Bats in the cave

Hibernating Daubenton's Bat, Myotis daubentoni, in Wolfram mine, Bjerkreim, Norway
Canon EOS1D Mark III, Sigma 150mm makro f/2,8, 1sek @ f/22, ISO 250, flashlight

Today I’ve been caving with a couple of mates, specializing in bats. We had got a permit and were hoping to find hibernating bats in this previously unexplored cave. There is a sever lack of knowledge regarding hibernating bats in Norway, and we were hoping for an exclusive discovery. After just a short walk into the mine we found a single Daubenton's bat (Myotis daubentoni), sleeping like a baby in a hole in the roof. This is, to our knowledge, the first of this kind to be found in the area of Bjerkreim, where these mines are located. Unfortunately this was the only bat we found today, but the mine is big and several routs are still unexplored.

The cave was actually an old Wolfram mine, and just walking into it was a thrill. There were remains to be seen everywhere. The tracks were still on the ground, and sometimes we could almost feel the presence of the miners working here a hundred years ago.

Breaking the ice

Ice breaking up along a river bank, Bjerkreim, Norway
Canon EOS-1D Mark III, 17-40mm f/4, 1sek @ f/22, ISO 100, Hoya polarizer

Winter has been pretty absent in my part of Norway this year, so I had to travel quit far into the country to find snow and ice. The weather was grey and moist, and ideal for photographing details in the landscape. Even though I haven’t seen much of winter this year, it felt good to photograph the breaking of ice along the river - a symbol of spring. Now I have to admit, I’m still hoping to get some real winter in 2008. It will make spring feel even better.

A matter of expression

Young White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) turning heads
Canon EOS-1D Mark III, 500mm f/4, 1/125sek @ f/5, ISO 400

Light is always important in photography, but sometimes light doesn’t live up to its expectations, and you need something else to make a stunning shot. Being a behavioural ecologist by education I always keep an eye open for animal behaviour in my photography. This young White-tailed Eagle had been sitting rather still for almost an hour when it suddenly turned to look at a Golden Eagle flying by. I was ready and got the shot. On thing I’ve learned photographing animals is; always expect the unexpected.

People in the landscape

White hunter in fog, Lund, Rogaland
Canon EOS-1D Mark III, 17-40mm f/4, 1/640sek @ f/5,6, ISO400

Bringing people into the picture is also bringing perspective into the picture. Sometimes it’s very hard to tell the dimension of the landscape we’re photographing. By adding a person in the scene you get some sort of a reference, making it a lot easier to see the greatness of the surroundings. Fog and white-out snow scenes are hard to photograph. By bringing a hunter into the picture I believe the whole image change. Now it’s obvious we are truly lost!

Mother and child

Young Barbary Ape (Macaca sylvanus), Gibraltar
Canon EOS-1D Mark II, 500mm f/4, 160/sek @ f/4, ISO 200

There are not many things more appealing than a picture of a mother and here child, especially when you get the unique emotional connection between the two. Spending time with the Barbary Apes on the rock of Gibraltar gave me many opportunities to get the picture I wanted. Unfortunately the light was quit hard at times, meaning I lost a lot of detail in the youngsters face. When the sun suddenly disappeared behind the clouds I saw my chance and got some pictures showing detail in the animal fur. The look on the youngsters face combined with the gentle movement of the mother’s hand, stroking her child’s head, truly added to the scene. Spending two days with these European Apes gave me a lot of nice pictures in my archive, some of which can be seen in the Norwegian stock library Samfoto.

Carpe Diem

Bjerkreimselva with snow, Rogaland, Norway
Canon EOS-1D Mark III, 17-40mm f/4, 1/5 sek @ f/22, ISO 100, Hoya polarizer

Finally, after weeks with wind, rain and temperatures normal for October, winter came visiting south-western parts of Norway yesterday. I seized the day and brought my 17-40mm f/4 to a river called Bjerkreimselva. This is a truly beautiful place with lots of photogenic locations to visit when the weather is right. Unfortunately, today it seemed everything was back to “normal”, with wind and rain beating my window. Let’s hope the rising temperature is short lasting, and that yesterday was not the only day of winter in 2008. There are still many pictures to take!