Blossoms & bluebells, birdies & bees - these are a few of my favourite things.
I tunefully sing this each April as I run gazelle-like through flower-filled meadows amidst stunning snow-capped mountains. I can't make up my mind whether I'm Maria from The Sound of Music (film) or Heidi from Heidi (book).
Then I stop dreaming and realise I'm neither - I can't sing for toffee (or anything sweet) & Cambridge is mountainless.
I do, however, go Spring watching with my trusty camera.
Thinking of birds & Springwatch - was why I chose this portrait photo of David Gray.
I was photographing an event for the BBC. The sun was shinning, birds were singing, marquees were up, a large audience was cheerful & ready for the star performer to open the show.
David Gray, brilliant singer & songwriter, appeared & with some notes in hand chatted away, about this & that & something else to the audience. I snapped away, happy in my own world, thinking aperture, shutter speed & don't forget to press the button. I didn't listen to a word he was saying.
Lots of applause & smiles & the director whispered in my ear. 'Take David & photograph him by the cranes'. 'No problem', I squeaked (your voice always goes up several octaves if you're standing next to a famous person) 'follow me', I said.
So we walked & walked for what seemed like a very long time (probably 10mins). I couldn't see a single crane. David, very kindly, took the lead and led us to them.
Standing before me, cranes of a feather variety. Beautiful, long-legged, long-necked & very regal-looking. Apparently they had become almost extinct in the UK for many years & Pensthorpe Conservation Trust (site to BBC Springwatch at the time), Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust & RSPB had begun a partnership to re-establish a breeding population of them.
Had I paid the slightest bit of attention to his speech earlier I would have known that cranes are birds as well as big lifting machines. My dad had 2 of them & I was familiar at spotting them - I could even talk about jib & load with confidence.
I took loads of photos of both of them with renewed enthusiasm & delight. David & the cranes happily posed for ages completely overlooking my basic lack of bird recognition. I spent lots of hours afterwards finding new birds to shoot (pics of them on Instagram & Projects on web).
I still haven't quite grasped all the different bird names but I'm a bit further on than I was in 2008.
David Gray - One With The Birds
Tips and tricks Photographing April:
1) Blossoms (also a brilliant indie band touring & playing at Glastonbury this year) - use macro lens. Go to places: parks, botanical gardens, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge.
2) Bluebells - use macro lens. Can't believe the UK is home to half the world's bluebells. Go to places: woods, Hampstead Heath, London, Blickling Hall, Norfolk.
3) Birds - use a long zoom (telephoto) 100-600 mm sort of range. Go to places: 224 RSPB Nature Reserves in the UK, garden, The Wash, Norfolk, Pensthorpe Natural Park, Fakenham, Norfolk
4) Bees - macro or long zoom - don't wear perfume or aftershave - they don't like strong smells. Go to places: fields of blooming flowers, The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall, RHS Wisley, Surrey.