This edit features footage from day 3 in Scotland. Day 2 consisted of removing an old unnecessary feeder and thinking about where to place my hide.
I tried to incorporate more squirrel footage in this video and kept it shorter then the last video.
Hide and the feeder
Tips to take from the video:
Build a hide and commit to staying in it
Do not move out from the hide until wildlife has gone
Keep noise level as minimal as you can
Its Winter so wrap up warm to reduce distractions
Placing bait down is a great way of attracting wildlife
Be sure to research the subject thoroughly before photographing it
To look at the journey I took to get to Scotland, scroll to the 'older post' button on the bottom right.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Welcome to my blog! For these first couple of weeks, I will posting out the things I have been doing throughout the Easter period, and then maybe upload other photos/projects I have been doing during my time at university.
To start off with I will post a few images of my trip to Regents Park in London.
On my way home from Cornwall, I flew via London Gatwick so I stayed a couple days in London and decided to check out Regents Park as I heard there were Herons there.
These Herons were incredibly tame so I could get about 3ft away from them! I didn't have the best equipment with me so I will be going back with a Macro lens and hopefully a 300mm F2.8 lens. But the shots seemed to have turned out ok.
