The air was completely still at Portencross harbour. It was as though the Firth of Clyde was holding its breath in anticipation, reflecting my excitement. The water was perfectly still. A millpond. The glassy surface a wide window into the underwater world below. I stood on the harbour wall, peered down and resisted the urge to lean forward to get a better view. I was impatient and strangely nervous. As usual, when I head to a location to photograph something specific, I put pressure on myself in advance to capture decent images. I felt it necessary to remind myself there was something more important at stake.
A few people scattered along both sides of the harbour wall became a crowd that covered all the available space. One brave boy entered the water in his swimming trunks, his confidence quickly tempered by the freezing water. The February sun disappeared behind a large cloud just as the stars of the show arrived. I didn’t mind the sudden drop in temperature – no sun meant no annoying light bouncing off the surface.
The new arrivals were carried down to the water’s edge in separate crates, and a hush fell over the onlookers. The occupants were encouraged out onto the sand, and we got our first glimpse of Callisto and Milky Way – a pair of grey seals being helped back into the wild by Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue. This was our first time at one of these seal releases. We’d missed a few due to them being on weekdays or too early or late, as they depend on the tide times. Callisto from Northumberland and Milky Way, rescued on Tiree, had both been residents of Hessilhead for three months. With care from the expert staff, they had progressed from being vulnerable fluffy white pups to sleek seals ready to return to the sea.
That said, there was still some hesitancy. I couldn’t see when the youngsters took their first tentative bounce onto the sand, but I heard the bark of complaint when one tried to head inland and was blocked by a large board. Once in the water, they soon relaxed, and we were treated to close-up views of them playing and exploring within the harbour walls before they headed out to deeper water.
The sun stayed behind the cloud, which meant that I could capture plenty of detail in the images of Callisto and Milky Way.
The lack of light on the surface of the water meant that the reflections of the people standing on the harbour wall were shown as ripples of colour, which provided another element of interest in the frame.
As both seals eventually disappeared from view and the crowd slowly drifted away to the screams of delight from children playing in the rock pools, I felt privileged to have witnessed this release.
From a wildlife photography point of view, it had also been a picture-perfect afternoon. I recommend keeping an eye on your local wildlife rescue centre for photography opportunities. If they don’t do public releases, they may have open days where you can look behind the scenes and sometimes see the residents during their rehabilitation. Some wildlife shelters also seek volunteer photographers to capture images for calendars, adoption schemes etc. Get signed up for newsletters and follow centres on social media to get the latest news. The chance to photograph wildlife while promoting those who work so hard to protect it is not to be missed.
