Car Camping - Luxury on Wheels

I have to start off by saying my car is far from luxury, a Ford Focus mki from 2001 I inherited from my grandfather 5 years ago and it’s a rolling scrap yard but I have to say it is more valuable to my photography than any bit of photo-gear I have. It does the job perfectly of driving me to locations and places I couldn’t otherwise go AND I can sleep in it. 

But why sleep in the car and not an Airbnb or hotel like a normal person? Its uncomfortable, it’s weird and sort of scatty. You don’t have anywhere to cook and where do you lie? Do you fold down the front sleep or do you fold down the back seats? 

Well you’re a cheap skate photographer who’s spent all their spare cash on camera gear, the insurance of the car is due and you’re still determined to go to Snowdonia to photograph mountain goats because for some weird reason taking photos is one of the most important things in your life so you don’t have much choice. The car has to do and suddenly you realise that a bad nights sleep can be sorted by a coffee off a camp stove, fresh air and grit determination. You’ve got a spare blanket, duvet and pillow off your bed at home so why need worry about being warm during the night and most importantly you don’t need to pay for staying in your car so you can stay as long as you like. Pasta packets are 89p from lidl and water you can take off the mountain. So you could consider the car as a hotel on wheels saving you tons of cash meaning you can go on more adventures. 

Now there’s a strong argument for taking a tent and sleeping in that. It’s certainly more comfortable than the cramped boot of a hatchback and less sneered at. However, camping is illegal in most parts of the UK unless given permission by the landowner while sleeping in your car is not. Your car is more waterproof, more draft free and quieter than a tent. You also don’t have to pack the car down worrying about hanging it up to dry when you get home or forgetting the tent pegs. The car also has amazingly comfortable seats you can recline in and windows you can wind down. A tent sometimes has windows but not always and you’d have to carry a pretty big tent to be able to get comfortable reclining seats inside. It’s a no brainer. I mean you can take your car up the mountain but you can always take a tent for that bit. But there are many good laybys and car parks in all the national parks you can hide a car in for the night and the beauty of a hatchback is people don’t suspect you’re in the back. 

Now I love camping and typically I would choose the tent over the car if the option is there but for peace of mind I choose the car if I’m swaying between the two. Also the money you save on the accommodation you can spend on food like warm meals and I find these often boost the moral more than a comfy bed. Car camping trips cost you just the petrol it takes to get you there and this opens up everywhere as a possible destination. 

I have car camped across Europe. Germany, Croatia, Slovenia, Scotland, wales and of course England. Car camping has allowed me to photograph the mountain goats in Snowdonia, Red kites in wales, the seals at donna nook, puffins on Skomer and the Eriskay ponies in the Outer Hebrides. The car has acted as a hotel the night before ultra-marathons, a roof over our heads before a Bob Graham attempt and refuge during a stormy weekend when all ferries off the isles of North and South Uist had been cancelled. 

Its nerve wracking the first time because you’ve bene told you shouldn’t do it. But once you’ve done it and you find a comfortable sleeping position it quickly becomes quite easy to do. It opens up endless opportunities for your photography and I would recommend it to all. Particularly in these Covid times were you’re risking life and limb in getting too close to people this is an easy and enjoyable (and adventurous!) way to get out and maintain social distancing. 

Photographing the new Forest Ponies

I have personally overlooked the New Forest Ponies as a photographic subject for quite some time now and with the new forest being less than an hour away I really had no excuse. I’ve never really seen horses as an interesting subject – a famous photographer once said “Swans are the subject of cheap post cards” and this is exactly how I felt about horses… until now. 

Driven by interest in photographing something different from deer but wanting to remain in the large mammal category I was forced to give them a go. But I didn’t want to just photograph them in the heather and be done with it. I wanted to use them as an experimental piece to play with new photographic angles that I might be able to take into photographing other subjects… surprise surprise.. such as deer. 

I wanted clear clears and direct sunlight, I wanted black out backgrounds but also blown out backgrounds. I wanted front light possibilities and back light possibilities. I basically wanted a flat canvas to experiment with form. This mean I needed fairly flat but also fairly hill ground. This is actually quite easy to find in the new forest and all you have to do is drive until you find a group of ponies in a suitable spot and just hang out. 

Also the great thing about the New Forest Ponies is that they come in different colours, white, brown and black so by shifting between the animals you can get different colours and feels to your images. 

Here are some of the images I have collected of the New forest Ponies. Hope you enjoy. 

Shooting Film - My First 6 Rolls

Making a move into shooting film was inevitable, I knew it was. Since the moment I picked up a digital camera there was an enticement about film photography that felt almost untouchable, mysterious. It was a medium that has been around for so long but was so foreign to my digital orientated mind. 

Photography for me has always been digital, on a phone screen or through a webcam – you could always see the image you were about to capture in the exposure it was going to be captured in and even if you couldn’t you got an immediate rendering of the image once you had taken it allowing for immediate adjustment. Film didn’t allow you to see the image you were capturing, even on automatic exposure though a light meter you don’t know if you subject will be correctly exposed. You don’t know if you’ve got the shot so you have to scrutinise the image when your taking this and reminding yourself to do so if difficult.

Film also cost more. £5-10 per roll and then £10 development. That’s £20 for 36 images, about 56p an image. Although you could argue it isn’t much… it is if you compare it to 0p per digital image. Yes a film camera costs about 1/5-1/10 of the cost of a digital camera but over time those costs add up. However I don’t look at it as 56p an image. I’m seeing it as a nice evening spent photographing sunset at £20. Which if I compare the level of enjoyment of shooting a sunset with a camera I enjoy using vs the cost of going to a pub and getting a meal and pint it suddenly becomes very good value. 

One also has to be a price of the emotional side of film. This sounds cheesy but there is something nostalgic about film photography. It seems more connected to memory than digital photography. It isn’t necessarily there to have a pristine image but trigger something in the mind to connect you to the time you took that image. This makes it special and worth those 56p per image.

All that said I’m seeing shooting film as a learning experience. Manual focus, manual exposure, figuring out how the camera meters to enable the correct exposure. You also have to remember what you did when you shot the film vs when you receive it form the lab once it’s been developed.

There is no instant feedback so you have to remember and learn each time rather than working predominantly off intuition. Film isn’t for every occasion but I love it. It’s costing me shots in the digital side of things but I don’t care – when I get better at film I’m sure the images (in certain circumstances) will outshine my digital ones. 

Photographing Highland Cattle in the Outer Hebrides

A very cliché subject I have to admit. However, how could one possibly miss the opportunity to photography such an iconic breed in their natural habitat? You see huge numbers of images of this breed all over social media, typically edited in a moody dark way and you and 100% see why this is done. The cattle’s coat is perfectly suited for this style of editing. The darker deeper hair coating lighter longer hair on top which looks like highlights. But to fall into this trap would be too easy and you’d end up with photos like everyone else out there. 

Young Highland Calf at Sunset - Isle of Harris, Outer Hebrides.

So, I set out to try and take images that would do them justice but also try and make them as unique as possible (if it even is possible??). 

Highland Cow giving my car a smell - Isle of Harris, Outer Hebrides

 Obviously, I wanted to try and include their environment as much as possible. The rocks, the white beaches, and the long grass are all features of the land I wanted to feature. An in-context photo if well composed I think is 3917598471x more interesting that even the best portrait – not to say I didn’t indulge in some close-up portraits. 

Isle of North Uist, Outer Hebrides.

 Light is the challenging addition that of course you want but you can never count on and something I’m finding so true in this month in the Outer Hebrides. The sun is a nice blessing but a nice sunset is something to really treasure and it seems that you can have a nice sunny day all day only for the sunset to be scuppered but a cloud bank on the horizon. So when the light is right you really have to make the most of it. 

Farmer Bringing in Cattle - Isle of Harris, Outer Hebrides.

 When the light does shine though it is truly special and the colours and tones on offer are spectacular. 

3 year highland cow photographed in a Glen on the Outer Hebrides.

 I tried to invest as much time as possible in photographing these animals and what is nice coming from a wildlife photography background is how willing these subjects are to allow you to take photos of them. Take it slow and easy and they will let you get very close but also they are very inquisitive so they may even come towards you for a stroke. 

The Coat of a White Highland Cow.

 If you’ve read this far then you’ve already seen the photos and I hope you have enjoyed looking through them. I thoroughly enjoyed taking them even if it did mean car camping for a few evenings to enable me to be this close to this herd. 

Highland Herd - Outer Hebrides

Photographing Roe Deer – How too?

My favourite subject. I have spent so much time over the past 3 years trying to photograph these animals and get images of them that just do them justice. It has been a long slog, majority failure but with some successes that have driven me foreword. Learning their behaviour and the fieldcraft to get the shots has been more important and more beneficial than any gear I could own. The fast aperture and high frames per second along with good iso performance of any camera mean nothing if you can’t get close enough without disturbing them. This has taken a lot of time to build up and I am nowhere near perfecting it. My impatience and excitement always get the better of me and I end up cursing myself afterwards, why I didn’t just hold out that extra minute before moving, releasing the shutter or stepping out from cover? Here I will try and explain what I have learnt so far, it is not an exhaustive guide but it might help someone some small amount. 

Roe Deer in the South Downs - Chichester. I knew a number of different Roe deer would hang out in this field at sunset. The field’s topography allowed for a perfect silhouette to be made against the setting sun. All i had to do was position myself and wait and the deer came running. Photographed from a footpath.

Location and Patience. There are two main things I have found that help with photographing Roe deer. Location and patience. Location is such a contributing factor, this will determine if the environment in which you photograph the deer will be photogenic, whether the light will be good enough at certain key times of the day (sunrise and sunset – both when cloudy or sunny) and whether there are enough deer so that you aren’t waiting far too long before seeing any deer (if at all!). you have to be patient with finding a good location because the better the location the less patient you have to be once you set up, more deer means less waiting time, a more photogenic location means more angles to photograph from and possibly the inclusion of additional complimentary factors (wildflowers, rolling hills, nice sunset). 

Roe Deer in the Bluebells - Chichester. Shot at 3200iso f6.3 this is the max my camera would go. Knowing a location with bluebells with a high enough density of deer was key for this shot to happen, all i had to do was wait (2 weeks of evening in the same spot). Photographed in Access land.

So how do you find a good location?  Firstly, look as close to your home as possible! The quicker you can get out there the most often you will go and the more time you can spend there. This also just helps because photographing locally is always nice – in my opinion. the most common place you will find roe deer are in fields with undisturbed woodland nearby. I say undisturbed but also rarely frequented by dog walkers or walkers in general. This means the deer aren’t so skittish but also will follow similar habits most days which in turn means they might be semi predictable. How do you find these locations? The best place to start looking is google maps, this typically has nearly up to date satellite images and you can see the lay out of the fields and woods and guess what time they will be good for, sunset or sunrise? It is also good if 1) it is access land, this means you can walk all over it to your hearts content and photograph whatever you like where ever you like on it – this is a perfect situation, moors, heathland, MOD land (most of the time), woodland is usually access land or 2) footpaths this at least gives you access along the footpaths and if it is a well-positioned footpath (running through a crop field or alongside one) you can set up on it and still have amazing angles. Both of these situations I utilise to the full. 3) permission to access land – this is a golden ticket and if you can get this then you are away free but not available to everyone. 

Roe Doe in the Wheat - Chichester. I had seen the Roe running about in the wheat i knew it was distracted. I was downwind and it was paying attention to me as i moved along a footpath that doubled as a tramline until i came to intersecting tramline that the deer was jumping across. I set up at the intersection and waited until it came into view. It saw me and moved closer allowing me to get this shot.

The next step is to visit the location, see for yourself the lay of the land. Take your camera and test angles, test background bokeh, complimentary backgrounds, shades, nice foregrounds, slight changes in elevation in the fields topography that will help/hinder any photograph you hope to get. Also if you visit after 18:00 you may even see deer! This is ideal, because then you start to build up an idea of where they like to feed/hang out. What I have found when photographing Roe is that they are creatures of semi habit – this also depends on the individual. But they will often frequent the same exactly stop for a few evenings or at least be within a stone’s throw. So once you have visited the same location a few times wondered around it at 18:00+ hours then you will notice the locations the deer pop out in. this is where you want to set up and test your angles. Arrive earlier then when you see the deer maybe 18:00 is fine, I typically go out 18:30-19:00 to set up but in the height of summer this can be too late still and in winter it is wayyy to late (its already dark). Then once set up just wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Phone signal helps, a beer even more as it means you are quiet, still and not fidgeting, but also keep an eye out.

Roe Buck in the Wheat - Chichester. Photographed from a footpath running alongside a wheat field.

You want to be aware where the deer comes from, when it does pop out and also which direction it is going in. Wait for it to be comfortable out in the open (this is the hardest bit) before releasing the shutter. Do it slow and progressively. If you hit it with a burst of full frame, 10FPS immediately it will spook and run. You want to ease the shutter sound into its life… which is hard but worth it. Also, if you are still and the deer is walking in your direction, stay still it will be used to you and can get incredibly close. I have found that edging closer has only helped in about 1/10 situations while staying still helps in about 2/6 so staying still usually pays off so the benefits of both have to be weighed up massively. 

Roe Buck Silhouette - Chichester. Photographed from the edge of access land looking out over an open field.

Once you have a good location and know the deer are then it is only time before the good shots start rolling in. If you have got good light and a good location there is no need for a fast aperture, high iso or fast FPS or FF. A crop sensor on a 300mm lens will give you 480 equiv which is enough. The fieldcraft and investment in a location will pay off more. I typically shoot deer on a 1dsiii/1div with the sigma C 150-600mm f5-6.3. This has offered me the ideal set up for getting the images I am after. The longer focal range certainly helps with those tight in portraits but for environmental shots I find myself zooming out. I hope this has helped and I hope you have enjoyed the photo of Roe accompanying this text. 

Roe Doe in a freshly mowed hay field - Chichester. Taken from the edge of access land into an open field.

Photographing Rabbits

Rabbits aren’t something I have put a huge amount of time into photographing in the past, this changed this summer. I had spotted a promising location by chance a few minutes’ drive from my house. I noticed it mainly because I kept having to dodge kittens that had strayed too close to the curb. I finally clocked that this was on a playing field which predominantly remained empty apart from the odd dog walker, this was ideal. I think with a lot of wildlife photography it is hugely down to the location. You want some level of human exposure s that the animals aren’t completely wild, you also want a flattering environment. The occasional dog walker here meant the rabbits were used to humans at a distance, the playing field meant the grass is kept relatively short yet there are wildflowers around the edge with longer more luscious grass and spring growth. The density of rabbits was high with numerous locations for the rabbits to enter and exit the foliage at the sides of the field – all great things. AND there were kits, this was vital. Adult rabbits for all their photogenicity are completely outclassed by kits and would require a large amount of behaviour for them to complete. This would be fine and a mix of kits and a lot of adults would deliver this. 

Rabbit at sunset - Chichester

I tried this location for sunset initially. However the treeline on the western edge of the field meant there was limited light at the end of the day, it was still workable but more limited and not always falling on the better parts of the warren. There were also more people at sunset. There would be dog walkers coming through every 20-30 minutes which would spook the rabbits back into their holes – a nightmare. 

Kit in the Wildflowers - Chichester

 I tried the morning and this worked a lot better. The eastern edge of the field banked off so the first morning light would flood the entire area with that amazing golden hour light. There were also no walkers at this time 5:30 and earlier is still too early for even the most covid-nervous dog owner so I could have an hour or so without being disturbed. 

Rabbit in first light - Chichester

 A string of good weather days meant I could fully immerse in this new location trying out different angles, working with the wild flowers and the silhouettes. It was great. The best method for getting close was to walk straight up to the spot I wanted, the rabbits would go into their holes and I would set up waiting for them to come back out, stock still until they did. They would then pop out at certain distances and if they came out too far they were unlikely to come any close so the key would be to wait them out and eventually (most of the time) one would pop out of the bushes right into front and just hold it nerves long enough for its photo to be taken. Occasionally they would hang around but after hearing the shutter a few times they would plod on a bit further away. If you could remain still enough then the rabbits might even forget the shutter. I was using the sigma 150-600mm f5-6.3 on a full frame canon 1ds markiii and found this focal length of 600mm ideal range to have the distance to photograph them but still keep them at a distance so they exhibit their normal behaviour. The f6.3 on a FF also gave easily enough bokeh to isolation the rabbits nicely against the background.

Rabbit in the Bluebells - Chichester

 It was through doing this for a fair few days over a couple of weeks I started to build up a collection of rabbit photos I was pleased with. Hours of lying on my stomach in dew and mud, getting aches and lying on my phone screen resulting in it cracking. Completely worth it and it resulted in learning so much about photographing these endearing animals. 

1st time Photographing Rabbits in Richmond Park - London

Hong Kong - The Protest

 I was in Hong Kong for one weekend and one weekend only. It was initially a trip to see old friends, meet a colleague and see the city – this all happened. But it also turned into something else. The week before I was meant to fly, Hong Kong had its first protest on the china extradition law. This was news, and something quite shocking to the rest of the world. This is a country that has lived by western freedoms for a while and now has country being handed back to its country of origin. Hong Kong has its own judiciary system but the pro-Chinese leader of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam, passed a bill to extradite criminal suspects back to china under certain circumstances. People believed this would lead to unfair trial and treatment of these people. It upset a lot people and they protested. 

Hong Kong’s Neon Lights - Hong Kong

It all started on the Friday. I landed in Hong Kong as the sunset and I gazed out my window at the scenery. The mountains, the harbours, the sky scrapers are all something we’ve seen in the UK but not all together. It was cool and I was a little excited to see the city that has influenced the Britain’s relationship with China over the past 150 years. 

Outside Pacific Place - Hong Kong

The bus ride to the hotel was cool, everything was so similar to being in England but so different. They drove on the left and even road markings look identical, just someone got the font slightly wrong. I arrived at the hotel at about 10pm, grabbed my camera and headed out into the streets to explore. It was cool, genuinely like I’d stepped into blade runner. I snapped a few shots of the neon and headed back to the hotel to sleep. 

Queensway - Hong Kong

Saturday, I started hearing rumours of another protest planned for the Sunday - this was exciting. I cruised around town, walking around the places I had read the protests had taken place the week before, familiarising myself with it. I then jumped onto the public transport system to head out to the new territories. I was headed to a place called Sai Kung and got dropped off by the tiny minibus on Fuk Man Road – no joke. I was going to stay with my friends who had lived in Hong Kong most of their life and knew the area like the back of their hand. We went to the pub, chatted late and then went for a morning swim in the bay to clear our heads. Then we waited. 

Queensway - Hong Kong

We were checking a number of WhatsApp groups and Facebook pages to try and gauge whether the protest was going ahead and at what time and location. We had an idea of where it would be because of the previous protest, on Hong Kong Island near Central. This was a little risky for me as I had to get my plane that evening and I knew If I went to Hong Kong island and the transport links got closed down I would struggle for time. 

Protesters using Megaphone - Hong Kong

We got the confirmation of location, Central again. I jumped on the public minibus and stormed into town. The transport wasn’t busy and I was unsure if this was right. I got off the minibus and descended into the Kowloon bay MTR station – near empty again. As I neared Hong Kong island I noticed more and more young people getting on at the stops. When it came to transfer to the island line the place was packed – everyone wearing black in support of the protests. it took several trains to get onto the island line as the queues were so big. Everyone was moving slowly, calmly, no shouting or ruckus. This surprised me, I was expecting it be more intense. We moved along towards admiralty and central where the protests were taking place. I got off the stop before as not to get stuck at the station and would walk. 

Protestors having a rest at the central parting - Hong Kong

It was madness when I disembarked the train. I joined masses of people moving up towards the street and when the crowd reached the street it was loud and there was a real atmosphere. The crowd was moving as one along the main street. Thousands and thousands of people. I genuinely had not seen so many people outside of a festival mainstage. Everyone wearing black, everyone with signs and shouting as one. I didn’t know where they were going but I joined in the masses, walking passed the memorial to the protester who fell from pacific place. There were flowers, notes and of course a yellow raincoat. People were laying more flowers, writing notes and crying... emotions ran high. 

Protest Sign - Hong Kong

The throng moved on, you got swept along with it. You had to move to the side to stop getting sucked along. Climbing onto the centre parting in the road was where you could get a rest. People were standing on the footbridges that crossed the main road, people shouting into megaphones, handing out flyers that said ‘no china extradition’. I moved with the crowd, marching along. People had climbed onto buildings and unfurled banners and Cantonese slogans which I could not read. 

Memorial to the protestor that fell to his death - Hong Kong

The edges of the march had been roped off in places by the police, allowing for a single route snaking through the city. For the most part people were well behaved and being respectful. There was a lot of emotion in the crowd but this was a protest, far from a riot. 

Sign and Skyscrapers - Hong Kong

Time ticked by and my plane was getting closer, a number of stations had been closed and I was running the risk of Hong Kong station closing. The protest march came close so I made to decision to duck out. I jumped a barrier the police had made to reroute the protest and I headed off to the station to get the airport express. It was a cool experience – something that is so monumental. A people trying to decide their countries fate and steer it in a direction that seems more and more to be decided for them. While many of the older people have some favourable views towards Beijing the young are liberal and young, grown upon a country with all the freedoms of the west. Can a group of people who have experienced this go to a life of modern communism, state run media and constant surveillance that the Chinese government can implement on it’s citizens? It will be interesting to see what happens here as Hong Kong comes close to the end of its time as a special administrative region. 

The Philippines - The Cockfight

I hadn’t known cock fighting was a thing in the Philippines until we passed a cockfighting area on the way to work one day. I remarked “ah there’s a basketball stadium” to which my colleague replied “it’s for cockfighting” - I was shocked. I can easily understand cockfighting (or sabong in Tagalog) taking place small scale in villages off the radar but this was a sophisticated arena with ticket booths and stands. Interestingly, after doing some research I found it is actually the small cockfights in the villages which are not allowed. The government regulates cockfighting here and limits the number of official cockfighting arenas a town is allowed based on its population size. It is a multibillion-peso industry with the big cock fights in manila being streamed live on TV. This arena was small scale in comparison to the big ones in the capital but it was still bustling. I knew I had to go. My colleague and guide for the time we were there agreed to take us, he was familiar with the set up and how it worked so was a good guy to go with. 

Sabong Ring - Leyte, Philippines

We got some time off work and cruised over to the arena. The sides of the road were packed with cars and parking was hard. As we approached the ticket booth just to the right of the main entrance the noise of the speaker system grew louder, the roar from the audience was also deafening. As we paid for entrance I noticed a man squatting in the main doorway clutching a chicken, blood all over his hands and drops on the floor. The bird was still alive but must be only just. It was an intimidating place to be. My camera stayed in my bag for now. 

The Warm Up - Leyte, Philippines

When we entered the arena, it was no less intimidating. Masses of people yelling, screaming and pointing at one another, the ring contained a number of people holding cockerels. We shimmied around the side of the ring to some seats that were free by the commentator’s box. After a while everyone quietened down and it started. The cockerels were released upon one another. Watching this was really difficult. The first fight lasted a long time but both birds were struggling form the start and both got terribly injured in the first few seconds. The end just got dragged out. One bird wins when the others stops pecking back. If they both peck the fight goes on, even if it can’t walk. I nearly walked out but I wanted to get these images and I wanted to experience this part of Filipino culture. 

Bets being taken pre-match with he cockerels warming up in the ring - Leyte, Philippines

The second fight was over in a second, the first contact between the two chickens killed one instantly. 

Training Cock - Leyte, Philippines

I got my camera out in the 3rd round and started taking photos. I’ve tried to get as representative photos of the situation as possible. I didn’t want to offend, I was merely there to take photos of what happened. I didn’t go to judge, I didn’t go to paint the people conducting these in a bad light. 

The Fight - Leyte, Pilippines

In-between bouts people would place bets on one of two sides, Wala or Meron (‘None’ or ‘To have’). Vast amount of money would be tosses across the room as scrunched up balls of 1000peso notes (1000peso is equivalent to £15). You would see blokes, and it was nearly exclusively men here, placing bets for in excess of 10,000 pesos – the daily wage in this area is in the region of 300 peso. While bets were taking place the fighting birds would be worked up, they would be pitched against smaller training birds but without actually being allowed to touch each other, their tails would be held they their trainer. They would then be allowed to be pecked by the training bird to aggravate them and then finally put face to face against their rival to test their aggression while still be held back. Bets would then finish and their birds put against each other to fight. Large 2-3 inch blades tied to their feet which cut on the backwards stroke of the foot. It is gruesome to watch but this happens and it is what it is for now.

The End - Leyte, Philippines

There are organisations against it. The Philippines Animal Welfare Society, or PAWS, is strongly against it. But the majority of animal welfare in the Philippines acts towards dogs, chickens aren’t such a focus. The Ormoc City Mayor, one of the major cities on Leyte where I saw the cock fighting, wants to curtail illegal cockfighting with the suggestion that it isn’t necessarily about the brutality of the sport but the impact on marriage if a husband loses his wages in the gambling pits. As previously stated it is a multibillion-peso industry so it is unlikely to be stopped any time soon but there are laws controlling it and it does appear that people are beginning to crack down on it.

Photographing Mountain Goats – My thoughts and experience

When I told people I was going to go photograph mountain goats in wales I was met almost exclusively by a sort of confused face and the same question... why? This surprised me. I think inspired by the Ibex of the alps I thought of the welsh mountain goat as our equivalent. Magnificent horns, harsh weather and a wonderous landscapes in which they lived all seemed like such a perfect photographic adventure. I simply could not understand why you would not want to do this, and neither could my brother, so he came along too. To top it off we decided to camp.  

Welsh Mountain Goats - Snowdonia, Wales

I left London after work on the Friday and gunned it up to Snowdonia national park. Rocking up to Llanberis Carpark past midnight meant everything was closed and pitching in the dark. The weather forecast had been promising though, cloudy but dry skies, the wind however was horrific. Howling winds (and a 30-year-old tent with no zip) meant that I got very little sleep. Luckily there wasn’t a clear sunrise so it meant I could lie in a bit. However, getting up there was some drizzle and the ground was unsurprisingly damp still. We packed up and stumbled into the youth hostel for coffee and a fry up. Like I said, it was cloudy so there was no rush this morning getting to the goats, it would take a while for the sky to get brighten enough to achieve low ISO and good contrast. 

Post breakfast I dropped my brother off in Llanberis and made my way towards the quarry. I had no idea what to expect. I’d previously only seen a couple of the small goats off the Snowdon pig trail and a single big horned billy goat off the main road in Llanberis. I had read and spoken to people that said there were bachelor herds of these goats wondering around, a bit like you’d find with fallow and red deer. Even down in Llanberis at the hiking shops they gave good advice about trying to find these goats. Put simply, go to the quarry view point and try and spot them. Another bit of advice I got, use your nose. You are likely to smell them before you see them, they smell of strong goat’s cheese. This made me chuckle, because I thought they were joking but they weren’t, they genuinely stink.

Mountain Goat - Snowdonia, Wales

I arrived at the quarry and made my way to the view point armed with my 600mm lens I scoured the surrounding hills looking for the goats. To be honest they are relatively easy to spot, white animals against a mainly dark grey background. The main issue is actually determining if what you are looking at is a mountain goat or a sheep. Once determined it is only the small effort of getting to them. I would not recommend this to the faint hearted, it is dangerous and not to be taken lightly. There is a lot of old equipment and abandoned buildings spread over this part of the valley and help isn’t easily available. So, you do genuinely enter at your own risk. However, if you are quite used to this sort of thing, it is a breeze and the rewards are great. 

Portrait of a Mountain Goat - Snowdonia, Wales

The goats themselves are fairly friendly and were not particularly phased by my presence. I approached with care and slowly so that one, they knew I was there and two, not to disturb their behaviour. They seemed very happy for me to be around and continued what they were doing, which was grazing and a lot of head butting. It was during the rut so they were all really much more interested in each other than me but it also gave some great behaviour to capture. 

Mountain Goat - Snowdonia, Wales

The conditions were great, dry as expected but the sun made an appearance a few times which was great. It wasn’t full blown sun but the sort that peaks through a thin layer of clouds so it was softened quite a bit. This was ideal. It meant I could play with some portraits which interesting light when the sun came out but also try and capture more harsh environment shots when the clouds appeared. I spent two days in the mountains with these goats, floating on their periphery wondering where they wondered and just observing them. There were two larger males with two massive horns within the group that appeared to be dominant. It was hard to differentiate those with smaller horns as both the males and females grew them. Occasionally you’d spot one with a massive udder and realise you were looking at a female, but even then you we them knock heads with the males around. 

Young Mountain Goats Facing off - Snowdonia, Wales

It was odd you’d have one female at the front being followed by a load of (I assume blokes) sudden she would turn round and knock heads with the rest of them. then it would all start again. Although I saw a lot of the younger ones knocking heads, the big billies I didn’t see do this. Whether this was a dominance thing and they knew who was in charge or just it happens more infrequently. It was a shame I would have loved to have seen it. However the smaller ones kept be busy, it still wasn’t easy capturing this on camera though. They were quick and it was over before you knew it. 

Welsh Mountain Goat next to Abandoned Building - Snowdonia, Wales

It was great fun and an experience I will repeat and one I had planned to repeat this Easter but like everyone, I am sat at home enjoying lockdown. It’s a good time to reflect on past experience and think about new ones to plan and going to Snowdonia again for the goats is a must. 

Health on the front line of Tourism and Conservation

With the current outbreak of Covid-19 occurring across the globe and the rumours that it started from the illegal meat trade in Wuhan, China has prompted more thought into how these diseases spread from animal to human and how to help prevent this. However, it also begs the question that should we be doing something to stop the return spread of disease from us, humans, to animal populations. Particularly those already at risk of extinction or declining populations. 

Orangutan with infant - Sabah, Borneo

With the human population reaching 7.8 this year (2020) and a global range with highly efficient transport link between major population hubs it is easy to see why disease can spread so quickly. This high number of individuals also offers a large base for with diseases to evolve within. We see on a regular basis that pathogens in different area of the globe which cause the same disease can different significantly in their genetic make-up. An obvious example of this is drug resistance. Mycobacterium tuberculosis the casuistic agent of tuberculosis has acquired antibiotic resistance in many areas of the globe and certain strains are nearly untreatable, it’s these acquired or mutated genes that can cause problems. 

What is causing a human pathogen from mutating to infect a domestic animal with a large range such as a domestic cat or one that has the potential to interact with its own species in the wild such a racing pigeon? Not much. We have seen the reverse happen on a number of occasions. H7N9 - otherwise known as avian flu - has spread from wild birds to humans and has caused the world health organisation (WHO) massive headaches or H1N1, commonly known as swine flu again caused similar concern. 

So we have seen this occur in animal populations we are familiar with, but it is from animals with large populations and high human interactions. It is also animal to human transmission. But has it occurred the other way around? This is very hard to test for. Animals of course can’t communicate with a GP in the same way a sick patient might, and their health is monitored primarily by their carer and this is if it is a domestic animal. They might be part of a herd living outside in the elements and many diseases show similar symptoms. Certain symptoms might also just prompt increases in antibiotic doses – but what if the carer can’t afford that or the vet bills? Will the disease be left to spread or the animal killed? Those concerns are for domestic animals which can be slaughtered and bred again so their perceived value may be low and risk of spread might be restricted. 

What if those animals the disease has spread to are wild animals? The concerns for monitoring are great but also control is very limited. Wild animals have a range, they interact with other wild animals of all species, they openly defecate along game trails where other animals will walk, it might be part of a pack or herd of family troop, the opportunities for a spread of a pathogen is enormous. But think again, what if this animal was critically endangered? Surely there wouldn’t be a risk of a human pathogen spreading to a critically endangered animal population, but there is and it has happened before.

Orangutan - Sabah, Borneo

Ebola is a word that rings alarm bells in everyone’s ears. The Ebola outbreak of 2014-2016 was the largest and most complex the world had seen. Initially believed to have spread from animals such as fruit bats, porcupines and non-human primates it quickly spread through the west African human population with a case fatality of 50%. It was devastating to human life in the area. However, a key point there is non-human primates. We are very similar to our primate family members in our genetic make-up. We share a lot of the same proteins and metabolites as our monkey pals. This means that very little often has to change in our pathogens so that they suddenly become their pathogens too. There have been reports that in the shadow of each human outbreak of Ebola there have been carcases of chimpanzees and gorillas in the neighbouring forests. In the early 2000’s (2002,2003) there was an Ebola outbreak in the gorilla population of Congo decimated the population there reducing its numbers by up to 95% - one paper reports 5000 gorilla’s killed. This species of Ebola virus (ZEBOV) is known to cause disease in humans and apes alike. It is often suspected that outbreaks start where the territory of apes and humans meet often starting from ape carcases. At the moment there isn’t evidence to suggest the Ebola virus that killed this number of gorillas came directly from a human population or whether it was a mutation within the ape population but it begs the question, why are we allowing this to happen? 

It is very difficult to control interactions between humans and wild animals in a forest environment where there are known bushmeat trades and endemic populations living within great ape territories. We could argue that education is the key to advice against contact but this is challenging in people who are reliant on meat for a living. However, there are things that can be done. There are centres around the world that tolerate or even encourage close contact between humans and endangered animals. My recent trip to Borneo demonstrated this perfectly. There are centres that are doing fantastic things for the orangutans with aiding their re-introduction into the wild, with the aim to do so in the territory from which they were rescued, removing the worry about introducing non-endemic genes in an artificial way and allowing only trained staff and medical teams to interact with the animals. However, there are also centres which are tolerating direct human-primate contact with the general public. This is a major concern as people are traveling from all corners of the world to these centres, these people haven’t undergone rigorous health screening before contact is allowed and there is often feeding of human food – I say human because it isn’t food the animal would find in the wild – pathogens and contaminants would easily be transmitted across. How many of these tourists have acquired airplane flu from the air conditioning? How many have asymptomatic infection such as latent Tb (this is prevalent in 25% of the human population)? Some places will ask you to move away from the animals but it isn’t enforced, there are signs up telling people not to get close or feed but again this isn’t enforced... many of the animals at these centres do have the freedom to roam wild as well but are habituated to human contact which historically has kept many animals safe but now this barrier is broken down. If a fatal pathogen gets into one of these wild roaming endangered animals it could wreak havoc in the local population. These populations typically have reduced genetic diversity which is a key correlate for protection against these types of disease epidemics. The greater the genetic diversity the high chance of survival the population will have. But each successive disease outbreak can reduce this in an already limited population. 

Orangutan Sheltering from the Rain - Sabah, Borneo

For the sake of these species we are trying to save, so much effort has gone in by so many people that for a single transferred pathogen that can cause fatal disease in one of these species can set back the conservation efforts of decades. It is definitely up to us, the consumer to determine whether the ‘zoo’ or ‘rescue centre’ we are visiting is genuine and really doing what is best for the animals. With the highly popular Netflix series ‘tiger king’ just aired showing the GW zoo claiming to be a rescue centre when it is obviously a breeding centre for privately owned big cats, it brings this topic to the forefront of the publics attention once again. 

Photographing People – The Philippines

Travel photography is one of those wide sweeping titles that can encompass everything. When someone says travel photography you are often flung into an expectation of amazing landscapes, tropical beach’s and lavish hotels. If you flick through the pages of travel magazine this is often what you find, even in National geographic – traveller you will find many advertisements with these sorts of images. Beautiful images, but they often feel like very westernised versions of the country you are going to. I find these images do elicit emotions but not the sort of intrigue that I look for in a photo. 

Landscape not including people - Palawan, Philippines

When looking through those travel photos I find most compelling they all include people. Whether that is a direct portrait of an individual from the country in question, or if they are used as a compositional element in the photo it suddenly adds perspective, context or a feeling of connection with whoever it is in the photo. This is something you her constantly when watching YouTube videos on the topic or reading blogs and it is for good reason. From a photographers perspective too it can only be seen as a benefit to include people in your travel photos. A large amount of travel photography is about the sweeping landscapes and these photos are integral to collecting a working set of photos form a location but these photos are often very reproduceable unless you are genuinely in a far-flung place. By including people in your photos you suddenly start making them unique. When will that person walk through that scene again, in those cloths are that time of day? Is there an event on in that location that is making this scene unique on this occasion? Why are they walking through? These are suddenly questions that can be asked. 

People Included as part of a scene - Palawan, Philippines

However the big questions in, how do you go about photographing people? This is honestly a terrifying thing. In the UK we are brought up being told not to talk to strangers, don’t trust strangers and the media outlets are constantly reminding us of the dangers of people we don’t know or of fraudsters. Of course, this is true to an extent but the vast majority of people are trusting and nice, this can certainly be said for the Philippines. There is still a certain level of discretion you have to manage. Throwing a big camera in someone’s face isn’t always welcome or nice and if you do it forcibly no one’s going to enjoy it. Not only that but the photo you get won’t be sincere or possibly as good as if you took it from a willing subject. Meet people with a smile and small talk, let them know who you are and treat them with respect. Once you have spoken to them and exchanged basic human interactions of kindness you can ask for a photo. This small interaction that took place before you took the photo helps build a certain level of trust between you and your subject. A perfect example of this was when I was in the Ifugao region in northern Philippines, I was walking along a track in the rice terraces when I came across a farmer walking the opposite way. I met him with my best filippino ‘magandang umaga’ and then followed with a sweeping arm across the view saying ‘maganda’ to which he looked at me blankly. I had spoken tagalog (the basis of filipino) while in this region they spoke Tuwali. I then said ‘beautiful’, he laughed and corrected me on how to say beautiful in Tuwali. We stood and enjoyed the view together for a bit and then I asked if I could take his portrait. He smiled and agreed. It is these moments that give you confidence in asking people, these are the easy times. 

Rice Farmer - Ifugao, Philippines

There are often quite big language barriers in non-english speaking countries – you cant speak their language and they can’t speak English. Coming from and English speaking country it is often the case that we don’t know how to speak other languages, we have been brought up knowing that in most places we go we can find someone who speaks our native tongue. It is the benefit of being English and a legacy of the British empire. However, a lot of the time the subject you wish to photo will not speak English. This is when body language is so important, it is genuinely universal. You smile, people understand. You look intrigued, people understand. If you are nervous and sneaky, people understand and will be suspicious. Try and be open with people, smile and communicate with hand gestures and pointing, also read their body language. It will be obvious if they don’t want you there and even more obvious if they don’t want the camera. If it’s not clear you can still ask, if they say no just thank them and leave. 

Man combing Moustache - Manila, Philippines

Of course, not every photo that includes people requires you to talk to the people in the scene and ask them. If they are part of a larger landscape or at a festival and part of a crowd this might not need to you talk to them, you can take the photograph and continue. It is only really when they are the subject of the photo or it is a portrait of them that you really need to ask. However, this is really on a photo by photo basis, you have to judge it carefully. Sometime a simple nod to the camera and a smile is enough of a question. I have done this a number of times and been met with a nod and I take the photo or a shake of the head and I leave it. 

Boy Displaying Crab he Caught - Manila, Philippines

It is very easy to exploit people with and photograph and that has to be remembered. The main thing to do is to respect whoever you are photographing. Respect them as a person, respect their culture and say thank you, even show them the photo if they are interested. All these things will make taking the photo easier, make the experience more pleasant and not leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth about the photo you just took. But if you do this, it will for certain make your photos much better. 

5 Small Things Which Will Make Your Stay in the Philippines That Much More Memorable

I have been spending a lot of time in the Philippines due to work, but when I get a chance to get away, whether that be at the weekends or for short holidays, I make sure I do these simple things to make my time out there something special. They can be nerve-wracking, but totally worth it in the end.

1.     Talk to the Locals

This is a MUST when visiting the Philippines. We have been brought up on stories of not talking to strangers, and to be wary if people are ‘over friendly’; but, I’m sure if you’re reading this you have watched enough travel vlogs to have heard it 100 times– the Filipino people are the MOST FRIENDLY. They will tell you about local stories, folklore, traditions,  how to get around, and the best things to eat. Talking to locals is how I have managed to do the majority of my ventures in the Philippines. One thing about this country is that it is behind on technology, so the locals are just learning how to post schedules online - even these are often out of date so talk to people! 99 times out of a hundred, they will go out of their way to make sure they help you, and that you are safe in the process. One tip though, people are friendlier in the provinces, don’t do anything stupid in Manila...  

Spear fishermen and Daughter - Siargao, Philippines

2.     Eat Local – Take the Plunge

Westerners have an awful tendency to eat western when abroad – pizza and burgers are often the chosen diet for travellers. This is not helped when eatery’s in the Philippine provinces often look less appealing than a school canteen, and that’s coming from someone who’s always loved school dinners. Most are ‘point-point’ restaurants where you point atready made meals, which all look like varying styles of stews and fried food, even internal organs. DON’T be put off, ask the person serving what is their best dish and request that. Chances are, it will taste like nothing you have ever tasted before – ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, chillies, bananas, fish, chocolate, coconut and LOTS of garlic are all ingredients you may find in your dish, in varying quantitates and strengths. 

Adobo, bulalo, bicol express, and the tastiest of all sisig, are dishes I recommend you try. I suggest opting for pork as you’ll get less bones than chicken and more meat than with beef, but more importantly you may well get some crackling. BUT if this doesn’t tickle your fancy, then the BBQ’s with offer grilled fish and meat which is so fresh it was pulled out the sea sometimes only hours before you eat it. I left the UK not a fan of fish, but every time I come back to the Philippines I eat more of it – it really is amazing. If you don’t fancy what’s on their menu you can always take you own fish from the market, they’ll cook it for you which makes it a really personal experience - make sure you know how you want it cooked, because often the chef will cook it how he wants, which can make it quite exciting if you aren’t a fussy eater. Best of all eating local is CHEAP, if you are on a budget you can eat well for just a couple of quid. 

BBQ on a boast - Palawan, Philippines

3.     Make Time for Sunset AND SUNRISE

This seems obvious but it really is a must. Where ever I am in the Philippines, I set my alarm for just before sunrise. This is really the most amazing time of the day, you will see fishermen going out to fish, people on their way to work and the light is just incredible. I spent my first few weeks in the Philippines during the rainy period (August-October) and good sunsets were few and far between; but after sticking it out I was  seriously treated with some beautiful evenings. During the dry season (November-July) these sights can be expected almost every night and morning. When that alarm rings at 5:45am and you have to pull yourself out of bed, the thoughts of “there is always tomorrow” will go through you mind – don’t give in to it – the sunrises I’ve spent over looking bays and having the place all to myself, are the ones I remember. 

Helicopter Island at sunset - Palawan, Philippines

4.     Travel on Public Transport

This is VERY daunting in the Philippines. Jeepneys, although iconic, are really something to view with caution. Along the side of them you will see their route, a list of towns and cities which is helpful for the weary traveller, BUT there is no specific co-ordinates and the route, although fixed, is passed by word of mouth. So, my advice is to take a jeepney in the provinces where there are few roads to meander off, and make sure you have enough time to correct the route. If all that fails and you end up somewhere random, then just follow my first tip, speak to the locals, they will point you in the right direction. 

The recommended mode of transport to correct the wrong turns, is a tricycle, these can be found everywhere. They are cheap, rattily and uncomfortable, but are an incredibly enjoyable way to get around. 

Intercity transport is a little more present on the internet, and if you’re lucky you can find a schedule. Of course, you can fly, but where is the fun in that? It is expensive and you’ve already spent more than 13 hours flying to get here. Ferries and coaches are a common choice for locals and they are incredibly cheap. Ferries  typically range from a couple of hundred Pesos to sub 2000 pesos(£3-£30), and coaches 100-1000 pesos (£1.50 - £14). Again, like the jeepneys and tricycles, they may not be the most comfortable and they aren’t the quickest, but they give you an insight into local life and save you a huge amount of money compared to getting a private taxi or a flight. I can assure you, waiting in Manila’s domestic terminal 4 is not a pleasant experience, so you might as well just jump in a coach and try getting to your destination that way.

Inside View of a Jeepneys - Leyte, Philippines

5.     Explore Local Culture

The Philippines has a rich history or folklore, different traditions and cultures spread across the islands. Every Island is different, so treat each one like a new adventure. Of course, you will see similarities, jeepneys and tricycles are on almost every island but they look very different. With each being handmade and customised by local builders, the quirks of the different regions/islands make each one an original. The indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities still practice a lot of their pre-catholic beliefs and traditions – in no other place is this more noticeable to a tourist than in the rice terraces of Banaue. Tourists are welcome, but be respectful of their traditions, some of the older generations still wear their traditional clothing day to day in the smaller villages, which  reminds you that this archipelago is more than just sandy beaches and coconuts. 

Go to the local public market (not the local counterfeit markets, although these are also great fun), they contain a wealth of interesting sights and smells, with local people selling items of both use and no use. In some of the provinces you too will find traditional items for sale, often made by the local tribes and people,  which have been  brought down into the villages and towns to be sold. 

Children in traditional dress at the Imbaya Festival - Ifugao, Philppines

Most of these points you won’t find on an average travel blog – these are the little things which the  experienced traveller will likely be doing without thinking, but each has contributed to my Philippines experience. Once you start doing all of the above, getting around and making the most of the Philippines becomes a much easier, and far more enjoyable experience. If you’re going to the Philippines and you take on board my tips, I really hope that you get as much out of them as I did.