thank you both very much. the second picture is one of my favourites.
the lighting that day was really harsh, so i went to a shaded woodland area and the lighting was just perfect under the trees. the out of focus highlights on the bush in the background add an almost surreal dreamy and quality to the image - it was just what i wanted.
thanks again for the comments, i really do appreciate it.
Only about 20-25ft and shot at the long end of a 250mm zoom... (I got in the car at that point and shot though the window) he was 70-80ft to start off with, then wondered closer up the stream..