This is what extinction looks like

Lonesome George has died. The last of his subspecies of giant Galápagos tortoise, he was thought to be about a hundred years old. I met him in September last year; by then his subspecies had long been doomed to extinction, but his death two days ago (24 June) saddens me nevertheless.


[7 September 2011, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 100–300 mm at 300 mm, ISO 400, 1/200 at f8]

All content © 2012 Pete McGregor

Somewhere in the fjords of Chile

I've read claims that wild places no longer exist, that you can't go anywhere without encountering overt signs of human activity. I find those kinds of claims slippery at best — what's overt to their authors might be not all all obvious to many of us; just how long must I go without being reminded that other humans share this place with me; what constitutes wildness; how large is this wild (or not) place about which we're arguing, and so on —  but I do acknowledge this: wild places are declining.

Still, some remain. Anyone who's travelled through the fjords of Chile will know that.


[6 December 2011, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 14–45 mm at 45 mm, ISO 100, 1/60 at f11]

All content © 2012 Pete McGregor

Winter birch

Lately we've had cold, damp days — sometimes a frost followed by a heavily overcast day. I live most of the time in several layers of thermals and fleece, topped with a down jacket, hands in edging mittens.


[28 May 2012, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 100–300 mm at 100 mm, ISO 200, 1/320 at f8]

All content © 2012 Pete McGregor

Silkie

Another of the new chooks living out the back. Silkies have been popular for many decades — perhaps even centuries — and their popularity apparently shows no sign of diminishing. My parents preferred less outrageous-looking fowls and considered the silkie's feathered legs a fault (they look quaint when they're clean, but there's the rub), but I'm happy to enjoy the sight of these. I do prefer clean-legged breeds, though, particularly game fowls and some of the wyandottes.



[28 May 2012, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 100–300 mm at 300 mm, ISO 200, 1/60 at f5.6]

All content © 2012 Pete McGregor

Old cans

I suppose cans like these will eventually survive only in museums. Now it's all red and yellow plastic — oil holding oil. (These are petrol cans, but it's all oil in one form or another.)


[28 May 2012, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 100–300 mm at 183 mm, ISO 200, 1/320 at f8]

All content © 2012 Pete McGregor