Pat Bennett
Wildlife & Landscape Photographer
Pat BennettWildlife & Landscape Photographer |
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Conflict, art, problem-solving, beauty, competition, pain, egotism, triumph and failure. It's all there in a chess tournament. This is the Welsh Championship 2008.
The traditional Crow Dance at the village of Moulton, Cheshire.
Ghana 2007 - to Wa in the North West, and to the Kalakpa Resource Reserve in the Eastern Region.
The weasel (mustela nivalis) - another rescue by the RSPCA's wildlife hospital at Nantwich. The same mixture of cuteness and ferocity as the polecat, but continual movement at speed - a smaller member of the mustelidae family.
The Moulton Crow Dance - at the village of Moulton, Cheshire. Resurrected at the village Crow Fair, Summer 2006.
Wildlife on the Isle of Mull - what a wonderful place!
Parkgate in the Wirral - one of those special places of pilgrimage for those who love wildlife. But only at special times!
Colour slides from 60s Ghana - Back in pre-historic times, I worked for three years in Ghana - an interval that my wife and I look back on with great affection, as it was one of the most interesting and satisfying periods in our lives. I have now finished scanning my colour slides on general subjects which I took at this time, and am making it available as a stock resource here.
A session in my hide in a corner of a local field revealed the activity of another couple of raptors in the immediate vicinity of our village.
Worm-eating buzzard - It seems that worms are an important item in the diet of buzzards, particularly first year birds. Here's the pictures which show the hunting technique.
Kingfisher images - I have been spending time photographing one of our most photogenic birds. My best photos previously had been taken in France, but these were taken at Vale Royal locks on the River Weaver.Pound the Bounds 2 - The second race this year around the boundaries of Moulton village. Get in touch if you would like prints.
Polecat release - Two days after Rob Scrivens had brought the five foxes for release at Wilderness Farm, he brought three polecats who had been rescued by the RSPCA from various sources. I haven't seen any other animals who combined both cuteness and ferocity at such high intensity!
The Fox who Chose to Stay - One of the released foxes was much more confident than the others, and seemed to make the choice of staying at Wilderness Farm to take advantage of the cuisine offered. Another has been seen around the place, but is much more cautious, while the other three seem to be making there own way in the world.
Fox release - The Cheshire RSPCA Wildlife Centre has begun using Wilderness Farm, which belongs to my friend, Bill Devereux, as a release centre. Read about the five young foxes released there.
Ghana 2004 Gallery - pictures taken on the trip to Ghana last April, displayed in my recent exhibition at the Black Sheep Gallery, Hawarden, near Chester.
Tests on upsizing image files using Photoshop
Brief account of Ghana trip, April 2004 - Studying elephants with an SES expedition in Mole National Park, followed by various wildlife from hippos at Wechiau to mona and colobus monkeys at Baobeng-Fiema. Finally, a return to Winneba, where I had taught chemistry 35 years ago.
Nostalgia and Elephants - my upcoming trip to Ghana at the end of March 2004.
Mountain hare tracks on Bleaklow - I want to photograph mountain hares, in their fine white winter coats. And so to Bleaklow in the Dark Peak on January 2nd 2004. Unsuccesful this time.
Merlin on Little Eye - in which our smallest hawk landed beside my hide.
Injured sparrowhawk - found while walking the dog.
The Shetlands in June - the main photographic targets were otters and gannets. We saw an otter hunting at the tide's edge for five minutes before it disappeared. Result - one poor photograph. Visits to gannet colonies at the island of Noss and the cliffs of Hermaness produced some excellent pictures of these photogenic seabirds, but the greatest impression was left by the characteristic wildlife of the islands and their atmospheric landscapes.
Gallery 2003 - an exhibition in Northwich library.
Two trips to Hilbre Island in the Dee estuary. One was at low tide on October 30th, and then on December 6th I stayed on the island over high tide.
On Sunday, January 5th, I took my hide over to Little Eye, the smallest of the Hilbre islands, and stayed over a tide. What an experience! Here's the story and the pictures.
Great Crested Grebes - an everyday story of success and failure on a Cheshire mere.
New Zealand - Visited daughter Sue in January 2002, and was struck by the friendliness of the people and the trusting nature of the native NZ wildlife i.e. birds.
Australia - Visited daughter Sue in Summer 1999, and went on holiday with her to Australia (Northern Queensland). We were delighted by the often beautiful and sometimes strange wildlife we encountered, and totally gob-smacked by the Awesome Great Barrier Reef!
All text and graphics © Pat Bennett 1996-2005
Stock photography by Pat Bennett at Alamy
