Burrard-Lucas Blog - Wildlife & Travel Photography

Nesting Shags – Varying the Perspective

Posted on January 19, 2010 at 9:18 pm

One of the most important things that we have learnt as wildlife photographers is to try and tell a story with our images.  This means getting out of the mindset of taking a random selection of good pictures and instead aiming to link photos together with a common theme. A set of images that describe an environment or a particular animal can often be much more valuable than a single “winning shot”.

On our recent trip to the Falkland Islands, we tried to document the sea birds that nest along the rugged coastline. We aimed to capture a variety of images, using focal lengths ranging from 14mm to 600mm, that showed the birds’ behaviour and habitat.

Two species of shag (birds similar to cormorants) nest on the Falklands; Imperial and Rock shags. We wanted to photograph both species and show the differences in their nesting habits. The only problem was that the rock shags nest on vertical cliff faces that are almost completely inaccessible! This meant that we had to get creative!

One afternoon, we noticed a pair of Rock shags that were nesting underneath an overhang, 50 metres above the crashing surf. As soon as we saw the birds, we knew that it would make a beautiful image if we could photograph them with the sunrise behind. We spent the evening devising a method that would enable us to get the camera into the right position.

We came up with the “puppet technique”; a makeshift device involving a tripod and lots of string that gave us full control of the camera’s position in terms of angle and height. One of us could take the photos with a wireless remote trigger and provide instructions for the puppet master (who wasn’t able to see the birds below)! It worked like a charm, and we were able to get a set of images that would have otherwise have been impossible to achieve.

Another technique that we regularly employ is the “tripod lift”. We use this when we want to get an aerial perspective. In this case, we were trying to photograph a colony of Imperial shags from above, showing the amazing pattern of nests that arises as a result of each bird needing to be outside of the pecking range of its neighbours! We attached the camera to a fully extended tripod and lifted it as high as possible above our heads. This took a lot of strength, and it needed two of us to hold the tripod and trigger the remote shutter-release.

In order to complete our set we also wanted to photograph the shags’ breeding behaviour. At this time of year, the birds were still constructing their nests and were regularly bringing back clumps of kelp to build up their towers. We positioned ourselves in their flight path and were able to get frame-filling images of them using the 600mm lens. This required a fair bit of practice and used up an embarrassing amount of storage!

You can see more photographs of us in the field on our Facebook Fan Page.

Penguins, Penguins, Penguins!

Posted on January 14, 2010 at 12:30 am

Penguins are the most conspicuous residents of the Falklands. Five species breed on the islands; kings, rockhoppers, gentoos, magellanics and macaronis. Despite macaronis being the most numerous penguin species in the world, they are not commonly seen in the Falklands, and therefore we concentrated on photographing the kings, rockhoppers, gentoos and magellanics.

King penguins are the most impressive and beautiful species in the Falklands. They stand almost a metre tall and can weigh up to 16kg. The Falklands are at the limit of their global range and consequently there are only around 400 breeding pairs on the islands, almost all of which are found at a single site called Volunteer Point. We spent one night at this location and were blessed by a few fleeting periods of good light during which we rushed around frantically taking as many different shots as possible!

Gentoos are the second largest species and are recognisable by the white stripe extending across the top of their heads like a bonnet. They breed in large colonies which can be situated a kilometre or more inland. Each morning the penguins make the long journey down to the sea where they eat fish and crustaceans. In the afternoon they return to the colony to feed their chicks. On Sealion Island we could see a gentoo colony from our bedroom window and this allowed us to pop out and photograph them at all times of day (and night!).

We found magellanic penguins on every island we visited. Unlike the other penguins in the Falklands, magellanics live in burrows. They are very shy and would scarper underground if we ever got too close… this made photographing them quite a challenge! However, by keeping a low profile and approaching painstakingly slowly, we were able to get close enough to photograph a pair standing in front of their burrow (below, right).

Rockhoppers are the smallest and most common penguin species in the Falklands. Rockhoppers get their name because they move around by hopping with both feet together. We were constantly amazed by their ability to tackle the most challenging terrain and by the bravery they exhibit when leaping between ledges on precipitous cliff faces! Rockhoppers live in large colonies often mixed in with albatross or imperial shags. They are noisy and quarrelsome little creatures but their comical antics and inquisitive personalities make them very endearing and they soon became our favourite animal of the trip!

The picture above is one of our favourites; it shows rockhopper penguins showering under a freshwater spring. Throughout the day the penguins were splashing around in the water and squabbling for the best spot. Taking this shot involved lying under part of the waterfall for several hours… we got completely soaked and covered in some rather unsavory stuff which earned us the nickname the “Guano Brothers”.

Falkland Islands Photography

Posted on January 7, 2010 at 12:25 am

The Falkland Islands lie in the South Atlantic, 300 miles off the coast of South America. They gained notoriety in 1982 when Argentina invaded, thus sparking the 74-day Falklands War. Nowadays the Islands are quiet and peaceful yet the wreckage of fighter jets and tanks, mine fields and war memorials serve as a reminder of the Islands’ recent past.

As we approached Mount Pleasant Airport and peered out of the plane windows, we were struck by how barren and tree-less the landscape appeared. Upon stepping-off the plane the reason for this instantly became apparent; we were confronted by a howling wind intent upon uprooting anything higher than a sprig of tussock grass (including us)!

The Islands have just 2,500 inhabitants in an area the size of Wales and with most of the population living in Stanley it means you are almost guaranteed not to bump into anyone else once you get out to the more remote islands.

Wildlife is abundant on the Islands, mainly as a result of the rich surrounding waters. The animals have little fear of humans which makes a trip to the Falklands a truly magical experience.

Penguins are everywhere! Magellanic penguins stand outside their burrows along the coast, Rockhopper and Gentoo penguins can be found in large noisy colonies and a large group of beautiful king penguins live at Volunteer Point. Graceful black-browed albatross nest in sprawling rookeries along the cliff-tops in the North-West. Gigantic elephant seals laze around and fight on pristine beaches, while killer whales cruise the shallows waiting for pups to stray within range.

Our aim for the trip was to photograph as many of the Islands’ species as possible. Many fantastic wildlife photographers have visited the Falklands before us, so we were also aiming to come away with something different. We visited six locations over the course of two weeks and upon arrival at each, we would dedicate a significant amount time to scoping out the opportunities and drawing up a list of shots that we wanted to get. We then spent the remainder of our time diligently working through our shot lists. Often we had to split up and concentrate on different subjects to make best use of our limited time. We were keen to take our photographs in the best possible light… unfortunately for us, this meant waking up at 4am for sunrise and staying out until sunset at around 10pm!

We haven’t had room to include many of our favourite pictures from the trip, so stay tuned for a few follow-up posts!

Heathrow Terminal 4 Exhibition

Posted on November 18, 2009 at 4:28 pm

If you are flying out of Heathrow Terminal 4 in the next six months then make sure you check out our new photo exhibition situated near gates 7 to 9! On display are some of our favourite wildlife photographs from around the world.

To coincide with the exhibition we have launched a brand new website: WildExhibition.com. On the site you can find out more about the exhibition and see all of the featured photographs. You can also check out our new series of limited edition prints, our 2010 calendar and greeting cards featuring photos from the exhibition.

We visited Heathrow Airport last night to view the exhibition for the first time… it was wonderful to see our images printed large and it was nice to observe other people looking at our work. You can view our exclusive behind the scenes pictures from the exhibition on our facebook fan page.

Finally, if you get the opportunity to see the exhibition then please let us know what you think!

For more information please visit WildExhibition.com.

Mysterious Places Contest Results

Posted on November 16, 2009 at 2:04 am

We would like to thank everyone who submitted photos to our Mysterious Places Photo Contest. Matthew and I spent days sifting through thousands of fantastic entries and last week we posted our shortlist of 12 finalists so that you could vote for the “People’s Choice” winner. The voting is now over and we can reveal the overall winners!

Before proceeding, we would like to thank our terrific sponsors, Lensbaby and SmugMug, who generously donated over $2,000 in prizes! All of the photographers below receive a prize as described on this page.

The overall contest winner is Paul Marcellini with his wonderful image taken in a Florida swamp. The spooky atmosphere, the twisted trees and the detail of the alligator drag-marks in the foreground create an image that epitomises the theme “Mysterious Places”. Congratulations to Paul for creating a truly original and striking shot!

Given the success of this contest, we will certainly be launching another photo competition in the near future! If you would like to be notified when this competition is announced then please subscribe to our blog via RSS feed or email.

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Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda

Posted on October 31, 2009 at 3:30 pm

Deep in the heart of Africa lies the small, landlocked nation of Rwanda. Known locally as “The Land of a Thousand Hills”, the entire country is covered with deep valleys and steep volcanic foothills. The Volcanoes National Park, in the north of the country, is home to an estimated 250 of the world’s 700 remaining mountain gorillas, and is part of a larger volcanic region known as the Virunga Massif. Since no mountain gorilla has ever survived in captivity (unlike lowland gorillas), the World’s entire population can be found at the convergence of three countries; Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Virunga Massif is blanketed by a thick, impenetrable jungle. The gorillas utilise the great diversity of flora found in this region by consuming up to 70 different plant species, including the thistles and giant stinging nettles that force anyone visiting the park to wear gloves and thick jackets! The gorillas inhabit the slopes of the volcanoes up to an altitude exceeding 4,000m. Temperatures here can drop as low as 0 degrees Celsius meaning that mountain gorillas are generally bigger, and have much longer hair than other gorilla subspecies. Adult males can be twice the size of females, with an arm span of 2.25m and a weight of 204–227 kg! They are known as silverbacks because of the saddle of grey hair that adorns their backs.

Gorillas are social animals and tend to live in groups of varying size. In all, there are upwards of 10 habituated groups that live on the Rwandan side of the Virunga Massif. At the start of each day, the park authorities allocate a maximum of 8 visitors to a professional guide who is responsible for leading the trek to the gorillas. On our first day, we visited the Umubano group, a relatively small family of 8 gorillas. They seemed to be quite shy, hiding behind the leaves and never looking towards our cameras. Naturally this made it difficult to take photographs. On the subsequent days we visited the Sabinyo, Hirwa and Group 13 families. Out of these, our favourite was Group 13.

Group 13 has around 25 individuals, all led by a dominant male silverback called “Agashya”, meaning “special one”. As alpha male, he has sole breeding rights over the twelve females in his group. The other half of his group consists entirely of baby gorillas under 3 years of age. It was a wonderful experience to watch these young gorillas play fighting and tumbling around in the foliage! For an hour, we followed the family through the jungle, photographing them as they snacked on bamboo shoots. Due to the alcohol content of the bamboo, the young gorillas became progressively more rowdy in their play (even the massive silverback was noticeably tipsy!). They would climb up the trees and swing from the vines, and on a number of occasions they fell to the ground in a heap of leaves and fur!

It was a constant struggle to try and photograph all the action without getting distracting branches or vines in the frame. The dense foliage eliminated most of the ambient light, forcing us to use wide-apertures and high ISO speeds. One of the most valuable tips to remember when photographing gorillas (or any animal that has black fur) is to set your camera’s exposure compensation to around -2/3 or -1. This is because your camera is tricked by the black fur into thinking the conditions are darker than they actually are.

Rwanda is a densely populated country, and almost every inch of the uninhabited or unprotected land has been transformed into a patchwork of fields and terraces. Farms and settlements push right up against the stone wall boundary of the National Park. The pressure on the gorillas’ habitat is clearly visible. However, Rwanda has a stable tourist infrastructure in place and puts much emphasis on the conservation of the gorillas and the preservation of their habitat. Ecotourism provides the necessary funding to initiate conservation and much of the money generated from the purchase of park permits goes into paying for guides, guards, trackers and also local community projects. Ultimately, if the local people benefit from gorilla tourism, there is less incentive for them to poach.

Rwanda is a beautiful country that has experienced a troubled past, but the kindness and willingness of its people to accept visitors to their country does not go unnoticed. We came away from this trip feeling privileged and humbled that we had seen both Rwanda and the incredible mountain gorillas.

Caiman by Moonlight

Posted on September 30, 2009 at 1:00 am

We are always on the lookout for original, technically challenging projects. Last year we photographed caiman at night with star trails above. When we returned to the Pantanal earlier this year, one of our harebrained schemes was to photograph caiman by the light of the full moon. There were a few fundamental difficulties that we had to overcome to do this… firstly we had to approach to within a couple of meters of a wild caiman, then set up a camera & tripod beside the reptile, compose the shot in the dark, stay totally still for at least 5 minutes and hope the caiman didn’t move. It was going to be a challenge! Below you can see some of the resulting shots. At first glance the images almost look like they were taken during the day but there are subtle signs that the shots aren’t normal; the stars in the sky, the smooth ethereal water, the eerie lighting…

To take these shots, we spent a whole night, from 10pm to 5am patrolling the banks of the Rio Negro in search of suitable caiman. We decided to split up, each of us taking a camera and tripod in order to double our chances of getting some decent shots. Being alone with the caiman on the dark river bank was a spooky experience!

Whenever we spotted a caiman in a good position, we moved painfully slowly to avoid disturbing it. In order to photograph the caiman as a part of their environment, we tried to get close enough so that we could use a wide-angle lens. The long exposures typically took upwards of 5 minutes. During this time, we had fish nibbling on our feet and mosquitoes sucking our blood. We couldn’t stop them for fear of disturbing the caiman! At one point we noticed a caiman chomping on a freshly caught piranha – the last thing you want to see when you are wading in the river with bare legs and feet!

When the Sun’s glow started to light up the sky in the East, we squelched back to our lodge for some breakfast and a flagon of coffee… needless to say, we were totally shattered for the rest of the day!