Wildlife Photography across the Water: Grey Seals

Monday, 2 August 2010

California day 1

Yesterday (Friday) was one long day, We left Raleigh at 3pm and flew to Dallas Texas and then swapped planes for the flight to San Francisco, The plane that we flew to Dallas on went onto Albuquerque and some lucky bastard would have found my 3 month old Oakleys that i stupidly left in the seat back, So thats 2 sets of Oakley sunglasses lost this year to the cost of over $350-never going to live it down and i simply put it down to age, Sp we arrive at 9pm and then get the baggage,car etc and drive to San Jose and find somewhere to eat late-i.e a Mexican Karaoke bar where the singers are 60 and up-all very funny in a cringe making kind of way and then hit the sack for a few hours before getting ready for the first days shoot, now when we left North Carolina it was nearly 100 degrees and now here in California it doesn't want to go above 60 at the height of the day so we start the day by shopping for warmer clothes,The weather looks the same for the rest of the week, So the plans have changed a bit,there probably wont be any birds in flight as the sky is milky white but on the plus side anything with fur or feathers will be fair game as the overcast conditions will be great for bringing out detail, So a quick drive down to Monterey and fill the tummy with tea and clam chowder and then shoot playful California sea lions that strewn the beaches with their young, A few Harbour seals are around and not too amused at the sea lions antics and chill out on the exposed rocks,The sea otters are at distance as there are lots of divers around so they can wait a few days and towards the late afternoon i go to a place that has produced some nice gull shots in the past, Around Monterey you cant go more than 1/2 a mile without shooting something and the coats is 100's of miles long so go figure, I met with a few interested photographers who were interested in my gear and many friendly conversations were had and cards swapped, All in all a very nice relaxed and social start to the trip, Lets hope it continues

Heermans Gull shedding a feather after preening

Mouthy California Sea Lion male

Playful young sea lions being too playful

And loud

A couple of Harbour Seals take a break,the overcast conditions help with the black and white fur

Dave

Monday, 30 November 2009

That time of the year - Grey Seals

So we can expect to see lots of Seal images all over the forums from Donna Nook et all as the Grey Seal population comes ashore to deliver their new offspring, so if you are going there please think about giving the animals some space. There was some bad behaviour last year so I understand so lets hope there are no repeats. We have talked often enough on here that the welfare of the subject takes priority over the image.

More interesting for me was the story from the Farne Islands last week.

Last week five of the National Trust wardens had been stuck on the Farnes for three weeks while surveying the seal population. Food was running short as the boat was unable to take them off due to continuous high winds and heavy seas. Full story here.

The weather is bad news for the young seals who also suffered terribly last year with their numbers being decimated. Lets hope it is better around other parts of the coast although I understand it has been equally as bad around the south west too.

Update: Just remembered that I had this a bookmark on Donna Nook in Firefox so thought I would share

Martin

Bio's

David Courtenay, a self taught wildlife and nature photographer, has been capturing images for over 30 years. He has had a passion for wildlife since early childhood and remembers being glued to the television whenever Survival, Wildlife on One and other natural history documentaries were shown. In the 2006 he swapped his established career for the life of a wildlife photographer, such a move demands a measure of uncompromising passion and commitment.

David has travelled extensively throughout Europe as well as spending more than 7 months in India working with local guides and trackers in search of Bengal Tiger, Asian One horned Rhino and Asian Elephant. He has also photographed Wildlife in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, Africa, Canada and America. Working closely with Conservation companies he tries to raise funds to help Wildlife that has been put on the endangered list by poaching and habitation loss

Martin Dyer has had a passion for avian wildlife since childhood, particularly raptors. Photography was also another keen interest and it was with the specific availability and control of the whole process that digital offers that Martin was then able to combine the two in 2003. Based in the UK, Martin is a regular visitor to Scotland, specifically the Isle of Mull to watch the Eagles resident there. Other trips to Europe and around the UK are usually part of Martin’s agenda in a typical year.

However, as a firm believer on making the most of the local patch, Martin has spent a lot of time and hard work creating a wildlife garden which is reaping the rewards with many new species and varieties of wildlife. A keen member of a number of wildlife photographic groups, Martin is keen to expand his portfolio into other areas of wildlife, and has already established a wide portfolio of images of fungi.