Where has this year gone? It’s certainly been a busy one for me, leaving little time for photography and blogging. So here’s a few exciting things in my life recently:
Investigating a small mainland colony of Grey-faced petrels at Cornwallis, I got to see my first chick through a burrow-scope. I’ll be spending a lot of time with these gorgeous birds next year as part of my Master’s research, which is something I’m really looking forward to!
My semester finished on the 21st, and to celebrate freedom from deadlines, I visited Auckland Zoo. A lovely friend of mine is a keeper there, and we had some great encounters with gorgeous creatures. The beauty in the image above is a legless lizard, Scheltopusik or glass lizard – Ophisaurus apodus. It’s the only snake-like animal allowed in New Zealand – all species of actual snakes are banned because of the threat they pose to our native wildlife. Legless lizards aren’t quite as much of a threat, but they’re still a high-risk species and are well secured in captivity.
It’s nearly summer, right? Clambering up rocks and finding vibrant purple jellyfish at Tawharanui was a great way to relax after handing in my final assignments!
Dad and I had an amazing evening at the New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year awards on Thursday. To be featured alongside photographers of such skill – some professional, some enthusiast like ourselves – was staggering. My Eastern Rockhopper penguins were highly commended in the Wildlife category, and Dad’s fern under the Southern rata at Hardwicke placed second in the Landscape category! It was a fantastic evening – from an impassioned talk by underwater photojournalist Richie Robinson, to editor James Frankham phone-calling two of the winners who couldn’t be present to congratulate them. Wildlife winner Crispin Middleton is currently at the Kermadec Islands, and Timelapse winner Hamish Wright is still in Antarctica – but we got to applaud them and hear their voices over the speakers hooked up to James’ phone! I had a great time and enjoyed catching up with and meeting new photographers – especially this year’s worthy winner of the Young Photographer award – Talman Madsen. Grab a copy of the new NZ Geo when it comes out! The exhibition is still on down at the Viaduct in Auckland – so check it out if you haven’t already!
Birdlife Australia did a feature in their spring issue about the subantarctic islands, and pest eradication on Campbell Island. It was great to have a few photos from my trip over summer (pictured, plus a Subantarctic Snipe and Campbell Island Teal) published in the article! If you get the chance to grab a copy it’s a great read.
There are also a few of my photos in the new Heritage Expeditions brochure! Recognise that penguin? In more exciting news, I’ll be heading down south with them again in a few weeks time – and I can’t wait!
Coming up, I’ll be teaching another nature photography course for the Kaipatiki Project on the 5th/6th of November. After that, it’s packing and preparation to head south again, to spend my 23rd birthday in my favourite place in the world – the Southern Ocean.
