What a fantastic four days! Never really tend to post about taking Otter photography clients out but on this occasion I was encouraged to. The weather was at times horrendous but the company was great and the quarry even better! We were out for four days, visited eight sites and saw 26 Otters. This may sound impressive to some, and indeed it is, but the sites I visit throughout the Isles it is not uncommon to see up to or over double figures in a day.
It was indeed hard core though, 0600 starts meant it was up and about at 0530! Just what you need to do to catch the tides some times. Not all photographers encourage you to take your own camera and indeed I never set out to, but I never take much persuading when asked to do so!
We witnessed some awesome activity, some of which was even unusual for me to see, a bitch taking out a rabbit was enthralling to say the least. She caught it on her way back from bathing in a freshwater, peaty water pool.
A close encounter watching a crab being consumed was also rather special. As is so often the case, I was able to predict the next move by an otter, this time, bound for the shoe with a crab, ready for consumption. A rocky out crop covered in Bladder wrack seaweed was an almost certain 'haul out' for the otter to land on the shore, and thats exactly what happened. Having had the fore site, I was in position in plenty of time and with my 'Stealth Gear' on, I was all but invisible to an Otter.
Being low down, flat on the bladder wrack I was in a fantastic and rare opportunity to get 'full frame' eye level otter images. I even managed to very tentatively shuffle a couple of feet to the side so as I had a totally empty backdrop with the open mouthed otter in full gape, I have to say was rather pleased! By no means the best otter photo I have taken, but a hard to get composition.
