Durrell (Jersey zoo), happened to be the location for some recent work. Such a fabulous and

relaxing setting and a joy to photograph a series of short plays written by Dan Austin surrounding the life of Gerald Durrell - 'My Family & Other Stories'. 

For those camera techi's out, having to deal with blazing afternoon sun with your subjects in shade presents a problem, particularly when shooting towards the sun ie - dreaded flare even with the lens hood on.!  I basically used me speedlight 580 ex (camera mounted), to created much needed fill light. Chose speed settings of 160th - 250 which worked a treat. The nice thing with the speedlight is the little white bounce reflector that pops up. Used with the flash head in the vertical position creates a softer light, picking up some nice catchlight in the eyes, Nothing worse than panda eyes when no fill light is used. 

Ive included a few of the images on my site just hit the link below. They can be found on pages 4 & 5 of the gallery.

http://www.brucelironphotography.co.uk/pages/galleries.php?gall_id=30

Well I finally got around to publishing my first book entitled 'Niger - West Africa' sounds quiet grande but very easy with one of the self publishing sites - Blurb. Just download the software and off you go, anyone can do it. If I had given it some thought I would have purchased an ISBN to go with the book which obviously makes it more of a marketable prospect. The nice thing with Blurb is that if you really mess up and don't like a particular part of the book you can upload a new version to their site and delete the old one. Catch is you have to buy a book from them each time you do this.....your own book I mean. It's just great to have a book of your own work and very relaxing putting it all together. Ive included a link to view the book - or at least 5 pages which Blurb allow, please take a look any comments or purchases welcomed !

Recently I managed to get around to a personal project that ive been aiming to cover for some time. A friend and long time local fisherman Tony Farnham who professionally fishes out of La Rocque, Jersey allowed me on board for the day to document his days work. Picking an opportune time always hangs in the balance with tidal and weather conditions dictating what can be done. One of the worrying aspects is camera gear and knowing how salt water is so corrosive, didn't fancy subjecting the equipment to anything too harsh. 

However the day we chose was very nice indeed, a large spring tide, calm sees with a light wind.

For the unwary, The South East coast of La Rocque can be a treachorous place not only for the boating fraternity but also those on foot who venture out at low tide only to be caught and surrounded by the fast paced flood tide as it streams through the gulleys cutting off routes to shore.

Tony has been fishing from La Rocque since 1976 and knows the area like the back of his hand. Rocks are known by their individual names. L'etachon, L'Echiqulez and Gros Etas being an example. Throw in south easterly winds and surging swell and navigation can be a little  interesting to say the least! 

The main quarry is the highly prized Lobster although edible crabs, spider crabs and whelks form part of the catch as the season dictates. It was interesting hearing Tony talk about how the fishing has changed over the years, particularly in relation to shellfish. In years gone by there was a slack Lobster fishing period during the summer months in August. This is due to the Lobster changing its shell and will be in a state of hibernation until the shell hardens. Now however there can be two or even three periods during the year when shells are shed. This may very well be down to global warming as worldwide sea temperature increases.

The idea of heading off on a days fishing when the weather is calm and still can be a romantic idea for many, however the reality is it's tough physical work. The weather can halt fishing for days or even weeks, there are engine breakdowns to consider and fluctuating fish market prices. Currently the price for Lobster is the lowest it's been for many years - good news for shoppers, but not so good for the commercial fisherman who has the normal everyday overheads to meet.

Ive tried to include a variety of images which show some aspects that people may not be aware of and find interesting. The below link will take you to detailed captioned images.

http://www.brucelironphotography.co.uk/pages/galleries.php?gall_id=29

Traditionally the fetching of water is undertaken by women. Here in the remote village of Dandoutchi, Tahoua, Niger young Hausa girls haul water from the village well. It is hard work as can be seen by their strenuous efforts. This will have to be done several times a day as water is required for general hygiene,cleaning,utensils and watering of animals. The well has a raised collar which prevents debris from falling in.

Iconic global images

There is one image that has always stayed with me which dates back to the Vietnam war. On June 8th 1972 Associated Press photographer Nick Utt was immortalised when he captured the image of a young Vietnamese girl Kim Phuc running naked from her village, her clothes having been blown off during a mistaken air strike on villagers of Trang Bang. The image stands alone and defines the horror of war and how the innocent suffer - arguably it was part of a catalyst that questioned the role of American troops in Vietnam. The below link will take you to the pictures and full remarkable story.

http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0008/ng2.htm

The concern shows on a mothers face living in Agadez, Niger West Africa.  She attends the clinic with her young child where she waits in anticipation for the prognosis concerning the childs condition. This particular infant was suffering from the early stages of malnutrition. Existence is particularly hard in many sub-saharan countries such as Niger where infant mortality is 25%. When drought hits, the shift in balance can be extreme with families being  forced to sell livestock to survive. 

The lack of good balanced diet leaves many youngsters open to disease - their undernourished bodies being unable to fight off infection.

Malaria has traditionally been difficult to eliminate, although there are several NGO programmes that concentrate on the distribution of mosquito nets.