14 days on Sable Island: Day 7

We are now halfway through our trip. The resupply was completed in the morning and the ship motored its way back to Halifax pulling its load, a 24 hour trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The remainder of the day was spent moving the jet fuel barrels (for the coastguard helicopter) on the beach to the helicopter pad at the Main Station. My job was to help rolls barrels on to the trailer of our new tractor, so while the tractor delivered the barrels to the Station, I would do a bit of photography.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of my main interests is contemplative photography, which involves quietening the mind to avoid labelling what you see so that you can see more clearly. A useful but difficult training exercise is to spend 20 to 30 minutes looking and photographing the same object without being distracted. I did this exercise on the fuel barrels lying on the beach while waiting for the tractor to return, and tried my best to ignore everything else around me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the end of the day on the way home I spent a few moments photographing the harbour seals on the beach. Harbour seals breed at this time of year so there are a few pups around. There are also males with obvious scar patterns on their necks and hind flippers from fighting other males while at sea. Male harbour seals do not mate on the beach like the majority of seals, but rather exhibit a behaviour called lekking whereby the males while at sea display to females to attract them for mating.