The Falkland Islands, in the wild South Atlantic, are home to one of the greatest gatherings of wildlife on Earth. Award-winning photographer and naturalist Kevin Schafer spent several months in the Islands capturing this extraordinary natural pageant on film. The result is a vivid, colourful portrait of a windswept paradise.
Often, when one hears the word ‘Falklands’ one imagines scenes of the war torn islands of the early 1980s. Before that, Charles Darwin was far from complimentary about the view, calling the islands “…miserable…desolate and wretched…of a monotonous brown colour”. He obviously wasn’t around whilst the sun was out – unlike Kevin Schafer. The latter explains during his first chapter that the Falklands lie on the same relative latitude as London, but lack the warming influence of the Gulf Stream, so the area is typically cooler, with erratic weather patterns. Despite this, the photographer has captured images of a crystal-clear spectacle of movement, colour and life, and as Schafer puts it himself, “More visual than scientific, more celebration than field guide”. Clearly, this is the work of a man who loves what he does and wishes to share his experiences through words and pictures: “In places, the gatherings of wildlife in the Falkland Islands rival anything on the planet.”
In Chapter Two ‘Coming Home’ Kevin Schafer discusses the little-understood ritual of migration and explores the lives of those seabirds seemingly programmed to return to their Falkland birthplace every year.
Chapter Three ‘Penguin Beach’ focuses on the wide variety of penguins found on the Falkland Islands. Five of the world’s seven species are found there, a far cry from the popular image of a frozen mass of feathers and beaks huddling for warmth during an Antarctic snowstorm. Schafer’s photographs depict a much more exotic existence for the Falklands penguins, despite the daily risk of being gobbled up by a crafty sea lion.
The book continues through another two chapters, exploring endemic species of bird and plant, and also discussing the impact of human intervention on the surrounding area. What appears on the surface to be natural and unspoilt is actually rather different to the islands of two hundred years ago, pre-discovery by humans. Sheep brought over for farming have grazed the tussock almost to the point of crisis, rats from fetid sailing ships have set up home and killed-off many of the small birds, disease has affected a variety of birds and the 1982 war has rendered some areas uninhabitable.
Despite all this, the tone of the book is positive regarding the future of the islands, convinced that they can withstand anything to remain one of the most fascinating areas of the world, and Kevin's exquisite photography captures the beauty the Falkland Islands have to offer for all who see it.
The foreword to the book is by Becky Ingham of Falklands Conservation
