Pinky the Otter

Just over a week ago by chance I met Simon and Jo (better known apparently as Wild with Pants http://wildwithpants.blogspot.co.uk/), a visiting couple overwhelmingly enthusiastic about wildlife, especially otters. Jo helped me no end with her expert knowledge of the wonderful creatures and feeling rather inspired after having seen a few of their stunning pictures and absorbing some of their enthusiasm, planned an early 5am start on Monday morning.

I was with Mike, the new chef at the campsite cafe who was eager to see one again after a chance sighting just the other day. It was a promising morning as we found lots of signs of otter occupation and a fantastic light show when the sun rose, shining on the Cuillins but none of the 'pesky little bar stewards' as Mike calls them. We tried a few times again and by this time I had been given the nickname 'Otter Repeller'.

On Friday we had the best weather in Britain and found ourselves back on the footpath heading down to the rocks for another chance. After waiting for an hour or so with the wind in our faces I was beginning to think it was a wasted evening. Just then I glimpsed the tail of a hungry, waddling otter heading down to the shore for supper! After watching it swim out, we crept down to the shoreline from our viewpoint bit by bit as he dived for something below the surface. We got within 6 feet unnoticed as he kept feeding right before us time and time again. After about 15 minutes he must have heard the shutter of my camera and looked straight into the lens. He seemed curious to find out what it was and made a move towards us before diving back into the sea and eyeing us up from the water. What a great experience! I am really happy with the pictures (to be posted here soon, stay tuned). He has been named Pinky due to the pink colouring on the end of his nose.

Applecross

What a lot has happened since my last post a couple of months back! To keep you up to date I am now up on the Northwest coast of Scotland. I've been here 3 weeks now and hardly had a moment to stop!

I'm now working in the Visitor Centre here in Applecross as well as photographing the area on various assignments. I have barely any access to the internet but am now committing myself to writing entries for this blog every few days. Stay tuned to hear my experiences and news from possibly the most remote and awe-inspiring place in the UK.

Jack

Logos

I'm starting to find out how challenging it is to set up a business. There are so many things that need doing and there is always something else that has to be done first!

Yesterday and today I have been working on logos for the photographic tour business idea. It is a lot more complicated and frustrating than I first thought, particularly when the original idea has to be tweaked for almost every use. It has to be adapted and evolved for use on different websites, to be turned into a decal for the Land Rover and made into a square avatar for many websites (this blog included).

This was the original concept after a lot of tweaking in photoshop, with the iconic Old Man of Storr rock.

I then decided it would be good to have some more text to explain what it was. If I just printed that on the side of the car nobody would understand the workshop idea.

A web address needed adding somewhere... the trouble was where! It looks very odd above, and I like having the 5 words below reasonably large. It was either this...

... or this! Not sure on the limitations of getting this printed on the side of the Land Rover in reverse colours however.

Deciding it looked smarter in grey and white, I inverted the colours for the heading of this blog,

And created a little avatar style icon for use online.

So that concludes this blog entry. Hopefully it is the start of many to come! Stay tuned!

Jack

Setting up

Hi, welcome to my blog! I am a Landscape and Nature Photographer from Cambridgeshire, England. Please bear with me as I set up my blog and website.

More to come soon!

Jack