Part One: Journey to Scotland

So I am in Isle of Arran, after planning this for months I am finally here! I haven't been able to post because I have been pretty busy with travelling and having no internet is a bother. I wanted to blog every evening about what I got up to previously that day but there is no internet connection where I am staying so it is hard to do this.
This video is just my journey, leaving Falmouth and going to London.  This was shot last Saturday so I still have a bit of catching up to do!

I want to get up to date as soon as possible, as today I sat in a hide about 10m away from a couple red squirrels feeding. So this will be edited when I have time and posted when I can access the internet.
Tomorrow, I am going to build a set with a couple broken trees so I will capture a natural looking shot rather than a squirrel at a feeder like it was today.

These videos aren't much but they give me motivation to edit my work which will be included as a short documentary piece. At a later date, I will be merging the gopro videos with my high quality squirrel footage to produce a documentary raising awareness of the red squirrel as my final major project.

To look at my previous shoots, scroll to the 'older post' button on the bottom right.

Contact:

markfoxphoto@hotmail.co.uk
www.facebook.com/markfoxphotography

Getting ready for Scotland

Hello all,

This is just a quick video of me packing my stuff up in preparation for Scotland. 

This was done on Friday and I completed half of my journey yesterday, stopping off in London.
Later on tonight I will be getting the megabus up to Scotland which will be a 8hour journey to Glasgow and then from Glasgow I will be take a further trip to the west coast, gettting a ferry and then getting pick up from the harbour to be taken to Brodick Castle in the Isle of Arran. I will arrive in at my accommodation at around midday tomorrow morning.

To look at my previous shoots, scroll to the 'older post' button on the bottom right.




Contact:
markfoxphoto@hotmail.co.uk
www.facebook.com/markfoxphotography

Progression of the Brown Rat

I have been photographing a brown rat the past couple of days. Rats, like squirrels, are a member of the Rodentia family. So to get a break from squirrels, I decided to photograph rats and then apply what I learn to the red squirrels when I photograph them next week. The grey squirrels I have been shooting are far too tame to transfer the techniques I learned to the red squirrels. So instead, I decided to change to a subject that is still common but not as tame. The brown rat seemed a perfect choice.

I used a Nikon d7000 as opposed to the d200 to reduce the grain in my shots as appeared in my photos in the last post. My other factor was that it was too dark under the tree so I also used a pocket maglite to lighten the subject.
In these shots I wanted to show the rat within its environment.

There are a couple rats in the area so in future, I would like to capture some interaction between them and show more behaviour. It is just a learning curve and hopefully I will get the shots I want with time.
This will most probably be the last shoot I do on the rats before leaving to go home. As from next week I will be photographing Red Squirrels in Scotland and then in Jersey so stay tuned if you want to see some cute sots of red squirrels!

To look at my previous shoots, scroll to the 'older post' button on the bottom right.

Contact:

markfoxphoto@hotmail.co.uk
www.facebook.com/markfoxphotography

Lundy Island - Grey Seals

After owning the goPro hd camera for a good six months, I thought I would show you some wildlife that the gopro has encountered. The first video that I have put together are the clips I took when I went to Lundy Island to swim with grey seals. It was my first time using the camera properly and i'm glad I could document it.

The dives consisted of two sessions, one in the morning, where I was about half a metre from one and the second was in the afternoon, where the seals came up and nibbled out fins. We were very unlucky with the visibility that day so the underwater footage could have been better..
Another problem I encountered was that the battery doesn't last very long in cold water so it died pretty quickly! Now I have an extra battery bacpac for double power so next time I won't miss anything! 

To look at my previous shoots, scroll to the 'older post' button on the bottom right.

Contact:

markfoxphoto@hotmail.co.uk
www.facebook.com/markfoxphotography

Brown Rat second Attempt

This morning I went on another shoot down at Swanpool, to photograph the Brown rat again.

The light was incredible this morning, but unfortunately doesn't show in these photos because the area is too shaded. The point of this shoot was to experiment with wide angle (fish eye). The day before I found regular routes that they take, I chose one of them and baited it with bread. My plan was that the rat would take this regular path, stumble across some food and then stop to eat it.

First of all, I took some, what I call 'safety shots' with the Nikon 70-200mm lens, to ensure I manage to capture something on the shoot. This is only my second attempt so I going to have a lot of trial and error.

Once the rat was familiar with the stock of bread I kept laying down, I placed a camera with a fish eye down. I attached my remote control, but I wasn't planning on using it just yet. I wanted to make sure that the rat wasn't spooked out by this new random object.  It took no time for it to adjust, so I started firing the shutter. 

The camera body I was using was the Nikon d200 and because it was so dark I had to increase the ISO but the d200 is renowned for a crap ISO so these pictures are really grainy. In future I am going to use a d7000 to reduce the grainy effect.
I am going to sort out a lighting system too so I can bring out the environment.

To look at my previous shoots, scroll to the 'older post' button on the bottom right.

Contact:

markfoxphoto@hotmail.co.uk
www.facebook.com/markfoxphotography

Change of Species

As most of you are aware I am doing a major project on Squirrels. I will be producing a short documentary about my search to find Britain's rare red squirrel. I will highlight the key concerns contributing to their survival and amount of extensive work that it takes to maintain their existence in the UK.

Because I have been focusing so much on this project, I decided to photograph something else. I took a trip down to my local wildlife spot, Swanpool and photographed the Brown Rat.

The majority of people treat these animals as vermin, which is understandable, but observing their behaviour this morning made me change my opinion of them and I thought they were actually kind of cute.
This was my first shoot with the rats so I was mainly studying their behaviour and identifying the regular tracks that they take. Now I know this, I am thinking about using a wide angle to photograph them.

Here are some shots I took this morning of the Brown Rat:

To look at my previous shoots, scroll to the 'older post' button on the bottom right.



Contact:
markfoxphoto@hotmail.co.uk
www.facebook.com/markfoxphotography

East Cornwall

Last Thursday I experience what it was like to photograph east Cornwall.  I am in my third and final year of my degree and it has taken me until now the explore east Cornwall. Previously, I have only travelled to the north, south and west Cornwall so the east was something new.
Anyway, I hopped on the train to Truro and then took a connecting train 45mins in the direction towards London. I arrived at my location, an estate in Bodmin. It was my first time at this place so first of all I walked for hours to get a feel of the place. It accommodates a variety of ancient woodland, not only the usual mix of British trees, but also rarer species such as the Plymouth pear. With this habitat, it inevitably thrives wildlife; Otters, Salmon, Owls, Buzzards, Pheasants, Kingfishers, Dippers, Owls, the usual garden birds and the occasional Robin.

I managed to find a couple dippers, dozens of Pheasants and few Salmon but unfortunately didn't get any great shots. However, one experience I shared was that I managed to get ridiculously close to a peculiar Robin. So I put down my 600mm and replaced it with the 16-85mm kit lens. As it was only a kit lens I couldn't focus very close to the subject so I had to pull back a bit, but this is what I got.

At the end is a short video showing the jist of the shoot, with clips of how I took the shots.
All the clips in the video were shot on a goPro hd camera.

Birds Eye View

Lanhydrock Graveyard

To look at my previous shoots, scroll to the 'older post' button on the bottom right.



Contact:
markfoxphoto@hotmail.co.uk
www.facebook.com/markfoxphotography

Mammal Trapping

Early this morning I joined my eco society at uni and did some mammal trapping. The traps were only sized to trap things like Mice and Voles. With the abundance of traps set over night, allowed us to complete the survey with 1xWoodmice and 1x Bank Vole. After checking the traps we laid a transect at every 10m and placed a quadrat at each point to study the area for signs of field voles. 

This exercise was enjoyable and I learned a lot. I learned how to identify the different species of mice and voles, how to track them and also how to find out their gender.

These shots are nothing special but I had to document this experience. In the future, I want to try and photograph these species within their environment using the trapping method to locate them. 

Woodmouse

Retrieving the Mouse

A large male Woodmouse

Studying area for signs of field vole

To look at my previous shoots, scroll to the 'older post' button on the bottom right.

Recovering the Cache

 Squirrels are scatter hoarders; when they find food resources they cache them in secretive places for times when food is scarce. The competition between squirrels is very intense so when they bury their nuts they dig several dummy caches before hiding the nut. This way, the other squirrels find it hard to see where the stash is and steal it.
This is now my third shoot with these squirrels and I am beginning to capture behaviour of the squirrel. These photos are illustrating the process when a squirrel recovers its cache.
Let me know what you think, positive criticism is welcomed. Thank you for reading.
Click to enlarge:

To look at my previous shoots, scroll to the 'older post' button on the bottom right.

Contact:
markfoxphoto@hotmail.co.uk
www.facebook.com/markfoxphotography

An Autumn Touch on the Grey Squirrel

Hello everyone, new day and a new post.

I went on another shoot earlier this week and have only just got round to blogging it. Like my last blog, my images to create a sense of place, by showing my subject in its environment. This shoot was primarily to capture a seasonal feel in my photographs. Looking back at my photos I saw that there was no clear signs of autumn, portraying more towards a winter mood. So this time I wanted to focus on the leaves that have dropped from the trees and incorporate it in with my subject, the grey squirrel. 

These shots still require a lot more room for improvement but at this stage I am only trying to put across my ideas rather than perfecting them. In the first shot I was trying to describe an autumn woodland, using the squirrel almost as a prop in the photo, rather than focusing the photograph solely on the animal.

It would be greatly appreciated if you'd let me know what you think

Hope you like the photos, click to enlarge.

Great Tit within the environment

To look at my previous shoot, scroll to the 'older post' button on the bottom right

Contact:
markfoxphoto@hotmail.co.uk
www.facebook.com/markfoxphotography

A Sense of Mood and Place - The Grey Squirrel

This morning I decided to go on a sunrise shoot to a place I have only heard of. When I arrived, it was first light and pouring it down with rain. Before I even thought to take out my camera, I took a couple hours to observe the habitat and gain a better understanding of what was there. The rain was not a problem as I had waterproofs but I believe it is the added element to a good photograph. 

On the shoot there was all sorts of bird life, but of course, I was most focused on the Squirrels.

After my last shoot I decided to pack in the long lens and try to get some intimate shots of the greys, I still had the 300mm in the kit bag but as a safety lens. My aim with this shoot was to incorporate the habitat as well as the subject in my photograph. This is to create a sense of mood and place, seems to be the trend in all professional wildlife photographers at the moment so I decided to follow. To do this, I needed to use a wide angle lens and to be very close to the subject.
This was my first shoot in this style so there is a lot of room for improvement but here is what I achieved:
Click to enlarge the image:

To look at my previous shoot, scroll to the 'older post' button on the bottom right.


Contact:
markfoxphoto@hotmail.co.uk
www.facebook.com/markfoxphotography

The London Grey Squirrels

Last weekend  I was very fortunate to attend Wildphotos, a major wildlife photography conference that hosts the world most incredible professional wildlife photographers. The two day event consisted of a jam packed day of top professionals in the industry educating us on key aspects of photography.
After being so motivated with a sudden hit of realisation of the standards I picked up my camera and went out on a sunrise shoot.
I headed to Greenwich Park in south London to photograph Squirrels, as Red Squirrels will be my main topic I will be focusing on for the whole of this year. This is one of my first shoots so I will eventually improve my photography in terms of capturing behaviour and interactions.
Click to enlarge:

To look at my previous photography, click on the 'older post' button on the bottom right.


Contact:
markfoxphoto@hotmail.co.uk
www.facebook.com/markfoxphotography

The Final Stretch

One of my days in Majorca I took an excursion south to Porto Cristo. Porto Cristo translates Port of Christ, from the Christian Invasion of Majorca. A long story goes back that a fishing boat washed up in the harbour that contained a crucifix. Porto Cristo isn't like any other place in Majorca, because its income does not entirely depend on tourism. It still remains as a fishing village and welcomes many boats into its naturally built harbour. Just before arriving to this town I took a detour to the Coves Del Drach (Cavern of the Dragon). These caves are one of Majorcas main tourist attractions. The caves extend 2.4km with an internal height of 25m but the reason why this cave allures so many visitors is because its lake. Lake Martel, is one of the largest subterranean lakes in the world (177m long and 30m wide). So I walked through the perfectly lit formation planned by Dr. Buigas, and then reached the Lake. I wasn't really sure what to expect but everyone was seated and they played a spectacular performance, they played classical music, pieces by Caballero, Chopin and Offenbach etc. whilst they did a lighting show through a series of rowing boats. It was very surreal but incredible. Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take any photos inside of the caves, I tried but they were hot on it so I got shouted at a lot.
Anyway I'll stop babbling and show you some photos. These shots are taken along the coasts of Porto Cristo.

Watch Tower

Turquoise waters 

After my trip to Porto Cristo I went back to Port of Pollenca, where I was staying and then the next day I travelled down Palma, the capital of Majorca and then to Arenal. I stayed in Arenal for one night and one night only. This place didn't seem Spanish at all but instead German. Greeted in German, the Germans special dishes, German bars etc. It was very disturbing to be so used to be surrounded by the Spanish Culture, which was then switched to a dominant German culture.  So every place I visited in Spain I would recommend apart from Arenal, unless you like Germans.
So.. the Odyssey is over, a great trip and an amazing experience. Where to go next?

My Journey

The look at my previous posts of the journey or my other work click the 'Older Post' link on the bottom right.



Contact:
markfoxphoto@hotmail.co.uk
www.facebook.com/markfoxphotography

Balearic Islands

After sleeping under the stars as I cross the Mediterranean sea on the ferry, I reach my final destination of Majorca. Majorca is the largest of all the Balearic Islands.  Majorca derives from the latin word meaning 'the larger one' and Menorca originating from the latin word of 'the smaller one', the easiest way to tell them apart I guess.
Anyway, I took the overnight ferry from Barcelona and arrived in Alcudia, at 6.30am. Waking up late to a woman over the tannoy saying that it was the 'last call for passengers to get off at Alcudia', wasn't the best way to start the day. After all the struggle and panic I finally set foot in Alcudia port, and made my way towards the town, where I could then catch the bus to Pollença. However, because it was so early I had to wait couple hours before I could get the next bus, so this gave time to see the place a take advantage  the sunrise glow and photograph the stunning views.

Sunrise after getting off the ferry

Light piercing through the Palm Trees

I arrived at my hostel in Pollenca just 100m or so from the beach, checked in, ate breakfast, and then I was straight to the beach front. The weather was amazing and had been during my whole time in Spain, until one day in Pollença, where I witnessed, what felt like a tropical storm for the day. Although it was torrential rain, I quite liked that I saw what it what it was like. I have never seen rain like it. It was just this one day that there was bad weather, which isn't bad for two weeks away. I took a trip to Alcudia one day to look in the old, historic town and went kayaking along the bay and in Pollença I went sup paddle boarding and various other things.

Day after the storm

To look at my previous posts click on the 'older post' link on the bottom right.

Contact:
markfoxphoto@hotmail.co.uk
www.facebook.com/markfoxphotography