M & J Bloomfield - Blog

Not many blogs but a busy month

admin@mandjbloomfield.com — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:15:26 +0100

We were doing our review of the month the other day and realised that we hadn’t posted many entries this month. Now let me assure you it’s not because we have lost interest, it’s just we have been working hard on other things. So we will take a slap on the wrist for not posting as regular as we would have liked, but plead extenuating circumstances.

The phone rings, somebody has done you great honour of booking you to talk to their group. You discuss requirements, put the date into the diary and get on with other things. Now; sometimes these dates are away in the future and when you make the booking, it seems as if you have plenty of time to organise everything. Then one day you are looking at the diary and you notice that what seemed like a long time way in the future, can now be counted in weeks.

I am not saying that this causes any panic. But we decided at the end of last year that Microsoft PowerPoint was alright to show images in a talk but could we do better. We made plans on how to improve our talks and the way our images were presented. We even researched the problems and possible solutions and came up with a plan. We could give people attending our talks, a better experience, when compared to using MS PowerPoint.

So research done, decision made, then as I suspect happens to lots of people, life sort of got in the way. It was only the wake up of the diary that prompted us to get busy.

So that is our excuse for not that many posts this month. We have been trying out the new software. Making sure it works and getting our talks together in the new format. So far all seems to be working well and the new style of presentation looks great and will give a whole new experience to people coming to our talks. Once we have got the new software beaten into shape and we are happy with the results we will be posting some video of the new talks here on the website. And we promise that we will try and do better in August, honest, fingers crossed.

Until next time.

Have you noticed our new website

admin@mandjbloomfield.com — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:56:54 +0100

I hope you have noticed that we have launched our new website. If you are reading this on our website then it should be obvious what has changed. If you read our blog through an RSS reader then I hope you will visit our website to see the new look.

You will notice that the design of the site is not that much different from the old version. We liked the old sites design so we decided to keep it and make a few changes. A few sections have received a total overhaul in design terms while the front page, looks very much the same until you scroll down.

Our aim is to make the website easier for people to use and to help us keep the content fresh. We have done a lot of work behind the scenes to enable us to update the site quicker and easier. This will mean that we can update the recent pictures section much quicker. It will keep the content fresh and up-to-date something that was difficult in the past.

As I have said, I hope you like the changes we have made please take a look around and if you have any comments be sure to email us.

Until next time.

The Big Butterfly Count

admin@mandjbloomfield.com — Thu, 8 Jul 2010 09:18:18 +0100

The Big Butterfly Count takes place from 24 July to 1 August.  If you enjoy seeing these varied and beautiful creatures, do your bit to help them and take part in the survey.  You don’t have to go far; you can monitor your garden.

The UK butterfly population is in decline and information about where butterflies are being seen and the type of habitats they are frequenting will give researchers valuable knowledge in the fight to save many species from disappearing.

All that is needed is 15 minutes of your time, sometime between 24 July and 1 August.  Make a count of the number of butterflies you see in your chosen area and report your findings on The Big Butterfly Count website, www.bigbutterflycount.org.  Further details about the count, an ID card and how to record your findings can all be found at the website.

2010 is the Year of International Biodiversity, do your bit to help and take part in the count.  We will be.

An excellent website for information about butterflies is Butterfly Conservation  www.butterfly-conservation.org,

Another warm and dry month

admin@mandjbloomfield.com — Fri, 2 Jul 2010 10:57:55 +0100

June was another dry and warm month for us in the South East.  Although in the last couple of weeks of the month the North of the country has had some rain.  It has been the driest start to the year for 29 years.

We did not get the much needed rain; with the ground baked dry the animals and plants are find times tough.  Despite the warm weather, winds have been quite strong, a nightmare when photographing flowers.  One of our projects this summer is getting images of bees in flight, but this proves difficult when it’s very windy; but we kept persevering.

It looks like the dry and warm weather will continue in the South East, but some welcome rain in Northern and Western regions.  However, that said, having just listened to a forecast, the chances are that the London area will get rain this coming Sunday, 4 July.

Mean maximum temperature                29.2° degrees

Mean minimum temperature                  8.9° degrees

Processing RAW files in Lightroom the quick way

admin@mandjbloomfield.com — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:26:25 +0100

Importing RAW files into Lightroom is always an exciting event for us.  As it’s the first time since pressing the shutter button, we get a really good look at the images.  As with everything in life sometimes we are disappointed, sometimes we are surprised, sometimes we can’t understand why we took that picture.  But no matter what the initial emotion, it soon is overtaken by the "it will look better when we do a bit of processing" emotion.  That was until recently.

We have just started using the X-Rites ColorChecker Passport in conjunction with Lightroom to produce camera profiles.  On its own this has improved the look of our imported pictures.  But what has made a big difference is getting Lightroom to do a lot more of the image processing as it imports images.  So if you would like to spend less time processing your images, get better quality images this could be of interest.

You can apply a camera profile to any image in Lightroom, no matter what setting was used to import the picture.  But keep having to apply the profiles manually can be a bit tiresome and not to say time wasting.  This is where Lightroom can help.  Lightroom will apply your beautifully made profiles, as it imports the image.  Not only that but it will also apply any other settings you wish.  If you have more than one camera body it will apply the appropriate profile for each body.  All this is possible.

You first need to do a bit of preparation work.  But when you are finished you will have it so that Lightroom will import your images and apply a bespoke profile and settings to that image.  If you have used a high ISO, you can apply a Noise Reduction based on that setting.  What you end up with is images imported into Lightroom that have a fair bit of individual processing applied without you having to click a mouse.

What you need, is a set of pictures of the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport to enable you to produce colour profiles.  Working mainly outside, taking pictures of wildlife we tend to produce our profiles using daylight.  But choose another light source if this is more appropriate for your type of photography.

You need to capture the images used to create the profiles different ISO speeds, so that you can produce profiles for each ISO.  One tip that we learnt is that with most modern camera the changes due to high ISO are very small.  So we tended to only use a few ISO settings 200, 800, 1600 32000.  If Lightroom hasn’t got a profile for ISO setting in the picture it will default to the closest setting.  So if you set the ISO to 640 it will use the 800 ISO setting.  This keeps down the amount of work you need to do.  But you can produce a profile for each ISO setting if you think the improvements are justified.

X-Rite ColorChecker Passport

We also photograph a standard scene at the same time as the ColorChecker Passport.  This is so we can compare pictures taken with different camera bodies.  More about this later.  Do this for each camera body you own.  One important tip, make sure that you keep very good records and identify the frames as you go along as you are going to end up with a lot of pictures of colour patches.  They all look the same and it can be a difficult task to identify them in Lightroom with having to look at the Metadata.

Standard photograph

Import all your images into Lightroom and start making the camera profiles.  One profile for each illuminate, camera body and ISO setting.  ColorChecker has one trick I should mention.  It can produce profiles that are dual illuminant.  Dual illuminant profiles are one profile that contains information for two different light sources, say one for daylight and one for flash.  This type of profile is useful, if like us you do occasionally shoot using only electronic flash as a sole illuminant.  A dual illuminant can have the daylight and electronic flash profile in one file.

Name the profiles you make with a name that lets you identify it later.  Our profiles have names like EOS 1D II 400 D/F 100628.  This gives us the camera body, the ISO setting, daylight and flash and the date the profile was created.

Now to get Lightroom to apply the profiles automatically as you import your images.  A little known feature of Lightroom or at least one we’ve only just discovered by accident is Lightroom’s ability to set a new default.  This default setting is used when importing images.

Preference and the Presets tab.  On this tab you will see the two options we are interested in Make defaults specific to camera serial number and Make defaults specific to camera ISO setting.  If you want to make the default settings both camera and ISO dependant tick both boxes.  If you only want one variable then select either camera or ISO.  OK the dialogue boxes.

Select the Make default specific to camera serial number and/or Make defaults specific to camera ISO setting

You have now set Lightroom to look at the metadata in the images it imports for specific camera bodies and ISO settings.  If you have not set a default for a particular combination, Lightroom will apply the Adobe Standard default settings.

Next select one of your test images that you shot at the same time as the profile image.  You need to know which camera body and ISO setting was used to produce the image.  Switch to the Develop module.  Scroll down to the Camera Calibration panel and change the profile from Adobe Standard to your new specific profile for this body and ISO setting.  If you want you can take the process a step further, make changes to the other develop settings.

Adobe standard settings

We use different camera bodies to take our wildlife pictures, when the images are imported you can see the difference between the bodies even after they have been profiled.  So what we do is to make changes to the basic settings.  These changes are to try and balance the differences between the camera bodies.  One body may require that the exposure setting is a little different.

Our settings for EOS 1D Mk II

What you should be aiming for is when you look at the pictures in Lightroom you can’t tell which body was used.  All this balancing and tweaking takes time and the chances are that you will not get it right first time but keep going.  You can always change the settings again and again.

When you have finished all your adjustments for your selected image, you need to make these settings the default.  Under the Develop menu you will find Set Default Settings click this option.  You should then see a dialogue box.

Click the Update to Current Settings.  Your develop settings, camera profile, are now the default.

Make your settings for this camera and ISO

Once you have finished doing this for your camera bodies and different ISO settings it is time to test.  But take our advice and go and have a long tea break before you start, as by now you tend to be a bit over imaged.

Shoot a series of test pictures using all your bodies.  Import these pictures into Lightroom.  Under the Import settings dialogue make sure that under the Information to Apply section you set Develop Settings to None.  This may seem an odd choice but what is happening is that Lightroom will apply its default settings to any imported image.  As you have changed the Adobe defaults with your defaults these will be those applied.

Import settings used when importing new images

What you should see, with a bit of luck and skill is that no matter what body you took the image on they all look the same.  When you look at the Noise a majority of the settings should be nearly there.  When you start selecting your best images you have a better idea of how the final image will look.  I can say that this little tip has saved us a lot of time and results in better images faster.

Until next time

Wildebeest migration threat

admin@mandjbloomfield.com — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:03:11 +0100

A 480Km road linking Arusha and Musoma in Northern Tanzanian has finally been approved by the Tanzanian government.  The proposed route includes a 60 Km section through the world famous Serengeti National Park.  It is this section that experts are concerned may effect the migration of a million Wildebeest.

The East African Wildebeest migration is one of the greatest wonders of the natural world.  It is a wildlife photographer’s dream come true.  We have been lucky enough to witness the spectacle on a couple of occasions as the Wildebeest pass through Kenya’s Masai Mara.  It is a wildlife moment that will remain with us both for the rest of our lives, when the Wildebeest cross the Mara River or the great herds travelling over the grass savannahs.

The fact that the new Arusha - Musoma road will bring wealth and benefit to the area is not in doubt.  The Tanzanian government has a good past record on wildlife issues, so I believe that they have not taken the decision to approve the northern route lightly.  I acknowledge that the proposed route will bring great benefits to the peoples of the area.  My concern is at what cost to the natural world.

It is maybe difficult to see how one, two lane road could effect the movement of a million Wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of Zebra and Thompson gazelle.  But research has shown that effects could be as catastrophic as stopping the migration completely.  This would be a natural disaster on a worldwide scale.  Even if the road doesn’t halt the migration altogether other possible effects could be just as much of a disaster.

I have no rights to lecture the Tanzanian government on what is right for there people.  But I live in affluent society with a road network that has already destroyed much of our green and pleasant land.  I can’t argue with the economic benefits of roads.  What I can say from experience is that roads are bad for wildlife.  More UK wildlife is killed and affected by roads and vehicles than by any other single process.  I would urge the Tanzanian government to reconsider its planning decision on the road.  Consider what may happen to its wonderful wildlife.  Consider the economics if wildlife tourism diminishes because of this road.

If you would like to read more on this subject there have been several articles published.  The East African ,  The New York Times  you can sign a petition on Facebook at STOP THE SERENGETI HIGHWAY

Until next time.

Your Countryside needs you

admin@mandjbloomfield.com — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 09:23:41 +0100

Some comments made on Springwatch recently sparked some thoughts.  Simon King has been in Dorset looking at various habitats and the wildlife they provide a home for.

One area that interested me was the meadow areas.  How wonderful they look adorned with flowers giving vital food supplies to butterflies, bees and other insects.  But for how long, there is a down side; these old style flowers meadows are fast disappearing.  Before too long there may not be any left and that would be dreadful; not only for the wildlife but for us too.

Changes in way we live have caused the loss of these rich and diverse habitats.  Perhaps going back to a more traditional method of managing our land would be better, less intensive management thereby allowing nature to flow through the land.

Perhaps the place to start is your own personal space.  Rather than have everything neat and tidy, leave an area to the wildlife, let the weeds grow, plant some wildlife flower seed.  We are having a great time in our own garden this year.  We planted a wildlife flower mix and now take delight in watching what flowers are emerging and the insects they attract.  By leaving the garden slightly less tidy and allowing nature to take its course; we have been presented with beautiful plants, watched baby birds being feed in our trees and enjoyed the sound of bees buzzing around the garden.

Finally, the recent announcement of £2 million from the Lottery funding for nature projects is great news.  I do hope these projects are well supported and that the initial euphoria is not lost and people continue with their support for many years to come.  In that way we may save some areas of our countryside to enjoy now and for future generations too.

Using Grey cards in digital photography

admin@mandjbloomfield.com — Tue, 8 Jun 2010 16:51:25 +0100

Before we start I think it is important that you understand that I have a love hate relationship with grey cards.  This in and out of favour relationship has been going on for a fair number of years now and I can see no end in site.  So I state for the record, if you choose to start using grey cards after reading this blog I will in no way be held responsible for your mental health.

Right, that’s out of the way.  The beginning of the relationship; I first started using Kodak 18% Grey cards when I was at collage.  We were taught how to use grey cards to get accurate meter readings and how useful they were when producing colour prints, for getting accurate colours.  Or at least that was the theory.  Nine out of ten times we forget to take a shot with the card in it or when we did remember the grey card shot was the only usable one from the whole shoot.

My next encounter with the grey card was when taking pictures of the interiors of very large agriculture buildings.  If you have livestock in the building flash is not an option.  To get a picture you have to use the available light.  This consists of what daylight is available.  You then turn on every artificial light you can find.  These are normally a 25 watt light bulb covered in the grime of ages, 40 feet above the floor.  Then the last element is your portable photographic light.  The resultant negative has so many different colour temperature light sources that they are almost impossible to print with a grey card as reference.

Having left the difficult interiors behind next came product shots.  By carefully placing a grey card in a product shot you can get a very accurate meter reading.  The draw back is when the grey card falls over and destroys the few last hours work.  We all breathed a collective large sigh of relief when Polaroid backs became affordable.  A quick Polaroid, look at the result.   Adjust the exposure, deal with the odd stray highlight or two, change the backs, take the picture and move on to the next one.  Grey cards had been banished to the back of the draw forever.

When we started taking wildlife pictures I never dreamed that grey cards could ever come back into my life.  After all, never mind knocking things over.  Who could you persuade to place a grey card on a sleeping Lions head?  Although, come to think of it perhaps Elephants are natures answer to grey cards.

Lulled into a false sense of security, I was processing pictures of flowers.  Particularly please with my efforts and in order to show off, I proudly announced to Jacky to come and look at the beautiful pictures.  She quickly pointed out that it could be greatly improved if the flower, instead of having a distinct bluish tinge, should be yellow.

After some thought, it seemed to me that we needed some sort of colour reference when taking certain photographs.  The only problem with grey cards and the great outdoors is that most grey cards are made of card and not designed for the rough and tumble of wet grass muddy fingers and the occasional woops that’s were I left it.

Enter the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport this small bit of plastic has almost banished the hate side of my relationship with grey cards.  Small, portable and with protective plastic; it is grey card that fits into your pocket and does not come out bent and dog eared.

What X-Rite, makers of all things to do with colour have come up with is a fit in your pocket colour chart.  The Passport has three leaves just like a book.  Each leaf containing a different set of colour targets for different tasks.  You have the "Creative Enhancement Target" (CET) what a mouthful.  A "White Balance Target" (WBT) and a "Classic Target" (CT)

The CET contains set of patches that go from black to white along one edge.  These patches allow you to adjust the exposure until the highlight or white patch has just stopped clipping.  Next are a set of colour tinted patches.  Using these you can adjust the colour balance in a controlled way.  For instance, in Adobe Lightroom, by clicking on one of these patches would give you much the same result as if you had used a warming or cooling filter in the days of film.  Lastly you have a set of colour patches these give you a visual reference for colour adjustments such as HSL (Hue, Saturation, Lightness)

If you use a JPEG workflow then the WBT is a must for you.  It provides you with an easy to carry bit of white card.  Instead of using all manner of unsuitable whites such as shirts, hankies, walls and even the odd wedding gown; you use the passports WBT to get a proper 80% white to balance the JEPG output against.

Last but by no means least is the CT or as it is better known to many the GretagMacbeth patches.  This set of patches has been around for as long as I have been taking pictures.  Providing a set of standard colours you can do many wonderful things, more of which later.

To use the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport select which set of patches you are going to use.  For us this is normally the CET and the CT patches.  Place the passport in the picture or in the same light and take a picture.  The only thing you need to worry about is getting the exposure correct.  So check the camera’s histogram and highlight warning if it has it.  Check that the white patch on the exposure section is recording some detail.

Opens like a book to make a stand

Passports are designed so that moving the leaves of the book to different angles; you can make it stand up in almost any situation, well almost.  We haven’t tested its stand up capabilities on sleeping Lions yet!  As soon as I find a willing volunteer I will of course be reporting back.  When you have finished, close the Passport and the patches are safe from all the normal fates.  Slip into a pocket or camera bag ready for next time.

Great with yellow flowers

Back at the computer download your images into your favourite software.  Currently, ours is Adobe Lightroom.  Find the image of the Passport and click on one of the grey patches with the eye dropper in the Develop module.  All being well you should have a perfect colour balance for that picture.  Next, find and highlight all the other pictures taken under the same lighting conditions.  Synchronise the images using the colour balance settings and all your pictures will have perfect colour balance.  It is as simple as that.

Now if that was all there was to the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport it would be worth its money.  Being able to colour correct images quickly and accurately is good news.  But the Passport has another trick up its sleeve.

Enter the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport Camera Calibration Application software.  What does it do?  For instance, take a picture of the Classic Target in daylight.  Then import this image into the Camera Calibration Application and it will produce you a DNG profile.

Now for the really complicated bit; Digital Negative Graphics (DNG) is in fact an open file format created by Adobe.  You may have come across its open standards format for storing your own digital files.  We have been using it as an archive file storage format for a number of years now.  The good thing about this file format for colour work is that it can contain camera calibration information within it.  Because these DNG files can hold camera calibration information you can use this calibration information in software like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.

If you are now as lost as I was when I first read about DNG profiles and DNG files, I fully understand your plight.  Maybe this will help?

Take a picture of your X-Rite Passport using RAW.  Convert this RAW file to DNG.  Import this into the ColorChecker software and it will produce a camera profile for you.  This camera profile is exported as a DNG file from ColorChecker.  This profile DNG file can be used by programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom when developing your images in ACR (Adobe Camera Raw)

Is having your camera calibrated a good thing.  If you own more than one camera body it is a great thing.  Normal camera calibration files are specific to the camera model but not to your particular camera.  In the days of film Kodak and Fuji spent untold millions on making sure that their film produced the same colours year in year out.  With digital cameras this consistency has been lost.  No matter which make of camera you use, the chip inside has a wider manufacturing tolerance than film ever did.  Shoot a picture on identical model cameras can produce very different results.

Adobe Lightroom and ACR use a generic profile for each camera stored in a file called Adobe Standard.  These generic profiles correct most of the differences between camera makes and models.  The aim of this profile is to bring all imported images to a common look.  Being all things to all makes of camera is a great ambition and Adobe have in there usual fashion done a great out of the packaging job.  The standard Adobe profiles are a vast improvement on what went before.  But as always there is room for improvement and this is were ColorChecker Passport comes to your rescue.

Producing an exact profile for your camera body gives you several advantages.  You get better more saturated colours and normally a first imported result that is closer to the original scene than if you use the generic Adobe Standard profile.  X-Rite ColorChecker software when you install it provides add-ins for both Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom this makes it very easy to produce a camera profile.

As I have said before the X-Rite ColorChecker passport has almost won me over to the whole grey card world.  It is now possible that I regret not taking a grey card shot when I return with pictures.  It has also improved the quality of our pictures.  It has reduced time spent fiddling with sliders, wondering if my colour memory has failed me or that flower should be blue.  It is not long live the grey card yet but it certainly is long live the ColorChecker.

Until next time.

Not many May flowers

admin@mandjbloomfield.com — Tue, 1 Jun 2010 09:56:30 +0100

We did get some sunshine at last during May, but we had to wait a good while for it to arrive.  The weather pattern has been unusual this year; May as April, was a dry month.  We did have a respite over the Bank Holiday weekend, with some well needed rain.

The first half of the month started clouded and quite breezy; the sun for us did not really show itself until about 17 May.  I must say, the weather gods looking kindly upon us for our week photographing sea birds.  The weekly temperatures showed a big difference between the maximum and minimum recorded; 32.5 and 0.5 degrees.

The outlook into early June is good, with high pressure set to bring warmer weather towards the end of the first week.  Lets hope it stays, but not too warm.  What we need is some nice pleasant warm sunshine and some rain for the wild plants.

Mean maximum temperature                  25.2°c
Mean minimum temperature                    3.2°c

Help our bees

admin@mandjbloomfield.com — Wed, 26 May 2010 17:01:09 +0100

Have you seen a honey bee recently?  No, I am not surprised, honeybee numbers have been in decline over the last few years and have suffered further decline after the harsh winter.  Although numbers are low the rate of decline appears to have slowed. The good news is that they is even a small improvement over previous years.

Think about what the bees do apart form produce honey; pollinating farmer’s crops, apple trees and other fruit trees.  Without the bees many crops would go un-pollinated which in turn decreases the amount of food we are able to produce.  The country would require much more food to be imported.  The food chain that sustains our wild birds and animals would inevitably collapse.

So what can we do?  Why not plant some bee friendly plants in your garden too.  Plant bee-friendly flowers, fruits and vegetables in whatever space you have available.  Be it a window box, patio pots or a patch in the garden.  Everyone can do their bit to help and our bee populations need our assistance.  The greater the range of plants you put in, the more bees you will attract.  It is best to use native plants; a good garden centre will be able to advise you.

We have planted an area of our own garden with a wildflower mix and hopeful this will attract the bees and other insects and we can look forward to a summer of colourful flowers and the garden resonating with the sounds of our pollinating friends.

Seabird skies

admin@mandjbloomfield.com — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:05:32 +0100

This week we are updating the bolg from our hotel room.  We are out and about taking some unusual wildlife pictures for us, seabirds.  The Yorkshire coast boosts some of the highest sea cliffs in the UK.  This provides our seabirds with top of the range accommodation for the nesting season.

Most of the world population of Northern Gannets breed in the UK and the Yorkshire costal cliffs provide the only place you can see these birds from the mainland.  All the other Gannet colonies require a sea voyage.

As well as the Gannets you can also see many other species of seabirds.  One of the most prolific are the Kittiwakes.

Until next time.

The Environment

admin@mandjbloomfield.com — Thu, 13 May 2010 10:13:38 +0100

We have all heard about the oil spill off the coast of Mexico; an environmental disaster in the making.  But what will the consequences and impact be on the natural world and people of the area.  Some of the effected region faced hurricane Katrina, which devastated so many people’s lives.  Many are only just getting back on their feet.  How are these events going to affect them?

It is not only the local impact the oil spill has, but ultimately a global one.  Fish stocks, birds, animals the marine environment will all be impacted on as more and more oil escapes.  I don’t believe that they can stop all of the oil reaching vulnerable wildlife, even if they do manage to contain the leak.  Areas of coastline are already being contaminated as oil is washed ashore - who knows how much.

Looking at the long term, food chains could be greatly affected.  It starts small, infected fish are eaten, and the next in the food chain eats these fish, and so on.  These creatures then migrate to different parts of the world and the infection is transferred to another area.  Who knows how long these chains are.

The oil spill presents problems for people too.  Many earn their living from fishing or tourism.  Both of which will decline due to the spill, bringing with them far reaching consequences for many years to come.  Just look at the Exxon Valdez oil spill and how long Prince William Sound in Alaska has taken to recover.

Events that happening thousands of miles away make you think about our own fragile environment and the challenges we face here in the UK.  A recent UN report, which uses research from 120 nations shows that no country in the world has successfully halted the loss of biodiversity; however there has been some success in protecting sensitive areas of land and sea.  Read the article in The Times, www.timesonline.co.uk, environment section - Third of all plants and animals face extinction.

Extensis Portfolio why go on supporting Extensis

admin@mandjbloomfield.com — Fri, 7 May 2010 14:25:34 +0100

After a long wait we finally got a reply from Extensis regarding the problems we have been having with Portfolio 8.5.4.  You can read the full article, but for those without the time here is a quick recap.

When the clocks changed here in the UK to BST (British Summer Time) which is 1 hour ahead of UTC (Universal Corrected Time) many of the files in our Extensis Portfolio database reported that there had been changes.  To correct this Portfolio needed to update its database, thumbnails and display jpg files, to re synchronise database with the Tiff files.  If you only had a few images in your database maybe this would not be a problem.  When the total runs into many, many thousands this process can take days if not weeks.

This scenario was bad enough but when we tried to update the files nothing changed.  We were left with a database that reported that over half the images needed to be updated.  Our only solution, which we invented was to turn back the clocks on the PC’s to UTC when using Portfolio.

We exchanged emails with Extensis support and eventually we got this reply from them.

Unfortunately we unable to offer an alternative workaround or fix at present.

There'll will be one more update for Portfolio 8.5 coming shortly but it would not be possible to include new features requests or fixes in time to be included in the next version.

Email from Extensis Support

The update of Portfolio to 8.5.5 has just been released and we have tried the new version release.  It would appear from initial test that the problem is still with us.

What do we do now?  Well I guess the answer is to find something better than Extensis Portfolio 8.5.  Why should we give Extensis any more of our money?

Until next time

April Weather

admin@mandjbloomfield.com — Tue, 4 May 2010 09:42:23 +0100

The weather can make fools of us all.  We recently wrote about what we can expect to out and about during May and made reference to the saying "April showers bring forth May flowers".  Well guess what, this April has been one of the warmest and driest on record.  So I shall have to eat my words.

Looking at our weekly temperatures, there is still a big variation.  Lowest recorded temperature was 0.4 and highest 24.8 degrees.  Although, some parts of the country are still waiting for spring to happen.  Watching a recent weather forecast; a comment made was, to watch out for night frosts.

Mean maximum temperature                  21.6°c
Mean minimum temperature                    2.0°c
(five week month)

Our Ethical standards for wildlife photography

admin@mandjbloomfield.com — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:21:40 +0100

The 2009 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition organisers’ decision to strip the winner of his first prize sparked a massive debate on the ethical standards of wildlife photographers.  The competition judges after consultation reviewed the winning photograph and came to the conclusion that the wolf was not a wild individual, but a captive subject posed for the photographer.  This was against the rules of the competition and the winner was striped of his prize.

Letters and articles appearing in the press after this incident have highlighted that the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is not the only place were photographs of a less than high ethical standard have appeared.  When we look at some photographs in magazines we wonder just how they were taken.  Looking at the captions accompanying the images is no guide as to whether a captive or wild subject appears in the picture.  We have very little control of the final caption as it appears.  But we always make it clear if the subject was captive.  However; sometimes this fact seems to have been overlooked when the picture appears. What we do have control over is how the photographs are taken in the first place.

As wildlife photographers we have a responsibility to protect fauna and flora we photograph. Ever since we started, we have worked to our own set of ethical standards.  These we believe protect wildlife and the environment.  We thought that our personal standards, professional reputation and integrity were enough to protect our subjects.  It has, become apparent to us, that a few individual wildlife photographers have brought suspicion on everyone.

We have taken the decision to formalise the ethics and guidelines we set ourselves in a written document.  This is a first for us, to have a published set of standards, until now we have always mutually agreed how we would work and what we would and would not do to get a picture of wildlife.  Now with all wildlife photographers being looked upon with suspicion by the general public, we want to ensure that everyone knows how we work and what we find acceptable to get a picture.  This statement lets you know how we conduct ourselves and take our pictures.

We are wildlife photographers, our aim is to photograph wild subjects that are able to follow a wild existence.  If they choose to appear in front of our cameras it is their choice.  This is our preferred method when taking photographs.

If we do take pictures of captive animals we satisfy ourselves these animals are properly cared for.  They must have the freedom not to be photographed by moving away from us.  The people looking after them must be knowledgeable and accountable for the animal’s welfare.  We try to use captive animals as little as possible.  When we do, we prefer animals being held for research or are unable to be released back into the wild.  Recuperating animals that are awaiting release are an issue for us.  We have to be assured that our contact doesn’t jeopardise or delay their release.  If we have any doubts we contact relevant welfare organisations for their clarification and guidance.

It is difficult to draw a distinction between different species of animals held in captivity.  Should some be captive while others should not?  It is a debate that continues and changes as our understanding changes.  In the real world distinctions are made about what it is acceptable to keep in captivity and what is not.  We have strong views on the whole issue and this is why we continue to choose not to photograph many species held in captive collections.  Our view is; our photographs could contribute to those species continuing to be held in captivity, so we choose not to photograph them.

Country sports such as hunting, fishing and shooting have large tracts of land dedicated to their pursuit in the UK.  The fine balance of conservation and protection these sports afford our countryside go hand in hand with abuses committed by individuals in pursuit of their sport.  Birds and animals breed purely for sport are an ethical dilemma for us.  We recognise the good done by people engaged in the sports, whilst condemning the few who step over acceptability.  We have taken many pictures on sporting estates and have enjoyed the diversity that their stewardship of our countryside has brought about.  We have satisfied ourselves that these estates work to the highest possible standards of animal husbandry and wildlife welfare.

We review each time we take pictures of captive species using the criteria above.  Choosing a captive species as a last resort or when our photographs illustrate good practices in keeping captive animals.
All our pictures of captive pictures are labelled as such.  The caption and keywords electronically embedded in the image have the word “captive” to designate that the animal was not wild at the time the picture was taken.  We actively encourage all our clients when captioning or accrediting, to note that the subject was captive.

Researching a target species is an important step for us before we venture out into the field.  It enables us to identify behaviours such as courtship, mating, flowering and dormant periods in the species we are trying to photograph.  We also research non targeted species found in the same environment.  Our aim is to understand as much as possible and to cause as little disruption as possible.  Disturbing an animal at certain critical times of the year could lead to lessening that individual’s chance of survival.

Travelling to other areas and countries to take wildlife pictures brings about other considerations.  Understanding our local patch gives us insight into the species present, how weather and local conditions are affecting them.  When we travel to new areas we consult with published works and knowledgeable local experts to better understand the local conditions.  Extreme or unusual weather, human interference, local population performance can all affect the species we are trying to photograph.  If we understand these influences, it allows us to be sympathetic to the population and reduce our possible impact.

Drought may cause local species problems.  Just the fact of being between them and a water source could tip the balance of survival.  We always take local advice and were practical consult or hire local guides who understand the environment.

Taking pictures of plants can be a very difficult ethical area.  What we don’t want to do is to take photographs of one species and destroy another.  There always seems to be a wayward bit of foliage just in the wrong place whenever you photograph plants.  This leads to what is termed gardening or the removal of the bits of unwanted greenery.  We never cut or up root live material to get our picture.  If we can’t carefully bend the offending foliage out of the way it is better to move to another subject or not get the picture.

Disturbing plants and foliage to get a picture is always kept to a minimum and when we have finished the vegetation is returned to its natural position.  Ensuring the micro climate that existed before we arrived is returned after we leave.  Be this gardening for plant photograph or moving branches out of the way to get a better angle with a long lens we always take the same care.

Legal protection for wildlife in this country is very good.  We work to maintain a working knowledge of all the relevant acts pertaining to the work we carry out.  When travelling to different parts of the world we try and understand and comply with local laws and customs.  We always conduct ourselves to our understanding of these acts and laws at all times.

Digital photography has given photographers the opportunity to modify images subsequent to the shutter being pressed.  The famous cases of the moving pyramids or the additional Zebras have made headline news in the press.  We take wildlife pictures of wildlife.  If it isn’t in the picture when we pressed the shutter it’s not in the picture when you see it.

Retouching is kept to a minimum.  We do retouch images removing dust spots and the odd stray bit of debris.  Sometimes we crop our images to remove unwanted distractions.  We will also remove things like the odd wing tip or spare tail as long as it is at the edges of the frame.  We do this as it is sometimes very difficult to make sure that all your subjects are completely in the frame when you press the shutter.  Occasionally we will improve the catch lights in the eyes of our subjects, making them brighter.  But we never add catch lights to the eyes of our subject.

Our rule is, if we have made substantial changes to the picture, such as changing colours or adding substantially to the mood of the photograph.  We include in the caption and keywords the words “digitally altered” or “artistic interpretation” depending on how much of the image people see has been changed from the original photograph.

We do wildlife photography because it is our passion.  We like to think that our passion is reflected in the pictures we take.  We always hope that our pictures will inspire people to move closer to wildlife and the natural world.  So when we meet people, out enjoying nature it is our belief that they should be allowed get as much pleasure as we do.  Therefore we treat other people as we would wish to be treated.  If we can help or enable people to better understand the world about them we believe that this is as important as taking photographs.

There is a saying that we find to be very apt.  Live today as if it were you last; treat the environment as if you will live forever.  All our efforts are directed into two areas.  Taking beautiful wildlife photographs and ensuring that wildlife is preserved for other people to see and enjoy.  Better to walk away without the picture than put at risk any part of the natural world.  If we can not work without deceit then it is better that we find something else to do with our lives.

Mark and Jacky Bloomfield

What is out in May

admin@mandjbloomfield.com — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:04:53 +0100

The old saying goes, April showers bring forth May flowers.  Let’s hope this rhyme rings true and we have some wonderful flower displays.

Many orchids start to flower during May; Military Orchid, Monkey Orchid, and Green Winged orchid.  Later in the month Southern March Orchids and Early Marsh Orchids will hopefully be in flower; but as always, this is very much weather dependant.

Talking of weather conditions, the Bluebells may be late flowering this year.  Last week we were photographing woodland plants, the Bluebells we saw were only just starting to flower; although we did see the odd one in full bloom.

Other flowers we can hope to see are, Common Comfrey, Yellow rattle, Greater Stichwort and Solomon’s seal.

More and more species of butterflies will be seen as the warmer weather brings them out of their hibernation.  Adult demoiselles start to emerge and Dragonflies too will be seen darting about in the warming days of May.

One flower not to miss is the Snake’s head fritillary.  It looks rather like a lantern swaying in the breeze.  A good place to see these flowers is North Meadow NNR in Wiltshire.

Snake's Head Fritillary

Ducklings - Just hatching near you

admin@mandjbloomfield.com — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 10:20:21 +0100

One of the great treats spring has to offer is the chance to see all the young animals and birds, born at this time of year.  Young Rabbits sitting at the edge of fields.  Broken egg shells on the ground, telling us that the Starlings, nesting in the eves of a nearby house have chicks.

If you want to photograph these new arrivals our best advice is don’t.  But if you really must be very careful, it is very easy to scare away the adult birds; the damage you may cause is not worth the pictures.  Bear in mind that for some species of birds photographing them at or near the nest requires a special licence.

One reasonably safe subject which has that cute factor is ducklings.  Now is the time of year to see ducks like Mallards with 8 or more bundles of fluff scooting around your local pond or stream.

Mallard Duckling

Find yourself a good spot get as low to the water as possible and sit and wait.  One word of caution, ducklings are not waterproof.  Every now and then they need to leave the water to dry our and warm up.  Very often the female will brood the ducklings beneath her.  This makes a great photograph but please be careful not to disturb the female she will return to the water for safety.  If she is disturbed too many times the ducklings get weaker due to being in cold water too long.

Until next time

Windsor Sponsored Charity Drive - Help for Heroes

admin@mandjbloomfield.com — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:57:49 +0100

The following is a slight deviation to our normal blog articles.

On Sunday we took part in the Windsor Charity Carriage Drive in aid of Help for Heroes and the Chiltern air Ambulance; two worthy charities. Jacky decided that our chosen charity should be Help for Heroes, with all the sponsorship going to this one charity.

We had a great day out and would like to say a big thank you to everyone who sponsored Jacky and helped to raise £111. Every penny will go directly to the charity, as all the administration fees we covered with a separate entry fee.

Finally, we would like to thank our carriage driving friends, Margaret and Cathy for making our participation in the event possible.

Below are some pictures from the event.