September 2024 Viewfinder
4 out of 5 is a perfect score in this month's Opposite View Wildlife Photography newsletter.
“Perfection is the enemy of progress”, said Winston Churchill.
I don't know about progress, but striving for perfection can also remove the joy from an experience. As someone who can overthink a simple situation, one of the benefits of wildlife photography is that it keeps me in the moment. It's hard to plan or over-analyse when I can't predict what the animal in front of me will do. The reactive approach to much of my photography is due to my situation and the unpredictability of wildlife in general. I often have a relatively short period to spend with my subject, compared to those photographers who may regularly spend hours or days in one location focusing on one species.
All of this means I'm often more focused on reacting to the encounter I'm having with an animal, than capturing an image I've planned in my head. I'm always trying to make the best of the photography opportunity and the time with my subject - perfection goes out of the window. But that's the joy for me - less preparation, more punting.
My suck it and see attitude to much of my wildlife photography came with us on our holiday to Arran. I knew the island had a reputation for being an ideal location to see all of ‘Scotland’s Big 5’ but this wasn't a wildlife watching holiday. Yes, I wanted to see harbour seals, red squirrels, red deer and golden eagles. I was actually pretty desperate to see an otter with my partner, as he'd never seen one. And yes, I'm fully aware that if you want to capture images of those five species, you should be going out at dawn and dusk, checking the tide times for the coastal animals, and waiting for the best light. But we also wanted lazy mornings, relaxed meals, and to explore as much as possible in our week on Arran. We were on holiday, after all, not a mission.
Spoiler alert: even with the minimum amount of time spent wildlife spotting, we saw four out of five of the ‘Big 5’ during our break. I won't share which four here - you'll need to read the blog (link below) to find that out - but let's just say I was delighted with every encounter.
And that leads me nicely to this recent image of a fox on my local patch.
When I began this newsletter series, I promised to show you the best and worst of my wildlife photography. But vanity usually prevents me from sharing images I'm not happy with. Well, not today. I captured this image while sitting on a log in the woods, patiently waiting for the roe deer to arrive. When this fox appeared out of nowhere, trotting around the trees and moving closer to me, it was an opportunity that I couldn't overlook. While I was grateful for the foxy fortune, I was less happy about the dark conditions and the amount of long grass between me and my bushy-tailed subject. Trying to follow the fox with my lens and lock focus while not drawing attention to myself was tricky. After maybe a minute, the fox looked over to where I was sitting, suddenly realised I was there, and loped away into the field. I checked back through the images and was happy with two of them. Result.
When I got home, I opened this image on my laptop and realised I'd chopped the end off the fox’s tail. Cue a string of swear words. There was still one image I was happy with, but I couldn't help beating myself up about the tip of that beautiful bushy tail.
After a few minutes, I came to my senses. It had been an unexpected encounter that I had loved every second of. Spending just a few moments close to one of my favourite animals is perfection. The photo? Well, I guess it's a four out of five - and that's an imperfect score that had already made me very happy this month.
I'll leave you with the one image I was happy with from that fox encounter…to satisfy my vanity, you understand.
Best wishes,
Rhiannon
Opposite View Wildlife Photography
Through my lens
Gimme (Scotland’s Big) Five - Photographing wildlife on the Isle of Arran
In Africa, lions, leopards, rhinos, buffalos, and elephants are the Big Five game animals. These iconic species are often at the top of many safari-goers must-see lists. But did you know that Scotland also has a Big Five? In 2013 – the Year of Natural Scotland – Visit Scotland and NatureScot (then Scottish Natural Heritage) created ‘Scotland’s Big 5’ to showcase the nation's most-loved native wildlife species: the harbour seal, otter, red squirrel, red deer, and golden eagle. The aim was to encourage people across Scotland to enjoy watching these animals in their natural environment. That is easier said than done, though, as all five species live in varying habitats across the country. So, where better to see 'Scotland’s Big 5’ than on a miniature Scotland?
In this blog, I explain why photographing four of 'Scotland's Big 5' wildlife on Arran led to a 10/10 holiday full of natural spectacles.
Species spotlight
Great spotted woodpecker - the disruptive drummer
When the COVID-19 lockdown kicked in, walks across the local golf course became a daily activity. Revisiting the same spots every evening meant I became very familiar with the sound of the place - the same characters appeared each time. However, there was one noise that carried more than any other over the wide open spaces between the wooded areas - the distinctive rapid drumming of the great spotted woodpecker.
In this blog, I explain why the great spotted woodpecker is not only the ultimate woodland percussionist but is also a master of camouflage.
And finally…
In 2011, 2012 and 2013, I attended an in-person conference at the Royal Geographical Society in London called WildPhotos. It was two days where I could completely immerse myself in learning more about nature photography. They were weekends full of inspirational talks and impressive images from hugely successful and creative photographers from all over the world - many who had received recognition at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards. I felt gutted when they pulled the plug on WildPhotos, as it gave me an excuse to geek out on nothing but wildlife photography for two days straight every year.
Well, I’m delighted to say WildPhotos is back to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Wildlife Photographer of the Year! This time, the event will be a one-day symposium held in Bristol and online on Sunday 13th October. I’ve got my online ticket and would highly recommend attending in some form if you can.
Keep in touch
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