To clarify my point in the last post, here’s one of my kudu shots from South Africa.
June 12th, 2011
Wildlife Poaching Article
There’s an article on poaching of African wildlife in today’s Sunday Times Magazine. It mainly focusses on American tourists going over in a bid to hunt the biggest game they can find. To read about this and to see the images of people proudly posing with their kills of leopard and kudu (a truly beautiful and regal animal I saw up close in South Africa) is incredibly sad, especially when you consider how proud everyone we met out there was of their wildlife. The children at the local school, in particular, were so eager to learn about conservation and how to protect their native animals.
Now, I’m not completely naive, I understand that all creatures, humans included, must often hunt to survive and can sympathise with an individual simply defending his livestock- ultimately his own means of survival. No, what gets me is when people seem to receive a kick out of trying to play god and exert their own self-appointed authority over all other creatures on this planet. There is one photo in this article, taken by David Chancellor, of an individual sat smugly in his ‘trophy room’, lost in amongst stuffed, dead animals of all sizes, including polar bear, leopard and brown bear. I wonder what motivates people to hunt like this: for the case of supposed sport and a need to prove their superiority? In my opinion (others are of course entitled to their own), their actions actually suggest the opposite.
All I know is how moving it is to see these animals in their own, natural environment.
June 6th, 2011
A monitor lizard just chilling on the banks of the river during our boat trip in Bangkok. These guys (and girls, presumably) would be sat literally right outside people’s homes- slightly different to the pheasants and foxes we occasionally see around here! What I like about this shot is the eye contact I managed with my reptilian friend; always a buzz when you manage that with wildlife.
Kirsty x
March 20th, 2011
As promised, some of the wildlife from Kakadu National Park, Australia. Taken summer 2008. I particularly like the photo of the fish eagle perched in the tree.
But, were we seriously sleeping under canvas with so many things that could kill us creeping around? What were we thinking?
March 2nd, 2011
Geese flying over Blenheim Palace, summer 2010.
February 7th, 2011
Family Portrait
Reminds me of the breeding herd I saw in South Africa. They were amazing to watch, digging for water in the dried-up river bed. I didn’t manage to get one this close up though!
x
(via theanimalblog)
January 30th, 2011
Wildlife Photographic Journals
I have a lot of respect for Richard Steel for these photos; I know from personal experience how difficult birds can be to photograph.
January 21st, 2011
In the spirit of icanhover’s sunset photo last night, this morning I bring you sunrise on a beach in St. Lucia, South Africa taken Sept. 10. There’s also the pod of hippos I spent time getting to know that morning: I was sat on the board walk by the estuary, just me and them making funny noises (the noises were just them). It was great to watch the baby basically annoying all of the adults who were trying to rest after a busy night out grazing in town.
Quiet, intimate moments with wildlife like that are so rare and something to treasure. It was incredibly peaceful.
January 19th, 2011
Hi everyone, for my first post I decided to test this thing with a very select few photos from the end of last year, when I was on a wildlife photography and conservation project in South Africa. The photo of me was taken by my friend Sean, a very talented photographer.
Kirsty x
