Photographer Nick Coburn Phillips

Wasps in winter slowly muster - from their nights ivy sleep...

I decided to create this piece working in post to tease out the skin and bones of what was initially a very difficult piece to recreate in camera ~ due to in part the size of the specimens in question as macro and second to that due to the colourful iridescence of these three beetles... who were busy fornicating in the spring sunlight..! To be honest I could have worked on it some more, but after toiling with it... I just had to put it to bed! It's been a real arduous labour of love... and when photography in post gets to grate... its time to move on and do something else! I think these beetles are 'rose chafers' ~ but I couldn't be too sure... Working in post production ~ I chose to make a bold move and added some texture ~ w...

Although a very successful invasive species, the rhododendron, we must not forget that these very colourful blossoming flowers; provide the bees and other insects, with ample pollen during summer months... Besides natures ecology, man has a role to play too... in balancing ecological factors.

Building a nest is just one of the many chores for this little dipper and it's family... They are often very busy flitting back and forth along the river bank ferrying building product! If we learn to nurture nature and harness what we have by protecting and preserving natural systems... We will also be able ~ to better provide for our futures... 'Take a leaf out of this little dippers book' ~ and work hard to provide for the next generations..!

Working precariously perched on the water worn rocks, I composed this shot of Fairy Glen, where resident sprites are lurking... It seemed a magical place, and so I kept it dark and caught this long exposure in camera. The light earlier was too hard and harsh, so I had sat for almost an hour waiting for the sun to transit behind the massive ravine. The light just caught the trees and the mossy enbankment. Struggling to see the back of my camera, but I knew that the exposure was just right as the faint white streaks of water ~ were just what I wanted..! As a good friend from the camera club, recently said, about mindfulness and photography... I can't remember what settings, I just did it..! Similar here, I was absorbed in the moment of "mi...

As the early sunlight rises and warms the bodies of all insects... the bugs start to get busy... This is bug bokeh!

You might find that you love bugs... you might find that you do not... but whatever the case... they are integral and necessary to our own basic survival... and as such they must be nurtured and protected. I knew of this courtship dance from whilst being in the jungles and waterways of Borneo where I photographed similar... but here in Snowdonia after finding one of the most enigmatic and beautiful species of damsel - and called as such 'beautiful demoiselle'... for their grandeur... I decided that in order to strengthen my reasons for their protection ~ by curtailing strimming or the use of pesticides or herbicides ~ that I must further investigate the locale and catch them in the act ! :-O So here they are - the beautiful demoi...

In the wild with our NEW wild seal print... From Wild Navy to Wild Scuba... Take these design threads with you ~ wherever you go ~ and "Just Add Scuba"...!!!

A bee get up close and personal with a dandelion, digging deep to extract pollen... Summer is on it's way!

A dipper collect leaf litter to make the nest...

As I was driving past last week I noticed this capture. I wanted to wait until the light was just right, somewhat diffuse before going back to capture this composition. The clouds were prevalent and the sun was shielded but just there... the diffused light that I was after, so I packed my full kit for an afternoon on location. I shot wide using full frame and decided on a long exposure, my settings gave me some 24 seconds and for comparison I took - two images. The first for composition and the second for long exposure. Besides the setting what drew me in as a shot ~ was that of the big boulder sat right in the middle of the river. The old Ogwen watermill, which powered the 'Coetmor Corn Mill' at the time - and that used t...

Water flows delicately under the old roman bridge of Penmachno... Arched behind it sits the second more modern bridge and behind that the old mill. Although named the old roman bridge... it isn't roman built, but was designed in the 16th century, as a passageway for packhorses.

An unsigned original piece called 'Snowbells' - not a limited edition I might add... :P

This Spotfin Lionfish ~ Pterois antennata ~ sits patiently awaiting unsuspecting passing by prey for ambush! 20% of this sale goes towards BORNEO SHARKARMA's efforts to protect and conserve Shark species in Brunei, Borneo. Facebook BORNEO SHARKARMA for more details.

Okay so I've gotta admit, that besides underwater wildlife, I've got a bit of a passion for nature, period, full-stop. Bee-eaters are one of my favourite 'aves' - they're just such a charismatic and lively species! Constantly busy and on the go... Adapted to be fast, they have to be - to keep up with their prey items, the bees! In order that Wildlife can continue to thrive within countries, it is recommended to promote ecosystem diversity by striving towards 'organic' pesticide and fertiliser free land and maintaining *polyculture* systems (many different crops) rather than one only. Here on my land in NW rural Thailand, where we farm both 'short and long term' rice grain, we often experience the "luxury" of many different beautif...

A long exposure shot with pentax vintage glass on a Sony A7 using a 10 stop filter on 20 second exposure

As I sat from the viewing point from across the lake on a perfectly still, well lit day, I composed this image with a reflection shot in mind. It wasn't as vivid as this, but through using lightroom and photoshop... improvements were made. I hope you like it..!

Quite naturally one would expect to see lots of puffins, on Puffin Island... but that's not the case, we saw many more other forms of auks than just puffins, predominantly razorbills - and pockets of guillemots... Naturally !!!

With very distinct nostrils and a powerful sense of smell, a grey seal catches my 'eau de cologne' smell ~ downwind from the cliff top where I was sat... Inquisitive and curious, just like the otters... :-)

A telephoto shot of Snowdon in wintertime shot using Carl Zeiss Jena vintage glass married to a full frame Sony A7, digitally enhanced in post using photos and lightroom.

A mother and juvenile Bottle-nose dolphin come to inspect us at the ship bow. We are different to Cetacea (Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises) we tend to "forget the World water garden, whereas they are very good at nurturing what they know". Dolphins are more intelligent than humans ~ they communicate effectively whereas humans do not. Unfortunately dolphins are still being slaughtered for their meat and are killed inadvertently as a bycatch of tuna fishing.

The second piece of the abstract impressions and reflections series of Wales by Nick Coburn Phillips.

Art is subjective! For some, they might find this image - sickly. Almost like that of the overly powerful fruit tang, like that of the popsicle, FAB like we used to have in the 70's... For others, they might find this photographic piece... somewhat more refined and cosmopolitan, almost like a Benetton sweater, or more of a Magnum, in the chocolate world... Whatever your taste ~ I decided to go overboard with this capture and add a little bit of punch to the cocktail... More 'Cosmopolitan' than popsicle...!

In support of the national health service NHS and the good work they do, a set up of colourful lights representing the rainbow of support which means that 'everyone is equal - and deserves to be treated with compassion and respect' was displayed against the Caernarfon Castle... At sunset, late in the evening - I took this capture.

An image that I have personally admired for quite some time, but never seen the potential in it, until modern advances in post processing techniques and technologies, have allowed me to further work in post to tease out the lighting and irradiance, in the image... The composition worked just fine, and at a depth of some 15 metres+, it was just the lighting that I needed to consider, but due to the particulate matter in the area, the sand, I chose to shoot this without flash. It was much better personally in my opinion and allowed for a more balanced lighting. I decided once I had the technologies of working this many years later, in post using photoshop and further developing in lightroom. Modern advances, have allowed me to capitalise o...

The ultimate Christmas tipple..! Something to sing over... or whistle for that matter!?! :D

As the last light glances across the snowdon summit, I stood from some distance to capture my first glimpse of this years snow...

In the complexity of the woodlands a great spotted woodpecker sits central to the image. Shot using Pentax SMC Takumar 135mm f/3.5 glass

A fellow friend photographer in our photography club images posted a superb brilliant blue butterfly image ~ so beautiful and so iridescent... that I was just amazed by it's brilliance... that I had to post a wow on facebook..! It inspired me to find same or similar... and it wasn't too long before I stumbled upon this male superbly coloured 'silver studded blue butterfly' on a buttercup... What a gem of a find!!! I suppose the male is so wonderfully coloured to attract a female..!? You can read more here: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/3/150307-butterflies-caterpillars-colors-predators-prey-animals-science/

A landscape shot of the old woollen mill at Penmachno with 'pandy' falls flowing through...

This charming little fellow although at first sight looks like a moth but is actually a butterfly... It's amazing what you find in the meadowlands when you spend time and look for long enough, especially now in the summer months... The Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) is a pretty orange butterfly of the UK countryside with a black and white margin that fades into the wings.

A slowly receding mist clings onto the forest floor of the dreinog valley, snowdonia.

A grey heron sits perfectly still in brackish waters; its eyes piercing, and poised, for its next fishy meal.

A long exposure underneath the Penmachno bridge with a moss green wedge of rock which reminded me of a piece of 'cheese cake' which I ate at a café

Early morning opportunity of low light combined with mi

A green veined white butterfly sits atop of garlic flowers... Who knows maybe they smell a little more delicate ~ than just pure garlic!?!