my age .......and I have never liked crawling in the mire, so respect to you for your dedication

PS IIRC it is the females that box, not the males. If my understanding is correct, that is quite a boxing match and I wonder who threw in the towel....or should that be tail, first

 

[LCPete]

Superb really nicely caught
know exactly what you mean about just watching , my thing is dragonflies, spend hours watching them

 

[Stuart Philpott]

Well Stu, that one is a bit special and to think that you didn't need to crawl in the mire as you usually do

As for age catching up with you, well just you wait until you get to my age .......and I have never liked crawling in the mire, so respect to you for your dedication

PS IIRC it is the females that box, not the males. If my understanding is correct, that is quite a boxing match and I wonder who threw in the towel....or should that be tail, first

There is no end to my shame making pics from a bus,mind My elbows are red and yes I've been in the mud half the day.just finished first delete Laurance and am somewhat saddened. I know today I photographed a sick hare, spent an hour with it thought I'd done my job in out hare stayed put.but there is more at play.I'm gutted .

Mate fanks on piccy

This next bit is my hunch on boxing.it is my observation driven hunch not from books..........I'll add in a local quicky aswell......often times what I identify as a female is by two facets.firstly she is rounder both at the back and her head than what I perceive to be a male.second maybe is a local trait so so oft females I make piccies of are sort of red in colour.over and over we see this mate and I have some images that back my theories IE I can positivly IS female because she is facing my reared up a bit, so I can see teets mamary glands if ya like.

Ok.boys track females the more dominant of the lads hones in and after initial chases which might involve many lads, one boy seems to end up guarding his lady. He will then repeatedly try to mate and if she isn't ready they box.

It's like she is testing him she will lead him a merry dance........( I think female is left in pic above)............... but it's not as simplistic as that because if another male makes a play for her whilst he is guarding her he will drive that fella off and again that might involve what we call boxing...................

So it's not like say black grouse on the lek boys fight girls whatch suss out the hunk and he gets the lady/ies

Hare breeding stratergy is first a test of many boys one being left with her then her testing him and intermittantly other boys trying to test him as well.

As I say this is NOT from a book mate.................. tis what I see.probabaly can back with frames if life wasn't so hectic

PS 7th of April.preddy sure made first leveret image of this year today,made a wrong move as I crawled over a wall blew the close up....but we both think that kid to be around 12 14 week old.

If we are right then when did that boxing happen.and that me olde mate is why I watch so hard and don't read too much on brown hare.I like the innocence of not knowing and seeing it for myself and pondering with Shaz

It adds another dimension to the image making bro it really does

 

[Stuart Philpott]

Superb really nicely caught
know exactly what you mean about just watching , my thing is dragonflies, spend hours watching them

Pete, soz for not replying last night to your lovely words bud, ran out of steam. Wanted to try and answer BB's post as best i can . Might go further time permitting We'll see

Oh and yes I get mesmerized by many fings in nature the camera at times should be used more always wish for more time to observe...an astounding clever lady taught me " time spent in observation is never wasted" and that my friend is truth.

Ha missed photo op today a gorgeous paracitic wasp, which was drowning in a bucket of water,pulled her out watched her start to clean herself up and ran off to do sommit else happy in the fact she'll help me grow us food as summer comes ... later she was gone , no image to share but that tiny thing was me best moment of the day .

Ahh the ickle fings

 

[LCPete]

Pete, soz for not replying last night to your lovely words bud, ran out of steam. Wanted to try and answer BB's post as best i can . Might go further time permitting We'll see

Oh and yes I get mesmerized by many fings in nature the camera at times should be used more always wish for more time to observe...an astounding clever lady taught me " time spent in observation is never wasted" and that my friend is truth.

Ha missed photo op today a gorgeous paracitic wasp, which was drowning in a bucket of water,pulled her out watched her start to clean herself up and ran off to do sommit else happy in the fact she'll help me grow us food as summer comes ... later she was gone , no image to share but that tiny thing was me best moment of the day .

Ahh the ickle fings

No worries at all
Am getting excited now as spring is my favourite time of year
The butterflies start flying as well as the early dragonflies and damselflies
Last summer made the trip to Norfolk highlight was actually watching the Norfolk hawker dragonflies flying in a channel in the broads spent hours just watching them and tho the aim was to see swallowtails , it was my other half who actually found the butterflies which was nice

 

[Stuart Philpott]

Pete I replied as always didn't hit submit. ahh the shame second ask for forgivness on one thread .....your swallow tails are my stuff of dreams my lady grew up with them I've never seen!!!!!!!!!

One day if the carnage that is my life allows me a window this is a flutterby I'd adore to see for me.

Plausibly I'd spend more time looking at my lass's face and miss the images but hey that isn't soooo bad......if you get a wayward PM in the distant future don't think ill of me

bless ya mate and again sorry for not being up to the task in hand.........jees write some words hit submit there is no rocket science is there?

all the luck in the world with the dragons

 

[woof woof]

That is just wonderful Stu. Well spotted and captured!

 

[Stuart Philpott]

That is just wonderful Stu. Well spotted and captured!

Thanks Alan lol to be fair I wasn't expecting more kind words.was in cap in hand mode to Pete..hard not liviing up to who ya want to be Al.

Ha but yeah still rockin' da hare.not quite done yet