I am really chuffed to bits to find out I am a finalist in this years Bird Photographer of the Year 2017 - in the Creative Imagery category.
This is my image - it's based on a photograph I took of a female mallard stretching out her wing, taken on a pond in the sunset. It was about 7pm and water glistened a gentle gold all over the pond. The ducks were swimming about quietly before bedding down for the night.
When I turned this image into a kaleidoscope, I loved the way the water ended up as an abstract pattern and reminded me a bit of a William Morris material design.
I have to thank my friend Nigel West from my local camera club for inspiring me to make kaleidoscopes in the first place! He popped one he'd made on Facebook and from then I just 'had' to make some of my own. I find them fascinating to create as they encourage you to see the patterns of nature in a completely different and new way.
I also give a big nod to Foto-Buzz - a great online photography community full of information, advice, support and a lot of fun too!
The results of the overall winners of the BPOTY will be announced on 19th August 2017. Wish me luck!
Here are the rest of the shortlisted images.