swans

Stunning blue skies and water. Reflections galore and sunshine. You’d think it’s the Mediterranean, not Manchester. CONTINUES BELOW

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A vibrant spell of glorious Spring weather prompted me to take my first walk along the Manchester Ship Canal’s ‘left bank’.

The pathway opened up after a new tram line to the Trafford Centre started operating and offers a new perspective on the architecture of Salford Quays.

The startlingly blue sky turned the canal a beautiful colour, which became a mirror for the lines of modern buildings. Add swans serenely gliding around and this made a successful photo walk.

Do you also find the lure of ‘reflection porn’ irresistible?…

I’m no wildlife photographer. For a start, it’s pretty thin on the ground here in west London and it isn’t one of my favourite photographic subjects.

But from time to time, birds make their way into a frame – and some are quite captivating. For me, it’s mostly the gulls along the Thames along with the odd cormorant with its wings outstretched, and the wild fowl that inhabit my home town of Maldon in Essex.

Of course I can’t forget the majestic swan bobbing along in the city parks and rivers where I find myself with camera in hand. In this set there is a gull looking out to sea in Redcliffe, a coastal suburb of Brisbane in Australia. It’s the one bird capture which had human essence…