Ewan Crosbie Photography

Home
United Kingdom
surrey
Ewan Crosbie Photography

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Ewan Crosbie Photography, Photography Videography, surrey.

25/10/2022

'True Heart'

I realised today that I've only taken 2 images of a barn owl this year. As a favourite species of mine and one I used to venture out to once if not twice a day is a sad indictment of priority shifts in my life.

Despite all the time I used to spend with them very rarely did they appear in the golden light or stand on nearby perches for close up portraits that you'll so often see. Instead these always hunt.

The moments I saw/see them are fleeting, the shots I take even less frequent and a worthwhile shot...well the strike rate on that is atrocious, certainly not prolific enough for many a photographer. But that is part of the charm of this site and of these owls. It offers more. A solitude, a comfort of being out in nature, often alone, an escape from urban life.

13/01/2022

Great Crested Grebe courtship⁠
⁠
I'm looking forward to the Spring and having something to photograph on my doorstep once again. If the grebes will be as obliging this year as they were last it will be most welcome. It does involve getting incredibly cold wading into a lake but the spectacle they put on is worth it.

10/01/2022

PLEASE VOTE⁠
⁠
Lady, without realising it, became a very well known hare, having been shared on social media by numerous photographers. He was somewhat of a poser, always performing for the camera, where other hares would shy away (or run away). ⁠
⁠
Sadly Lady is not with us anymore, but he now has another opportunity to be presented to the world as he has been shortlisted for the People's Choice Awards for Travel Photographer of the Year. ⁠
⁠
Head to the link in my bio to cast your vote. ⁠
⁠
It is an incredibly diverse selection of images and there are some great ones in there. If you consider this image worthy of your vote then I'll be very grateful if you did so. If you don't, then maybe best not to vote at all 😜😂⁠
⁠
That's the end of the shameless plug...for today anyway. Thanks in advance for your support.

29/09/2021

CAPTION THIS⁠
I'll share my favourites on my story.⁠
⁠
'Ta da!'⁠
⁠
Having not spent a lot of time with puffins I could have forgiven myself for taking some more typical portrait shots to get myself warmed up. But with such a raw landscape, how could I not include it? ⁠
⁠
So I pushed myself a little more. I picked my composition and lay in wait for the perfect moment of a puffin coming into land. ⁠
⁠
Often they make a right mess of the landing, but this one was rather more elegant. Even the other 2 puffins in the bottom left were suitably impressed.

14/07/2021

Puffins are also on the agenda the next couple of weeks. I've not spent much time with them in the past and given they're so full of character I need to expand my portfolio of these auks. ⁠
This was shot with lichen covered rocks in the background creating the orange backdrop.

15/03/2021

Benefits of photographing locally

Starting the week off with another energetic greylag. The best way to start a week and a day (not as a greylag but with energy).

I recently got labelled the 'goosemaster' which is something joked would happen. Well now it's happened, so I might as well own it.
I started photographing geese in lockdown last year. They were on the local pond, an area I'd overlooked for sexier species. I ended up spending 3 months, pretty much every morning photographing geese and massively improved my photography as a result. They are easily accessible, have tonnes of character and are beautiful in their own way. And best of all, I learnt most about my photography as a result of it.
Whilst they're still not a sexy species I very much have unfinished business with them and will be returning to them shortly (assuming they've returned for the breeding season).

What are you planning on photographing this spring?

12/03/2021

Happy Friday!⁠
⁠
There are lots of newcomers to my account at the moment, so welcome!! Thank you for joining, and for all the comments and messages. My apologies if I've not got round to them all, I will do my best to reply. ⁠
⁠
I'm very grateful for the support and to hear all of your learnings yesterday. Having not taken part in the film era of camera, it seems there was a whole realm of different mistakes that I would certainly have made. If you haven't already, check out yesterdays post and comments. You'll quickly learn you're not the only one to have made some silly mistakes.⁠
⁠
My Friday posts tend to consist of something to try to make you smile. Usually something cute or every now and again I'll throw in a stupid story. For today it's a duckling only a few days old from last year, catching those very early rays of light.⁠
⁠
Enjoy your weekends!

11/03/2021

Criminal mistakes I've made in the field... some of them are hard to believe⁠ I could be so moronic.
⁠
1. Ventured out at dawn, stalked roe deer, tried to take a shot and when the opportunity arose for some images I established I didn't have a memory card with me.⁠
⁠
2. Ventured out at dawn, stalked roe deer, tried to turn the camera on and realised I'd left my batteries on charge⁠
⁠
3. Ventured out at dawn, went to the boot of the car, and realised I'd forgotten my camera 🤦🏼‍♂️⁠
⁠
There are similarities with all of these moments. They were all with the first subject in which I worked (the roe deer). They were all bloody early in the morning, which makes the mistakes extra memorable as it's painful enough getting up at that time anyway. And they're all forgetting something. Why it took me 3 times forgetting something to not forget these things again (I've never forgotten any of them since, or anything really) I don't know. But it's all part of the process.⁠
⁠
With this image, it takes me back to a mistake I made in shooting. I had unknowingly turned my LCD brightness down. Consequently when I was shooting a correctly exposed image it looks very dark on the LCD. I increased my exposure to brighten it up and blew everything out. I was confused. My default position... the camera must be broken. As is so often the case, it's the user that is broken.⁠
⁠
So...the morale of the story. Mistakes are made. Really, really stupid mistakes are made. I mean seriously, who forgets their camera?⁠
Don't beat yourself up about it, but don't do it again. My advice if you're getting up before dawn in Summer is to prep your bags the night before. Leave it as close to the front door as possible then you can't possibly miss it. ⁠
⁠
What really stupid mistakes have you made?

10/03/2021

Why I have a tendency to shoot barn owls backlit⁠
⁠
When you have such a beautiful bird as the barn owl on your doorstep it's difficult to leave them, even when I regularly go several weeks where they don't show. ⁠
And when they do, I tend to shoot them in the same way. Backlit. The majority of what I consider to be my best images of them are backlit (shooting into the sun), and it's for a number of reasons. ⁠
⁠
1. It cleans up what can be an otherwise messy background. Exposing for the sun coming through the owls wings and with trees in shade behind it, the background becomes a dark canvas on which the subject stands out⁠
⁠
2. It can add drama to the image. Anyone photographing barn owls will know that despite their beauty, they have a sinister appearance. Their eyes don't glow like those of a short eared owl or a little owl. They're deep black and they suck you in. For this reason a bit of drama is in keeping with a barn owls characteristics. ⁠
⁠
3. It allows to show the detail in the feathers as the sun bursts through the wings with their differing densities. ⁠
⁠
This won't stop me shooting front lit, which of course has its own benefits and is something I need to add to my portfolio. When the conditions are right I will do so, but more often than not my tendency is to carry on shooting backlit. ⁠
⁠
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, and what your preference is. As with everything photography it's all completely subjective.

08/03/2021

Starting the week like...⁠..a greylag goose 🤨⁠ That's not particularly inspiring, so onto the image...
⁠
This was taken on part of a lake which wasn't thre normal 'goose runway'. This greylag taking off from here was even more surprising given his mate was sitting on eggs not too far away. ⁠
What was great about where he was is that light was emerging through the trees, whilst the background was covered in shade. I just had to wait and hope that he did something. Luck was on my side as he decided to take off running through the sunlight, giving me a nice dramatic sequence. I'll soon be returning to the lake to see what life has returned.

07/03/2021

Happy Sunday!⁠
What a week. A long one, but a good 'un, just need some barn owls to finish it off. Best of all Spring is in the air which brings with it bundles of fluff balls, and excruciatingly early mornings. My favourite 😕⁠
⁠
This was taken end of Spring / early Summer last year. As the goslings aged they tended to lose their cuteness. Walking around they look more like creatures from prehistoric times, with their lanky legs looking like they're on stilts, and T-Rex arms for wings. ⁠
When the inevitable happens and they have to rest their weary legs the cute innocence returns. ⁠
⁠
I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.

28/02/2021

Who is missing the snow and wants to roll around in it and who is missing the warmth and wants Spring to arrive?⁠
⁠
I missed out on the snow this year, but the last couple of days we've seen the sun, and man has that felt good to have that energy running through me.

Address

Surrey
GU21 8

Website

http://www.ewancphotography.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Ewan Crosbie Photography posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Ewan Crosbie Photography:

Name:

Email:

Message:

Shortcuts

Want your business to be the top-listed Photography Service in surrey?