First in Ages

I had a last minute decision to go a quick shoot yesterday. It was the first in ages and I decided to go find some seals. I went to my usual spot and sat and waited. It was falt calm at first and there where no seals present. I think this is due to them being out at sea feeding. After about an hour the wind picked up and so did the swell, soon there was one member of the group just off the rocks and I was able to only get 5 images of him before he dived once more.  The seal I photographed was Christoph, he is an adolescent male and I have only seen him in the area once before. However he is now named and in my catalogue. I have now photographed and named 6 seals in the area and he is one of 3 males. 

Christoph - Adolescent Male North Atlantic Grey Seal 

Male Kestrel - Hunting 

A Minimal Week

I havnt posted in a while and it has been due to me having no spare time to go out and shoot. I am hoping to achieve some high quality images of seals underwater in the near future. I am going to be using a D200 and so I need the light to be as good as possible. A flat calm day with great sunlight seems to be a tall order at the moment. Below are some images from my library. 

Heather

I have just identified a new member of my seal site on the south coast. This adult female grey seal was relatively inquisitive. I noticed that she has far better eye sight than any of the others in the area and she was able to make me out against the rocks when others are not able to. I hope to photograph this seal  again soon and hopefully learn a bit more about her character and her relationship with the other seals in the area.

 'Heather' Adult Female Grey Seal

'Heather' Adult Female Grey Seal

A day with the Seals

Today, I spent the afternoon on the rocks at my seal site on the South Coast, hoping to see any of my three identified seals. I was lucky and was able to photograph a new individual and possibly 2 new ones.  From a distance it is hard to identify, but I will make a new post once I have confirmed it. I now believe there to be up to 5 individuals in the area. The large adult male Noah, came up about 2 meters away from me and I was able to see the reflection of the sky on his wet fur. 

 Newly photographed, Adult Female Grey Seal 

  Noah, Adult Male Grey Seal 

 Noah, Adult Male Grey Seal 

 Noah, Adult Male Grey Seal 

Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)

Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)

A few New Species

A couple of days ago I went of a field trip with David Chapman, starting from Kynance cove we walked towards the Lizard peninsular. We were even able to see the Cornish Chuff, flying overhead a few times.
While on the trip I was able to photograph a few species that I have not done before. The Wheatear, Stonechat and the Jackdaw.

 Wheatear

Wheatear

 Stonechat 

Jackdaw

Animals Behind Bars

Today I wanted to look at the way that photographs of the same animals in the same environment can be made to look so different with very little effort. I was experimenting and finding methods of showing the natural beauty of the incredible animals before me. Then, with minimal effort I wanted to show in comparison, the awful conditions in which the animals live. It is easy to give the image different appearances. The most common images of captive animals give the impression that the animals are fine and most importantly happy. This might not always be the case and not many images are taken inorder to show reality. I wanted to explore this and create photographs that contrasted drastically. 

These animals specifically, in my opinion are not happy. Their homes, small cages with little natural substance within, when these species are naturally found in woodland and farm land across the world. 

The aims of conservation is to essentially continue the species. If this can only be done with the animals in poor condition and in generally bad health, is the conservation a good idea? I am unsure and found it hard to decide. These individuals, most of which have been rescued, are in no condition to continue living a successful life in the wild. They are able to live with some degree of success, in an establishment, cared for by man. These individuals then are suffering for the eventual production of new young that will hatch in April and May within the avaries each year. This must be great, and a successful brood of an endangered species is very valuable but only if these return to the wild. Production of new young to be kept behind bars for there entire life seems pointless?

There is a lot of good within Zoos and Sanctuary's but there I think there is a fine line between successful conservation and an uphill struggle, with little produce. 

The images below have been taken with the intent of showing another side of captive animals and one that is sometimes a little overpowering. 

Negotiated Project Final Images

My recent University Research Project, study the -

'Natural Behaviour of North Atlantic Grey Seals in and out of the water and the Human Impact Upon them'

- is coming to a close and the hand in is the 11th of May and I thought i would post my final 10 images and hopefully get some feedback on them. So please can i have some comments on what you think of them, individually or as a set.

'Noah' Adult Male - North Atlantic Grey Seal

(South Cornish Coast April 2011)

'Marvin' Adolescent Male - North Atlantic Grey Seal

(South Cornish Coast April 2011)

'Robert' Adult Male North Atlantic Grey Seal

(South Cornish Coast April 2011)

 Lundy Island - North Atlantic Grey Seal

(North Devon Coast April 2011)

 Lundy Island - North Atlantic Grey Seal

(North Devon Coast April 2011)

 'Margret' Adult Female - North Atlantic Grey Seal

(South Cornish Coast April 2011)

'Noah' Adult Male - North Atlantic Grey Seal

(South Cornish Coast April 2011)

 'Orangina' Adult Female - North Atlantic Grey Seal

(North Cornish Coast April 2011)

'Orangina' Adult Female - North Atlantic Grey Seal

(North Cornish Coast April 2011)

'Orangina' Adult Female - North Atlantic Grey Seal

(North Cornish Coast April 2011)

Final Day - Negotiated Project

Today I decided it was going to be the final day of shooting for my negotiated project. I was planning to shoot for the 'Human Impact on Grey Seals' section of my project. It turned out a really good day and I was able to shoot wide angle and get the shots I had in mind. I needed shots with human interference within. I was able to identify the seal on the Cornwall Seal Groups Website, and this female is called Orangina. 

 'Orangina' - Adult Female Grey Seal 

  'Orangina' - Adult Female Grey Seal 

'Orangina' - Adult Female Grey Seal