What is it like to be a wildlife photographer?

I was interviewed on my local, Cornish radio station, last Saturday. It was my first time being interviewed for the radio so I was pretty nervous but I think it turned out OK and it was a great experience! I was interviewed by Tori Orchard, who asked me what it was like to be a wildlife photographer and asked me about the projects that I am doing at the moment.


Below is the actual interview but I placed some images over the top of the conversation explaining my video and various other bits.

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





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

Research: Green Lizard

A scary thought hit me that I am graduating in a couple of months and I will need to find a job to fund my wildlife photography. However, all I can think about is what wildlife to shoot this summer and what projects I want to do in the future!
After graduation I will move back to Jersey so I thought it would be good to start a project on Jerseys wildlife.

Jersey is home to some unique wildlife that may not be found anywhere else in Britain; The agile frog, lesser white-toothed shrew, the Jersey bank vole (a litter bigger than UK bank vole), green and wall lizards and also the red squirrel, which I have been working on all year.

I have been researching these species over the past couple of weeks now and today I decided to head to the west coast to see if I could find any green lizards. Although it isn't summer quite yet, the sun was shining so I thought I might have a chance of seeing them basking on rocks and metal sheets that have been placed on the ground for them.

 

Lizards are cold-blooded and therefore rely on heat from the sun or hot surfaces to digest their food and move around. Rocks and these metal sheets absorb heat from the sun, allowing it to stay warm for a long period of time. This is great for the lizards, because not only does it keep them warm but it gives them cover from predators like the populous Kestrels and Marsh Harriers.

Female Green Lizard

 

In total I found 4 green lizards in the area. When lifting the sheets of metal I made sure I placed it back where it was and the lizard was only exposed briefly.
 Come summer these Lizards will be a lot easier to photograph because they will be basking on rocks in the sun, so I won't be causing any disturbance.

Jersey is the only place is the whole of the British Isles where Green Lizards are native. However, they are increasingly under threat, for more information see the Jersey Green Lizard Project - www.greenlizard.org.je

Remember:

• Always put the wildlife before yourself; if the wildlife appears agitated and scared - leave it alone.
• Keep noise levels to a minimum
• Do not overcrowd the species
• Research the species before photographing it.

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





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

Camera Slider

I went to my local Cornish woodland yesterday and tried out some video rail stuff. The contraption was put together using two pieces of 6ft PVC piping and another cut in half to act as the sliders. My mate, Sam Stewart built the slider and I went to try it out. There are a few alterations we need to do to improve the smoothness of the shot but for the first attempt I think it turned out pretty well.

Short video sequence:

Click the Youtube logo and it will relocate you to see it larger.


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

Building a quick hide

I am back in Jersey now for a couple of weeks to film the red squirrels for my major project.
On the side, I thought that I would photograph a couple birds in the garden.

A mini Christmas tree was planted in the garden few years ago and now it has grown to around 10ft. The birds have favoured this tree and I thought that a blue tit would make a nice shot with the green leaves.
So this afternoon, I decided to construct a simple hide to help me get the shot.



Building the hide:

• I hung camo netting from the upstairs window down to the bottom window.
  This type of netting can be ordered from various places online.
• I weaved an old clothes airer into the bench to hold the shape and to allow space to manuover.
• I then constructed a wind break/blind to the left side of the hide.
  This is waterproof, camo tarpolin was purchased from a local DIY store. (It makes an excellent ground mat too)

 

I allowed enough space to place the tripod inbetween the bench and the window.

I cut a slit through the netting to fit the lens through.
After 20mins the hide was complete!

View from inside

My next step was to attract the birds to the place I want!


I straped a wooden pole against the wall and attached a coconut with a fatball mixture inside (the blue tits favourite at this time of year). This is to attract the blue tits to the area regularly, instead of flying to the other end of the garden where the feeder is.
I also sprinkled some crushed peanuts on the branches for them to feed on.

I was suprised to see that the bluetit was already feeding from the coconut even though its on the other end of the garden, but it got to dark before I could test the hide so I will wait for sunrise tomorrow!

I am going to buy some peanut butter to spread on the branches which should hopefully stop the seeds from falling onto the floor.

Watch this space to see what happens tomorrow morning!

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





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

Walk from Kynance Cove to Lizard Point

Last Friday I went out with professional photographer David Chapman to Kynance cove and then we walked along the coast to the Lizard point. This field trip was very informative and I learned a lot  about the geological structure and history about the place, as well as identifying species of plants and birds.

Here are a few shots that I took on the day;

Wheatear

Wheatear

Male Stonechat

Female Stonechat

Female Stonechat

Pair of Fulmar

Jackdaw

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

First contact with the red squirrels

Finally my first edit with my encounters of the red squirrel. This has taken me ages to edit due to technical aspects of the video, however, it is here and ready to watch.
This video edit is on my first day in Scotland filming the red squirrels. Like I said in my last videoblog, the rangers were called off site due to very strong winds so I was very weary about leaving. It took until the early afternoon to venture out. I had never been to this place before so it was a new experience for me. Nevertheless, my photographic instinct kicked in and this is what I got up to.
Wildlife was shot on Nikon d7000 and presenting was on gopro.

Not a bad hide!

I would be very grateful if you could leave any comments about the video. 

Tips to take from the video:

• I wouldn't recommend going to a woodland in strong winds
• A building makes a great hide when in the right place
• If you can, avoid shooting through windows/glass as you lose quality and light
• Standing outside, waiting without a hide won't benefit either yourself or the subject
• Be aware, patient & quiet! 
• Don't do anything to harm the subject 

To look at the journey I took to get to Scotland, scroll to the 'older post' button on the bottom right.

Contact:

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

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

Pendennis Point to Swanpool Lake

Yesterday I took a trip down to Pendennis Castle and walked along the coast through the local beach the Swanpool lake. I found there were some Cygnets there and some Coot chicks.
Here are a couple shots I took:

Contact:

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

Prussia Cove

Today I went to Prussia Cove again in search of the Kestrel. The project is completed so this was merely for fun.
The weather wasn't on my side today as it was raining but I still stuck around and it started to brighten up. I only saw the kestrel twice and both times he was being attacked by the Swallows in the area so he didn't stay for long! However, just before the place where the Kestrel hangs is a cliff side where a group of Fulmars roost so I got a couple of shots of these as I haven't before.
After actually spending some time with these birds I really started to like them, and I think I could get some nice shots showing their behaviour so I will try and keep this going!

Fulmars Displaying

Can be identified from their stiff wings when flying

Fulmar

A pair of Fulmars

Female Linnet

Male Chaffinch

Blackbird

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