Otter Wall

The story behind this image:

Mid December, 2022 - just escaping the clutches of a cold snap that transformed the landscape to a true winter wonderland - beautiful to look out at but not so nice to be sitting in waiting for an amazing picture! The previous days were colder but the snow did tempt a few out from the comfort of warm homes in the hope of that mystical snowy winter scene we all dream of. It did snow but only for about a minute and during that brief time nothing even vaguely remarkable happened, though the kingfisher did turn up and sit on a very beautiful perch about 30 seconds after the snowfall stopped…

This day was miserable on all fronts, the snow gave way to biting rain, cold with a windchill factor (what is that anyway - why can’t they just tell you ground temperature and air temperature grrr). No kingfisher, no wildlife at all actually, no people and no other photographers except for me, standing alone in the miserable cold wet day because if I was cosy at home I’d be beating myself up thinking something amazing was probably happening at the river and I’m not there to catch it. I suffer terribly from FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). Every time I pick a spot to set up I think the action is probably down at the bend in the river, even though statistically I know my approach of picking a spot and waiting is yielding good results.

This was the third day of the cold snap with nothing to show, not a single photograph - not even a fly by but at least on the other days there were other fanatics to keep me company. On the third day, when the snow gave way to biting cold rain it was just me and I was about to start questioning my sanity, thinking even the wildlife has feelings and they are not going to come out in the cold and then I saw her (him?) Just the snout over the water peering at me momentarily before making her way up river. I thought she might come back down so for about an hour I focused very hard waiting for her return. Eventually though my focus waned and my mind drifted to other thoughts. After another hour or so I just happened to look into the dark part of the river and there she was again - had I not looked at that very instant she would have sailed right past and I’d be none the wiser. Of course now I’m wondering how many times a day does that happen!

I grabbed my gear and then began a race to the weir at the bend. I knew from experience that she would make her way down by coming out of the water and scuttling down over the wall, the only part of the weir that’s not slippy. When I got set up and started searching for her there was no sign. I was starting to think she was faster than I thought and I’d missed yet another opportunity and then I saw movement and she appeared on the wall exactly where I expected to see her. I was able to grab 5 shots before she disappeared back into dark water. Of these 4 are in the bin, each lacking that little something that elevates it from a mere record shot to something a little more pleasing aesthetically - the line of the body, the position of the feet, eye contact that pulls you in and connects you to the subject, the shape of the surrounding foliage - a combination of some or all of these elements.

This one made the grade.