ISLAND LIFE
THESE powerful shots capture some of the beautiful wildlife seen on Bardsey Island, off Wales’ west coast. Wildlife photographer Ben Porter, 20, has shared more of his work with us which shows off the isolated island where he has lived since he was 10.
Ben, left, started photographing wildlife when he was eight – an interest he shared with his dad and grandad. He has been involved in the conservation work at the observatory and photographing images of the natural environment.
“There’s always something to look at on the island,” said Ben, who is now a conservation biology student at Exeter University.
“It’s a small island but the number of migrant birds is incredible. Some rare species get blown off course and land here. There are around 20,000 Manx Shearwaters here and some amazing insects.
“The lighting on Bardsey is superb for photography and the stormy conditions make for great landscape images. Sometimes I head out at night to photograph wildlife in the dark. I’ve been working on a project photographing Manx Shearwaters with the stars in the background.”
A total of 310 species of birds have been recorded on Bardsey Island and it is renowned for choughs, grey seals and puffins.
“Life is quite different here. It’s isolated but it’s overflowing with wildlife and it’s a very atmospheric place with the different weather. Living here had a big influence on my interest in conservation and photography.”