I could hear them talking about me when I put out some food for the birds this morning.

“Oh, look, it’s the nice man, the one, who always brings food”, chirped the chaffinch and flapped her eyelashes.

“Regular as clockwork. He is a very nice man, he is”, confirmed the collared dove, who had moved down south from Yorkshire, and the sparrow gang broke, as usual, into ritual excitement.

“But can you trust him? I mean, really trust?”, pondered the woodpecker, pecked another piece from the fat feeder and flew off. Not that woodpeckers fly. They wobble. Their mode of movement is a kind of hop with subsequent slow descend, only in the air.

Gives you a warm heart, doesn’t it? Not too bold then to assume that the birds would show a little gratitude and if not that, then at least familiarity. With the colder weather gripping Britain, as the newspapers like to put it, I wanted to write a post about feeding the birds. When the sun came out briefly, I grabbed my camera, the seriously heavy tele lens and some extra bird food. The idea was to obtain a close-up of a bird on a feeder, which would be illustration for my blog post. Preferably a rare bird.

Out I went, put down the bird food, put myself and my camera in an inconspicuous location and waited. Five minutes, ten, fifteen, then I was beginning to feel the cold. Did the birds put in an appearance? Oh yes, to look at me. From a distance. Would they go on any of the feeders? Oh no. Would they sit still just long enough for me to focus? Of course not. A man with bird food – great. A man without bird food – not great but okay. A man with a camera – mass panic.

The wildlife suffers particularly badly in the cold weather. Food is not plentiful at this time of year, which means that finding the little food there is requires extra energy, as does keeping warm. Extra energy requires extra food, which is not plentiful at this time of year …

If you have an outdoor space, however small or large, whether in town or in the country, please show sympathy for the birds. It is easy to do, does not take long and is not expensive. Buy a little wild bird food at your local garden centre or a few fat feeders. You will be rewarded with visits and beautiful vocal performances from these exquisite creatures; so long as you do not get out your camera, that is.

Do not forget that birds need water, too. If you do not already have a birdbath, put out some flat dishes – the larger variety of the saucers that go under plant pots are ideal – and fill them with water. Remember to remove the ice (water freezes even during the day) and refill with water.

If we want to go on living on this planet, we have to care for our environment and the wildlife.

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Photographing people is what I do for a living but there is more: It is a passion, it is fun and it is always a privilege that my clients allow me to gaze into their souls. I had known Angela for some time but only by telephone in a business context. When she decided to book herself in for a photo session I was pleased to be able finally to put a face to her infectious laugh and I felt privileged to be allowed to photograph her. The distinguished looking gentleman in one of the photographs is Angela’s husband Rodney.

I learned so much during our photo session: About their travels, about Naples and I even now know what the expression NATO standard means in relation to coffee – something that not everybody knows.

Angela’s makeup is by Helen Foster.

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See more photo session previews.

For information about my services and to book your own photo session, please visit my website.

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This frosty February morning rewarded everybody with another beautiful winter sunrise in the shires. Compare this scene with my little world in January.

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The reason why the title of this photograph (le matin – the morning) is in French is simple: I made this photograph in Paris. For the interpretation of the implications of this photograph, or should I say insinuations, I rely entirely on your imagination.

Whilst the title of the photograph attempts to lead the viewer towards one association, we must remember that we conduct a great deal of our lives in bed: Most likely we are created in this versatile location, we are born there, we rest and recover, we experience togetherness and loneliness, joy and despair, relaxation and pain, rest and restlessness, we die, we are remembered and we are forgotten – all in this small space.

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An icy cold and sunny January day provided the perfect setup for these casual portraits of little Jess. I felt a bit mean when I encouraged her to play with the ice in the water feature but she was fascinated by it and thought that it was a real treat. Mum was on hand to warm the girl’s hands afterwards.

The sunlight reflected in the camera lens would normally be a technical imperfection. I captured it deliberately, though, to make the piece of ice look like a magical, glistening gem.

If you would like to commission me to photograph your children, please contact me.

See also: Child and family portraits and the updated children and families portfolio.

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Already the days are getting markedly longer. Light is gaining the upper hand over darkness in planet earth’s dance with the seasons as I look at a photograph, which I made not three weeks ago standing on Roundway Hill.

The fading light of an early January day gives this photograph a certain delicacy as if you had to hold your breath for fear of disrupting the rhythm of nature. The gently sloping landscape in the foreground and the near absence of a horizon as a steadying force make the viewer’s gaze slightly uneasy.

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Some of my work is available to buy as prints and posters on redbubble, including this photograph.

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A resting cat’s paws. Can there be anything cosier?

Model in this photograph was Domino, a prominent member of my feline quartet. Click on the photograph to see it bigger and click here or see below to enjoy more photographs involving cats.

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Last month I reported a problem, which prevented some visitors to my website from seeing the photography portfolios. The glitch was an Internet Explorer 9 issue, which has now been fixed. Everybody should again be able to access the portfolios.

If you are still experiencing problems, please reload the page (press F5 on your keyboard) and if this does not fix it, please get in touch.

Whilst I was working on this issue, I also updated some of the portfolios with new work. You can see my photography on my website and there is always plenty more to see on this blog.

If you would like to receive e-mail notification when new posts are published, please subscribe to the blog.

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“What are you taking pictures of then?” asked the man with the friendly grin, who was flying a remote controlled model airplane and who had approached me as I was mounting my camera and long tele lens onto a tripod.

“The moon”, I explained, and because he looked ever so slightly confused, I elaborated: “It is meant to rise just over there at three minutes to five. But the clouds …”

“Yes, the clouds”, the man agreed with an undertone of sympathetic pity and steered his model plane into a spirited dive towards me that I was tempted to take cover on the ground. I could feel the rush of the air as it howled past my face.

I was all set to photograph the rising moon the day before, the day of and the day after the full moon. Alas, the clouds …

The full moon in January is called enchantingly Wolf Moon. In her magical book “Luna Moon Hare”, Wendy Andrew writes about Wolf Moon: The spirit of the Wolf can be felt and heard in the howling winds of this month. A time to assess where you are in your life and to decide what, if any, changes you need to make.

I made this photograph a few days after the full moon, Wolf Moon, when we were at last rewarded with clear skies. Click on the photograph to see it bigger.

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