Grays of Westminster

Tuesday, 10 May 2011

Internationally Acclaimed Wildlife Photographer Heather Angel Demonstrates How to Photograph Endangered Animals and Plants

The Heather Angel Wildlife and Natural History Workshop, now in its 15th year, will be held at Saint Hill Manor, Sussex, on Saturday 23rd July, 2011. The Manor is one of the finest historic sandstone buildings in England, set in fifty-nine acres of landscaped gardens and a wooded lake, and provides the perfect location for this workshop.

London – Professor Heather Angel, the author of over sixty books and the recipient of numerous awards, will be holding an exclusive wildlife and natural history workshop in coordination with Nikon UK and Think Tank camera bags at Saint Hill Manor on Saturday 23rd July, 2011. The event is sponsored by the revered Nikon dealer Grays of Westminster, currently celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary year. Grays of Westminster specialises exclusively in Nikon, offering what is probably the widest range of new and second-hand Nikon in the world.

The workshop will be of benefit to the newcomer and the experienced photographer alike, appealing to all photographers interested in capturing the infinite variety of nature, both rare and commonplace. The schedule for the day includes comprehensive lectures, demonstrations and the opportunity to handle and use a large range of new Nikon camera equipment and Think Tank camera bags. Heather Angel’s previous workshops at Saint Hill Manor have attracted participants from all over the world, including the USA and Japan.

Heather Angel frequently visits dangerous and inhospitable places in her quest to provide organisations such as the WWF, Kew Gardens and the British Council with images of endangered animals and rare plants. Heather will reveal how she prepares for trips, what equipment she takes and how she works to meet her targets. She will show how digital cameras have enabled her to capture some special macro shots with innovative lighting and focus stacking. One of Heather Angel's images of a red panda is featured in the set of Royal Mail stamps to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the WWF, launched in March 2011, and the attendees will gain an insight into how memorable photographs can help to raise awareness of threatened wildlife.

A recent first class British postage stamp used this photograph of a Red Panda by Heather Angel

Highlights of the day include:

Nikon Total Imaging System – a talk by John Clements
Practical Macro session with Heather Angel inside and in the garden
Outside Practical session with John Clements
Photoshop Techniques with Giles Angel
Outside Practical session with the birds of prey and flying falcons
Dinner on the Manor terrace (weather permitting)

Booking details:

The ticket price includes refreshments, lunch and the evening meal, and costs £245.00 (£185.00 for Nikon Owner subscribers) per person for the day. The workshop starts at 9.15 a.m. and runs until 5.00 p.m., followed by dinner. Bookings can be made online here:

https://www.graysofwestminster.co.uk/secure/angel-workshop.php

About Grays of Westminster

The legendary award-winning Grays of Westminster is a charming period shop, specialising exclusively in Nikon. It offers what is probably the widest range of new and second-hand Nikon in the world. It is situated in a quiet location in central London and offers a fast and reliable mail-order service on any Nikon item - available to all world-wide destinations. Tax free shopping to non-European Community residents is also available.

For more information about the workshop or Grays of Westminster please contact:

Gray Levett
Grays of Westminster Exclusively…Nikon
40 Churton Street
London
SW1V 2LP

+44 (0)20 7828 4925
info@graysofwestminster.co.uk
http://www.graysofwestminster.co.uk

Friday, 7 May 2010

Jim Brandenburg has 4 images included in Top Forty Nature Photographs

Jim Brandenburg, www.jimbrandenburg.com

Jim Brandenburg has 4 images included in Top Forty Nature Photographs in the history of photography.

The exercise of selecting the Top Forty Nature Photographs of all time is both an honour and a tremendous challenge. It may not be possible for anyone to create a definitive selection of the forty 'best' or 'most important' nature photographs, if only due to the vast variety of criteria that must be considered. But the international League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP) decided to try anyway and made their announcement this week to help celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day.

The international League of Conservation Photographers is a fellowship of the top professional photographers from around the world working today.

More than 100 photographers and editors associated with the iLCP nominated images that they considered to be 'the best' in what they felt represented aesthetics, uniqueness, historical and scientific significance, and conservation efforts. The photographers were not permitted to self-nominate.

The prestigious Top Forty nominations represent the work of 25 photographers including the legendary Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, and Eliot Porter. Four of Brandenburg's images were included in the final selection, more than any other photographer. "To have 4 of my photographs chosen by my peers as part of the top 40 nature photographs of all time is indeed the highlight of my career. I am honoured beyond words," said Brandenburg.

The four Brandenburg images selected were: Oryx on Namib Desert, Namibia, southwest Africa; Gray Wolf near BWCAW, Ely, Minnesota; Arctic wolf, Ellesmere Island, Canada; and Bison on Frozen Landscape, Blue Mounds State Park, Luverne, Minnesota. They may be viewed on his blog or website at: www.jimbrandenburg.com Within this past year, the Arctic wolf image was named one of 100 most important photos in Canadian history in the book 100 Photos that Changed Canada.

Oryx on Namib Desert, Namibia, southwest Africa

Gray Wolf near BWCAW, Ely, Minnesota

Arctic wolf, Ellesmere Island, Canada

Bison on Frozen Landscape, Blue Mounds State Park, Luverne, Minnesota

The oldest nature photograph included in the Top 40 is of three frightened deer in the north woods of Minnesota near Lake Superior by George Shiras, published in 1921 in National Geographic Magazine.

Jim Brandenburg's long career of conservation efforts was honoured in 1991 by the United Nations. He received the World Achievement Global 500 Forum award in recognition of his using nature photography to raise public awareness for the environment. Jim and his wife Judy are the founders of the Brandenburg Prairie Foundation (BPF), whose mission is to preserve native prairies in southwest Minnesota. The BPF has helped to preserve approximately 1000 acres to date with Touch the Sky Prairie, a division of USFWS Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuges. Touch the Sky Prairie is near Brandenburg's hometown of Luverne, Minnesota, USA.

The complete collection of the Top Forty Nature Photographs may be viewed at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilcptop40/sets/72157623774840478/

International League of Conservation Photographers: www.ilcp.com
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