Today, as I was driving home from work, I came across a car with the hazard lights on on the other side of the road. When I looked closer, the guy had stopped and got out of the car and was 'escorting' several ducklings out of the main road to stop them getting run over. These tiny fluffy little things probably wondered what on earth was going on as they were being scooped up and dropped onto the grass verge in the direction mum had traveled.
I wanted to get out the car and help, to say thank you to the guy who had stopped to help the ducklings. It amazes me that people can be so passionate and caring about wildlife that they will go out of their way to help.
When I'm not photographing, I look after wildlife - Barn Owls in particular and part of what I do involves going to schools to talk about these wonderful creatures and why they have declined. It's amazing to see how many kids know very little about wildlife. When I was a kid, it was a challenge for my mum to get me in the house, I was always out climbing trees, rescuing caterpillars or anything else I could find to do. I love that I get to tell kids about the wildlife around them and all about conservation and what they can do to help. I feel as though I am preparing the next generation to look after our planet and our wildlife. I feel like I am helping to make them wild about nature.
People often ask me why I chose the degree I did. It's simple really, I had seen the power of a photograph. It speaks thousands of words without actually saying anything. It takes seconds to look at an image and now days, that's all anyone has time for it seems. If an image has the power to change the way you look at something, surely it has the power to make change for good, for nature. My passion, is in conservation, and conservation photography and the untold force of an image to make changes happen. Ansel Adams, (if you don't know who he is - google him) took those amazing photos of Yellowstone National Park (before it was a National Park) and his images (taken on a beastly sized camera in an incredibly remote place, where everything was carried on the backs of donkeys or yourself) ensured that that place, that area of sublime beauty would be preserved for future generations. You could argue that he was the first conservation photographer. Those images were the persuasive argument to put pen to paper and create legislation protecting Yellowstone.
I feel like I'm probably writing an essay! Anyway, as I get up in the morning at the crack of dawn to go and sit in some muddy puddle and wonder why I'm doing this, I remember how powerful an image can be and I remember the video from the International League of Conservation Photographers and I know that despite the early morning, the lack of sleep and the numbing cold as you sit and wait for your subject which may or may not show up, I know that what I'm doing is hopefully going to be used for the greater good. For the conservation of wildlife.
My dissertation project at Uni focused on conservation of a particular habitat - wetlands and the species found there. You can see the photos from that project here.
You can watch the ILCP video here: https://vimeo.com/120836237