New Project Brief

Now that Bristol Zoo has rejected my volunteering application I have to find another activity to take up my time during these next few weeks. After much consideration I decided to stay on the animals in captivity though process and take trips to Bristol and London Zoo where i can photograph and sketch animal activities.

Since looking at the work of wildlife photographer; and understanding the increasing risk of extinction, I’ve become more and more interested in the comparison between animals in captivity and animals in the wild. I put some of my thoughts to paper with a spider diagram...

Final Correspondence with Bristol Zoo

I waited another week for the Zoo to get back to me and still no reply. This led to another awkward phone call, turns out they have received my application, but not had time to consider it. I somewhat desperately I explained time was an issue and I really needed to get my project sorted. The women assured me they would reply within the week, though most likely she was trying to stop me monopolising her phone line.

However another week has come and gone and, surprise surprise, still no word! So feeling like a complete nag I e-mailed the zoo one last time, stating that I really need to know before next Monday or will have to with draw my application.

The next day I finally received an answer! Unfortunately, though not too surprisingly, it was a no. Very disappointing! At least this painful drawn out correspondence has finally come to an end! Now on to plan B, or is it C, anyway once I've figured out the plan I'll let you know...

Wildlife Photographer - Steve Bloom

Steve Bloom is another of my favourite wildlife photographers. He works both in black and white and colour, which create entirely different effects. Like Nick, Brandt his images are incredibly striking, showing animals at their most powerful and beautiful states. 

The images are very dramatic and atmospheric, with landscape playing a key role in the composition. Bloom often depicts the animals in ominous weathers, being engulfed with swiping mist, or heavy rain storms pounding upon them. This creates a strong sense of power and resilience from the animals, exaggerating the trials of their everyday lives. All the while capturing their beauty, which is enhanced through the use of black and white photography, emphasising the contrast of tones and textures without being distracted by colour.

Many of his photographs are very artistic, taken from unusual angles and close ups. In his photo of the elephant emerging from water, (below), it hard to see where the elephant's trunk ends and the water begins. The texture of the elephant's trunk looks that of a tree trunk, with the water as long roots being ripped from the earth. 

Bloom's photography that play with exposure times are the most stunning. The movement and urgency are burned so deeply into the photographs that I can almost hear hooves on the grassy terrain. The galloping horses image below has strong drawing qualities, the out of focus horses look like the shadow of a ghosts or spirit. Or a forgotten memory or dream, trying to remerge in your mind, then slipping away in the blink of an eye. To me the image not only shows the pureness and strength of the horses but holds such emotion that the horses become a metaphor for some greater unknown power in the world. 

Bloom's colour photographs, again like Nick Brandt, can't help but display the personalities of the animals. By humanising the creatures it makes us able to sympathies and connect with them, allowing us to share their simple pleasures or feel their heart break and despair. Hopefully this with speak out to the human race bringing change to the ever increasing extinction of endangered species, showing that they are closer to us than we once thought.

This short clip shows Steve Bloom's thought on the importance of wildlife and his process as a photographer trying to make in impact on people.

Wildlife photographer - Nick Brandt

Nick Brandt is one of my favourite photographers. I only discovered him very recently, when I saw his book "A Shadow Falls" at the Natural History Museum. His photographs are truly breath taking. The images are so intense I feel as though I'm looking through a window into a new world, which I could easily pass through. He is able to capture such human emotion through the animals, giving them personalities and feelings with which you can really connect. 

The black and white brings such beauty, elegance and emotion to the photographs, making the viewer focus on the elaborate details, from the creases on a elephant's trunk to the thin hairs on a lion's maine.       

The compositions are very dramatic and empowering, showing off the magnitude and strength of these african animals. The images look more like illustrations of what theses animals should look like, rather than documentary photography; the compositions are just so perfect they seem unreal.

What I find most inspiring about Brandt's work is his focus on the extinction of these beautiful animals and make us see how much we overlook them. The image of the elephant above is entitled, "Elephant Drinking, Amboseli, 2007. Killed by Poachers, 2009." 

Brandt set up the Big Life Foundation is 2010 to increase the protection of these soon to be extinct animals. This foundation has already reduced the amount of poaching in various areas around Africa and has lead to some significant arrests of some of the worst poachers in the regions. 

I think that Brandt really connects to his subject matter and expresses his love for the animals through these affectionate images. I really admire the way in which he's trying to put a stop to poaching and opening people's eyes to the reality and wonder of these extraordinary animals.

Volunteering at Bristol Zoo Updates

So now its been over a month since I sent off my application form to Bristol Zoo and still no word! I'm starting to get a little concerned so resulted to my least favourite task of calling the volunteer department to see if they have received my application. And, of course, as luck is forever against my favour, they have not. It's gotten lost in the post so now my genius early bird idea is not so genius!

But the lady on the phone said I can e-mail my application to her. This will hopefully take less time to receive an answer, than via post, and as my project has now officially started, time is growing thin...

P.s turns out Lorikeets are like parrots!

Animals Inside Out

Natural History Exhibition - Animals Inside Out 

6^th April – 16^th September

Over Easter while is was in London I went to see the Animals inside out exhibition at the National History Museum. The exhibition exposes the detailed muscle structure and entwining veins under animals’ skins, from a tiny frog to a humongous elephant. It was really interesting, allowing you to discover the ins and outs of 

Each animal’s anatomy, from the nerves to the muscles and how each species varies from another.

To preserve the intricate blood systems within the animals, coloured liquid resin is injected in the main arterial network. When the surrounding tissue is removed from the animal a perfect structure of vessels is revealed. This insight into the animals blood system is truly breath taking. It looks so unreal; you have to keep reminding yourself this is really what is under animal’s skin.

Until this exhibition I had never heard of Plastination. This is a fairly new method, (1977), of preservation created by Dr Gunther von Hagens. Plastination is the extraction of all water and fatty tissues from the specimen and replacing them with polymers in a vacuum. This stops the natural decay of body parts and allows scientists to study the subjects for long periods of time; it is also odourless which makes the process a lot pleasanter.

What I found most interesting were the animals that were sliced into very thin layers. In particular the giant giraffe, in the middle of one of the main rooms, was cut into about 50 pieces. You were able to get very close and examine the transparent pieces; looking at them individually, or from below so you can see all the layers together.

The thin layers of blood and muscles formed intricate patterns, which were very beautiful and to me looked more like a piece of artwork than a body part.

Dotted around the walls in the exhibition were microscopic photographs of animals sliced in half. Theses photographs are incredible and look just like drawings. The detail is truly amazing and it does look like a wafer thin slice taken from inside the animal.

E-mail to Bristol Zoo

So on the 15th of march, (being the early bird and all), I sent Bristol Zoo a very long and detailed e-mail, asking for a work experience placement, and not too surprisingly they e-mailed back the next day with a very short reply...


On to plan B! I may not be able to do work experience but I can still volunteer! Looking on the website I found a few volunteer roles which sound pretty interesting, Children's craft volunteer role, Ranger volunteer and if worst comes to worst gardens volunteer.

I really like the sound of children's craft; "Spend your day being creative in our Activity Centre. It’s run by volunteers and attracts lots of young visitors, so you can get involved in face painting, badge making, brass rubbing, necklace making and other activities."- So basically being creative, friendly and enthusiastic, which I have pretty good practice at, having a younger brother.

But what sounds really good is the Rangers role, "We’re looking for confident people who enjoy talking to the public and are willing to learn lots about lemurs*, butterflies and lorikeets. You’ll be based in the Lemur Walkthrough*, Butterfly Forest or Feed the Lorikeets sections of our new Explorers’ Creek, where you’ll answer questions and make sure both visitors and animals are behaving themselves!" - Sounds good right! I'd love to talk to people about lemurs, though knowing my luck I'll probably be stuck in the Butterfly Forest, and lets be honest, who wants to go there! But I guess it would be better than the Lorikeets as I have no idea if they're even a mammal or reptile, so may be potentially problematic having to answer questions about a, for all I know, fictional animal! (Note self - research needed!)So before Easter I sent off my application form so hopefully should hear back relatively soon, fingers crossed! 

Project brief

So now that I've handed in all my practical work, research and numerous journal scribblings, I find myself at the beginning of a long six week project, with no idea where to start.

Desperately searching for inspiration I look back on my last, and unfinished, project based on photographs taken at Bristol Zoo. It was the first time I'd visited this particular Zoo; and yes, I must confess, I was very sceptical upon arrival, never imagining it would live up to the famous, and somewhat pretentious, London Zoo, or should I say, the Zoological Society of London. The latter is where I spent my childhood, dragging my mother and father around the enclosures, after endlessly begging to my mother to take me there on a sunny bank holiday. However to my surprise I found myself captivated by this smaller and more personal organisation. The main attractions, lions, gorillas and so on were incredibly well laid out, allowing the excitable viewers to get dangerously close to the action. There were also some good interactive zones, where one is allowed to freely walk around the lima or butterfly enclosures. Though I must confess I was a little disappointed when a lima didn't sudden have an urge to climb upon my shoulder and allow me to stroke its back, but there is alway next time.

So I thought, why not apply for work experience at Bristol Zoo? They must need young, enthusiastic students, with absolutely no experience, and studying a degree completely unrelated, right? So this will be my project, following zoo keepers, taking photographs and studying animal activity, what could go wrong!
I shall be documenting my journey throughout, via this blog, though this is just my brief so goodness knows what it will turn out like - here goes!