Last Tuesday we set out for a day in the charming company of professional photographer Ian Badley and avid DP reader Dave Johnson.

Starting out at a very windswept Milford on Sea, we travelled on to take in the sights at Keyhaven, before venturing into the New Forest for the afternoon. During our mini treks across the Hampshire countryside, Ian worked on Dave’s ability to ’see’ a shot, concentrating mainly on his compositional skills.

By then end of the day - when we paused to photograph the sun dipping below the tree-lined horizon - Dave’s shots showed a marked improvement, and we were all able to reflect upon a successful and enjoyable day.

Many thanks to Ian Badley, who was a fantastic teacher and wonderful company, and to Dave Johnson for his whole-hearted enthusiasm.

Read more about Dave’s experience and see some of his fantastic photos in issue 78 of Digital Photographer, on sale 2nd January.

Find out more about pro photographer Ian Badley and his fantastic photo workshops - at home and abroad - including his upcoming days run in partnership with David Noton at: www.ianbadley.com

Last Thursday I was fortunate enough to be invited to the special opening of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum, and I am still buzzing from the visual treats that my eyes feasted upon. The exhibition showcases and celebrates the crème de le crème of the WPOTY competition, which is now in its 44th year. Owned and organized by the museum and the BBC Wildlife Magazine, it is largely considered to be one of the most prestigious wildlife photography competitions in the world, attracting thousands of entries from every pocket of the globe.So whose images can you expect to see at the exhibition?

Well I’ve included a list of the included photographers below:

GERALD DURRELL AWARD FOR ENDANGERED WILDLIFE: Steve Winter (winner), Stefano Unterthiner (Runner Up), Steve Winter (Highly Commended), Steve Winter (Specially Commended).

BEHAVIOUR - BIRDS: Antoni Kasprzak (winner), Brian W. Matthews (Runner-up), Paul Hobson (Specially Commended), Andy Rouse (Highly Commended), Arthur Morris (Highly Commended), Baris Koca (Highly Commended), Ramon Navarro (Highly Commended) and Bence Mate (Highly Commended).

BEHAVIOUR - MAMMALS: Cyril Ruoso (Winner), Steve Winter (Runner Up) and Patrick Centurioni (Highly Commended).

BEHAVIOUR - ALL OTHER ANIMALS: David Maitland (Winner), Amos Nachoum (Runner-Up) and Adrian Hepworth (Specially Commended).

THE UNDERWATER WORLD: Brian Skerry (Winner), Brian Skerry (Runner-up), Jordi Chias (Specially Commended), Brian Skerry (Specially Commended), Thomas P. Peschak (Specially Commended), Laurent Piechegut (Highly Commended), Amos Nachoum (Highly Commended), Noam Kortler (Highly Commended) and David Hall (Highly Commended).

ANIMAL PORTRAITS: Stefano Unterthiner (winner), Jordi Chias (Runner up), Bill Harbin (Specially Commended), Carsten Braun (Specially Commended), Adriano Ebenriter (Specially Commended), Andreas Byrne (Highly Commended), Claudio Contreras Koob (Highly Commended), Juan Manuel Hernandez Lopez (Highly Commended), Chris van Rooyen (Highly Commended), Aaron Wong (Highly Commended) and Piotr Naskrecki (Highly Commended).

IN PRAISE OF PLANTS - Cece Fabbro (winner), Fredrik Ehrenstrom (runner up), Thierry Van Baelingham (Specially Commended), Koos van der Lende (Highly Commended x 2), Denny Laps (Highly Commended), and Darran Leal (Highly Commended).

URBAN AND GARDEN WILDLIFE - Jaime McGregor Smith (Winner).

NATURE IN BLACK AND WHITE - Carlos Virgili (Winner), Guillaume Bily (runner up), and Fergus Kennedy (Highly Commended).

CREATIVE VISIONS OF NATURE - Miguel Lasa (winner), Michel Roggo (runner-up).

WILD PLACES - Andy Biggs (winner), Franz Josef Kovacs (runner-up), Albert Froneman (Specially Commended).

10 YEARS AND UNDER - Alessandro Oggioni (winner), Baptiste Drouet (runner up), Mimmi Widstrand (Highly Commended), and Brittany Fried (Highly Commended).

11-14 YEAR OLDS - Jean de Falandre (winner), Jesse Heikkinen (runner-up), Caroline Christmann (Specially Commended), Martin Gregus (Specially Commended), Nilo Merino Recalde (Highly Commended), Franklin Ramirez (Highly Commended), Johan Gehrisch (Highly Commended) and Julian Das (Highly Commended).

15-17 YEAR OLDS - Catriona Parfitt (winner), Mathias Blix (runner up), Tom Mills (Specially Commended), Michal Budzynski (Highly Commended) and Safie Al Khaffaf (Highly Commended).

From the 32,000 entries from photographers in 82 countries the two overall winners (adult and the 17 and under categories) were announced as Steve Winter for his image of the Snow Leopard entitled ‘Snowstorm leopard” and 15-year-old Catriona Parfitt for her success in Nambia with the image known as “The Show”.

I was so delighted for Catriona Parfitt, as I have met her twice before (at the RSPCA Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards 2006 and 2007) and am always excited by her endeavors. We also interviewed the rising star last year for the ‘Bright Young Things’ feature, so I was thrilled to catch up with her at the event. What endeared me the most was how this once shy teenager has blossomed into a confident and articulate young lady. ”I’m absolutely delighted.” The student from Southampton enthused. “It’s the first time I’ve entered this competition and was so surprised when I heard. The images were taken on a family holiday in Nambia.” Catriona’s image, entitled ‘The Show’ pictures a young lion preparing to attack an adult giraffe in front of a herd of on-looking gazelle, and confessed it was one image from a titanic volume of shots. “I got my first camera when I was about five and so have been used to taking photos on holiday.  This time, I took about 5,000 shots over the two weeks in Kenya and Tanzania.”Captured from a raised hide near a watering hole, Catriona told us how she would wait for hours for animals to come and drink near the hole. But why did she choose to enter this particular shot? “This image really stood out because I love the afternoon light and I think the composition makes it really interesting.”

American Steve Winter was equally delighted to have claimed his ‘Wildlife Photographer of the year’ overall award. “It’s a great honour to have won the BBC wildlife photographer of the year.” He said, not realizing the competition is actually affiliated to the Beeb’s Wildlife magazine and not the corporation as a whole, but nevermind. Steve explained that his Snow Leopard collection of shots were captured using remote-controlled cameras in Hemis High Altitude National Park in northern India for a commission he was pursuing for National Geographic magazine. “I used 14 remote cameras in 45 locations, over six and a half months. It was the hardest story I have ever done in my life. But most importantly we can learn something about snow leopards and help the species by giving them much needed research and give these cats a bright future”

I was fascinated by Winter’s decision to use sensor traps to trigger the cameras, but did the pro record any other wildlife up in the mountains? “I had great hopes to photograph every species that lives in this area but those hopes were not realize this is an extremely rugged area.” He explained. “We were placing cameras in areas where the Snow Leopard marks his territory, which meant other animals probably wouldn’t have come close by for fear of being eaten. There are so many different animals I would have liked to photograph, such as a species of wolf but they just would have not come near. I think I got one picture of a red fox but that was it. It was extremely difficult to even get a picture of the snow leopard, so I was happy enough for that.”

When asked how many days it took to capture these shots the award-winner gave a joke sigh, commenting; “I would like to say “one night” - that would have been nice! I wouldn’t have had to sleep out in temperatures of 40 below zero for months on end!” he laughed. “We actually only got a few frames of the cat, from two visits in five and a half months. So it’s very hard to keep up your enthusiasm when you keep going to the camera and finding nothing. There are images on the wall here,” he says highlighting his other conquests of the cat. “There was one of the cat after three months and another one at five months from a camera that I kept wanting to take down but the local village headman kept saying, ‘Don’t worry Steve they will come’ and when you hear over and over again I had to say ‘Ok I’ll leave it’ and then after five and a half months I finally got one of my favourite pictures.”

So then is it possible to see a snow leopard in the flesh? “Well, never say never! I was extremely lucky for a very short time, in the first 24 hours we saw two snow leopards, looking through a spotting scope and scanning the mountains. We saw one cat and then another, and then two days later we saw one more male but I never saw another cat in the flesh for the rest of the time. But I wasn’t so interested in being there to capture the image of the cat myself, I would have loved to, but these were the type of images we wanted to bring back, for National Geographic magazine. It would have been great to have gone out with a camera everyday and gone ‘Oh look, there’s a snow leopard’ but they are very elusive.”

As for offering pearls of wisdom, there was only one mantra that seemed fitting for Steve to offer. “Never give up”. He smiles knowingly. “It can be very frustrating as a natural history photographer, as it’s very difficult to come away with an image that is truly different. Come to the museum, look at these images but walk away with the knowledge of what interests you and know what you would like to do. Never give up. There is a great satisfaction in capturing the plight of an animal and bring that message to the world.”

As I took a slow stroll around the truly captivating collection of images, I came across a fascinating selection of four impeccable images at the end of the exhibit. Confronted by a picture of a fox in the snow, two garden birds, a gull, and finally a tree top pattern I couldn’t quite make out what the category was, but was bowled over by these world-class shots. Imagine how surprised and inspired I was, when I realised this was the under 10 children’s category! A truly remarkable example of the work we can expect from a rising digital-savvy generation. In the same area were shining examples of the 11 to 14 and 15-17 category, which featured Catriona’s, winning capture.

Another highlight of the collection for me was the Animal Portraits portfolio. The winning image ‘Troublemaker’ by Italy’s Stefano Untherthiner is pictured in issue 77’s In Focus shot on page 10 to 11, but to see it with the other entries is far more entertaining - see it included below.

The exhibition houses work by all the winners, runners-up, highly and specially commended photographers. Held at the Natural History Museum until the 26th April 2009, families could even tie a visit in with a trip to one of the capital’s finest attractions. The nearest tube station to the venue is South Kensington and opening times run from 10am to 5.30pm every day (excluding 24-26 Dec) and charges £7 for adults, £3.50 concessions, £18 for a family ticket (up to two adults and three children) but is free for members, patrons and children aged three and under.

Don’t forget the museum itself is free to visit, as is its neighboring institution - the Science Museum.For further details about the exhibition visit www.nhm.ac.uk/wildphoto and if you’re feeling inspired why not enter the WPOTY 2009 competition? Photographers have from January until the end of March 2009 to submit their work, see the websitewww.nhm.ac.uk/wildphoto for more.

We have been granted permission to feature 5 of the images from the show, but I urge you to discover the entire collection for yourself. The details for each image appear below:

1. Snowstorm leopard by Steve Winter, USA, Gerald Durrell Award for Endangered Wildlife - Winner© Steve Winter / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008 Canon EOS Rebel XT + 10-22mm lens at 16mm; 1/200 sec at f16; ISO 100; waterproof camera box + Plexiglass tubes for flashes; Trailmaster 1550-PS remote trigger. 

2. Window on the ice melt by Ira Meyer, USA, One Earth Award - Runner-up© Ira Meyer / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008Canon EOS 20D + Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 IS USM lens; 1/2000 sec at f5.6; ISO 200. 

3. Snow swans by Yongkang Zhu, China, Animals in Their Environment - Winner© Yongkang Zhu / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008Canon EOS 20D + Sigma 300-800mm f5.6 lens at 300mm; 1/1250 sec at f6.3; ISO 200; tripod. 

4. Troublemaker by Stefano Unterthiner, Italy, Animal Portraits - Winner© Stefano Unterthiner / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008Nikon D2X + Nikon 12-24mm lens; 1/250 sec at f10; ISO 125; graduated neutral-density filter; flash. 

5. The show by Catriona Parfitt, United Kingdom, 15-17 Years Old - Winner© Catriona Parfitt / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008Canon EOS 400D + Canon EF300mm f4 IS USM lens + Canon EF 1.4 extender; 1/200 sec at f5.6; ISO 100. 

We recently notified you of a superb project by photographer Adam Shaw, who has teamed up ORBS (oncoplastic reconstructive breast surgery) to create a unique and special calendar. The 2009  calendar features 13 beautiful women who have survived breast cancer and come out of it with a new zest for life. The calendar also showcase some amazing locations and inspirational shooting ideas. The fantatsic product is now available and can be purchased via the Just Giving website at www.justgiving.com/orbscalendar  for a suggested donation of £10. Just follow the easy instructions on that page. The money that ORBS raises will allow the employment of a new research nurse position at The Nottingham Breast Institute.  Great work Adam!   

It seems that the weekend just passed was chosen as THE weekend to celebrate the miracle of nature, and the joy that bringing new lives into the world brings.

Granted, babies, pups, kittens, chicks and all manner of human, furry or feathered offspring are brought into the world every day, but on a personal note, a friend and a family member each became parents over the weekend (second time around for the former). In addition, my other half’s sister and her fiancee invited us to meet their two latest additions to their family: two adorable tabby/white kittens, called Merry and Pippin.

Naturally, this called for a photography session (once we managed to unhook the little furry bundles from our clothes - they stick like velcro!). It’s been nearly a year since I did similar shoots with my own (now grown up) kitten Apollo, and I’d forgotten how much fun (and hard work) photographing them could be.

It took a lot of perserverence, and some excellent entertainment skills from their human ‘mother’ (feathers on sticks are a godsend in these situations) but we eventually got some great shots of the kitten’s adorable little faces, among the ones of the backs of their heads.

If you or a friend / family member have recently extended your respective families, I urge you to record as much of the early stages of the bouncing babe/kit/pup’s new life as you can. Take inspiration from the way that they see the world - things look very different when seen through a newborn’s eyes - and try and integrate that into your photography to give your images a unique perspective.

Above all, enjoy the challenge of documenting their development and make the most of their youth while you can - it never seems to last as long as we’d like.

DP-featured pro photographer Jackie King is running the New York Marathon in aid of “Refuge” - her first ever attempt at such a feat! She’s been training hard nd would really appreciate your support. Sponsor Jackie at:  http://jackieking.net/index.php/newsandevents/

Last week saw the latest installment of ‘Improve My Photography Skills’, which proved to be yet another resounding success.

This month’s lucky reader, Bob Graham, hails from sunny Dorset, and was delighted to be chosen to accompany myself and multi-award-winning professional photographer, Jackie King (www.jackieking.net) to the beautiful Beaulieu (www.beaulieu.co.uk) in Hampshire.

This location is excellent for photographers with a diverse range of interests, as there’s something for everyone: the renowned National Motor Museum and James Bond Experience, set the beautiful grounds, complete with Victorian flower and kitchen gardens, Beaulieu Abbey and Palace House, to name a few. If you’re into firework photography, be sure to visit Beaulieu for its annual Fireworks Spectacular on 25th October.

For our visit, we were blessed with beautiful (if a little chilly) weather with fantastic light that was perfect for a day’s photography, and the company was excellent. Bob really summed it up when he said: “It’s the first time in months that I’ve laughed all day. Best moment of the day — all of it. Worst moment — ending it.”

Check out issue 76 - out on 6th November - for the full article and some of Bob’s fantastic images taken on the day.

Yes that’s right - it’s finally here. The DP bookazine known as The Digital Photographer Yearbook 2008 is on sale now.

Visit http://www.imagineshop.co.uk/item_show.php?itemID=991&action=bookazines to purchase!

Many of you have been emailing in to discover when the next, much awaited Digital Photographer bookazine will be on sale. I’ve just received word that the book-come-magazine will actually be on sale in WHSmiths and available through www.imagineshop.co.uk from Friday 26th September.  

I can’t get over the abundance of new launches streaming out of Photokina. Our esteemed editor Debbi Allen, is over in Cologne gathering all the latest news, gossip and must-know info for us to filter back to you.Check out our news pages now for today’s announcements from Sigma, Phase One, Nikon, Fujifilm, Canon and more.

Myself and DCB dep ed Matt are out in Cologne vovering Photokina, and between us we’ll be bringing you all the latest and greatest gossip.For the past two days we’ve been with Panasonic testing out the G1, and getting a sneak peek at 2009 HD follow up to the camera.

Here, Matt give you the lowdown on the latest launch…

The big news from the makers of the Lumix camera range was the launching of the G1, an interchangeable lens system (that isn’t a DSLR). As confusing as it may sound on the surface, the differences are relatively straightforward, being that the G1 has an electronic viewfinder were as DSLRs have optical. This is because there’s no mirror reflecting the light up to the viewfinder, and equally it doesn’t need to get out of the way when a shot is taken. The benefits to this are that the G1 is tiny, but the reliance on an EVF isn’t always the smartest move as quality has been less than decent to say the least in the past.

On closer inspection and having had a hands on play with the camera the EVF is superb, and the screen equally as sharp. The amount of detail on both made it fair easier to decipher what was in focus, although syncing up the brightness of the two was a little frustrating as the main LCD always seemed brighter. Handling was simple enough, mostly thanks to some clever touches on the ergonomic front. Instead of having a couple of dials to alter the aperture and shutter speed when in manual mode, a single dial is used and simply pressed like a button to flip between values. The shortage of hardware controls does lead to a reliance on menus and although each was relatively well laid out there were far too many of them to find anything quickly. After a short time handling the G1 it became clear this was for those more inclined to point-and-shoot, with the odd inclination towards going manual, rather than a DSLR user after something more compact.

Panasonic were quick to quash any lasting impressions from the test images as the cameras were pre-production, but those taken weren’t by any means terrible, only showing a slight tendency to saturate the reds at worst. What was clear from the performance of the optics is that plenty of work has been put into keeping the autofocus as accurate as possible, with a clever AF Tracking mode and Face Detection to give the user as few opportunities as possible to return a blurred image. This reiterated the clear intention that the G1 is very much for beginners to the idea of a DSLR, but are relatively up to speed with operating a compact.