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Sunset story

Sunsets bring change; day becomes night, some animals become active, others set in for a few hours of rest before sunrise. It’s nice to see plants also reacting to these changes – some of them quite dramatically, like my subject in this post, the dog’s tooth violet (kakasmandikó, măseaua ciutei). This flower relaxes its petals, and slowly lets them down once the sun sets. I find it rather magical when plants move, they make me wonder just how all living organisms are aware of their surroundings.

These striking petals that stand up inspired me to immerse in a journey of plant photography, searching for the essence of these violets, and the beauty they bring to the forests. Photographically I wanted to show the special action of the petals, and their graphic arrangement, but also wanted to show the plant with its habitat. Going back again and again it is all about being out there, witnessing spring with all the subtle changes, and the coming to life of forests and meadows after a hard winter.

All photographs were made near Targu-Mures, Romania.

Posted by  |  April 20, 2012 | Categories: From the field | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Winter wonderland

What a magnificent week in the Ceahlau National Park!

In January I have spent a good week with the chamois of the Ceahlau Mountains, a spectacular mountain range which has really captured my imagination as this was my first visit to this area.  It holds a modest but stable population of chamois, from the endemic Carpathian subspecies Rupicapra rupicapra carpatica, which is notorious for being the largest in the world and the one that has the longest horns. These facts contributed greatly to they’re demise in the past century when they were hunted close to extinction.

I really enjoy hiking and exploring landscapes, and it was fascinating to explore this mountain in winter, with thick snow everywhere, chamois on the cliffs around me, fox, deer, and all sorts of small mammal tracks in the forests underneath me, and just the knowledge that wolves, lynx and bears along with capercaillies, pygmy and tengmalm’s owls still call these great forests home left a deep impression in me.

I put all my clothes on that I have carried up the mountain and that way I could sit motionless, and just spend the whole day out on the mountain with a few chamois groups.  I like photographing in a slower pace, spending as many days as I can in a particular area. I was trying to put together a story about the life of the chamois, but with a focus on a ‘wild-feel’ in my images, with an ‘animals in the landscape’ style approach in my mind to try to tell the story of the landscape they inhabit as well.

Grazing on the highest cliffs, facing the strongest winds, and looking over the forests – chamois are born symbols of alpine zones, and wilderness in general.

This photo of the young chamois getting covered in snow as it tried to bite off a bit from a pine branch was just a fleeting moment, but there was an element of intimacy that impressed me.

I have recently started working on a project about the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, and this trip was a first from a series I plan doing this year exploring species and habitats of these mountains.

More on this project soon, and surely more from Ceahlau in the future!

Posted by  |  February 4, 2012 | Categories: From the field | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Wolf track

Happy New Year, and Welcome to my Blog!

Mentioning wolf habitat in my previous post, I am happy to start the New Year with fresh photos of a wolf track. Winter has been a bit ‘on and off’ this year, with snow only persisting in the higher parts of the Carpathians, and during a short visit to the Ghiurghiu Mountains  I came across these tracks on the 2nd of January in prime wolf habitat. The distance between the paw prints, and the straightness of the track reinforced my initial impression that I was facing a wolf track.

Present only locally in some parts of Romania, they have survived the Ceauşescu regime mostly thanks to the vastness and remoteness of the Carpathian Mountains, because they were hunted with the intention of extermination.  Today wolves have a ‘protected species’ status and enjoy protection according to the law, but the reality is that they are still hunted. It is a very delicate situation, because in some areas sheep are regularly taken from shepherd camps, despite shepherds in Transylvania really knowing how to guard their sheep. Even though these animals have lived here for thousands of years, and are so important in maintaining the healthy balance in most of the forests of Romania, they only seem to get bad press from the media in this country.  The roots of ancient man and nature relationships and coexistences are still present in the Carpathians, and hopefully will continue to stand the test of time in the face of globalization and legal and illegal logging that is threatening everything that relates to this wilderness.

Posted by  |  January 6, 2012 | Categories: From the field | Tags: , , , , | Leave A Comment »

Hazel Grouse from the Carpathians

“I’ve always said that the best wolf habitat resides in the human heart. You have to leave a little space for them to live.” – Ed Bangs

Photographing in the forests of the Carpathians is pure pleasure, in fact just wandering in the wilderness areas, or climbing the high peaks represents a very strong sense of balance and harmony for me. I am not ashamed to admit that I had to travel, and study in England for 3 years to start realizing just how valuable virgin forests, ancient coexistences, and generally wilderness areas are in Romania. I loved Transylvania since I was a child, but only just recently have started to see it more from a European perspective.

Hazel Grouse (császármadár/ieruncă) are one of my favorite birds, so they rightfully feature in this first post. They are birds of the mountains, preferring mixed deciduous forests with rich undergrowth, but living in coniferous forests as well. I have seen them a number of times, usually only for a few fleeting moments as they fly, or run for cover from the mountain explorer. Last summer though I have discovered a few good areas for them along an old abandoned road in the Kelemen Mountains (Munţii Călimani) where I was able to observe them for longer periods a couple of times.

The photograph features an attentive male standing on the side of this rocky, old road. They are here because of the green vegetation that grows on the side of the road and provides them with food. I find this situation a little ironic, because roads are key for logging and deforestation threatens a whole host of animal and plant species not just these Grouse. The abandoned nature of this road and the wealth of wildlife in its vicinity left me with a sense of peace though, this image hopefully transmitting a small message of wilderness, of nature’s ability to regenerate.

I plan to work more with these birds and the other often very skittish wildlife of the Carpathians in the near future. I hope to share parts of theire lives, and a part of Transylvania with you.

Posted by  |  December 14, 2011 | Categories: From the field | Tags: , , , | Leave A Comment »

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