Photographing wild boar squeakers
April 24 I lead the first Spring photo tour at Tapada Nacional de Mafra. It’s a voyage of discovery of the first wild boar piglets born at the old Royal hunting grounds.
Autumn and Winter colours are still present at Tapada Nacional de Mafra, but Spring is in the air. The new born squeakers appearing from the bushes where they kept hidden for the first period of their life is a sign of the normal cycle of Nature.
Discovering the squeakers on their first walks is a good excuse to invite photographers for a photo walk on April 24th. The aim is to track the piglets to some of the places they prefer along the 4 kilometer life line represented by the small creek that runs through the valley at Tapada Nacional de Mafra. It’s a time to see the small wild boar in action, but also to see red and fallow deer and multiple birds, including some birds of prey, occasionally the Bonneli eagles that have nested in the park area for a quarter of a century now.
All this happens at Tapada Nacional de Mafra, a place built for leisure and hunting back in the 18th century, and today a well-preserved nature area of over eight hundred hectares, where many species dwell in a scenery of an unusually rich and diversified flora. The diversity present at Tapada is enough to fill memory card after memory card, in one adventure that does not end after a single journey there: Nature is always creating new adventures to photograph!
This photo tour is designed for everyone who wants to try photographing wild boar — and other animals, but mostly wild boar on this tour — in a natural setting. Participants can expect all technical support so their images reflect the visual experience the place offers. It’s convenient to have a lens with a focal length of 300mm — a 70–300mm zoom is a great choice — to get good results while keeping a safe distance from the animals, so they don’t feel threatened. That’s the last thing a nature photographer wants to do!
The experience does not end that day. It continues with a challenge to participants: to create a series with their best images for a common portfolio showing the diversity of views over the same subjects. It’s a different way to look at the experience a photo tour offers and a natural extension of the field experience. The price of the photo tour includes all the support for the day and the continued support to create the final document shared by all participants.
This photo walk is for people aspiring for a quiet, one could say almost contemplative experience, in a Nature setting. It’s a six-hour walk governed by the most complete respect for the animals, the space visited and the other visitors. Despite the smooth pace of progression, and stops at various points of the walk, those interested should ensure that they are physically fit to participate.
The photo tour can also be organized on other dates — whenever possible — for groups of at least six persons. The squeakers will keep their actual fur for a couple of months, meaning the activity can run until the end of May, sometimes June. These tours should preferably be carried out during the week, when the small number of visitors in Tapada makes it easier to carry out photographic projects.
In parallel with this activity, it is possible to organize others — some are being prepared — under request, to discover the richness of the Tapada Nacional de Mafra.
For more information and registration, contact: geral@tapadademafra.pt. For any information about technical aspects of the photo tour, contact info@joseantunes.com.
