Ramblings
Seals at Donna Nook
Those of you that have been following this blog for a while (and I thank you for that) may recall a series of images I took last autumn of a grey seal colony in Norfolk and my thoughts on the growing problem of photographers at Donna Nook. Well, it’s almost that time of year again when hundreds, nay thousands of photographers descend on the colony at Donna Nook to get pretty much the same images as thousands before them.
Taken at Donna Nook back in 1992. Nikon F3, 500mm f4P, Kodachrome 64.
In my entry close to 10 months ago, I told how I visited DN (for the first and last time) back in 1992 when hardly anyone, pro’s and amateurs alike, knew it even existed. Indeed, it was only because I had an interest in these creatures and through snail-mail communication to wardens and the like, that I eventually spent 3 days there. And guess what? I was the only one with a telephoto lens! I saw 3 others all day with point and push cameras who were locals and just enjoying the experience. So why am I rattling on about it again? In the latest (October) edition of Outdoor Photography, Peter Moonlight writes a very interesting piece on the impact on seal pups that the photographer’s are making. It’s a sobering thought many who consider themselves nature photographers would put a picture before the well being of the animal. I accept that the draw to be close to and photograph wild animals is strong but perhaps more willpower should now be exercised if we are to let this colony thrive. What the answer is I do not know. Close off the beach completely? Can’t see that working. Have small groups led across the beach by a warden….for a fee? For photographer’s to stop leading groups for profit to the beach colony? These seem to be growing as each year passes. One thing is for certain. This debate is sure to continue for some years to come.
Norfolk colony, taken last year.
If anyone has any thoughts on this issue, I would welcome your comments.
Autumn beckons
Hay bales, Isle of Sheppey, Kent.
For the last few days there has definitely been a whiff of autumn in the air. Nights are now noticeably drawing in and once the sun sets, temperatures fall quite rapidly. I spent yesterday aftenonn in my marsh hide and when I exited I couldn’t believe how cold it was. Straight on with the fleece! We have had a good summer here in the south. July and August has been very good indeed and as I write this it’s 22 degrees outside. But, I have to say, I am not a great lover of the hot days of summer, unless I’m laying on the beach with a cold bear in my hand! I’m really looking forward to autumn now with all it brings…photographing fungi, rutting deer, morning mists and the influx of wetland birds. Plus, getting up for sunrise ain’t half as difficult.
Dewy web
On the downside, just like spring, it’s all over too quickly so I’m determined to make the most of it, whatever the weather.
Production
The last week or so hasn’t been terribly productive for me on the wildlife front. Aside from photographing nature and landscapes, for on average 2 days per week, I freelance for a number of regional newspapers. It brings in the pennies and I actually quite enjoy it. You never know from one day to the next what you’re going to photograph and for anyone who has ever been self employed, there’s nothing better than having jobs booked in the diary so you can at least, plan a little for the future.
Cock Pheasant crowing
But, regardless of work commitments I try to get myself out before and after a day’s work which, at this time of the year, invariably means an early start. A 4.45 sunrise means I am home by 7 and can afford an hours kip before getting ready for ‘work.’ And sunset at 9.15 gives me a few hours in the evening. Over a period, it’s remarkable just how much processing, paperwork and correspondence builds up! Oh, how Iwould love an assistant to find the work, process the images, submit them to my agents and upload them onto my website!
Expectations
Do we expect too much from our images? Since going digital and holding countless workshops, I wonder if we just expect too much from our pictures? By that I mean, there seems to be a widely held belief, particularly amongst those new to digital, that every part of the resulting processed image should hold detail. Is it really that imperative to have detail in all the dark areas, need we fret should a light part of the scene be blinking on our LCD panel on the rear of the camera?
In those far flung days of yonder when Iused film (excuse me while I look back wistfully!) exposure was a relatively simple process. If a light subject such as a swan occupied the majority of the frame, you would expose for it and not care a hoot about the darker areas. It was up to the film you were using as to how much detail would be produced and likewise with a dark subject.
With such a high contrast image, obtaining detail in every part would be almost impossible. Taken with film, I exposed for the sunlit green leaves of the campion and let everything else take care of itself. A kind of middle ground.
Now it seems, many photographers, and to a small degree myself, are obsessed with masks, layers, dodge and burn tools and anything else for that matter, to bring every single bit of detail out from a scene. Sure, processing an image is an essential part of the image making process and we have to be careful how to expose for a scene, to be mindful of those areas that may end up too light (sky for example) or too dark (this is where ND grads come into their own) but I feel very strongly that we also have to remember why we are taking pictures in the first instance. Speaking for myself, it’s to spend as much time as possible in the field producing images of the natural world. This I endeavour to do to the best of my ability and not to spend hour after hour staring at the computer screen!
Good month for coots
Well, more like a good month for my coot pictures really! It was very nice indeed to get the front cover of Birdwatch but to also get the inside of Bird Watching and a sale by my agent, all from the same session, was quite unexpected.
They were taken at Arundel WWT in Sussex, January before last. I spent much of the day photographing at the main lake, most notably wigeon, but as the day drew on I turned my attentions to a frozen pond harbouring mallard and coot. With the sun slowly setting, the light was perfect and for the next hour I lay flat on the ground with the 300 f2.8 lens resting on the ice in order for me to get as low as possible. As the coots are much darker than middle tone, I set the camera to deliberately underexpose by -1 stop.
Bird Watching
New date added and spread for the Peak District photography course
Another date has been added to the Gritstone Edges of the Peak District photography workshop. There is just one space left on Saturday March 27th with Sunday fully booked. I have therefore added another date which will be Sunday April 11th. Two spaces have already been filled. If you’re interested please click here for more information.
Outdoor Photography magazine
The article I was commissioned to write for Outdoor Photography which has just been published and available in all good newsagents…..and bad ones!
An unproductive week
It’s been a week of processing images with bouts of popping to the feeding station to top up the feeders and generally to stretch my legs. I know there is always something to do on the computer but I’m a photographer and as such NEED to be out taking pictures. The good news is that here in north Kent we are expecting more snow!
Robin in snow
Robin in oak
With it’s bright orangey/red breast (can’t decide which), the robin needn’t be prominent in order to stand out.
Elmley Marshes
Panorama of Elmley Marshes consisting of 8 upright images stitched together using PTGui.
Oaks on Elmley Marshes
It’s in conditions like this that whenever I’m out on the marshes I think of how farmers of yester-year used to cope in such a challenging environment.
Winter on the marshes
The weather over the last week has been dreadful here in north Kent. Ok, so snow makes the country grind to a halt but at least it offers possibilities for strong images but when it’s just blanket grey (sigh) what can you do? Well, I edit images and prepare them for the agent but eventually you just scream for sun! I went out at first light this morning hoping for some sunrise shots and the forecast promised a bright day. Well if it did happen, it certainly wasn’t anywhere near me! I did get my sunrise shots however and it was nice but it lasted all of 10 minutes and then the cloud rolled over. So I thought I’d dig out a few images from 3 weeks ago when the light was a little more interesting.
Around two months ago I secured permission from the Environment Agency to access their land which connects to a local nature reserve. It now means rather than getting so far on the reserve then having to turn back, I can now do a loop as it were. If only there wern’t so many gates! It was a bitterly cold afternoon, the ground was solid and the sky was clear. I had spotted this hawthorn some while back and waited for the right conditions in which to illustrate it within its habitat rather than a straight silhouette.
I know what you're thinking, the horizon's not straight! Well, if you use a wide angle lens and keep the camera level this is what happens.
As I drove slowly back across the marsh, light lingered in the sky and as I passed a clump of teasel I thought I would try something a little different. I enjoy this kind of work, mixing flash with daylight and always use off-camera flash to give the subject modelling. On this particular instance, with an exposure of 1 second at f8 and the flash set to Auto f8 (not TTL), I set the camera to self timer, walked around to the right then manually set off the flash when the shutter opened.
Stripped!
The 2009 wildlife Photographer of the Year recipient, José Luis Rodríguez, has been stripped of his title. Why? Evidence has come to light that the wolf pictured jumping over a gate was in fact a ‘model.’ Much has already been written about this, with particularly interesting views on Niall Benvie’s 3-way blog with Andrew Parkinson and Paul Harcourt-Davies. I won’t go into too much detail other than that the investigation first came to light in the Finnish magazine Suomen Luonto where they show striking similarities of the background between the winning image and that of the Cañada Real Center zoological park near Madrid and a tame wolf named Ossian. It was in fact other Spanish photographers that brought it to attention as they didn’t want the reputation of others tarnished.
The competition rules clearly state ”Images of captive animals must be declared. The judges will take preference to images taken in free and wild conditions.” The photographer claimed it was a wild wolf and indeed still does. Many had suspicions over the authenticity of the image, an overriding factor being that it was jumping over the gate as opposed to creeping through it, which would be much more normal behaviour for this notoriously shy species.
It’s a great shame that this has happened in the most prestigious wildlife photography competition and to be honest I’m surprised this hasn’t happened sooner. There seems to be an overwhelming desire these days by many wildlife photographers to succeed, whatever the cost. Whether it be by digital manipulation, using wildlife models (passing them off as wild) or photographing schedule 1 species without a licence, such as a kingfisher at the nest. Now, I’m not condemning the use of captive wildlife or falconers come to that. Indeed it is common practise to use them and you could argue that by using a controlled animal such as a jaguar or golden eagle you don’t disturb it in the wild. But it’s when it is passed off as being wild or when manipulation in the computer is such that it is no longer a true representation of what was seen that I feel the line has most definitely been crossed. Ultimately we can only look to ourselves and reach deep inside to our own ethics and morals before even thinking about entering a ‘dodgy’ image into a competition in the hope that no-one will ever find out. It absolutely baffles me. I’ve been photographing wildlife since I was a boy because I love to be outdoors and experience nature’s wonders first hand. If I happen to get anywhere in a competition then that is simply a bonus. When it becomes the sole purpose of your work, then I feel its time you choose something else to photograph.
Pleasant surprise
In the News section on my website some of you will have noticed that last month I was awarded both category winner and a highly commended in the online magazine www.wildlifeextra.com UK Wildlife Photography Competition. As a result one of the prizes was the newly released book Where to go wild in Britain. A lavish coffee table book basically outlining great places to watch wildlife in the UK.
I have to admit that when I received the book one of the things I did was go straight to the back to the picture credits section to see if any of my own images appeared in it through my agent FLPA and indeed it did. Several in fact, the most notable being a double page opener to the month of December.
The image was taken on the North Kent Marshes one very cold, foggy morning. Conditions like this always prove a challenge for the photographer especially when the rising sun is rapidly burning through the mist.
About Robert Canis
Robert Canis is a professional photographer specialising in the natural world.
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