MY LOVE OF NATURE, goes right back to my childhood, to the times when I
-stayed on, my grandparents' farm in Suffolk. My father was in the armed forces, so we
were always moving and didn't have a home base for any length of time, but I loved going
there. I think it was my grandmother who encouraged me more than anyone: she taught me
the names of wild flowers and got me interested in looking at the countryside, so it
seemed obvious to go on to do Zoology at University.
I didn't get my first camera until after I'd graduated, when I was due to go diving in
Norway and needed a method of recording the sea creatures I would find there. My father
didn't know anything about photography, but he bought me an Exacta, which was really quite a
good camera for the time, and I went off to take my first pictures of sea anemones and
starfish. I became keen very quickly, and learned how to develop and print; obviously I
didn't have much money in those days, so I did more black and white photography than
colour, but it was all still using the camera very much as a tool to record what I found both by
diving and on the shore. I had no ambition at all to be a photographer then, or even for some
years afterwards.
Unlike many of the wildlife photographers of the time, I trained as a scientist and therefore my
way of expressing myself is very different. I've tried from the beginning to produce pictures
which are -always biologically correct. There are people who will alter things deliberately: you
don't pick up sea creatures from the middle of the shore and take them down to attractive
pools at the bottom of the shore without knowing you're doing it. In so doing you're actually
falsifying the sort of seaweeds they live on and so on, which may seem unimportant, but it is
actually changing the natural surroundings to make them prettier. Unfortunately, many
of the people who select pictures are looking for attractive images and, at the end of the day,
whether it's truthful or not doesn't really matter to them.
It's important to think about the animal first, and there are many occasions when I've not
taken a picture because it would have been too disturbing. Nothing is so important that
you have to get that shot; of course, there are cases when it would be very sad if you didn't,
but it's not the end of the world. There can be a lot of ignorance in people's behaviour towards
wild animals and it's a problem that more and more people are going to wild places: while
some animals may get used to cars, they won't get used to people suddenly rushing up to
them. The sheer pressure of people, coupled with the fact that there are increasingly fewer
places where no-one else has photographed, means that over the years, life has become
much more difficult for the professional wildlife photographer.
Nevertheless, wildlife photographs play a very important part in educating people about
what is out there and what needs conserving. Although photography can be an
enjoyable pastime, as it is to many people, it is also something that plays a very important
part in educating young and old alike. Of the qualities it takes to make a good wildlife
photographer, patience is perhaps the most obvious - you just have to be prepared to sit it out.
I'm actually more patient now because I write more than ever before, and as long as I've got a
bit of paper and a pencil, I don't feel I'm wasting my time. And because I photograph
such a wide range of things, even if the main target doesn't appear I can probably find
something else to concentrate on instead.
Why did she get her first camera ?
she needed to be able to look back at what she had seen
she wanted to find out if she enjoyed photography
her father thought it was a good idea for her to have one
her father thought it was a good idea for her to have one
MY LOVE OF NATURE, goes right back to my childhood, to the times when I
-stayed on, my grandparents' farm in Suffolk. My father was in the armed forces, so we
were always moving and didn't have a home base for any length of time, but I loved going
there. I think it was my grandmother who encouraged me more than anyone: she taught me
the names of wild flowers and got me interested in looking at the countryside, so it
seemed obvious to go on to do Zoology at University.
I didn't get my first camera until after I'd graduated, when I was due to go diving in
Norway and needed a method of recording the sea creatures I would find there. My father
didn't know anything about photography, but he bought me an Exacta, which was really quite a
good camera for the time, and I went off to take my first pictures of sea anemones and
starfish. I became keen very quickly, and learned how to develop and print; obviously I
didn't have much money in those days, so I did more black and white photography than
colour, but it was all still using the camera very much as a tool to record what I found both by
diving and on the shore. I had no ambition at all to be a photographer then, or even for some
years afterwards.
Unlike many of the wildlife photographers of the time, I trained as a scientist and therefore my
way of expressing myself is very different. I've tried from the beginning to produce pictures
which are -always biologically correct. There are people who will alter things deliberately: you
don't pick up sea creatures from the middle of the shore and take them down to attractive
pools at the bottom of the shore without knowing you're doing it. In so doing you're actually
falsifying the sort of seaweeds they live on and so on, which may seem unimportant, but it is
actually changing the natural surroundings to make them prettier. Unfortunately, many
of the people who select pictures are looking for attractive images and, at the end of the day,
whether it's truthful or not doesn't really matter to them.
It's important to think about the animal first, and there are many occasions when I've not
taken a picture because it would have been too disturbing. Nothing is so important that
you have to get that shot; of course, there are cases when it would be very sad if you didn't,
but it's not the end of the world. There can be a lot of ignorance in people's behaviour towards
wild animals and it's a problem that more and more people are going to wild places: while
some animals may get used to cars, they won't get used to people suddenly rushing up to
them. The sheer pressure of people, coupled with the fact that there are increasingly fewer
places where no-one else has photographed, means that over the years, life has become
much more difficult for the professional wildlife photographer.
Nevertheless, wildlife photographs play a very important part in educating people about
what is out there and what needs conserving. Although photography can be an
enjoyable pastime, as it is to many people, it is also something that plays a very important
part in educating young and old alike. Of the qualities it takes to make a good wildlife
photographer, patience is perhaps the most obvious - you just have to be prepared to sit it out.
I'm actually more patient now because I write more than ever before, and as long as I've got a
bit of paper and a pencil, I don't feel I'm wasting my time. And because I photograph
such a wide range of things, even if the main target doesn't appear I can probably find
something else to concentrate on instead.
How is she different from some of the other wildlife photographers she meets ?
she tries to make her photographs as attractive as possible
she likes to photograph plants as well as wildlife
she likes to photograph plants as well as wildlife
MY LOVE OF NATURE, goes right back to my childhood, to the times when I
-stayed on, my grandparents' farm in Suffolk. My father was in the armed forces, so we
were always moving and didn't have a home base for any length of time, but I loved going
there. I think it was my grandmother who encouraged me more than anyone: she taught me
the names of wild flowers and got me interested in looking at the countryside, so it
seemed obvious to go on to do Zoology at University.
I didn't get my first camera until after I'd graduated, when I was due to go diving in
Norway and needed a method of recording the sea creatures I would find there. My father
didn't know anything about photography, but he bought me an Exacta, which was really quite a
good camera for the time, and I went off to take my first pictures of sea anemones and
starfish. I became keen very quickly, and learned how to develop and print; obviously I
didn't have much money in those days, so I did more black and white photography than
colour, but it was all still using the camera very much as a tool to record what I found both by
diving and on the shore. I had no ambition at all to be a photographer then, or even for some
years afterwards.
Unlike many of the wildlife photographers of the time, I trained as a scientist and therefore my
way of expressing myself is very different. I've tried from the beginning to produce pictures
which are -always biologically correct. There are people who will alter things deliberately: you
don't pick up sea creatures from the middle of the shore and take them down to attractive
pools at the bottom of the shore without knowing you're doing it. In so doing you're actually
falsifying the sort of seaweeds they live on and so on, which may seem unimportant, but it is
actually changing the natural surroundings to make them prettier. Unfortunately, many
of the people who select pictures are looking for attractive images and, at the end of the day,
whether it's truthful or not doesn't really matter to them.
It's important to think about the animal first, and there are many occasions when I've not
taken a picture because it would have been too disturbing. Nothing is so important that
you have to get that shot; of course, there are cases when it would be very sad if you didn't,
but it's not the end of the world. There can be a lot of ignorance in people's behaviour towards
wild animals and it's a problem that more and more people are going to wild places: while
some animals may get used to cars, they won't get used to people suddenly rushing up to
them. The sheer pressure of people, coupled with the fact that there are increasingly fewer
places where no-one else has photographed, means that over the years, life has become
much more difficult for the professional wildlife photographer.
Nevertheless, wildlife photographs play a very important part in educating people about
what is out there and what needs conserving. Although photography can be an
enjoyable pastime, as it is to many people, it is also something that plays a very important
part in educating young and old alike. Of the qualities it takes to make a good wildlife
photographer, patience is perhaps the most obvious - you just have to be prepared to sit it out.
I'm actually more patient now because I write more than ever before, and as long as I've got a
bit of paper and a pencil, I don't feel I'm wasting my time. And because I photograph
such a wide range of things, even if the main target doesn't appear I can probably find
something else to concentrate on instead.
Which does 'them' refer to in the 7"' line in paragraph 3?
sea creatures
attractive pools
seaweeds
seaweeds
MY LOVE OF NATURE, goes right back to my childhood, to the times when I
-stayed on, my grandparents' farm in Suffolk. My father was in the armed forces, so we
were always moving and didn't have a home base for any length of time, but I loved going
there. I think it was my grandmother who encouraged me more than anyone: she taught me
the names of wild flowers and got me interested in looking at the countryside, so it
seemed obvious to go on to do Zoology at University.
I didn't get my first camera until after I'd graduated, when I was due to go diving in
Norway and needed a method of recording the sea creatures I would find there. My father
didn't know anything about photography, but he bought me an Exacta, which was really quite a
good camera for the time, and I went off to take my first pictures of sea anemones and
starfish. I became keen very quickly, and learned how to develop and print; obviously I
didn't have much money in those days, so I did more black and white photography than
colour, but it was all still using the camera very much as a tool to record what I found both by
diving and on the shore. I had no ambition at all to be a photographer then, or even for some
years afterwards.
Unlike many of the wildlife photographers of the time, I trained as a scientist and therefore my
way of expressing myself is very different. I've tried from the beginning to produce pictures
which are -always biologically correct. There are people who will alter things deliberately: you
don't pick up sea creatures from the middle of the shore and take them down to attractive
pools at the bottom of the shore without knowing you're doing it. In so doing you're actually
falsifying the sort of seaweeds they live on and so on, which may seem unimportant, but it is
actually changing the natural surroundings to make them prettier. Unfortunately, many
of the people who select pictures are looking for attractive images and, at the end of the day,
whether it's truthful or not doesn't really matter to them.
It's important to think about the animal first, and there are many occasions when I've not
taken a picture because it would have been too disturbing. Nothing is so important that
you have to get that shot; of course, there are cases when it would be very sad if you didn't,
but it's not the end of the world. There can be a lot of ignorance in people's behaviour towards
wild animals and it's a problem that more and more people are going to wild places: while
some animals may get used to cars, they won't get used to people suddenly rushing up to
them. The sheer pressure of people, coupled with the fact that there are increasingly fewer
places where no-one else has photographed, means that over the years, life has become
much more difficult for the professional wildlife photographer.
Nevertheless, wildlife photographs play a very important part in educating people about
what is out there and what needs conserving. Although photography can be an
enjoyable pastime, as it is to many people, it is also something that plays a very important
part in educating young and old alike. Of the qualities it takes to make a good wildlife
photographer, patience is perhaps the most obvious - you just have to be prepared to sit it out.
I'm actually more patient now because I write more than ever before, and as long as I've got a
bit of paper and a pencil, I don't feel I'm wasting my time. And because I photograph
such a wide range of things, even if the main target doesn't appear I can probably find
something else to concentrate on instead.
The writer decided to go to university and study Zoology because
she wanted to improve her life in the countryside
she was persuaded to do so by her grandmother
she was keen on the natural world
she was keen on the natural world
MY LOVE OF NATURE, goes right back to my childhood, to the times when I
-stayed on, my grandparents' farm in Suffolk. My father was in the armed forces, so we
were always moving and didn't have a home base for any length of time, but I loved going
there. I think it was my grandmother who encouraged me more than anyone: she taught me
the names of wild flowers and got me interested in looking at the countryside, so it
seemed obvious to go on to do Zoology at University.
I didn't get my first camera until after I'd graduated, when I was due to go diving in
Norway and needed a method of recording the sea creatures I would find there. My father
didn't know anything about photography, but he bought me an Exacta, which was really quite a
good camera for the time, and I went off to take my first pictures of sea anemones and
starfish. I became keen very quickly, and learned how to develop and print; obviously I
didn't have much money in those days, so I did more black and white photography than
colour, but it was all still using the camera very much as a tool to record what I found both by
diving and on the shore. I had no ambition at all to be a photographer then, or even for some
years afterwards.
Unlike many of the wildlife photographers of the time, I trained as a scientist and therefore my
way of expressing myself is very different. I've tried from the beginning to produce pictures
which are -always biologically correct. There are people who will alter things deliberately: you
don't pick up sea creatures from the middle of the shore and take them down to attractive
pools at the bottom of the shore without knowing you're doing it. In so doing you're actually
falsifying the sort of seaweeds they live on and so on, which may seem unimportant, but it is
actually changing the natural surroundings to make them prettier. Unfortunately, many
of the people who select pictures are looking for attractive images and, at the end of the day,
whether it's truthful or not doesn't really matter to them.
It's important to think about the animal first, and there are many occasions when I've not
taken a picture because it would have been too disturbing. Nothing is so important that
you have to get that shot; of course, there are cases when it would be very sad if you didn't,
but it's not the end of the world. There can be a lot of ignorance in people's behaviour towards
wild animals and it's a problem that more and more people are going to wild places: while
some animals may get used to cars, they won't get used to people suddenly rushing up to
them. The sheer pressure of people, coupled with the fact that there are increasingly fewer
places where no-one else has photographed, means that over the years, life has become
much more difficult for the professional wildlife photographer.
Nevertheless, wildlife photographs play a very important part in educating people about
what is out there and what needs conserving. Although photography can be an
enjoyable pastime, as it is to many people, it is also something that plays a very important
part in educating young and old alike. Of the qualities it takes to make a good wildlife
photographer, patience is perhaps the most obvious - you just have to be prepared to sit it out.
I'm actually more patient now because I write more than ever before, and as long as I've got a
bit of paper and a pencil, I don't feel I'm wasting my time. And because I photograph
such a wide range of things, even if the main target doesn't appear I can probably find
something else to concentrate on instead.
Which of the following describes the writer?
poud
sensitive
aggressive
aggressive
MY LOVE OF NATURE, goes right back to my childhood, to the times when I
-stayed on, my grandparents' farm in Suffolk. My father was in the armed forces, so we
were always moving and didn't have a home base for any length of time, but I loved going
there. I think it was my grandmother who encouraged me more than anyone: she taught me
the names of wild flowers and got me interested in looking at the countryside, so it
seemed obvious to go on to do Zoology at University.
I didn't get my first camera until after I'd graduated, when I was due to go diving in
Norway and needed a method of recording the sea creatures I would find there. My father
didn't know anything about photography, but he bought me an Exacta, which was really quite a
good camera for the time, and I went off to take my first pictures of sea anemones and
starfish. I became keen very quickly, and learned how to develop and print; obviously I
didn't have much money in those days, so I did more black and white photography than
colour, but it was all still using the camera very much as a tool to record what I found both by
diving and on the shore. I had no ambition at all to be a photographer then, or even for some
years afterwards.
Unlike many of the wildlife photographers of the time, I trained as a scientist and therefore my
way of expressing myself is very different. I've tried from the beginning to produce pictures
which are -always biologically correct. There are people who will alter things deliberately: you
don't pick up sea creatures from the middle of the shore and take them down to attractive
pools at the bottom of the shore without knowing you're doing it. In so doing you're actually
falsifying the sort of seaweeds they live on and so on, which may seem unimportant, but it is
actually changing the natural surroundings to make them prettier. Unfortunately, many
of the people who select pictures are looking for attractive images and, at the end of the day,
whether it's truthful or not doesn't really matter to them.
It's important to think about the animal first, and there are many occasions when I've not
taken a picture because it would have been too disturbing. Nothing is so important that
you have to get that shot; of course, there are cases when it would be very sad if you didn't,
but it's not the end of the world. There can be a lot of ignorance in people's behaviour towards
wild animals and it's a problem that more and more people are going to wild places: while
some animals may get used to cars, they won't get used to people suddenly rushing up to
them. The sheer pressure of people, coupled with the fact that there are increasingly fewer
places where no-one else has photographed, means that over the years, life has become
much more difficult for the professional wildlife photographer.
Nevertheless, wildlife photographs play a very important part in educating people about
what is out there and what needs conserving. Although photography can be an
enjoyable pastime, as it is to many people, it is also something that plays a very important
part in educating young and old alike. Of the qualities it takes to make a good wildlife
photographer, patience is perhaps the most obvious - you just have to be prepared to sit it out.
I'm actually more patient now because I write more than ever before, and as long as I've got a
bit of paper and a pencil, I don't feel I'm wasting my time. And because I photograph
such a wide range of things, even if the main target doesn't appear I can probably find
something else to concentrate on instead.
Why is she more patient now ?
she does other things while waiting
she has got used to waiting
she can concentrate better than she used to
she can concentrate better than she used to
MY LOVE OF NATURE, goes right back to my childhood, to the times when I
-stayed on, my grandparents' farm in Suffolk. My father was in the armed forces, so we
were always moving and didn't have a home base for any length of time, but I loved going
there. I think it was my grandmother who encouraged me more than anyone: she taught me
the names of wild flowers and got me interested in looking at the countryside, so it
seemed obvious to go on to do Zoology at University.
I didn't get my first camera until after I'd graduated, when I was due to go diving in
Norway and needed a method of recording the sea creatures I would find there. My father
didn't know anything about photography, but he bought me an Exacta, which was really quite a
good camera for the time, and I went off to take my first pictures of sea anemones and
starfish. I became keen very quickly, and learned how to develop and print; obviously I
didn't have much money in those days, so I did more black and white photography than
colour, but it was all still using the camera very much as a tool to record what I found both by
diving and on the shore. I had no ambition at all to be a photographer then, or even for some
years afterwards.
Unlike many of the wildlife photographers of the time, I trained as a scientist and therefore my
way of expressing myself is very different. I've tried from the beginning to produce pictures
which are -always biologically correct. There are people who will alter things deliberately: you
don't pick up sea creatures from the middle of the shore and take them down to attractive
pools at the bottom of the shore without knowing you're doing it. In so doing you're actually
falsifying the sort of seaweeds they live on and so on, which may seem unimportant, but it is
actually changing the natural surroundings to make them prettier. Unfortunately, many
of the people who select pictures are looking for attractive images and, at the end of the day,
whether it's truthful or not doesn't really matter to them.
It's important to think about the animal first, and there are many occasions when I've not
taken a picture because it would have been too disturbing. Nothing is so important that
you have to get that shot; of course, there are cases when it would be very sad if you didn't,
but it's not the end of the world. There can be a lot of ignorance in people's behaviour towards
wild animals and it's a problem that more and more people are going to wild places: while
some animals may get used to cars, they won't get used to people suddenly rushing up to
them. The sheer pressure of people, coupled with the fact that there are increasingly fewer
places where no-one else has photographed, means that over the years, life has become
much more difficult for the professional wildlife photographer.
Nevertheless, wildlife photographs play a very important part in educating people about
what is out there and what needs conserving. Although photography can be an
enjoyable pastime, as it is to many people, it is also something that plays a very important
part in educating young and old alike. Of the qualities it takes to make a good wildlife
photographer, patience is perhaps the most obvious - you just have to be prepared to sit it out.
I'm actually more patient now because I write more than ever before, and as long as I've got a
bit of paper and a pencil, I don't feel I'm wasting my time. And because I photograph
such a wide range of things, even if the main target doesn't appear I can probably find
something else to concentrate on instead.
The writer now finds it more difficult to photograph wild animals because
there are fewer of them
they have become more nervous of people
it is harder to find suitable places
it is harder to find suitable places
MY LOVE OF NATURE, goes right back to my childhood, to the times when I
-stayed on, my grandparents' farm in Suffolk. My father was in the armed forces, so we
were always moving and didn't have a home base for any length of time, but I loved going
there. I think it was my grandmother who encouraged me more than anyone: she taught me
the names of wild flowers and got me interested in looking at the countryside, so it
seemed obvious to go on to do Zoology at University.
I didn't get my first camera until after I'd graduated, when I was due to go diving in
Norway and needed a method of recording the sea creatures I would find there. My father
didn't know anything about photography, but he bought me an Exacta, which was really quite a
good camera for the time, and I went off to take my first pictures of sea anemones and
starfish. I became keen very quickly, and learned how to develop and print; obviously I
didn't have much money in those days, so I did more black and white photography than
colour, but it was all still using the camera very much as a tool to record what I found both by
diving and on the shore. I had no ambition at all to be a photographer then, or even for some
years afterwards.
Unlike many of the wildlife photographers of the time, I trained as a scientist and therefore my
way of expressing myself is very different. I've tried from the beginning to produce pictures
which are -always biologically correct. There are people who will alter things deliberately: you
don't pick up sea creatures from the middle of the shore and take them down to attractive
pools at the bottom of the shore without knowing you're doing it. In so doing you're actually
falsifying the sort of seaweeds they live on and so on, which may seem unimportant, but it is
actually changing the natural surroundings to make them prettier. Unfortunately, many
of the people who select pictures are looking for attractive images and, at the end of the day,
whether it's truthful or not doesn't really matter to them.
It's important to think about the animal first, and there are many occasions when I've not
taken a picture because it would have been too disturbing. Nothing is so important that
you have to get that shot; of course, there are cases when it would be very sad if you didn't,
but it's not the end of the world. There can be a lot of ignorance in people's behaviour towards
wild animals and it's a problem that more and more people are going to wild places: while
some animals may get used to cars, they won't get used to people suddenly rushing up to
them. The sheer pressure of people, coupled with the fact that there are increasingly fewer
places where no-one else has photographed, means that over the years, life has become
much more difficult for the professional wildlife photographer.
Nevertheless, wildlife photographs play a very important part in educating people about
what is out there and what needs conserving. Although photography can be an
enjoyable pastime, as it is to many people, it is also something that plays a very important
part in educating young and old alike. Of the qualities it takes to make a good wildlife
photographer, patience is perhaps the most obvious - you just have to be prepared to sit it out.
I'm actually more patient now because I write more than ever before, and as long as I've got a
bit of paper and a pencil, I don't feel I'm wasting my time. And because I photograph
such a wide range of things, even if the main target doesn't appear I can probably find
something else to concentrate on instead.
She did more black and white photography than colour because
she did not like colour photograph
she did not have a good camera
she wanted quality photograph
she wanted quality photograph
MY LOVE OF NATURE, goes right back to my childhood, to the times when I
-stayed on, my grandparents' farm in Suffolk. My father was in the armed forces, so we
were always moving and didn't have a home base for any length of time, but I loved going
there. I think it was my grandmother who encouraged me more than anyone: she taught me
the names of wild flowers and got me interested in looking at the countryside, so it
seemed obvious to go on to do Zoology at University.
I didn't get my first camera until after I'd graduated, when I was due to go diving in
Norway and needed a method of recording the sea creatures I would find there. My father
didn't know anything about photography, but he bought me an Exacta, which was really quite a
good camera for the time, and I went off to take my first pictures of sea anemones and
starfish. I became keen very quickly, and learned how to develop and print; obviously I
didn't have much money in those days, so I did more black and white photography than
colour, but it was all still using the camera very much as a tool to record what I found both by
diving and on the shore. I had no ambition at all to be a photographer then, or even for some
years afterwards.
Unlike many of the wildlife photographers of the time, I trained as a scientist and therefore my
way of expressing myself is very different. I've tried from the beginning to produce pictures
which are -always biologically correct. There are people who will alter things deliberately: you
don't pick up sea creatures from the middle of the shore and take them down to attractive
pools at the bottom of the shore without knowing you're doing it. In so doing you're actually
falsifying the sort of seaweeds they live on and so on, which may seem unimportant, but it is
actually changing the natural surroundings to make them prettier. Unfortunately, many
of the people who select pictures are looking for attractive images and, at the end of the day,
whether it's truthful or not doesn't really matter to them.
It's important to think about the animal first, and there are many occasions when I've not
taken a picture because it would have been too disturbing. Nothing is so important that
you have to get that shot; of course, there are cases when it would be very sad if you didn't,
but it's not the end of the world. There can be a lot of ignorance in people's behaviour towards
wild animals and it's a problem that more and more people are going to wild places: while
some animals may get used to cars, they won't get used to people suddenly rushing up to
them. The sheer pressure of people, coupled with the fact that there are increasingly fewer
places where no-one else has photographed, means that over the years, life has become
much more difficult for the professional wildlife photographer.
Nevertheless, wildlife photographs play a very important part in educating people about
what is out there and what needs conserving. Although photography can be an
enjoyable pastime, as it is to many people, it is also something that plays a very important
part in educating young and old alike. Of the qualities it takes to make a good wildlife
photographer, patience is perhaps the most obvious - you just have to be prepared to sit it out.
I'm actually more patient now because I write more than ever before, and as long as I've got a
bit of paper and a pencil, I don't feel I'm wasting my time. And because I photograph
such a wide range of things, even if the main target doesn't appear I can probably find
something else to concentrate on instead.
Wildlife photography is important because it can make people realise that
photography is an enjoyable hobby
we learn little about wildlife at school
it is worthwhile visiting the countryside
it is worthwhile visiting the countryside
MY LOVE OF NATURE, goes right back to my childhood, to the times when I
-stayed on, my grandparents' farm in Suffolk. My father was in the armed forces, so we
were always moving and didn't have a home base for any length of time, but I loved going
there. I think it was my grandmother who encouraged me more than anyone: she taught me
the names of wild flowers and got me interested in looking at the countryside, so it
seemed obvious to go on to do Zoology at University.
I didn't get my first camera until after I'd graduated, when I was due to go diving in
Norway and needed a method of recording the sea creatures I would find there. My father
didn't know anything about photography, but he bought me an Exacta, which was really quite a
good camera for the time, and I went off to take my first pictures of sea anemones and
starfish. I became keen very quickly, and learned how to develop and print; obviously I
didn't have much money in those days, so I did more black and white photography than
colour, but it was all still using the camera very much as a tool to record what I found both by
diving and on the shore. I had no ambition at all to be a photographer then, or even for some
years afterwards.
Unlike many of the wildlife photographers of the time, I trained as a scientist and therefore my
way of expressing myself is very different. I've tried from the beginning to produce pictures
which are -always biologically correct. There are people who will alter things deliberately: you
don't pick up sea creatures from the middle of the shore and take them down to attractive
pools at the bottom of the shore without knowing you're doing it. In so doing you're actually
falsifying the sort of seaweeds they live on and so on, which may seem unimportant, but it is
actually changing the natural surroundings to make them prettier. Unfortunately, many
of the people who select pictures are looking for attractive images and, at the end of the day,
whether it's truthful or not doesn't really matter to them.
It's important to think about the animal first, and there are many occasions when I've not
taken a picture because it would have been too disturbing. Nothing is so important that
you have to get that shot; of course, there are cases when it would be very sad if you didn't,
but it's not the end of the world. There can be a lot of ignorance in people's behaviour towards
wild animals and it's a problem that more and more people are going to wild places: while
some animals may get used to cars, they won't get used to people suddenly rushing up to
them. The sheer pressure of people, coupled with the fact that there are increasingly fewer
places where no-one else has photographed, means that over the years, life has become
much more difficult for the professional wildlife photographer.
Nevertheless, wildlife photographs play a very important part in educating people about
what is out there and what needs conserving. Although photography can be an
enjoyable pastime, as it is to many people, it is also something that plays a very important
part in educating young and old alike. Of the qualities it takes to make a good wildlife
photographer, patience is perhaps the most obvious - you just have to be prepared to sit it out.
I'm actually more patient now because I write more than ever before, and as long as I've got a
bit of paper and a pencil, I don't feel I'm wasting my time. And because I photograph
such a wide range of things, even if the main target doesn't appear I can probably find
something else to concentrate on instead.
What the writer means by 'ignorance in people's behaviour' is
altering things deliberately
people suddenly rushing up to animals
people taking photographs of wild animals
people taking photographs of wild animals