John Hallmen insect photographer.

John Hallmen has been fascinated by insects since he was a boy. In the last three years he's made a name for himself by photographing the tiny animals he finds in the Nackareservatet nature reserve near his home in Stockholm, Sweden.

Using a mixture of studio and alfresco shots John magnifies his images up to 23 times to show the beautiful colour and detail in his subjects' bug-eyed faces.  

Some quotes by the photographer are below 

'It's a pleasure to show people who are not interested in bugs something they haven't seen before and watch how they react,' said 31-year-old John.

'Looking at a fly portrait some people will find them even more disgusting than they'd ever imagined while others will be surprised to find them quite beautiful.'  

For field shots John rises before sunrise to hunt for slumbering critters concealed in the foliage.

'Sometimes you'll find them covered in dew that forms in small, spherical droplets,' he said.

'This can turn a tiny, gray, inconspicuous fly into a shimmering jewel!' For studio shots John uses dead bugs that he collects from nature or harvests when they happen to come near him.

'I've found that a completely random approach often pays off,' said Mr Hallmen, who works as a freelance graphic designer.

'For example the Nomada bee landed in my coffee cup when I was having a family picnic.'   

Sometimes it takes hours to achieve the desired lighting for his pictures.

'With the sleeping Megachilid bee I anxiously watched it for an hour,' he said.

He added: 'I was hoping it would stay asleep until the sun hit the patch of dry grass in the background, turning it from a drab, dark gray into a nice gradient.

'When it did I had only a couple of minutes before the sun hit the bee and woke it up.'  For John it doesn't matter if his subject is a rare breed or a common housefly.

'Almost any subject can look interesting if you only look close enough,' he said.

Up close they look like the terrifying products of a fevered imagination.

And with their lurid colours, bulging eyes and other-worldly faces these insects can certainly look rather alarming.

But for amateur bug photographer John Hallmen there is a hidden beauty in seeing these creatures up close and personal.

Mark Fellows. Close-up Macro Photographer.

Mark Fellows became interested in natural history at a young age. He grew up in Clare, in the west of Ireland, having moved there from England when He was two. He wanted to be a zoologist from an early age, and was fortunate enough to be growing up in an area where local biodiversity is impressive.

The Shannon Airport Lagoon was his local site, and the Clare coast, including Loop Head, Quilty and Ballyvaughan Bay were regular haunts. Inland, the south Clare lakes, and the Shannon Estuary provided a wide range of bird species and insect life. He was greatly influenced by Phil Brennan, who in addition to being a wonderful natural historian, is an acclaimed artist and author.

Photography

He as been using SLR cameras since is early teens; His first was a Cosina CT1G. He uses Nikon cameras (currently a D300), and process all images through Nikon Capture NX2 and Adobe Photoshop CS4.

His main bird photography lens is a Sigma 500mm F4.5 IF EX HSM telephoto. Some bird shots and many of the mammal images are taken with a Sigma 100-300mm F4 IF EX HSM lens, with a dedicated 1.4X EX Sigma converter when needed. He uses a Gitzo 3540LS carbon fibre tripod and a Wimberley Mark II gimbal head, as support. He also uses a Sigma 150-500 F5/6.3 APO HSM OS as a carry around record-shot lens.

The majority of macro shots were taken using a micro Nikkor 105mm VR AF-S IF-ED (great for handheld shots), and also use a Sigma 180mm EX DG HSM macro lens. He uses the superb Nikon R1C1 wireless macro flash system for lighting, or a Nikon SB-900 (alone or with an SB-600) flashgun for fill-in light. He uses StoFen diffusers on all flash heads. He occasionally use Kenko extension tubes for ultra close-up work. He also uses a Manfrotto 190Pro carbon fibre tripod with an Arca Swiss Z2 ball head for this work - light and portable, but rock solid. This set up allows him to position his camera at any angle, which is excellent for low level work.

If necessary, He uses a monopod or large beanbag for stability.  A Sigma 18-50mm EX F2.8 is his general purpose lens, He also use a Nikkor 50mm F1.8D, and a Sigma 10-20mm EX DC HSM ultra-wide angle lens, but these are rarely used for wildlife shots.

All photographs are ©Mark Fellowes. And is represented by Ardea, a specialist wildlife photographic library.

Website

This website is intended to be a place where he can share a sample of is natural history photographs. The galleries contain images taken since he switched to digital photography in 2005, and the majority are more recent. They include photographs from near annual spring trips to Andalucía, and images from his annual trips to Tanjung Puting in Borneo, where he runs a tropical biology field course for undergraduate students. The galleries are organized around either geographic location, or by taxonomic group. The majority of images are close-up photographs of invertebrates, birds and mammals.

Where He works

He is a zoologist working at the University of Reading. As well as being fascinating in their own right, the study of animals is increasingly important in this changing world. His work focuses on asking why genetic variation in traits that affects species interactions (for example, predator-prey; host-parasitoid) is maintained in natural populations, and what the ecological consequences of this variation is.
More recently, he as developed an interest in urban ecology, and currently he is involved in a projects investigating how urban supplementary feeding of birds influences wider community interactions, the role of cats as urban predators, and the return of red kites to urban habitats. Further afield, he occasionally as projects in south-east Asia, most recently studying how oil palm plantations affects the diversity and abundance of frogs and toads.

Ross Hiddinolt, Close-up Macro Photographer.

Ross Hoddinolt is one of the UK’s best outdoor photographers of the moment, with a huge award-winning portfolio of stunning macro, landscape and wildlife work. His latest accomplishment was scooping the first place title for the British Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award 2009 – a prestigious accolade among wildlife and outdoors photographers alike.

Ross Hoddinott made an early start on his career, getting a taste for photography at the tender age of ten. His parents gave him a little compact film camera and He always had a passion for nature,” he comments. “It wasn’t long until he entered a picture into Countryfile’s Photographic Competition and he won an SLR in the under 18’s category. That was the encouragement and motivation he needed at that age.

With no formal training, Ross relied upon his love for nature and home schooling from his parents to improve his photography.

It was easy for Ross to build a portfolio of work that focused mainly on landscapes, wildlife and nature-based macros. “The two aspects of his work are landscape photography and

macro. With the landscapes, He lives in a very beautiful part of the world in the south west, with dramatic coastlines, great weather and great light, so it’s a logical thing to develop an interest in landscape photography.

It’s Ross’s macro work, however, that he is most recognised for. Kitted out with his trusty 150mm and 105mm lenses, he will often head out in search for rare and beautiful insects to photograph. Being attuned to the natural world has an affect on his photographic practices, He tends not to use flash photography, He  much prefers to manipulate natural lighting, so the only specialist equipment he uses are a small reflector to bounce light onto the subject. The remainder of Ross’s kit list includes merely a tripod and a remote release – a simple list that’s testament to the skill of this photographer.

Now aged 32, He is working hard to build a reputation as one of the country's leading outdoor photographers. He is a regular contributor to a number of magazines, including Out door photography.  His work is published throght the World and is contracted to a number of picture agencies, including NaturePL.  He as had multiples success in the wildlife department.  photographer of the year competition and in 2008 was on the judging panel for this prestigious competition.  In September 2009 He was named 'British Wildlife Photographer of the Year.  He also the author of six photography books, including The Digital Exposure Handbook.

A quote from Ross Hoddinott.

"I am a macro specialist, so the majority of my wildlife images are taken of insects and wild plants. Over the past couple of years, I have spent an increasing amount of time shooting scenic images of the South West’s stunning landscape and coastline. This region, and its natural history, is a constant inspiration to me. Indeed, Cornwall will always be my home and where my wife, Fliss, and I look forward to raising our two beautiful, young daughters...

At the risk of sounding clichéd, I simply hope that my work will help highlight the beauty and importance of our natural history and the environment on which we depend"

John Hedgecoe close-up macro (All Rounder)

John Hedgecoe was a talented photographer and inspiring teacher who produced many elegant books of landscapes and portraits and was a prolific writer of manuals on how to take pictures. One of his images is probably the most widely reproduced of all time — that of the Queen in profile on British postage stamps. It was in 1966 that that he was recommended by the Postmaster General to photograph the Queen. 

The shoot took place in the Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace and within 20 minutes or so he had shot dozens of rolls of film at which point he said he thought he was done. “So soon, Mr Hedgecoe?” asked the Queen. Realising that he was being granted more time, the anxious Hedgecoe leapt at the chance to try a different light and they moved to the Music Room, where he took yet more pictures of his royal subject against the window. She chose 14 of his images, eventually whittled to just one which was then rendered in plaster relief by the artist and sculptor Arnold Machin. The image became immortal, appearing on British and Commonwealth stamps to this day.

 John Hedgecoe was born in 1932 — although he maintained the fiction that his birthday was in 1937 — in Brentford, West London, the son of William Hedgecoe, who worked for the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank in the Far East and who was a fireman during the Blitz, and Kathleen Don. During the war he was evacuated to Cornwall to stay with an aunt, Dolly, and was educated Gulval Village School near Penzance. Later he wrote a novel, Breakfast with Dolly, a thinly disguised memoir, about an evacuee growing up in the West Country.

 He began taking pictures as a teenager and studied photography at Guildford Scool of Art under Ifor and Joy Thomas. During his National Service with the RAF he contributed to an aerial photographic survey of wartime bomb damage. After the RAF in 1957 he became a staff photographer for Queen magazine where his reputation as an exceptional portrait photographer grew throughout the 1960s and where he remained until 1972.

 His unconventional but elegant approach to portraiture led to freelance commissions for The Observer, The Sunday Times andThe Sunday Telegraph, shooting people such as Francis Bacon, Agatha Christie, Vita Sackville-West, John Betjeman, Ted Hughes, Stephen Hawking, David Hockney and Mary Quant. His pictures also illustrated features on fashion and architecture.

In the mid-1960s Hedgecoe persuaded the Royal College of Art (RCA) to let him create a department of photography and in 1975 he became the first professor of photography in Britain. He was an unstoppable, creative force at the RCA, a dynamic personality, determined to place the study of photography on an equal footing with the rest of the arts and to make the college one of the most important artistic institutions in the world. He had a profound effect on the teaching of photography and wrote a bestselling book on how to take pictures, The Photographer’s Handbook. First published in 1977 and with more than 1,250 illustrations, it has been frequently reprinted and remains the bible for photography enthusiasts.

Hedgecoe produced a broad array of books on architecture, landscapes and portraits, including The Spirit of the Garden, for which he travelled throughout Europe and the US; England’s World Heritage, in which he photographed sites for English Heritage;Shakespeare’s Land, with the historian A. L. Rowse; riding schools of the world; a book of photographs of the works of Picasso; photographs to decorate anthologies of poems by Thomas Hardy and Robert Burns; Zillij, his pictures of Moroccan ceramics; and three volumes on the sculptor Henry Moore.

 The two became friends in the 1950s when Hedgecoe was a student and they collaborated on two books, Henry Spencer Moore and Henry Moore, My Ideas, Inspiration and Life as an Artist. Moore died in 1986 and a third book, A Monumental Vision: The Sculpture of Henry Moore was published in 1998. Richard Calvocoressi, director of the Henry Moore Foundation, described the three books as “an exceptional range of incisive and insightful photographs. These are among the most important visual records we have of Moore’s life and work.”

Among Hedgecoe’s manuals on how to take photographs are The Book of Photography (1976), a volume on photographing babies and toddlers, another on photographing young children, and The Art of Digital Photography (2006).

Hedgecoe was a man of enormous personality, self-belief and physical energy. He could be outspoken but always demonstrated great warmth, kindness and generosity of spirit. Away from photography he devoted much energy to restoring Oxnead Hall, his originally 16th-century house and garden in Norfolk, celebrated as the repository of the Paston Letters written during the Wars of the Roses.

He was twice married, first to Julia Mardon, and then in 2001 to Jenny Hogg, who survives him, with two sons and a daughter from his first marriage.

John Hedgecoe, photographer, teacher and author, was born on March 24, 1932. He died of cancer on June 3, 2010, aged 78.

Stuart Goodwin: Bird Photography.

These are some of my wildlife shots of birds that I have taken:

The Blue Tit.  (Parus caeruleus.)

This shot was taken in my garden.  I set up an hide early one winter morning, the sun was striking the Blue tit on the right hand side.  With the sun striking this bird like it does its make this shot a lot better making the bird look very colourful.  I do like this shot, this as had very little done to it in photoshop, the shots that are going on the site have not been touched up in photoshop the whole idea in taking photo's is to set the camera up properly and do very little work in photoshop.


Camera settings Blue Tit.  ISO 400 F4.5 1/125 Sec. Nikon D200.  Lens 500mm.  Tripod Used.

The Jay.  (Garrulus glandarius.)

This shot was taken at Carsington Water in a bird hide.  As you can see I baited the log with peanuts so as to attracted the Jay.  I do like this shot, captured the bird well pity its not looking my way a little but, still like the shot.


Camera settings: Jay.  ISO 400 F4.0 1/80Sec Sony 100.  Lens 300mm.  Tripod Used.

The Wren.  (Troglodytes troglodytes.)

This shot of the Wren was taken at Carsington Water, it was only a few feet away.  I had to be very quick as these birds are so quick.  I do like this shot because I've  captured it as he was catching a bug and got both at the same time.


Camera settings: Wren.  ISO 400 F4.5 1/160Sec. Nikon D2Hs.  Lens 500mm.  Tripod Used.

The Robin.  (Erihhacus rubecula.)

This was taken in my garden, I had noticed this young Robin doing this a few times so I set the hide up and got the camera out.  The camera that I have, shoots,  8 shots per second and I  was able to capture this robin doing what he was doing.  I am pleased with this shot as this captures the Robin in flight, it was a very dull day as you can see from the ISO speed, I had to use but, very pleasing shot.


Camera settings:  Robin.  ISO 800 F4.5 1/640Sec.  Nikon D2hs.  Lens 500mm.  Tripod Used.

The Song Thrush.  (Turdus philomelos.)

This shot was taken on a farm where I was working.  I had noticed the thrush at the beginning of the week, so I took the camera the next day and this is one of 40 shots the I took.  Pleased with the out come as the bird was not there for long.  Pleased with it as I have captured it singing.  These Thrush's are beautiful singers, which what is what I notice in the first place.    Pleasing shot.


Camera settings: Blue Tit.  ISO 400 F4.5 1/250Sec.  Nikon D2hs.  Lens 500mm.  Tripod Used.

The Blue Tit.  (Parus caeruleus.)

This shot was taken at Rutland Waters.   Just looking into the lens,He looks that he is going to attack at any time.  The light was just right the colours are great captured well.  I do like the colours on this Blue Tit I like the blue on the head and around the eyes, love this photo, very pleased with it.


Camera settings; Blue Tit. ISO 400 F5.6 1/400Sec. Sony 450 Lens 300mm with 2=2 converter.  Tripod used.

The Kingfisher.  (Alcedo atthis.)

This shot was taken near Calke Abby, been watching this little bird for sometime.  Set the hide up between the trees.  This Kingfisher landed so close to me that I could touch it.  She was that close that I could not focus on it until she moved.  I do like this shot even though the branch is in the way.  This is an unusual shot as the bird is turning her head 360 degrees and I've captured this.


Camera settings:  Kingfisher. ISO 800 F4.5 1/30Sec. Nikon D2OO Lens 500mm.  Tripod Used.

The Bullfinch.  (Pyrrhula pyrrhula.)

This shot was taken this winter time, the bird was in my garden eating the buds.  I do like the colour of the Bullfinch, along with the snow in the back ground, and the snow in the foreground, captured him well very pleased with the picture.  This was taken from my bedroom window with the lens resting on a bean bag.


Camera settings:  Bullfinch.  ISO 400 F4.5 1/50Sec. Nikon D200 Lens 500mm.   Tripod Used. 

The Great spotted Woodpecker.  (Dendrocopos major.)

This shot of the Woodpecker was taken at Carsington Water, I had been watching this woodpecker coming and going for sometime so I decided to take the big lens at try and get a photo of him.  Captured him well can see the colours of him well, pleased with the shot.  It was quite a dull day so changed the ISO speed to help.


Camera settings:  Woodpecker. ISO 800 F4.5 1/250sec Nikon D200 Lens 500.  Tripod used. 

The Young Robin.  (Erithacus rubecula.)

This shot was taken at home in the garden.  This is a very young robin only a few weeks old, he was bouncing around chirping away.  So I set the hide up and set the camera up to get some shots of him.   This is the first time that I have managed to see a robin without his red breast.  Pleased with the shot love the long hair on his head.


Camera settings:  Robin.  ISO 200 F4.8 1/125Sec. Nikon D200 Lens 500mm.  Tripod Used.

The Grey Wagtail.  (Motacilla cinerea.)

Calke Abbey love the colours of these birds they are forever jumping about.  This one was quite calm.  It was a very overcast day and the bird was in a shady place at the time of taking the photo.


Camera settings:  Grey Wagtail.  ISO 400 F4.5 1/250Sec. Nikon D200 Lens 500mm.  Tripod Used.

The Bullfinch.  (Pyrrhula pyrrhula.)

This Bullfinch was taken at the Rutland Wild Life Centre.  I do like how this bird is stretching to get the buds that are just coming out.  The colours of the bird are nice as well.  Like how I have captured the eye of the bird.  This was taken from one of the hides that they have there.  I used a bean bag to hold the lens steady. 


Camera settings:  Bullfinch. ISO 400 F4.5 1/250Sec. Nikon D200 lens 500mm.  Bean Bag Used.

The Great Tit.  (Parus major.)

This shot was taken at Calke Abby, I had baited a bit of ground as you can see with peanuts to attract the Great Tit.  Pleased with the out come, used a 300mm  F2.8 lens with a 2+2 converter on, which gave me 600mm.  By putting the converter on it gave me the 600mm, plus by using an aperture of F2.8 with the converter making it F5.6  you still keep your auto focus so very pleased with the result.

Camera settings:  Great Tit. ISO 400 F5.6 1/160 Sec Sony 450 Body. Tokina lens 300mm + Converter. 

The Goldfinch.  (Carduelis carduelis.)

This Goldfinch was captured in my garden after baiting the seed holder.  Managed to capture the bird on the branch rather than on the holder.  Love the colours of these birds and they are always fighting one another.

Camera settings:  The Goldfinch. ISO 400 F4.5 1/30Sec Nikon D200. 500mm Lens, Tripod used. 

The Nuthatch.  (Sitta europaea.)

This was captured at a wood near to were I live, I was in a hide that was there.  I had been using peanuts by sticking them in the trunk of the tree to attract them.  These are very quick, so pleased with the outcome.  I used a tripod with a 600mm Tokina lens and 2+2 Converter.


Camera Settings:  The Nuthatch ISO 400 F5.6 1/500Sec Sony 450 Body. 300mm lens with 2+2 converter tripod used.

The Mistle Thrush.  (Turdus viscivorus.)

This was taken in my back garden after moving the bird house.  I was at the bedroom window when the bird landed and just happened to have the camera setup ready, so I just open the window slightly and took the shot.  This shot reminds of the one shot by Chris Gomershall of his Mistle Thrush when I was researching for this project.

Camera Settings:  The Mistle Thrush ISO 400 F4.5 1/80 Sec Nikon Body 500mm Lens.  Bean bag to stop camera shake.