Final Major Project:
Coran Gleed
For My FMP, I would
like to show how important and irreplaceable British wildlife and their
habitats are. I will look into the decline of our native species by contacting
and questioning local rangers and wardens about what action is being taken to
help preserve our wild life.
I am looking to
contact a warden from an English heritage sight such as Anthony House or
Saltrum House to acquire information on the conservational techniques they are
using, such as ancient tree protection, bird boxes, bat boxes and other ways to
help bring British wildlife back to its former glory, Ill also be enquiring
about what wildlife is in danger and what wildlife is becoming a problem due to
vast numbers, due to this Ill also be finding out what is being done to keep
vermin and non native wildlife at bay. Using a photojournalistic photography
still Ill be taking portraits of people involved as well as the conservation
projects at work. Obviously I will have to use model release forms for this.
The same idea applies
to Dartmoor rangers, although I will be asking the same questions I believe I
could be finding different results and different conservational techniques. The
imagery will keep to the same guidelines: portrait – conservation work –
wildlife & habitats.
Dredging rivers,
factory pollution, deforestation and excessive building will be taken into
account and hopefully an expert such as a ranger or warden will explain the
effects of these factors on British wildlife.
I have decided to use
digital for this project due to the wildlife element I will be needing a camera
that can shoot a large quantity of frames at a fast speed to capture the
animals before they disappear. Also by shooting digitally I will be in my
comfort zone as I am much more used to using digital giving the time scale for
this quite detailed project I would prefer to be competent with the kit to
produce better and efficient work. The final reason why I ended up picking
digital is the cost with wildlife photography sometimes you have to take 30
shots to get one good one, at £5 a roll of film after printing the cost will be
well above my budget.
I will be using techniques that are common in
wildlife photography, like, the use of a long lens, fast shutter speeds and
basic hunting skills, such as being down wind, shape, silhouette and shadow.
Also I will be more than likely be including landscapes of the habitats, which
will require a wide-angle lens, tripod, above F.22 and a remote shutter
release, portraits which will need a tripod, 18-55mm and model release forms.
My budget for the FMP
is around £400 pound this will be mainly for printing and travel because of my
decision to shoot digitally I will not have to pay for developing.
I would like to mount
the final images using an eco friendly paper, which will cost
Also I am considering
creating a photo book, which will go along side the prints during the summer
show. Which will cost around £100
Travel: £100
This leaves me with
£100 odd pound to use if needed on entry fees, food and other unknown expenses.
The reason I picked
this subject is due to my passion for nature and the responsibility I feel for
wildlife, particularly British wildlife. I believe we are concentrating on
other countries’ problems over and above our own in most circumstances including
wildlife situations. I feel that not a lot of people are aware of the rapid
decline in some of our most iconic animals such as the barn owl, which is now
endangered.
My inspiration came from various sources such
as BBC wildlife magazine, which has been a huge influence in most of my
environmental photography work. It has given me both ideas on current
Issues and an incite
to some awesome photography such as Laurie Campbell who’s images featured in
the latest magazine on the subject of British Hedgehogs
I would love to
produce some images like Lauries for this project I believe he shows a great
amount of clarity in his images, they are largely based on British wildlife, which
is perfect for this project. I will be researching Campbells work further to
find out how they he achieved them.
This
is the questionaire I'll be taking for the exsperts to fill out so I
can get a basic idea of the goings on in the location they are
resposible for.
Hedgehog shoot
I have managed to get in touch with Linda Squires who runs a Hedgehog
rescue and rehabilitation establishment for the British hedgehog conservation
society in St Bu5do Plymouth after a phone call she agreed to allow me to come
to the sanctuary and set up a photo-shoot on the 14th of April also we had a
chat about how we can use this project to bring some exposure to the establishment.
Also we talked about an opportunity put together an interview so i could
find out a bit about hedgehogs and the reasons behind their decline and
possible extinction by 2020. I will need to print a model release form to allow
me to take a portrait of Linda so I can legally use her portrait with in
the two page magazine spread I am hoping to create.
Kit
For this shoot I will be using natural light as to keep it as raw as
possible like Paul Hobsons style, I will take a Z96 constant light source in
case. I will be using a D90 camera and a 80-200mm lens so I can stand back and observe a more natural behaviour.
Warden/Ranger
Questionnaire
1. Name the most at risk wildlife in this
location:
2. What conservational techniques
are there to help preserve these species?
3. Do you use some of these
techniques here?
4. Have the winter storms
affected any of the wildlife in this area?
5. Is there anything planned in
the near future to help certain species?
6. What are the most significant
problems affecting wildlife in this area?
7. What can the public do to
help?
8. What are your thoughts on
re-wilding in the UK (beavers, wolves, lynx)?
9. What are your views on the
badger cull and fox hunting?
10.
Is fly tipping and
littering a big issue here?
TEST SHOOTS
Narrowed down
littering a big issue here?
TEST SHOOTS
Narrowed down
This project had to be narrowed down somewhat due to the amount
of time I need. I have narrowed my new project down to one animal. During this
first idea I spent countless hours in bushes waiting for the animals to emerge
but I had no luck. This is what made me think about changing towards a hedgehog
project because I have worked for the British Hedgehog Preservation Society
before and therefore knew how to get there and that I am guarantied images.
The Way of The Dodo
PROPOSAL
I
am re-writing my proposal due to a sudden realization to a
situation during the interviewing of Linda Squires, Linda is the manager
of a
Hedgehog conservation establishment in St Budeax Plymouth, During the
interview I learnt about the
desperate struggle to save the hedgehog and wondered why I have not
heard much
about the situation being a keen wildlife enthusiast myself, because of
this I have decided to use my FMP to try to bring some exposure of our
iconic spiky
friends. It has been predicted that hedgehogs could be extinct in 2020!
After speaking with Linda we have decided to take some
images that can be used in the campaign to help people realize that there
children may not ever see a hedgehog, we have to do some thing before they go
the way of the Dodo.
In this project I will be creating four images and a
magazine spread about the reasons behind the disappearance of hedgehogs , the
rescuing, releasing and most importantly how we the public can make a
difference in the stabilizing of this iconic member of our British wildlife .
To do this I will be attending regular meetings with Linda
and her organization to receive as much information as I can to support my
images, also i will be going along to releases and rescues to see how Linda
works. My images are not going to be glamorised I'm going to be taking a dead
pan photojournalist approach to them.
I would Ideally like to have one image of a hedgehog in
their perfect natural habitat , one image of a release, a image of a rescue and
a few of work behind the scenes that is helping to save them.
I have recorded the interviews and am considering to make a
video if I have time to go along side the presentation. I also would like to
have some information on how to foster hedgehogs and volunteer. Also Linda has
agreed to having her portrait taken so I can write a small piece on her.
For this I will be using a vast variety of techniques such
as basic wildlife photography ( the use of a large lens, fast shutter speed,
low ISO and wide aperture), landscape techniques for the showing of the natural
habitats (large depth of field, tripod slow shutter speeds and wide angle lens)
and portrait photography to capture the people who are making a difference in
the hedgehogs defence.
The reason I picked this subject is due to my passion for
wildlife and the responsibility I feel for wildlife, particularly British
wildlife. I believe we are concentrating on other countries' problems over and
above our own in most circumstances including wildlife situations, I feel that
not a lot of people are aware of the rapid decline in some of our most iconic
animals such as hedgehogs and barn owls which are now endangered.
In this project I hope to achieve some exposure to the
public and I hope to recruit some volunteers, donors and fosters for the
cause. If I could even acquire a small number I will be happy as every little
helps in this situation.
David Lloyd
This image of David Lloydsb featured on Digital Camera Magazine December 2013 the portrait of a Red fox is mind blowing, as soon as I saw this image I had to find out more about the photographer. He has a hole section of his website dedicated to British wildlife which is very important to me, though David was born in Newzealand his favourite locations to go shooting is Richmond Park near London and Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Botswan. this image is the one that featured on the front cover of Digital Camera Magazine he took this photo at 19.45 on a July evening it was his second trip to this enclosure in the British Wildlife Centre in Surry that day, he said he returned for the evening light and that there had been little rain earlier, which brought out the colour in the foliage. The shallow depth of field was deliberate as he wanted to detatch the Fox from the background, also he worded "It was imperative that the Fox's eyes had to be sharp."
These are some other images of Davids which I also think are amazing
I love this image. It was taken in David Lloyds belovid Richmond Park and I beleive this image has a feeling of being at one with nature, great beauty and a sence of fantasy behind the elusive Stag. the warm tones and soft foliage bring the image to life, I also beleive that the stags steamy breath adds a great deal to the image. Again the compersition is perfect the rule of thirds has been encorperated and the depth of field works perfectly bringing the views eye streight to the stag.
I am rather bias towards this image due to the fact that the British Wild Cat is my favourite British species and an animal in which I would love to build a project on in the future possible for my final major project in BA. The animal aside the image is still beautiful its not as pleasing as the other two due to the technical skill being more presant in the others but in this image there is still the great use of depth of field, rule of thirds and sharp eye contact.
http://davidlloyd.net/
Paul Hobson
Paul is a british photographer from Manchester. He studied a degree in Environmental Science in the late 1970s in specializing in wildlife conservation, and lectured in enviromental studies for 20 years before becoming a wildlife photographer.He has now been photographing wildlife for 25 years. I picked Paul to research because of his passion for wildlife and his 25 years experience.
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| I Love this image, the way the fox is looking back leads me to beleive he is making sure that he is not being followed. also the way Paul has framed the image leaving negative space in front of the fox in my opinion gives the impression of the direction of movment that is about to take place. |
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| I love the contrast of this image the way that the deer stands out from the darkness gives the impression of the depth of the forest. |
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| This is one of my favorite Paul Hobson images the way that Paul has managed to capture the Badger that he calls Brock going through the log must have taken a large amount of patients. Also i think the log frames the badger and draws the eye of the view to the main subject. A great use of a natural vignette. |
I beleive that Paul Hobson has a raw quallity to his images. It looks to me as if he uses no if not little post production.
http://www.paulhobson.co.uk/pages/mammals.php
Vic Schendel
Vic
is a Colorado photographer he started off as a painter and started
taking photos as a referance to paint from, during the course of doing
this he found a great talent and is now a renound wildlife photographer.
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| I wish i took this image this is one of my favourite images I have ever seen i love the perfect timing mixed with the eye contasct. |
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| Add caption |
David Shepherd
David shepherd is a wildlife conservationist and a painter, his images have inspired me since my dad showed me his work 2 years ago.
Internationally recognized as the world's best wildlife artist. David
Shepherd has at all times felt that he had a duty in the form of
conservation
towards the world and the animals that inhabit our planet.
In his lifetime, David Shepherd has painted and drawn many pictures, and
is able to share his many tales and experiences
with people internationally, often talking at charity dinners and
prestigeous social events.
His persona lends itself naturally to this cause, as he is a most
approachable down-to-earth fellow who enjoys sharing his pleasure
of art and his concern over the diminishing wildlife throughout the
world.
In his early days, he was 'thrown' into the creative world purely by
chance, as he wasn't particularly keen about other college activities.
http://www.davidshepherd.com/davidshepherd-biography.html
This is a painting that Shepherd done. It shows the cute harmless
character of the hedgehog ain a pose that I will try and recreate. I admire the
way he has left the background black as to draw the viewer to the main subject. In my opinion the white lines create a spider web
effect, which makes me feel as if the hedgehog is vulnerable which it is. The
foliage around the animal is also scares, which could be interpreted as the
vanishing of the hedgehog’s natural habitat. I know for a fact that David
Shepherd is a keen conservationist as my dad was a
finalist in the David Shepherd International Wildlife Artist of the year
competition and has spoke to him about conservation.
I love the way the stag in this painting is a good size I believe it shows the strength and pride of
this animal. David Shepard’s work is produced to show the beauty of wildlife
and he uses it to provoke awareness of decline, this is what I wish to use my
work for
The Story.
Linda
is the one who managed to
change the path of my project, I interviewed Linda on the 14th of April.
After this I was determined to do my bit in the battle against hedgehog
extinction. Linda is what I would call a true conservation warrior, she
has
more passion than any other individual I have met. Linda has devoted the
majority of her time,
a large sum of her own money and her house to make a difference. Up
until two
and a half years ago Linda managed the establishment, rescued, fed,
cleaned,
vaccinated and released all the hedgehogs that came her way (wHich some
times reached between 60-80) on her own. After realizing she
could not keep all of that work up on her own she phoned around the
other wildlife
rescue centres and was advised to start looking for fosterers, once the
animals
where stable. This would give her more time to concentrate on
the necessities of the hedgehogs and allow her to have a life around
saving
hedgehogs. The fostering started in the autumn of 2012. Since then Linda
and
a handful of volunteers have managed to foster over 60 hedgehogs, as
well as 20
plus hedgehogs in her adapted garage. This number often fluctuates up to
40, depending
on the fosterers being on holiday or if the hedgehogs become ill or
under weight.
Fosterers need to be equipped with a rabbit hutch and must be able to
weigh plus monitor the hedgehogs behaviour. They must also be keen on
wildlife and remember that the hedgehog is
not a pet as eventually they will be released back into the wild. They
must be
kept to their natural instincts, once they are of sufficient weight and
health
they will go back to Linda's establishment to have a final check where
if all
goes well, will be taken to a suitable release sight such as the one we
visited in
Wembury.
The
Ideal location
will be a wild garden with out a perimeter fence around it, so
they can wonder between gardens to find a good food supply. Meaning they
can also find mates that are not related. Having an un-disturbed area
where there are
lots of leafy low plants that will suit to accommodate a hedgehogs
nesting
area is another must. A meadow section of the garden where
invertebrates, slugs and snails, this will
help with the food supply a great deal. When shrubs and flowers get to a
height refrain from cutting them right down because very often there
will be
nesting mothers with offspring, this will either result in them getting
dislodged or potentially harmed. An area with no slug pellets and
chemicals on the garden as a hedgehog could ingest the pellets or
chemicals through
invertebrates. Slugs and snails just as often ingest the pellet as
hedgehogs. A
few years ago Bristol
University
took on a
study that found in post-mortems of hedgehogs 80% had a high
level of 'Wolfmin', which is found in rat poison. Another requirement is
that if
you have a pond or water source in your garden remember to put a
gradated exit
in a few areas, This is so a hedgehog or any small animal for that
matter doesn't fall into the water when taking a drink. They wouldn't be
able to get out again unless there was a
ramp available. This will obviously completely subsidise in the drowning
of animals such as; frogs, toads
and of course hedgehogs. This is a lot to ask for most people but I am
talking about the
perfect habitat for a hedgehog. As long as you have
a hedge row, no dogs, a way out of the area and some grass you are more
than
sufficient to have hedgehogs in your garden.
Reasons behind
the decline of Hedgehogs:
There are many
suspected reasons for the decline of hedgehogs but there are some that have
obviously pushed the spiky critters to near extinction. The main ones consists
of;
major loss of habitat, lately humans have began to build on anything that is green, resulting in animals not having any where to live, feed and hide. Due to the rapid way in which we have been building, in the last twenty plus years we have effectively pushed the animals out.
Also in this modern age we have changed our perception on what is a beautiful garden. Now-a-days decking and patios are very popular to have, this of course leaves little nesting sight for the one once named the gardeners friend.
Also when gardening there have been countless amounts of hedgehog injuries and deaths related to strimmers and forks. If we take a few minutes to look through the shrubbery and double check the corners of our gardens before bringing out the tools, we could reduce the chances of this animal being taken from future generations.
One issue of which I spoke to Linda about was the segregation of the hedgehog population by roads. This is a big issue as not only do hedgehogs have a hard time finding a mate it also encourages inbreeding. Inbreeding diminishes the gene pool and can result in disease and other genetic problems. Obviously cars are a problem to all wildlife, last year Linda and her team recorded eight Hedgehog deaths on the A38 with in two weeks. If this was put in to averages it could mean 192 deaths on the A38 a year alone.
major loss of habitat, lately humans have began to build on anything that is green, resulting in animals not having any where to live, feed and hide. Due to the rapid way in which we have been building, in the last twenty plus years we have effectively pushed the animals out.
Also in this modern age we have changed our perception on what is a beautiful garden. Now-a-days decking and patios are very popular to have, this of course leaves little nesting sight for the one once named the gardeners friend.
Also when gardening there have been countless amounts of hedgehog injuries and deaths related to strimmers and forks. If we take a few minutes to look through the shrubbery and double check the corners of our gardens before bringing out the tools, we could reduce the chances of this animal being taken from future generations.
One issue of which I spoke to Linda about was the segregation of the hedgehog population by roads. This is a big issue as not only do hedgehogs have a hard time finding a mate it also encourages inbreeding. Inbreeding diminishes the gene pool and can result in disease and other genetic problems. Obviously cars are a problem to all wildlife, last year Linda and her team recorded eight Hedgehog deaths on the A38 with in two weeks. If this was put in to averages it could mean 192 deaths on the A38 a year alone.
There is one
hedgehog that Linda saved on the 11th April. It was caught in an old football
net for quite some time, Linda managed to remove the netting and bring the poor
soul back to base where it still resides due to the amount of ticks that
managed to crawl onto him during the time he was trapped. On the 14th, when I
first visited, the Hedgehog had well over 20 big ticks over him including
his face. Linda removes about 5 each time to keep him from a large amount of
stress.
TEST SHOOTS
Shoot
one was dominated by images of behind the scenes photography. The first twelve
shots were taken in Linda’s sanctuary where she was checking selected hedgehogs
for release as I was undertaking this part of the project I found that the
18-55mm lens gave me the right sort of view due to the similarity of the human
eye giving the view a feeling of actually being there, these photos are not
glamourized in any way so the images have a raw quality that shows the real Linda’s
world. The sanctuary is not built to look pretty it has one purpose and that is
to look after the hedgehogs. The lighting in the sanctuary was all natural except
when Linda was using a lamp to examine the droppings of the hedgehogs through
the magnifying glass.
I had the camera set on ISO 160 as to try keeping the grain down, f.2.8 for a shallow depth of field to give the image a bit of depth and shutter speed 1/320 to reduce camera shake, as I was not using a tripod. I shot on a D90 with an 18-55mm nikor lens.
TEST SHOOTS
I had the camera set on ISO 160 as to try keeping the grain down, f.2.8 for a shallow depth of field to give the image a bit of depth and shutter speed 1/320 to reduce camera shake, as I was not using a tripod. I shot on a D90 with an 18-55mm nikor lens.
This was the most successful
shoot of the project as the image quality is to a higher standard and the
surroundings are much more natural. Although the images are sharp and colourful
the hedgehog I was taking photos of was surprisingly quick and yet again Linda
would not let him come out for long due to this I only got a few images that
where suitable to use. Images 4,5 and 23 were the better shots and will become
some of my finals along side the portrait shot and a few of the behind the
scenes images.
The imperfections of this image in my opinion is the black plant pot in the background which detracts from the image, also I would have liked the hedgehog more to the right where it would have laid on one of the rule of thirds power points.
Though
the face was covered the rule of thirds showed potential after a quick crop I
added the face from the image below. Also this image was let down by both the
red flowerpot in the left hand top corner and the black flowerpot in the top
right. I like the angle of the photo as I think it gives the hedgehogs
perspective and allows you to jump in to the hedgehogs world which to us is a
few small weeds but to them it must be like a rainforest.
This image was almost perfect I love the sharpness and the natural look of the hedgehogs body language, The surroundings do not show any human interferences but the rule of thirds is heavy on the left and as the hedge hog is facing out the left hand side it makes the image look to heavy on that side. This is the reason why I merged the two images together to try get the better of each photo.
This
image was probably the better of all the portrait shots it has had a large
amount of cloning and other editing from the original below. The image in my
opinion lacked in character though Due to the time scale I was not able to re shoot. I tried to make this image reflect the painting of David
Shepherd's hedgehog, I tried to show a sense of solidarity and harmlessness.
Due to the angle and the way the
hedgehog was being held the image was not brilliant.
This
hedgehog is being sexed and checked for parasites before release. The image is
very raw its not particularly exciting but its purpose was to show the real way
in which this happens in the sanctuary the news paper is distracting and the
surroundings are messy I think it fall in to the dead pan ascetic though I do
not personally like the shot it does the job.
This
hedgehog is undergoing the weighing process as to make sure the hedgehog has sufficient
strength to go back to the wild. The image is rather warm and again shows the
way of Linda’s world reusing items such as the kitchen paper rolls on the left
as notes pads and reusing donated newspapers to keep cross contamination to a
low. Luckily this hedgehog was fit and well and was released on the 14th of
March to a stunning hedgehog hotspot location.
Also
before release Linda has to check droppings for parasite eggs and lungworms.
This is a messy process and Linda talked me through what she was looking for as
she done it luckily all the animals on that release date where clear. Yet again
this is a dead pan shot no editing was undertaken.
This release site is what Linda explains to be a perfect hedgehog environment. This was the first release I witnessed. The release sight in Wembury was the garden of a well off family who are wildlife mad, they gave up their time, garden and money to make sure these animals had the best chance of survival. The image its self again only had a slight lighting touch up on Photoshop where the harsh light bleached out the sky.
This
Hedgehog is one of the lucky ones he was released to the perfect sight and will
have a good chance of survival now he’s in this new location being monitored
and fed. the image was taken in a few seconds as Linda did not want to keep the
animal in the day light for to long and so I was not able to set up the shot
properly.
Buisness Cards
This is the original desgn I came up with.
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| Front |
Though I like this design I thought it showed me as more of a fashion photographer. So I decided to print this one or a similar one in the near future as I will have two business card one for my passion conservation and landscape photography and one for fashion, portrait and wedding photography.
Due to the work I am submitting in the summer show I believe that a more nature-orientated card would be more fitting. I thought at first of creating a card with just one image but after a while I decided that I would use strips of a few images as to show more variety and skills. I got them printed at Moo because of their prices and the quality of the paper and printing, I am very happy with the out come and will be using them again.
ALL IN ALL
I found
this project did not go the way I originally hoped, the down fall of my project
was the underestimating of the amount of time I could take photos with out disturbing
the animals and fitting around Linda’s schedule. If I was to do this project
again I think I will push the importance of the work more to let the
client/subject make more time for me to work, also I would manage my time
better and start with a less ambitious brief. In enjoyed the project and was
pleased with my writing peace and interviewing but the images were rushed and
let the project down. Though I wont be using this peace of work for my summer show I will be sending it to Linda whom will try and use the work I have done to expose the situation. I feel like I have done my bit in trying to help the hedgehog but I will try and do more.
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