With the coronavirus lock-down now in full force, it has been a challenging time to keep the creativity flowing and an even harder task to stay focused. With social media playing an ever increasing role in our lives and the near constant news updates, it can be easy to fall away from what we love and hide under the bed covers in front of Netflix until this all goes away.
To make things worse, we are not supposed to be leaving our homes except for the essentials and exercise. Some may argue, and I tend to agree, that spending an hour stood by a tripod waiting for that perfect light does not count. It is because of these restrictions that this mini-project was born.
Rather than my usual process of carefully selecting the right location and perspective, I decided to shoot each of these images during a morning walk around the riverside. Each of these images represent a few seconds pause, taken hand held on a small point-and-shoot camera at eye level to appreciate the beauty in front of me. I believe this more fluid approach has created a series that documents these moments while providing a needed break from the never-ending glow of the computer screen back home.
Hopefully, this little collection of morning images will give you, the viewer, a fresh perspective and the enthusiasm to stay creative during this very unique time within our lives.
Since first discovering The Wild Place Project on the outskirts of Bristol it has become a favourite place to visit. I started this mini project during my time at university (around 2025) as a way to document those little day trips.
While it is certainly true that nothing beats seeing wildlife in it's natural habitat, that isn't always a possibility. I've never liked busy, built up zoos; they often seem more like prisons for animals than anything else. I'm not saying Wild Place is perfect, but the enclosures are larger and there is more emphases on wildlife protection and conservation than simply showing off living attractions. The enclosures are larger than most zoos are able to provide and designed to be a more natural setting than small enclosed spaces.
As far as photography goes, it's a great place to practice capturing images of wildlife at more of a distance. And it's not just the animals that make great subjects; the gardens, woodlands and meadow with its clock tower make for great landscape shots.
As The Wild Place Project has now merged with Bristol Zoo to create The Bristol Zoo Project, it is unlikely I’ll add any updates to this project page.