Gower Photography

I don’t know if I have been thinking too much recently, but I have started to question the photographs I make. Some examples are:

1. Are my images different to those of anybody else?
2. Is it still possible to make images of popular subjects that haven’t been done before?
3. Does the world need more photographs, hasn’t every thing been photographed already?

My answers so far:

1. No, yes and not enough.
2. Maybe, but I’m not sure how.
3. Probably, apart from very rare subjects.

So where does this leave me? Confused is probably an accurate description at the moment. Lack of focus, short attention span and apathy are all present as well. I’m calling this my “Can’t be a***d” period. I’m in a funk. I’m glad to say I’m not the only one who feels this way at times. American photographer Zack Arias summed it up in his video statement below.

So what am I doing about it? Nothing and everything. I’m stepping back from holding the camera, but planing things to do with the camera. I’m making images but not trying to find images. I plan, I research, I do nothing. Everything seems to help in its way. I need to rest.

Are you now more confused than me? Probably. It is amazing how in a few hours doing all of the above has helped. So what is the outcome and what am I going to do? Let’s look at my answers to the questions now.

1. For the majority, the answer is no. There are some that are different. I need to study these and find out why. Does this mean I stop taking ordinary images? No, because it is through making these images that the vision improves and the different approach forms and develops to produce the  new work.
2. Possibly, I need to work on it. I have a few ideas, but they need testing first. This will be the hardest thing to develop.
3. No it doesn’t need more images and yes probably everything has been photographed, but the world demands more images, there is a need for more images. I can give it some of my images.

The Little Owls on Skomer are well suited for the terrain with superb camouflage. You only really picked them up if they moved and even their bright yellow eyes didn’t give them away. The image above and below were taken to demonstrate their ability to blend in with their surroundings. I was amazed at how many people just walked past them, even though I was pointing a huge photographic lens at them!

After a while of spending some time with them, I got to learn their habits and could identify the male and female, which look the same, from their behaviour. The female stayed closest to the young with the male bringing in food and passing it off to the female. The female would also hunt herself, but when the male arrived at his favourite perch he would squawk, and the female would fly to him to collect the food. I stayed for a few hours and it was great just to be able to watch their interactions. They also got used to my presence and the male decided he wanted a closer look at me, so he came within 10 feet of me. No picture I’m afraid because at the time I was looking in the opposite direction taking a photo of an oil tanker moored in the sound! Even though I turned really slowly, I knew he would fly off before I managed to train my camera on him. That will teach me not to pay him my full attention. They still came relatively close so I managed a few different images.

I decided to leave the Owls in peace in the afternoon and wandered down to the landing area. Normally everybody is in a rush to get round the island that they rarely spend time here. Once all the boats have landed for the day and before the first boat leaves in the afternoon, it is usually very quiet with plenty of birds to see and photograph. If you don’t have long telephoto lens for your camera this is the place to go as the birds are very close with usually a choice of Razorbills, Puffin and Guillemot to choose from. The favourite perching place has been nicknamed “Kodak Rock” by Kenny who works on the Dale Princess as everybody usually stops here to take a photograph on their arrival.

Razorbills have great markings, but it is only when you see them close up can you appreciate that there is quite a lot of brown in their colouring. The same goes for Guillemots as well. From a distance it all looks black. They all seemed to be taking it in turns to pose for me. One would have it picture taken, then fly off ready for another to take its place.

It started to rain as I waited for the boat and the rest of the passengers to arrive, but all the birds were posing so well I carried on, keeping the camera dry under a waterproof cover. The Puffins nest all around here, so they are quite close and very used to human presence. The background gives a different look to those you get up at the Wick where the main colony is.

Yesterday was a very productive day for my photography, and along with lots of other local photographers and bloggers I have read recently I ended up at Mumbles Pier to photograph the Kittiwakes. Saturday morning was quite overcast, which is the best conditions to make photographs of black and white birds if possible. The softer light reduces the contrast in the image making easier to handle the range of tones in the image.

The birds have nested towards the end of the pier, and seem very content with their position. For a gull colony it is very quiet at the moment. I’m sure this will change when the chicks hatch. One pair has two chicks at the moment, but most are still incubating eggs. They are very tolerant at the moment, probably due to the regular visits of fishermen to the pier, which allows easy access to the birds.

I hope to get back more often to photograph the rest of the life cycle while they are around and before they head back out to sea. For some reason I think that I read that Kittiwakes are under threat, but my RSPB bird guide says they are secure at the moment. I hope that if the new development proposed for the pier proceeds, that the Kittiwakes are still able to nest on the pier. It is an incredible privilege to have access to these birds and watch an intimate part of their life.

The Banana is the nickname given to my sit on top kayak which I have finally managed to get out on this year. My plan when buying the kayak was to try and make some images of Gower from the sea, which is a view that we are not so familiar with. I then saw some images of some photographers making images from kayaks and canoes of wildlife. What surprised me was the use of long telephoto lenses in some of the images. I’m afraid that I haven’t been as brave as this, but my excuse is that most of their images seem to be taken on lakes with no waves or swell to contend with!

The beauty of wildlife photography from the kayak is that most subjects allow a much closer approach from the sea. Although I only used my compact camera these gulls were quite tolerant of my approach. Once I have plucked up the courage to try a longer lens with my normal equipment, I hope to get some better quality images.

It has taken me over two hours to download the 76Gb of images that I took on my 4 day visit to Pembrokshire. I hadn’t been to Skomer Island for two years, so I thought it was time to return. The new ticketing arangement works well; it is still first come first served but at least you know what sailing you are on or if it is all sold out now.

The Puffins are always a great source of inresest and I spent a few hours with them, but unfortunately the lighting became a bit too contrasty for making images of a black and white bird so I moved on. The image above is slightly different from the normal portrait, and shows the great yellow colour of their mouths with the barbs they use to hold onto the fish they catch. This colouring and the barbs are also seen in Razorbills and Guillemots.

The wardens on the island had mentioned that a Short-eared owl was present on the island, and that the little owls had young to feed so were all quite visible. The little owls have a defined territory which makes it easier to locate them, but the short-eared owl was roaming the whole island which would make it harder to locate.

As I was walking from the Puffins at the Wick to the visitors centre at the farm, I noticed a strange looking gull that was flying over the gull colonies. Closer inspection showed that it was being mobbed by the gulls and as it came closer it became obvious that it was the Short-eared owl. It was very pale in colour so it needed a double take to make sure it wasn’t a Barn Owl. It came quite close and allowed a few images to be made, no prize winners though but better than nothing!

The Little Owls were very busy feeding their young and I managed to locate the burrow where their chicks were located and their favourite perches. Unfortunately the lighting wasn’t great and became a bit harsh and came from behind the birds. I spent a few hours with them and saw some great behaviour.

With all the special birds around the island it is easy to forget the more everyday species. I have always found the gulls interesting to watch and the island has nesting Great Black Backed, Lesser Black Backed and Herring gulls nesting. The Black Backed gulls always seem to like to take the highest points on the island to nest and are commonly seen atop the rocky outcrops.

If you have visited Skomer and still have time or you have been unable to get over to Skomer it is always worth a walk around the headland, Deer Park. I always find it a good location to photograph Stonechats, Wheatear and Chough. The image below of a female Stonechat was made over the course of about 40 minutes that I spent with this most accommodating bird. It flew around me, resting on various perches, interested in my actions. I think the sound of my motordrive on the camera made a similar sound to their call, so I’m not sure if it thought I was a very large Stonechat!

The conditions were quite tough for my Gigrin Farm Day Course on Saturday. The sky was very bright with little or no light hitting the birds, especially the underneath. This resulted in almost silhouette style images, even with exposure compensation. To get some detail in the underneath of the birds it required exposure compensation knowing that the sky would record as a blown out highlight on the Histogram. As there was very little detail in the clouds any way this wasn’t a problem.

The ‘white’ Kite was still around, so with the sky going white in most images, I tried to make an image that was slightly different. In the image above some blue sky is visible which makes the background a bit more interesting. The Tower hide that I book for the course gives us some extra height and you are sometimes able to look down on the birds slightly. This allows images, as above, where it looks as if it was taken in the sky next to the birds. It is a shame in a way that the kite has been tagged, but I will not clone out the wing tags as it will not be a true reflection of what was really there.

When the kite flew over, it was possible to see the lack of pigment more clearly. A lot of the feathers appear translucent, which was emphasised by the over exposure of the image to get a correct exposure for the underneath of the bird.

In previous posts I mentioned trying images with white backgrounds. On Saturday, there was no option but to have a white background so nearly all the images have one. I did get some images that I have been trying for a while to achieve, which was great and having a white background appears to give the details in the birds more clarity that with other backgrounds. This is only an illusion, but quite a good one.

I still took some images with the kites in a classic pose.

The final image is one that I have been trying to make for a while. Unfortunately it needs lots of post processing to correct the image, and it is still not quite correct and needs more work. I think I will have to head back to try again!