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.

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”.

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!

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.

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.

Winner:

People’s Choice:

Runners-up:

Highly Commended:

Thanks once again to everyone who entered this competition and congratulations to our winners.

If you would like to be notified when we launch our next contest then please subscribe to our blog via RSS feed or email.

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.

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!

The Pantanal is a tropical wetland area approximately eighteen times the size of the Florida Everglades. What makes it special is that you can observe wildlife that is almost impossible to see anywhere else in South America. The Pantanal ecosystem relies on a yearly flood cycle – during the dry season, the landscape consists of open savannah, patches of forest and isolated brackish lakes. However, when the rain arrives later in the year, up to 80% of the Pantanal is transformed into a saturated expanse of flooded land.

One of the creatures we were keen to photograph was the Giant Anteater. These animals are notoriously hard to come across in the dense rainforest that covers much of South America, however, in the Pantanal they can be found in the fields that line the roadside! We soon found that photographing anteaters wasn’t as easy as locating them… their long bodies made it hard to find a pleasing composition and focusing on their eyes as they waved their heads around took some skill! By far the biggest challenge though, was locating and removing the ticks that had swarmed over us as we crawled around in the dry grass. Even as we write this our bodies are still covered in purple tick bites.

The highlight of any trip to the Pantanal is seeing the beautiful Hyacinth Macaw. These birds became critically endangered due to the illegal pet trade and the destruction of suitable nesting trees. However, there has been a successful breeding program in the Pantanal and they are making a strong comeback. We were lucky enough to find a pair of nesting Macaws and one morning we set up our gear on the roof of a truck to photograph them. We managed to get some lovely shots of these characterful birds.

One downside of visiting an enormous swamp such as the Pantanal is the mosquitoes! Often we had to make the difficult decision… swat the mossies that were carpeting our bodies or keep our cameras up to our eyes, ready to photograph the animal we were watching. For some reason, coatis seemed to particularly enjoy mossified areas and whenever we tried to photograph them we ended up getting completely obliterated by the Pantanal Air Force!

The second location that we visited, a Fazenda called “Barranco Alto”, turned out to be an incredible place to see tapirs. In total we saw five individuals which is quite amazing considering how shy and elusive these animals are. On one occasion, we came across a young tapir sleeping in the middle of brackish lake. Initially, we didn’t even consider photographing it as 100m of waist-high, gungy green mud lay between us and the tapir. However, Matthew decided to brave the toxic swamp and began to wade. We really didn’t think that it would work… how close could you possibly get to a wild tapir? The answer is very close… close enough to use a wide angle lens!

An essential item in any wildlife photographer’s toolbox is the camera trap. This consists of an infrared beam which triggers a camera when broken. Day or night, whenever we had a spare moment, we would traipse off into the bush looking for suitable spots to set up. Unfortunately we were not lucky enough to catch a shot of a jaguar, but we did manage to photograph some crab eating foxes and a curious peccary!

In August 2009 we had the opportunity to visit Mahale for a second time. On this occasion our cameras and lenses were better suited to the low light conditions of the jungle and we both had much more photographic experience.

The region is currently home to around 800 chimpanzees though only one troupe consisting of roughly 60 animals is habituated to people. This is known as the “M” group. This group was first habituated back in 1965 by Toshisada Nishida, a Japanese researcher. During our stay we where fortunate enough to meet Professor Nishida who happened to be in Mahale on holiday… his wealth of knowledge and stories about the chimps made for some fascinating conversations.

Chimpanzees are very social creatures and it is amazing to observe the complex hierarchies and relationships that exist within the troupe. At the top of this hierarchy is an alpha male chimpanzee – he can be recognised as all the other chimps show him great respect.

M group is currently under the tyrannical reign of Pimu, a very aggressive chimp. His violence has generated an unsettled atmosphere throughout the troupe, and we witnessed a number of impressive displays of strength and aggression from the big males. It was noticeable that the atmosphere was much more tense than in 2005 when Alofu was the alpha male.

One of the main concerns for the safety of the chimpanzees is disease transmission from humans. In recent years, 12 chimpanzees have died from the flu virus that would have been caught from visitors or researchers. Consequently, everyone who observes the chimps must wear face masks. The downside is that they caused our viewfinders to constantly fog up, so we had to try and hold our breath when taking photos – not an easy thing to do after a tough trek! At all times, we had to keep a distance of at least 10m from the chimps.

It was great to catch up on the stories of all the chimpanzees that we remembered from 2005. Once again we were very sad to leave Mahale and the chimps who have almost begun to feel like old friends.

We set ourselves a gruelling schedule: off looking for wildlife before dawn, backing up photos at lunch, out again in the afternoon and then processing photos late into the night. Our constant companions throughout the day were the tsetse flies – large, almost invincible flies with a ferocious bite. They had a knack of launching coordinated attacks right at the crucial moment of taking a photograph and it wasn’t long before we were covered with angry red bites!

We dedicated many hours to photographing a pride of lions which lived near our camp on the Katisunga floodplain. The pride consisted of four females and six beautiful cubs. The hours we spent with them were rewarded with some stunning photos.

Katavi is also a great place to see a wide range of interesting bird species. One morning we lay beside a croc infested river with a blanket over us to photograph sand grouse as they came down to drink. One of our favourite creatures was a Verreaux’s Eagle Owl which often used a perch overlooking the plain. We spent a long time trying to capture some of its many amusing expressions!

Our ten days in Katavi were a fantastic experience. We have many more photos which we will be sharing in due course. Our next post will be about the Mahale Mountains National Park and the wild chimpanzees that we photographed there.