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Well puffins are what I was expecting to photograph today however here is the story. I have been waiting to go on a photographic trip to the Isle of May in the Forth estuary since booking the trip in Feb so I was really exited that the day had finally come. So after arranging for a days holiday and getting an early start I drove to sunny North Berwick where the boat was leaving from. When I arrived another dozen or so photographers were also waiting, with packed camera bags and fully of great expectations for the day ahead only to then find out that the trip had been cancelled because the waves were too large and the boat would not be able to land at the island. Boy did I feel disappointed however after speaking to two of the other photographers I did not feel so bad as they had travelled all the way from Bournemouth this week to visit both the Isle of May (Puffins) and the Bass Rock (Gannets) and they had both trips cancelled due to conditions. So I have travelled all the way to North Berwick, I have a days holiday and a packed camera bag, so nothing else to do but spend the day finding things to take pictures of in and around the East coast.

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It was time for our annual family pilgrimage to Blair Drummond Safari Park. The children were very exited however my youngest boy Sam (3) was a bit concerned that the lions where going to have him for lunch thanks to his big brother. As every I did back a bag with a camera to capture a few snaps of the animals if the opportunity arose. When photographing animals in safari parks or zoos the hardest thing is trying to exclude any man made items from the background. Using a really wide aperture will help isolate the subject and blur the background however as the photographer you can make a big difference to the image by being aware of the background and also by applying appropriate in camera cropping. Here a few images I took during the visit: –