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

Video Blog: Arrive in Accommodation

I'm in my accommodation at last! This accomodation is on the grounds of Brodick Castle and it is where the rangers stay, however, they are off season at the moment so I was able to live in there for a week.

Just so you have an idea of where I am I have included a labelled map of the grounds.
So my accommodation was in the bottom left, a short 5minute walk north-east, through the woodland will take you to the castle and then the ranger centre (where I based my filming) is located just behind the castle.

This edit is just a video blog I did updating the situation I was in when I had just arrived into the accommodation. Leaving London at around 11pm and arriving in Arran the following evening at around 5pm  so I was pretty relieved when I was finally in my accommodation!
Nothing special but may be of interest to some of you if you want to know about my experience..

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

Part Three: Glasgow to Isle of Arran

In order to start on existing work I need to power through the backlog of work I did over Christmas. As most of you know, most of this work was done in Scotland, where I spent a week filming the red squirrels.
My task is to go through that painful, tedious process we call editing. Over these next couple of days I will be posting my video blogs so if you feel like you may have missed one just check the previous post for the missing gap.
Yesterday, I edited the bus journey from London to Glasgow, now I am posting the train and ferry journey from Glasgow to Arran (where my filming begins). I am sorry if these videos may seem a little boring at the moment but they need to be done for the next chapter to 'flow'.

So low and behold the final video on my travelling experience!! (like all others - all footage shot on gopro)

Tips to take from the video:

• Travelling from Cornwall to Scotland by bus is a very cheap but long process so be prepared to be uncomfortable, have very little sleep
• On big journeys like these, boredom becomes your best friend
• When travelling in Winter, the weather will NOT be your best friend and will cause many delays
• The gopro camera is very reliable and I recommend it to anyone

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

Contact:

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

Part Two: London to Scotland

Happy new year everyone and hope you had a wonderful Christmas!
Now the Christmas period is over and i'm back at uni, I am starting to get back into the swing of things. I had my first productive day yesterday and managed to edit my second half of the journey from London to Scotland.
This video is about when I took an incredibly lengthy bus journey (735miles) from Falmouth in Cornwall to the Isle of Arran, a little island off the coast of west Scotland. I took this extensive trip purely because it was the cheapest option costing roughly £30 to get there.
This video focuses on the part from London to Glasgow.
All footage was shot using a gopro hd camera.

From Glasgow I still need to grab the train for an hour and then wait for an hour crossing on the ferry and then a short 2mile drive to my destination, Brodick Castle. Once this series has been completed I can then start filming the red squirrels I have longed to see.


To look at my previous journeys, 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

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

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