I’ve finished my second year at University for the summer and what a long summer awaits me. I’m appreciating the lie-ins but I know that I’ll quikcly get bored so I’ve had an idea. A project!
Reading over previous editions of BBC Wildlife Magazine (kindly donated to me by a family friend) It seems that certain wildlife photographers suggest focusing on one animal, a speciality. If I had a choice, my speciality would be big cats but I live in Cleethorpes.. with a small dog so thats not really an option. I’ve taken after my dad in the nature department and our garden is relatively wildlife focused with ‘wild’ areas that go untouched, a compost heap for insects and a pond.
The pond attracts allsorts of wildlife. We have fish in there and frogs, tadpoles and a variety of garden birds which visit on a frequent basis. I don’t actually have a hide per se and a home-made one would consist of an upside down clothes horse with a green towel draped over the top. Hmm, that might work actually? Well too late now because I’ve asked my friend if I can borrow her tent. Its a two man tent so I’ll have space to stretch my legs and sleep if the student in me decides to re-appear mid-session!
After deciding on the idea, I thought I’d experiment and sat on the lawn, camera at the ready. The dogs were out with me so I thought if the birds weren’t having any of it.. I could photograph them! Coco quickly decided that I was comfy and snuggled in to my lap, securing the fact that no birds would becoming anywhere near me. Now, I don’t think I’ve been blessed with amazing photography skills and I think my reactions are a bit slow.. and I always think getting the camera out ready might make you miss this great experience you’re encountering but hey, I’m willing to give it a go! My ‘test’ session proved relatively successful with relation to dog-photography (see attached: Pippi emerging) but the majority of pond photographs have my bare feet in the bottom corner or coco’s tail mid-wag.
Better luck next time?
..I’ll let you know!
