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Welcome
to the Darren Clark
Photography BLOG
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you will find the
latest information
on what has been
updated along with
thing's that I've
been up to along
with forthcoming
plans and events.
Take a look at my MobileMe
Gallery
pages where I upload
all my latest
images. Feel free to
contact me and say
hello alternatively
you can now become a
fan of Darren Clark
Photography on
Facebook and I can
be followed on
Twitter.
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Monday
23rd January 2012 - Happy New Year
Happy
New Year to all and welcome to the first
blog post for 2012. A couple of new
birds already since the start of the
year: Black Redstart and Desert
Wheatear. I've also been catching up
with a few old favourites including
Long-eared Owl, Water Rail and the
numerous Reed bunting that are around at
the moment.
Good news too that I'm heading back to
wonderful Rwanda for three days of
Gorilla trekking in February so not long
now to that and already getting excited
about it!
Monday
19th December 2011 - Seasons Greetings
Merry
Christmas and a Happy New year to
everyone!!
Monday
12th December 2011 - New and Old Birds
Well
nothing for months and I then update the
blog twice in two days! Since Svalbard
i've been out and about at my usual
haunts catching up with a few well known
birds such as the Water Rail and
Wheatear and also a few new ones,
notably Little Stint, Semi-palmated
Sandpiper, Glossy Ibis, the very rare
White-throated Robin and also the very
rare Greater Yellow-legs at Hauxley
Nature Reserve in Northumberland.
I
was also treated to a wonderful
Short-eared Owl encounter a week or so
ago. Hopefully in January I will get to
see them hunting some more. Click on the
link HERE
to be taken to see more shots of this
beautiful Owl.
Sunday
11th December 2011 - Svalbard, Bears
and Walrus
Well
it's been a while since I updated the
blog and my webpages so here's a few
shots from my trip to Svalbard back in
early September. A truly magical place
which I really enjoy visiting. This time
I got to visit the amazing ice cliffs of
Austfonna and a glacier cave which I had
previously visited two years earlier.
Follow the link HERE
to see more stunningly beautiful
Svalbard landscapes.
The
pack ice had retreated a long way north
this year and after a full days
traveling we finally had some awesome
Polar Bear encounters and the trip
was not complete without some simply
amazing Walrus encounters, memories of
which I will treasure for many years to
come.
Monday
26th September 2011 - Salthholme and
Beyond : Fragile Earth Exhibition
Well
i'm finally back from an amazing trip to
Svalbard with hundreds of images to
process. I will get round to posting
them soon but first I have news of an
exciting exhibition that is NOW ON.
Called 'Saltholme and Beyond : Fragile
Earth Exhibition' it showcases a
selection of images from RSPB Saltholme
along with other local images and some
from much further afield. If you get a
chance please visit RSPB Saltholme and
take a look in the Wildlife Watchpoint
hide. I will be donating 20% to RSPB
Saltholme from any sales of images
whilst the exhibition is on. Hopefully
see you there at some point!
Saturday
13th August 2011 - Svalbard Bound
Polar
Bears have been getting a hard time in
the press lately and my thoughts go out
to those involved in the tragic bear
attack. In two weeks time i'll be
heading back to the wonderful sights of
Svalbard and I can't wait to get back
into the cold and ice of such a
beautiful place. Here's a few pictures
from my last visit there in 2009.
More scenic images from Svalbard
can be seen by clicking the link HERE
and one or two Polar Bears HERE.
Hopefully over the next few months I
will have some more pictures of this
wilderness to show you so keen checking
back!
Friday
12th August 2011 - Studio Portraiture
and Sunderland Airshow 2011
Having
been gifted a free photo session at
Venture Photography in Darlington and
seeing their hugely inflated prices for
prints and framed displays I decided to
have a go at some studio portrait style
photography with Matthew myself. The
results turned out to be pretty decent
considering I wasn't using any studio
lighting, flashes, softboxes or
umbrellas. For the prices that Venture
charge I could buy my own full set of
studio gear and do a much better job...

I
also spent one day at Sunderland
International Airshow 2011 to get
some shots of the aircraft
displaying their. Unfortunately the
weather wasn't quite as kind on the
Sunday as it had been on the
Saturday but I did get some half
decent results. The last remaining
airworthy Vulcan 'V' bomber was
simply awesome and reminded me so
much of childhood visits to
airshows. Click on the image below
to be taken to the webpage.
Tuesday
5th July 2011 - Wildlife Photographer
of the Year 2011
Well
the results have come through for this
years Veolia Wildlife Photographer of
the Year competition and out of the 20
images I submitted 14 made it through to
the first round and 6 into the
semi-finals, so pretty pleased with this
result. I seem to get a few images into
the semi's each year but as yet have not
got anything higher - I will just have
to try harder, much harder! It will be a
few months before the winners are
announced so looking forward as always
to seeing the outcome. Anyway, here's a
handful of the images for you to see all
of which as usual are available as
prints. Enjoy.
Sunday
26th June 2011 - A Touch of Spring
I've
been out and about with the family
lately and really like the shot below
taken at Wallington National Trust in
Northumberland. I know the selective
colouring has been done to death but
really liked it here with the flaking
paint on an old bench. I've been
catching up with the Spoonbill at RSPB
Saltholme and despite not being in great
positions or light to photograph I
managed to get a couple of shots. These
can be seen if you follow the link to
the Heron
Page. I managed to get to see the
great rarety that was the female
White-throated Robin at Hartlepool
Headland too which was a bonus. Not a
great deal else for you this month i'm
afraid so that's all for now.
Monday
30th May 2011 - Nepal Trip
Well
it's been a long time since i've updated
my blog here as what with work and
travelling it's been a busy time for me.
My three week trip to Nepal was
fantastic so many thanks to Mike &
Sarah, Ian, Ken, Mike and Hem for making
it so successful. With well over 300
species of birds seen by the group it
was pretty impossible to photograph them
all. I've finally uploaded the best of
the shots to various pages throughout
the site with the majority on the page
for Miscellaneous
Birds. You can also take a
look at a compilation of my Nepal
pictures on my MobileMe
Gallery Page here. The highlight
photography wise for me was capturing
the Green Bee-eater shown below with a
huge Dragonfly. There were lots of bird
of prey amongst the sightings as we
travelled from Chitwan National Park to
Koshi Tappu Nature Reserve in the far
south-east of Nepal. Mammals included
One-horned Rhino, Great Black Squirrel
and an awesome Tiger encounter whilst on
an Elephant ride.
For the techies out there my 11" Macbook
Air worked a treat allowing me to edit
and keep notes on a day-by-day basis.
The majority of the shots were taken
handheld using the D3s and D3x cameras
with the 600mm 4f lens. My 1.4 converter
took a pounding on the bumpy roads and
during the trip lost a few screws which
confined it to the bag for the last few
days.
That's about all for now. Hopefully I
can get out and about in the UK over the
summer months so will post any new stuff
here......

Sunday
2nd April 2011 - Knot Not Art
It's
been a busy start to the year for me on
the work and family front so my
photography has been put on the back
burner. The days that I have managed to
get out have been either poor cold and
grey weather or very quiet. I've managed
to catch up with some Whooper Swans,
Redpoll and one or two other things here
and there. I had a brief chance to
photograph a Knot roost one one of those
grey uninspiring days but rather than
pack up and go home I tried something a
little more artistic. Hand holding in
poor light meant slow shutter speeds so
after a few trial and errors I managed
to get a few shots that I quite liked,
especially once converted to black and
white. Some may say it's 'Not Art' but I
prefer to call it 'Knot Art'!! I've
added these to my Wildlife
Art Page so take a look.

Nepal
2011
Well it's not long to go now until I
head off to Nepal with a group of
friends so getting very excited
about that. Hopefully there will be
plenty of opportunities to get some
great shots of both the wildlife and
culture out there. I will be taking
all of my Nikon D3x, D3s and lenses
ranging from 12mm to 600mm all
packed in the Andy Rouse Cobra. I
will also be taking my new 11"
Macbook Air for storage and editing
when there, it's flash storage,
small size and light weight make it
ideal for travelling. Keep an eye
here for the results.....
Sunday
9th January 2011 - Snow and Foxes
Well
first of all Happy New Year to everyone
out there, I hope you all had a great
festive holiday!! Things have been
fairly busy for the last few weeks as
following my last post on here Matthew
Isaac Clark was born on the 21st of
November. I have still managed to get
out and about in between despite the bad
weather and snow we had and capture a
few images. The cold and snow brought
the foxes out into the open and on a
number of occasions they were seen
hunting and even catching birds. Here
are a few of my favourite images taken
recently of them. More can be seen by
visiting my Fox
Gallery Page. I'm away at work at
the moment so will be updating various
pages with new shots so have a look
through to see some new images. Until
next time, enjoy!
Saturday
20th November - Murmurations and
Squacco Heron
Well
over the last couple of weeks i've been
watching the local Starling roost on an
evening and witnessing some amazing
acrobatic displays from the thousands of
birds that gather each night. Another
new bird this week was the rare Squacco
Heron which shortly after I took these
shots unfortunately died overnight.
Wednesday 11th November
- Buzzards, Crests and Waxwings
Yet
again i'm sorry it's taken me a while to
update the blog but things have been
busy, busy, busy. Over the last few
weeks i've managed to get out and about
and the highlights have been some
Goldcrests, Rough-legged Buzzards and
the start of the Waxwing influx.
Hopefully with the latter i'll get some
more pictures over the next few weeks.
I've updated all the pages and there are
now new pages for both the Buzzards
and the Waxwings,
so have a look at the taster shots below
and then check them out!

Hopefully
i'll try to keep you more updated
with the latest but with my first
(and last!) child due to arrive
shortly things might once again be
fairly quiet on here. In the
meantime why not check out Darren
Clark Photography on facebook for
the most up to date news.
Monday
4th October - Wedding Pictures
I've
finally uploaded Alan and Kim's wedding
pictures to the site. They married on
4th September at St. Andrews Church in
Gorleston with the reception at Fritton
House, Norfolk.
Thursday
23st September - Whiskered Tern &
Firecrest
Well
two updates in less than a week, it must
be something special. Finally getting
through the backlog of pictures from the
last few months and here are a couple of
nice shots of the Juvenile Whiskered
Tern that made an appearance at RSPB
Saltholme and a really beautiful
Firecrest from Hartlepool Headland.
Tuesday
21st September - Wild Alaska and
Grizzly Bears
Sorry
that it has been so long since i've
updated the blog but i've had a hectic
few months with work, travelling and
other things. I'm now in the
process of updating and adding new pages
to the site so keep an eye out here.
Firstly is a new page packed full of
wonderful Grizzly Bears from the Katmai
Coast of Alaska. I spent 12 amazing days
in Alaska onboard the Waters with
Captain Mike, Brad the Guide and not to
mention Cathy's amazing cooking! Andy
Rouse and the rest of the gang made for
a superbly enjoyable experience. Anyway,
follow the link HERE
to be taken directly to the Bears. I've
also started a new page of Bald
Eagles
as they were everywhere as you would
expect out there in Alaska.
I
also shot a wedding recently so will be
adding this to my website over the
coming months once i've finalised the
layout and images.
Plans
are underway for 2011 with a trip to
Nepal and also back to Svalbard on the
MS Stockholm.
That's
all for now. Remember to check my Apple
MobileMe Gallery for all my latest
images.

Friday
25th June - Portraits and Touring Cars
I've
just uploaded some new portraits taken
at the recent British Touring Car
Championships at Croft Circuit. The
models were very obliging to having
their pictures taken and some of the
drives made for some good shots too!
Something a little different from
my usual wildlife photograph anyway, so
check them out on the Portraits
Page.

I've
also uploaded a whole page of cars taken
at the event including the British
Touring Car Championship, Porsche Cup,
Formula 3000 Racing, Ginetta Racing and
Renault Clio Cup. Check these out on the
Touring
Car Page.
Monday
14th June - Wildlife Photographer of
the Year Competition
I
just found out that out of the fifteen
entries I made to the 2010 Veolia
Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Competition, five made it through to the
first round and ten made it through to
the semi-finals. Needless to say i'm
increadibly happy with this result and
hopefully next year I will have more
success at this annual competition that
showcases the very best nature
photography. Some of the images are now
available on my Prints
Page so take a look there.
Wednesday
16th June - Nikon Here To Stay
Well
i've finally taken delivery of
all my new Nikon camera gear
so it's goodbye to Canon and
their constantly failing pro
bodied cameras and hello to no
noise and an auto focus system
that actually works! Items
include a D3x, D3s, 14-24mm,
24-70mm, 70-200mm, 200-400mm,
SB-900 flash, 1.4x and 2x
converters and spare battery.
The only thing i'm still
waiting for to finish the lens
lineup is the hallowed 600mm
monster!
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Monday
31st May - Update Pages
Hello
once again. This is just a quick not
to let you know I have made a few
minor changes to some of the pages and
added a few new pictures. I've added a
Miscellaneous
Bird Page, Miscellaneous
Mammal Page and Miscellaneous
Reptile & Insect Page. I've
also added a few more shots from the
2010 Kite Surfing Championships at
Redcar's Majuba Beach to the Kitesurfing
Page and also created a new African
Landscape Page. Have a look at
these new pages and enjoy the images.
I'm away at the moment for a few weeks
so things will be fairly quiet until I
get back.
Thursday
13th May - MobileMe Gallery
Just
a quick note to let you that I am now
uploading a lot of my latest images to
my Apple MobileMe
Gallery page so why not take a
look there. I've been out and about
lately shooting in Scotland and
locally and here are a few of my
newest images. First a few local
Dipper shots, these birds are such fun
to watch bobbing up and down and
swimming through the torrents catching
insects to feed on.

And
here's one or two others from the last
couple of weeks. Yellow Wagtail have
been showing very well at my local
RSPB Saltholme reserve, a chirpy Corn
Bunting and finally a Buzzard from
Scotland.

That's
all for now so watch this space...
Monday
19th April - Gorillas are Online
Rwanda's Mountain
Gorillas are finally online on the
official page so click HERE
to be taken directly to them.
I've
also added one or two new shots to the
general Wildlife
Page so take a look.
Saturday
17th April - Rwanda's Awesome
Gorillas
Hello
once again. Well after a very busy and
simply amazing trip to the beautiful
country of Rwanda i've finally got
round to processing the images. I
haven't uploaded them to the official
website yet but they are on my Apple
MobileMe Gallery Page which can be
found HERE.
Rwanda is not only about the awesome
Gorilla, it's the people that make it
such a special place. Everywhere you
look there are smiling faces that are
happy to see you. I hope these
pictures inspire you to go out there
and help save the last of the Mountain
Gorillas.

Saturday
17th April - Switch to Nikon
Having
had two brand new Canon 1D Mk4 cameras
fail over the last month I have
decided to switch systems from Canon
to Nikon. The superior sensor quality
of the D3x and high ISO performance of
the D3s along with a superb range of
lenses and a far better auto focus
system to the Canon helped to make the
decision final. So over the coming
months i'll be trying out and getting
used to this new system and hopefully
will have some even better images to
post.
That's
all for now, i'm off to make the most
of the nice weather!
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