Alice Hunter Photography Archives - Page 30 of 51

If you subscribe or follow my blog regularly you may well have noticed that it has been some considerable time since I last posted anything. This has been rather by default than design as several months ago, out of the blue, my website fell victim to a Turkish cyber attack. This resulted in the entire thing being taken offline and rendered irrecoverable with the exception of the blog posts themselves. At the time I was furious with the whole situation, it was frustrating to say the least and I felt I had better things to focus on than rebuilding it from scratch. However, despite feeling dejected at the prospect I decided to embrace the opportunity and give the whole site a complete overhaul. Today, I’m thrilled to share with you the full unveiling of the new improved website! It feels great to reveal this to you as website overhauls can be extensive and tiring, so whether you did it by yourself or you got some help from a web design melbourne service (or wherever you looked), then know that it is worth it for what you’re doing.

As part of the re-design, I have tried to streamline the running so that the site is more intuitive to use (and manage!). There is a link directly to my stock portfolio with Alamy while existing clients can still log in to view their appropriate galleries from specific projects. All my latest notecard designs are available to buy in the webshop along with copies of the Seasons anthologies to which I contributed. I am also thinking of leveraging the services offered by jacksonville search engine optimization firms and similar marketing companies in my area. That may increase traffic to my website, and maybe I’ll get more orders for my notecard designs. In fact, I have some plans in the pipeline for new products too!

Before I proceeded with redesigning my website, I wanted to get some outside opinions. While I was thinking about it, I think I just wanted my web developer to work on the appearance because I was under the impression that a website is just the first impression for customers. Later on, I realized that even though appearance matters, that’s not the only thing that affects the business. In the long run, website ranking matters a lot because of which it’s necessary to get in touch with an SEO Agency to help rank your website and reach your potential customers.

Furthermore, people do not usually trust poorly designed websites where content is strewn about. And because my competitors are doing it, I had no choice but to do it as well. But then I realized that this type of redesigning by a competent web designer might not only increase traffic to the site, but could also be a great way to strengthen our online strategy by perfectly molding around our brand and complementing our marketing efforts.

The galleries are simplified to make it easier to navigate between them and get a clearer overview. I particularly like this as not only does it look great, but I can update them far more easily than on my old site, so hopefully I’ll be able to share new images more regularly.

If you wish to commission work of any sort, the options are laid out plainly to choose from but equally, if you have any questions it’s really simple to get in touch. The layout of the blog itself has changed slightly too; you can now look back at older posts with greater ease and hopefully get a better idea of the content within each post from the main page. You will also notice a new little orange badge to the side. This is because, just before my old site went down, I was featured in Tusk Photo’s list of the Best 26 Wildlife Blog’s to watch in 2017!

I am particularly pleased with the overall aesthetic of the new website and I really hope that you all like it too. It would not have been possible without the help, wisdom and infinite patience of Richard Slade!

More importantly, now that it is all up and running once again, I have an awful lot to tell you about from local events and outings to favourite spots for particular species and exciting trips overseas. If you don’t want to miss a post, feel free to subscribe if you haven’t already and stay tuned for more news, tips and trips to come!

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There can be few things more uplifting after a cold, dark winter than British spring flowers heralding brighter weather ahead. Don’t get me wrong, winter has it’s merits, but for me spring is a time for fresh starts and there are few more glorious than the beginning of the flowering season for a great number of our native plants. I thought I’d share a few photos from my recent local wanderings which encapsulate just a couple of my favourite finds this spring.

I’ll begin at the beginning with one of the earlier species to flower, the Wood Anemone which, in the right conditions, can carpet a woodland floor to much the same effect as the Bluebells do later. These dainty flowers are also known as Wind Flowers for their propensity to nod at the slightest breeze. They are an excellent source of nectar for the earlier of the bees to emerge too and here I’ve captured a Bee Fly feeding on one.

Next to my County flower, the Pasque flower. I was really thrilled to find these in huge numbers at a site not too far from home. I was a little late visiting this year so have singled out one flower for this image but hope to capture them in all their carpeting glory next year with any luck. In the meantime I will definitely keep it on my must visit list as the year progresses to see what other wildflower wonders it holds in store. I am really fond of these rare little flowers, a relative of the Anemone above.

My next flower to share with you is the Cuckoo flower, Cardamine pratensis. This little member of the Cress family likes damp spots and when left to it’s own devices can create quite a stunning effect turning a wet meadow pale pinkish-white with hundreds of flowers. The plant is one of the food plants of the Orange Tip butterfly, Anthocharis cardamines which takes the latter part of it’s Latin name from the first half of the plant’s. The petals have a delicate veining which I have tried to capture by focusing on a single bloom within the flower stalk.

Another flower of which I’m particularly fond is Greater Stitchwort. It has lovely white flowers and reminds me of country walks as a child. The common name is supposedly derived from the very fine stem of the plant which is said to fit through the eye of a needle. I thought I’d try something a little different for this shot and so, using the dappled light of a woodland floor and a heavy dew to best effect, I exposed to create a slightly ethereal bokeh effect in the background which I really rather like.

A flower which I hadn’t photographed before this spring was the Bush Vetch (Vicia sepium). I found some growing alongside Bluebells in a local wood and loved the shapes it created with it’s searching tendrils and the wonderful colour combination. Here I’ve used the Bluebells as a backdrop for the Vetch.

Next has to be another favourite of mine, the Green-winged Orchid. I have written about these before and cannot help but take more photos every year when I find them, they are just SO beautiful! I am often asked why they are called “green-winged”, the answer lies in the green stripes on the outer petals which are harder to spot on some of the darker colour forms. I am incredibly lucky to have a fantastic spot for these gorgeous flowers within walking distance of my house so I can’t leave them out!

Lastly, who could miss the Bluebells!? Almost synonymous with spring in a British woodland, these stunning flowers are at their best when the weather is warming and the first of our new season butterflies emerge. Who can resist a Bluebell with a butterfly on it after all? My final two images of spring flowers are of Orange Tip and Green Veined White butterflies on British Bluebells.

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Website re-launch: an exciting day!

Glorious spring flowers