My Photographic Advantages

Squirrel Man - taken by Steve Bottom

This is an extended version of a blog post I wrote for "Foto-Buzz", a new online forum/magazine for keen photographers run by pro togs and most famously Andy Rouse...


Let me start by saying I am a "Keeper" first and foremost... I have an undying passion for British wildlife which has grown and developed since I was young, and I have been lucky enough to immerse myself in a life and career working closely with British animals. As the Head Keeper at the British Wildlife Centre in Surrey, I manage the animals and keeping staff in our daily duties. Everything we do is aimed towards the conservation and education of our, often overlooked, wonderful wildlife!

I am a photographer second... Don't get me wrong, I enjoy it very much, I have taken to it far more than I ever thought I would, but it is still only a hobby for me and another way to spend time with the animals I work with and care for. Where as before I used to spend any spare time just sat watching th animals of an evening, now I do it with a camera in tow. If I get a nice photo, then it is a bonus, and quite often I never pick up the camera and just sit there watching, enjoying and learning.

A lot of people who see my photographs say "Well of course, you are always there... you have all the time to take photographs." But this is far from the truth... Yes, I am always here... practically 24/7... But I am always working! I have little free time to actually spend with the animals, and therefore take photos of them. Far less in fact compared to many of our members who visit us on an almost weekly basis to take pictures. But I am not naive to the fact that I do have advantages. Big advantages in fact, but then I feel I have earned these with my loyalty and dedication to the Centre and our animals.

Scottish Wildcat

Evening light - When I do get spare time, it is usually in the morning or evening after the "working day" has finished. This often leads to the best light wight he sun lower in the sky, and often gives the lovely warm light most of us prefer. Of course this is after everyone has gone home, so I have the Centre to myself to enjoy.

Roe Doe

Entering enclosures - I have the luxury of being able to enter any of the enclosures at any time, removing the obstacles of fences and barriers. And although we allow photographers to enter the enclosures on our photographic days, there are still some animals we can not allow you in with for various reasons.

Dance of the Adders

Right place right time - Animals have some amazing behaviours and rituals, some very rarely seen in the wild and rare in captivity too. But, if our animals display any of these traits I am more likely to be around than most to see it.

Wildcat Kitten

Rarely seen - I am privileged to have seen many rare sights and animals, such as extremely young cubs, kits and kittens... long before they are more visibly on display.

Fox in Snow

Seasons - As I am always there, I am also always there in the different seasons. Perhaps the most enjoyable from a photographic point of view is the snow! No matter how difficult it is to get to the Centre in the snow, I can just step outside the door and I am there. I curse the snow from a work point of view... everything takes longer, and if no other keeper can get in then I have to do all the work. But, I can do it with a camera on the trolley next to the day old chicks, chopped up rabbits and raw fish and stop at every enclosure to take some snaps!

Evening Barn Owl

Pro togs - One of the biggest advantages is having the professional photographers visit us to run their workshops. Helping them by keeping the animals interested for their clients puts me in the best position to eavesdrop in to what they are teaching. This has helped me immensely in improving my photography in more ways than one, but perhaps the most in terms of trying different things and pushing my limits to develop, grow and create my own style.

BUT -  the biggest advantage, and something only I have and ever could, is the bond I have with these animals...

Me and Ethel - taken by Izzy Coomber

I work closely with these animals everyday, and so have built up a mutual trust and respect which does't happen overnight.

And a Nice Chianti...

This allows me to get closer to these animals than anyone else could.

Vole's Eye View

And with the trust we have in each other, allows me to try things that no one else could.

The Grinning Fox

And allows the animals to act far more comfortably and naturally, showing off their true personality, when no one else is around!

My bond with the animals is THE advantage I have, and what I use to try and take some special British animal photographs as souvenirs of the animals I care for.

Thanks for looking.

Fish-Eye Lens

Otter on Ice - Highly Commended, BWPA 2012

I have a few different lenses for my camera, of which my 70-200 is by far my favourite. If I could only keep one lens, that would be the one, and is on my camera by default. However I do have a soft spot for my fish-eye lens.

The fish-eye lens seems to have a mixed reaction. Some like it, some don't and some really don't. Personally I love it!

When I first heard about the fish-eye lens, I asked a few people what it was and had the same reaction... Quirky little lens, no good for wildlife... after that I wanted to prove them wrong, and did with the photo above..

The photo of this otter, Lilly, is still my highest awarded photo being Highly Commended in the Animal Portrait category in the BWPA back in 2012.

BWPA 2012 Gallery - Taken by Izzy Coomber

Of course I had to have the obligatory cheesy photo taken with it in the Mall Gallery in London... I know what you're thinking, good to see he smartened himself up for the award ceremony!..

It was great to see my photo displayed alongside so manny other truly amazing photographs of British wildlife, and alongside other great amateur and professional photographers.

Badger through Fish-Eye

The fish-eye lens is a bit hit and miss. By this I means it doesn't always work... due to it's uniqueness, it is quite a niche area of photography, and of all my lenses I use it is the one I have the lowest success rate with. But then when it does work, I think it really works well to create something a little unusual, quirky and different.

HEDWIG!!!

Perhaps the most fun can be had with quirky portraits. You can see above with the badger and snowy owl, it really distorts the proportions. The closer you get with the lens, the more distorted the photo is, and you can get within an inch with it still focusing.

British Fraggle Centre - 2014

The keeping team of 2014.

Harvest Mouse

The photo above is not the best, but it shows how the lens works. You can see with the sky how it really distorts and bends the picture at the extremities.

Fallow Deer

It is all about how you tilt the lens. Tilting it down slightly will give you the effect of a upwards curve on the horizon, as it the animals for example is on top of the world. You can see this slight effect above, and more extreme on the otter at the top of this post.

Bungalow Foundation Digging

Keeping the camera level gives you a level horizon... it will still bend the extremities, you may be able to see this in the trees on the right and the chalk line at the bottom of this photo, but it is less obvious in the sky where there is nothing to show the curve.

Incidentally, this photo is of the foundations being dug for my bungalow. I was standing only a couple of feet away from the chalk line, so you can see how wide the lens really is, almost taking in 180 degrees!

Deer Paddock in Autumn

Tilting the lens the other way, upwards, you get this downwards curve of the horizon...

Deer Paddock

... and of course the more you tilt, the greater the effect as above. All this means I get some funny looks while taking photos with this lens, as most often it looks like I am pointing the camera in completely the wrong direction!

Fallow Grazing

When ever I do a shoot, I always try to get the fish-eye lens out for a bit unless it is obvious that it really won't work. The one above and below are ones from the fallow deer shoot I did a month or so back now for David.

Fallow Deer

The first a true quirky portrait, and the one above a much more subtle use.

Harvest Mouse

And my most recent fish-eye portrait that I am fairly happy with. A harvest mouse on a sprig of corn. Looking at the harvest mouse photos, I have an idea for a great fish-eye portrait, but it will take a bit of setting up. If I get it, I will post it.

Thanks for looking.

Common Dormouse

Common Dormouse, Muscardinus avellanarius

The Common Dormouse, also known as the Hazel Dormouse, is on of our most asked about animals in terms of photography. Unfortunately though we can not offer them as part of our itinerary on our photo days. Our breeding ones, in our outside enclosures, we leave well alone so as not to disturb them while they are hopefully breeding and rearing young... and so of course this means we don't wish to wake them during the day just to be photographed. This leaves our educational dormice, but they live in our nocturnal house. Although they are awake during the day, it is dark in their enclosure and we feel it is unfair on them to bring them out in to daylight for half hour or so and then put them back in the dark again.

All this means that I have rarely been able to photograph them myself, and usually when I do it is of one curled up in a ball while sleeping/hibernating if we are moving or checking up on them. A couple of weeks ago though, as we were changing the hazel in their enclosures, one of them was up and about and so I made the most of it and spent twenty minutes photographing her before putting her back in her pen with some nice new fresh hazel!

Peeking

Considering time was limited, the area we did it was not ideal and the conditions and light were far from perfect, I am really pleased with the photos I managed to get.

This one above of her peeking through the leaves I possibly my favourite of the shoot.

The Set

You can see from this photo where we were. Literally in the double door bit of the breeding pens. Very tight, not much room, but we had to stay somewhere completely safe in case she decided to jump from the hazel.

She was good as gold though, and was happy to explore a bit and sit and pose. A nice steady hand from Lucy obviously helped.

Common Dormouse

The biggest obstacles, apart from it being so dark, was the backgrounds. It was very tricky to avoid showing the wire mesh.

Common Dormouse

Or the wooden support beams of the individual beams. Still, I think they are blurred enough to get away with... especially for use at work.

Stay True

Then when I did manage to avoid these, of course she sat behind a small sprig on the branch while looking straight at me. Beautiful pose... oh well.

Common Dormouse Portrait

I managed to get a few varied shots with the limited time.

The Feet of a Dormouse

This one was taken to show off her feet and does so well and the adaptations of their toes in particular.

Beautiful Whiskers

And this one is another of my favourites, showing off their whiskers which are truly incredible!

In the Light

Eventually the sun moved round in the sky enough to fall on half of the double door bit. I like this one above, but to be honest preferred the ones in the shadows. She was also getting a little tired and so it was time to put her back.

Me with Dorris - taken by Meg Buckland

She was very relaxed throughout though, and spent a bit of time on my back. Meg was on hand to take some snaps.

Disappearing Down the Pocket - taken by Meg Buckland

At one stage even decided to take a breather and hide out in my shirt pocket!

Hiding Out - taken by Meg Buckland

Seemed quite comfortable there, but Lucy had finished redecorating her home so it was time for her to go back.

Edible Dormouse, Glis glis

We do have another dormouse in this country, the Edible Dormouse or Glis as they are often known. Edible dormice have been introduced to the UK, and are now spreading and causing  a lot of trouble. They are so different to our British common dormice in both looks and behaviour.

Edible dormice can be quite aggressive, noisy and bite hard. They cause a lot of disturbance where you find them and are considered a pest. The common dormouse on the other hand is quiet, very rarely bites, docile in nature and no trouble at all.

Our British Dormouse, the Common (Hazel) Dormouse

In terms of looks, the edible dormouse is considerably bigger as you can see from the two photos above, and grey in colour. The common dormouse is much smaller and a glorious golden colour.

Incidentally, fuchsia background in this photo and the one on the BWC blog was simply done by hanging a towel of that colour up behind the dormouse while photographing them. The dormouse above only has half a tail, and is one of our educational dormice now found in our nocturnal house... These are old photos.

Pre Hibernation

And I love this photo, the angle makes it appear much bigger than he really is, but this is right before hibernation when he would have been at his heaviest and fattest... plus I believe she is in one of Katie's little hands :-)

Thanks for looking

Dance of the Adders: 2014

"Dance of the Adders" - 2014

Today I am posting some dancing adder photos. The majority of these are from this year, with a few old favourites at the bottom.

If you are a follower of the BWC Blog, you will already know that the "Dance of the Adders" is one of my most anticipated animal behaviours to see every year. I just can't get enough of it, and always make sure I have some free time to spend with the adders during this time.

This year our adders put on a real good show. Not the best I have seen, but then I am just being picky... it certainly was still a spectacle to see and lasted for a while giving many visitors a chance to witness this beautiful behaviour.

Adder, Vipera berus

I will try not to bore you too much about adders and the "dance here. If you want to learn more about why they do it etc, then look through the archives on the BWC Blog to see past posts and video clips too.

Adder Dance Close-up

These close up photos really show them putting their all in to it, trying to force each other to the ground.

Rising Up

Perhaps at it's most spectacular is when they lift up to the first half of their body off the ground before trying to wrestle the each other back down.

Dancing through the Fisheye

I am lucky enough to have some photos I am very happy with from previous years. This allows me to experiment a bit more now with different angles and lenses etc. A lot of these photos from this year were taken with a macro lens, the first time I have really used it properly... and I quite like the results.

Of course, if I am experimenting, I had to bring out my ol' favourite... the fisheye lens. You can see above one of the better ones. Yep, I know... didn't really work did it... but you have to try these things. I will definitely give this lens another go next year though, as I think I know how to improve the photos with the angle of the lens.

Adder Dance

I love the shapes they create while dancing, so beautiful. When you see it in motion it is quite mesmerising and hypnotic. A lot of the time I just lay there and watch it, leaving the camera to one side.

Adder Dance, 2014

This is the type of shot I try to get each year for Liza in the main office. A straight forward side shot, low angle, of them rearing up. Once I have this I am happy to explore the other options.

Adder Dance

The adders have no fear of me being in there, they are quite used to it, and so happily continue to dance straight towards me when they need to. This is one of the better ones from this year of just this.

Entwined 

They really do twist and tangle themselves together to try and out wrestle each other.

Adder Dance

They never bite each other though, it is purely a test of strength and stamina to see who gets to mate with the female.

Adder Dance

Trying to Impress

You can see from these two, that on occasion they may even dance right on top of the female...

Not Impressed

... not that she looks too impressed!

Matt with Dancing Adders - by Mark McElligott

I always like souvenirs of myself with the animals. And I was lucky enough to have this photo sent to me taken by Mark McElligott.

You can see how close the adders came to me, great for the macro lens. Me being in there did not disturb them at all. They are so used to me being in there, and so wrapped up in what they are doing with each other, that they are almost oblivious.

Other are just curious. And on several occasions I had an adder crawling right by me, under me and even a couple of times in the macro lens and once over the camera!

It is a great experience being this close to an animal you love. Adders are fairly docile, not at all aggressive, and only really strike out in defense, say if you were to step on one for example. But then I think most wild animals would do that.

Still... I know and have worked with these adders for ten years. I probably wouldn't have got this close with wild ones, or ones I didn't know.

Adder Dance, 2013

These are a few of my older favourite ones. Above is a simple portrait of their dance from last year. 

Dance of the Adders

One of them coming towards me, and probably my favourite of this. I actually entered this one in to the BWPA this year, but unfortunately it wasn't short-listed.

Three Adders Dancing

The first year I ever saw them dance while I had a camera was incredible. Even more so was the fact that all three males got involved at once. This is the only record shot I got of it, but still a favourite because of how rare this is to see.

Folie a Trois - by Derek Bennet

But check out this one above taken by Derek Bennet. This really is a fantastic photo, I love it. Taken of our adders this year in a brief fleeting moment of all three males getting in on the action. Derek kindly sent this in to show me and allowed me to share it on the BWC Blog back in April.

Dance of the Adders

One of my earliest "adder dance" photos, and very much still one of my favourites. 

Adders

And then this one shows the event form a slightly different angle and setting. Quite different, but then I like it because of that.

Oh what the hell, forget what I said above... this is such an amazing thing to see I want those that haven't had the pleasure just to see what it is like in action. Below is a video clip from the dance a couple of years ago, with information on how/why they do it etc.

Thanks for looking.