Tuesday 21 May 2013

Fuzzy rabbit and crisp hare

I'm a huge admirer of the kind of wildlife photography I see in magazines and online. I'm a member of RSPB but to be honest, the only reason I open their magazine is to look at the photos. I'm amazed at the patience and determination which make possible a shot like this one, of a hare running towards the camera on a foggy morning:

Credit: Mark Williams, G900PHOTOGRAPHY

I love how the fog and the dew are visible, and every whisker on the hare too. Hares are one of my favourite animals so I find this photo really draws me in. Huge thanks to Mark for permission to use his photo.

I thought I'd have a go myself, on a stroll past a nearby evening rabbit location, but as I suspected, it's no mean feat to capture an animal with such intimacy. This is my puny effort, included only to show where I'm starting from:


Well, it's identifiably a rabbit but I can't claim much more than that. I realise that I can't expect too much at this early stage of getting to know the camera and how to use it.  I will practise and I will get better... in the meantime here are two hares in art, both of which I love:

This is an illustration from a Christmas card sent last year by a very old friend, it's called Winter Hare from a linocut print by Andrew Haslen.












This one is an original painting in oil by
local artist, Kate Gandolfo, titled Hare at Sunset;
it hangs in pride of place in my living room.

These hares are much easier to photgraph ;-)

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2 comments:

  1. MindOut22 May 2013 at 08:49

    Mark writes:

    'You are now on your way to an interesting world of watching animal behaviour in the wild for yourself. Don't worry too much about the quality of the image. Concentrate on the "field-craft" learn to spot where the animals been, where it's going and why it's there. This understanding will tell you where to be with your camera.'



    Many thanks Mark, that's something I'd never have thought of, I'll experiment. Maybe my own rabbits might make good practice subjects!

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  2. Unknown23 May 2013 at 20:54

    I love this loping hare pic. Very Easter-y, but still great in May and extremely hard to capture. Caroline's right. The deer I photographed in Richmond Park as a guest blogger a while back were very reluctant to pose. And difficult to frame in an iPhone viewfinder. My reflection: everyone can take pix with their smartphone now, but they can't beat pro-quality. At the same time, "citizen journalism" has transformed mainstream media as well as the blogosphere, witness what gets in the papers every day, and not always to their detriment. Awful but true: the mainstream media would not have captured the truth of the Woolwich maniacs until after the ghastliest moments had passed. Should those images them be shown on national TV? That is another question. Dave

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