Stall Helpers

I have been asked to document events at a local church. Their annual Summer Fair was the first. These images are of some of the Stall Helpers. This year the church decided to hold the Fair in the car park, rather than the church hall. As the church is in quite a rough area, this proved to be quite a challenge. Although many of the helpers were upbeat and happy to be there, others were a little on edge, I think this can be seen in my images, particularly in the faces of some of the Stall Helpers who were outside.

Knowsley Safari Park Cont.

These are some more images from the Safari Trip. With these images I tried to get tighter frames and therefore closer to the animals to try to capture more detail.

Above: Kafue Flats Lechwe

The Kafue Flats lechwe is a medium-sized antelope from the floodplains of central Zambia which loves a swampy habitat. Lechwe are under increasing pressures in the wild due to excessive hunting, expanding human settlement, and the destruction of their habitat.

Above: Camel

The two-humped Bactrian camel lives in the highlands of central Asia, where it feeds on prickly scrub and salty water. It is able to store water in its stomach chambers and in fat reserves in its humps. The wild bactrian camel is critically endangered.

Above: Lioness

Lions are social animals living in prides. A pride will often hunt together, but it is the lionesses who do most of the work, and usually the killing as well. How often lions eat depends on what food is available. In the wild if the pride makes a big kill it will gorge on meat and wait for several days before hunting again. Lions are now only found in central, eastern and southern Africa and one protected reserve in north-east India.

Above: White Rhino

The name 'White' originates from the Afrikaans word weit meaning 'wide-lipped' and is nothing to do with the rhinos' colour. The white rhino is much larger than its black relative and is the second-largest land mammal in the world. The poaching of rhino for their horns has almost exterminated all of the 5 species of rhinoceros. The white rhino is now well protected in game reserves in their native Zululand and what was the rarest species of rhino is now the commonest. Its cousin the Northern white rhino is now nearing extinction with only some 25 animals surviving. In the wild, white rhinos are sociable grazers living in family groups called a 'crash'. They are agile for their size and are able to run at 50kph (32mph). Although their eyesight is relatively poor their acute sense of smell and hearing more than compensate.

Knowsley Safari Park

I recently went on a trip to Knowsley Safari Park, these are some of the images I captured on the day.

Above: Californian Sea Lion

The Californian sea lion is the cliche circus seal obligingly balancing a ball on its nose and jumping through hoops, of which both were demonstrated. In the wild however, the California sea lion is sleek and faster than any other sea lion or seal, some can top 25 miles (40 kilometers) an hour. They are also rigorous hunters and can hunt continuously for up to 30 hours, each dive lasting 5 minutes.

Above: Blackbuck Antelope

The blackbuck is a small, delicate antelope from the open plains and dry forests of Pakistan and northern India, and the Punjab in the west across to Bangladesh. Due to excessive hunting and the destruction of their habitat, their numbers have been much reduced. Today there are more blackbuck in Texas where they were introduced for hunting than in India.

Above: Bongo

At almost six feet (two meters) high, the mountain bongos are the largest of all forest antelopes. Although they are notoriously shy, they sometimes freeze in place when in distress, making them easier to catch and as a result they are a highly endangered species. They originate from west, central and east Africa.

Above: Giraffe

Giraffe networks are now only found in north-eastern Kenya, eastern Sudan and Eritrea. Their overall height of around 4.57m (15ft) and excellent eyesight allows them visual contact with others in the herd, which can be spread over 0.8 km (1/2 mile).

Above: Olive Baboon Family

The Olive Baboons belong to the Old World order of monkeys and are very intelligent, leading a highly regulated social life. Baboons themselves are omnivorous, however they are also sometimes prey to carnivores such as lions and leopards. Baboons have powerful canine teeth and can be fierce, and the threat of several of them combining together to attack is enough to keep most predators away.