Image of the month - April 2026
In February 2023, the World Rally Championship winter stage was held in Umeå, Sweden and featured 18 snowy special stages across 301 km of competition. Estonian Ott Tänak and co‑driver Martin Järveoja triumphed in a Ford Puma Rally1.
This was my first experience of a WRC race and we were taken a long way out of the town of Umea by bus and dropped in the Swedish wilderness with strict instructions not to miss the bus on the way back – good advice since there were no public services anywhere nearby and well over a metre of soft snow on the ground in the surrounding wilderness.
We were puzzled by the kit that many Swedish spectators were carrying to the site including shovels, tree saws, woks, rubber matting and cool boxes. The accepted behaviour upon arrival, seemed to be to dig a larger circular hole in the snow with in built in seating onto which your rubber mat was placed; cut down a nearby tree; make a fire in the pit; use the wok to BBQ some steaks and drink copious quantities of Vodka. Fortunately, we did not miss the bus on the way back which was by then full of drunken Swedes engaged in singing at the top of their voices all the way back.
Just brilliant fun – I’ll be back!
Image of the month - March 2026
2025 marked my 50th year of taking photographs with my first SLR, a Russian made Zenit B and It therefore seemed timely to post a picture of the fantastic White-Tailed Eagle who this year also reaches the 50th anniversary of its re-introduction to the UK on the Isle of Rum in 1975. This shot was a punch up in Hortobágy National Park, taken in January 2025 showing a juvenile on the left being a typical irritating kid annoying an elder on the right.
Image of the month - February 2026
This mother and baby were at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Borneo. The centre's primary mission is to rehabilitate and provide a safe haven for orphaned and injured orangutans, who are one of the world's most endangered primates. 60 to 80 orangutans live independently in the rainforest reserve and approximately 25 orphaned orangutans are housed and cared for in the nurseries. The main nursery can be viewed from behind glass which is not great for photography. Outside there are feeding platforms where the wild Orangutans come in with their young, but these are typically mobbed by tourists.
This was the case when I was patiently sitting for this shot. With about 200 people on the viewing platform the Orangutans were rather shy and mostly sat with their backs to the crowd. One of the minders announced to the crowd that the big alpha male had made his way to the glass fronted nursery, and to my delight everyone disappeared from the platform leaving just me and one minder. The Orangutans visibly started to relax and this mother and baby turned to face me. I was very happy to sacrifice a shot of the male from behind glass to watch this fantastic scene in complete peace. I need not have worried about missing the big male though as the following morning gave me one of my most memorable wildlife close encounters ever – a shot that I will post next time.
Image of the month - January 2026
This shot of The Shard was taken from the building known as the ‘Walkie Talkie’ in Fenchurch Street, London. The outdoor viewing platform on the 35th floor is part of the Sky Garden which offers panoramic views of London’s skyline, south of the River Thames. The Shard is 95-floors tall and was completed in 2012. Standing at 310 meters, it is the tallest building in the United Kingdom.