Blog #5e The Falkland Islands A mini-series. 5 of 5
June 2024
We’re now coming towards the end of an amazing trip to the Falklands….I had many thoughts of whether to take up the opportunity to travel or not, cost was a major factor here, although that was offset by the fact that I would be staying with family and not having to pay for accommodation, in the end, it was a conversation with my brother, to look at flight options that ended up being the determining factor, well at least it was when that viewing turned into a flight booking!
After another failed attempt to get to Saunders Island on a second day (we learnt this is not a completely out of the ordinary situation on the Falklands), with the same, hanging around scenario eating up some of the morning, local was to be the order of the day again. This time, we were armed with some local knowledge provided by the helpful staff at Stanley Airport, the destination was to be Rookery Bay (that’s what we were told it was called, Google maps calls it ‘Rookers Bay’), it took a bit of finding, especially considering it was so close to a) the Airport and b) Stanley itself, involving some off roading and driving through a semi-active shooting range (which, fortunately, was in the not open part of the semi status) but once there, it was so worthwhile….I instantly loved the beach. When I scout my photography trips, I like to use Google Maps to drop in on a ‘blue dot’ and see an image of the location to get a feel for it and try to understand what potential it holds…..let me tell you, there are not a lot of ‘blue dots’ across the Falklands, so you take what you get when you arrive and I guess that’s no bad thing. Although we arrived during the middle of the day, for ICM that’s not an issue, it was overcast so whilst not ideal, I was armed with my 6 stop & 10 stop filters so the breezy conditions with some nice surf meant I was straight into my creative mindset and soft streaky images were about to commence. There was a nice separation in between the waves here that crashed into the gently sloping beach, but I kept a certain distance as I didn’t really want wet feet to endure for the rest of the day. I started with an easy composition, simple but pleasing to my eye….
Rookery Bay (or Rookers Bay) is located really close to Stanley, yet another stunning location on East Island
ISO100 26mm f11 1Sec
I then embraced the strong surf and captured some crashing waves, of course, not in record shot fashion but, in my way, as an impressionist representation. Some nice light would have been welcomed here but you have to go with what you’re given and, on the Falklands, it could have been worse, it also meant the aqua colour of the water takes centre stage in these next couple of images, the preceding wave in both shots giving an opportunity to create some beautiful textures ahead of that next breaker.
ICM Breaker…..and some white water texture
ISO100 35mm f8 0.4Sec
ICM Breaker 2……and, in my opinion, even better texture in the foreground preceding wave
ISO100 35mm f8 0.4Sec
Having captured some creative shots, I went back into ‘normal’ photography mode and captured this next shot, focusing on one of the many outlier rocks dotted along the beach, a wired trigger release, wrapped around the lens barrel as to not dangle in the water ( I didn’t want to guess the wave position on a 2 second timer delay) and some nimble footwork meant although braving the incoming wave, I manged to capture the scene and keep my feet (mostly) dry, an achievement in itself given the ferocity of the breakers, which you can clearly see in the image.
Some ‘traditional’ seascape photography….I do it more often that not in fairness
ISO100 17mm f16 0.5Sec
The next day, David and I had decided to try our luck at another new location given to us by Andy Pollard (see previous blog), it was a bit of a trek from Stanley, around 55 mins away, quite near Mount Pleasant Complex (the main MOD base and Airport), the location was called ‘Gull Island Pond’ and we were hoping for some images of birdlife and perhaps some waders. However, the ‘pond’ turned out to be huge and with a really stiff breeze and plenty of expanse of water for the aforementioned target species to move out into, we quickly gave up on the idea and I suggested to David I take him to Whale Point, not too far away but a place I didn’t mention in the first instance as it meant some off roading and seeking access. As I’ve mentioned in an earlier blog, this is a privately owned stretch of land and requires a small fee to be paid to allow access, you can find info here https://www.falklandislands.com/things-to-do/whale-point-p676501. Having been here before, I knew I wanted to try capture at least one image that was very different to what I’d done so previously, with the overcast conditions and flat grey sky, along with accessibility to get a low view point of the Elephant Seals that are prevalent at this location, the idea came into my head for a silhouette of two of them fighting, a behaviour I’d seen a lot of whilst here the last time….that male testosterone kicking in frequently!! As predicted, it didn’t take long for the action to start, and I had positioned myself well to capture the moment….it in all honesty, was a fairly chilled little ‘scrap’ I don’t think they could really be bothered but going through the motions enough to give me my moment.
Fighting male juvenile Southern Elephant Seals……at least, fighting in the loosest sense of the word. Featured in Amateur Photographer magazine……
ISO100 330mm f5.6 1/500
I like to share my photography through my various social platforms (which you can find on my website lawrencesmithphotography.co.uk) and on this occasion, I tagged ‘#appicoftheweek’ so it would be considered for the ‘Amateur Photography’ magazine ‘It’s good to share’ feature…luckily enough, it grabbed the picture editors attention and was actually chosen to be featured (I won a framed print of the image too, which proudly hangs on my parents wall now) and the image was included in the printed magazine on Tuesday 23 April 2024…. a nice moment and a boost for my photography confidence.
I took a few more images at Whale Point during our time there (David loved the location and couldn’t believe the size of the Elephant Seals and was amazed at how close, with some caution & of course respect, you could get to these magnificent creatures), with some variations of what I’d captured previously and also some editing into Black & White which I really liked. The other variation I tried was a close up portrait and a real intimate close up of one of the flippers, it was amazing the see the ‘finger nails’ (if that’s what you can call them….’flipper nails’ just doesn’t sound right)….if there are any Elephant Seal experts out there that want to advise me of the correct terminology, I’m always open to learning. I hadn’t captured any fights in the water before either, so that was another image ticked off.
A Black & White edit…it made a change!
ISO320 182mm f8 1/1250
Classic fighting pose…..but in the water, I love the water spray from the flipper flick
ISO160 300mm f5 1/800
Finger or Flipper Nails……you decide!
ISO200 400mm f5.6 1/640
A beast……and beautiful too
ISO400 400mm f5.6 1/800
A constant during our time at WP were the small birds searching for food along the water line, I took a number of images of them and captured what turned out to be a ‘two banded plover’ in amongst the sea weed…..it was amazing how close the birds would come, but as with a lot of the wildlife on the Falklands (that I experienced), they are so unaccustomed to Humans, and especially the awful behaviours we demonstrate far too often, they appear not as wary as animals that have that ‘bad’ experience of our species.
All in all, the trip to WP was really productive with one very happy David….especially with my off-roading skills!!
A ‘Two Banded Plover’ (Anarhynchus Falklandicus)…a beautiful little bird (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-banded_plover)
ISO320 400mm f5.6 1/500
With only a few days left of our trip, I’d decided I wanted to spend that time with my daughter, with Zak & with my brother….David had booked a trip for a couple of days local to Stanley to a place called Murrell Farm (under the brand ‘Kidney Cove Tours - https://kidneycovetours.com/), it was 25 mins way and promised a penguin neither of us had seen on our trip, Rockhoppers. Adrian & Lisa at the farm were extremely helpful and David stayed overnight in one of their cabins with direct access to the wildlife….he also managed to capture some Astrophotography, in, what I imagine, are some of the darkest sky conditions he’s ever experienced.
I couldn’t leave the Island without capturing an image of Stanley, my brother and I ventured around the bay, opposite Stanley, to the ‘Peninsula Camber’, where I captured this panoramic….in true landscape photographer fashion, I, of course, would have liked some clouds in the sky but as I’ve mentioned, you take what you’re given on any particular day. The moment was somewhat interrupted, but magnificently, by a fly past of two RAF Typhoon jets, wow they are fast and loud and they even gave us a second fly past….perhaps they knew it was our last full day and were saying goodbye.
The double chimneyed white building next to the red roofed Christ Church Cathedral (the Southernmost Anglican Cathedral in the World) was home for our stay…..what a location!! I was treated, being Libby’s Dad, as my bedroom was the one with the double window at the top right of the building.
ISO100 286mm f11 1/25 - 8 Image Panorama
So that was it, Saturday 2 March 2024 was our departure day, I (we’d) had the most incredible experience, which I’ll never forget, and to think I was ever in doubt as to whether to travel to the Falklands or not, especially given the opportunity I had in the circumstances. Whilst Libby & Zak were the perfect hosts, the trip wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity of Zak’s parents, Mensun & Joanna Bound, in offering their home as our accommodation for the holiday of a lifetime, we’re all extremely grateful to them and I hope I’ve somewhat repaid them by sharing some of my images from the stay with them (we’re working on sorting a print for them to hang in their UK home). Mensun is a Falkland Islander, and proud to be so, he’s passionate about the Islands and now I’ve been, I can completely understand why.
Until next time….there could well be one, it’s Au Revoir!
Thanks for reading…..& cheers for now.
Lawrence
PS - Mensun has recently started an Instagram account…..had I mentioned his occupation? He is a British maritime archaelolgist, he is best known as director of exploration for two expeditions to the Weddell Sea which led to the rediscovery of the Endurance wreck in which Sir Ernest Shackleton and a crew of 27 men sailed for the Antarctic on the 1914–1917 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Check out Mensun’s account here https://www.instagram.com/mensunbound/ and also perhaps have a look at his book detailing his Endurance discovery expeditions, https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-ship-beneath-the-ice/mensun-bound/9781035008421
And don’t forget to have a look at David’s incredible images on his Instagram account, https://www.instagram.com/davidwhitewildlife/
