'Live Fast Die Fun' is a weekly feature that sees me tackling a new skill/re-visiting old ones in order to broaden my horizons and experience lots of different things.This feature could take me anywhere, from culinary attempts to trying my hands at languages to just about anything! This week sees me at one with nature and the wildlife around me! I'll be rating my experience at the end of the post and discussing the ins and outs of this skill! If you've got any ideas for future posts then please feel free to comment. Let me know what you think!
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I am in no way claiming to be a photographer of any sort. In fact, I'm far from it. However, I've always been drawn to finishing off film with a few snaps of the local wildlife/my four legged furry feline friends. Hello 10 samey shots of the cat at the end of the disposable camera! The summer welcomes a whole new load of colourful characters coming out to play so I thought I'd take on the role of wildlife paparazzi and photograph them whilst they tried, and albeit failed, to go about their day in peace. I'm extremely lucky to live somewhere that is surrounded by vast amounts of countryside so I headed off with camera, keen eye and boyfriend in tow in search of some photogenic critters. Naturally, David Attenborough was narrating the journey in the depths of my mind. All the photographs you see in this post are mine and, therefore, I'd appreciate it if you notified me if you'd like to use them anywhere.
(collection of some old wildlife photos I've taken!)
Like I said already, I'm no expert. I don't think that in order to learn a new skill you have to go in there knee deep in knowledge and equipped with expensive resources. With this in mind, my lowly point and shoot seemed to be all I needed, well, and some wildlife of course. There's that age old saying to 'never work with animals' and I can kind of understand why. The more awkward of the kingdom, hello Mr Butterfly, will make you work for your photograph. They watch you gleefully as you hop around the meadow in pursuit of them. Therefore, I'd remind any budding amateur wildlife photogs to attempt it with a shit load of patience. Whilst some wildlife like the limelight whilst you invade their dinner time, others don't. With this sentiment firmly in mind, my second tip is to respect your subject. No one wants to come away with battle scars! If your subject starts grunting/mooing *etc* loudly...that's your time to run! You should also abuse that macro setting.
(I'm pretty taken by the Spotted Burnet Moths that I found)
It seems the insect world were the only ones inquisitive enough to brave the silly June weather and pose for some photographs. This was slightly disappointing because the spot we ventured to is renowned for its sightings of owls, otters, voles and birds. I guess that's the exciting thing about wildlife/nature photography; you never know what you'll stumble upon on a particular day! Since I first came across the Six Spot Burnet Moth the other week *pictured above* I've become pretty taken by them. I was gutted when my camera deleted all the photographs I had of them so I deliberately visited the flowers they frequent in order to capture a few new shots of them. They're extremely obedient when it comes to posing but I suppose that's only because I caught them during feeding time! I love their little curled tongues and gorgeous polka dots. They've definitely got some catwalk credentials! Luke and I have a habit of seeing things for the first time and believing they're rare creatures. We thought the exact same thing about these little buggers and now we see them everywhere.
(Some scary creature perched on a flower | Big juicy grasshoppers adorned the oversized daisies)
Luke was running around like a dog on heat trying to catch little grasshoppers in his hands; I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd caught a dozen on them hanging on these gorgeous large daisies. I think I might have to start reading up on the correlation between certain plants and animals in order to catch them. Oh god, what am I fast becoming?! I'm not entirely sure what the bug in the top photograph is but it looked like it could kick my ass so I didn't bother it for long! I've definitely fallen head over heels in love with photographing the critters of the animal kingdom so I definitely don't think this is the last you'll see of my wildlife paparazzi attempts. Don't worry though, little Viva won't be turning into some sort of Springwatch supplement! I don't own the anorak for that. I'm definitely going to make a habit of photographing the little things around me for the rest of my days.
(Some sort of duck Mother's Union meeting | Pretty bug - think it might be Harlequin Ladybird larva?!)
There you have it! I'm off to go for an afternoon of shopping with my Mamabear. Have an awesome rest of the week and I'll see you on Friday. By the way, it was Little Viva's first birthday yesterday. She celebrated with a well earned rest!
P.S I'm creating the ultimate holiday playlist at the moment and I need your music ideas. Please leave them in a comment ;)
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difficulty rating: 50% This depends on the particular animal and their behaviour on the day. Some will sit pretty for you - others will fly off into the distance laughing at your naivety.
laughter level: 70% Animals really do the funniest things sometimes.
encouraged a happy head? recommended? Always! Just remember to respect the animal's private space. No one likes to have it invaded - especially cattle!
