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Duncan Murrell - A Whale of a Time

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Duncan Murrell - A Whale of a Time

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  • Myanmar-Burma-children46.jpg
  • Palawan-people8.tif
  • Palawan-underground-river4.tif
  • Myanmar-Burma-people-events60.jpg
  • Myanmar-Burma-people-events59.jpg
  • Philippines-children18.tif
  • Myanmar-Burma-train-travelMyanmar-tr...jpg
  • Tagbanua-Batak-6.tif
  • Philippines-children16.tif
  • Myanmar-Burma-children25.jpg
  • Tagbanua-Batak-14.tif
  • Philippines-children15.tif
  • Myanmar-Burma-children33.jpg
  • Philippines-children19.jpg
  • Tagbanua-Batak-12.tif
  • Small boy feeding the family dogs at Barangay Tagibinet, Puerto Princesa, Palawan, The Philippines.<br />
I stayed with this very friendly family while I was photographing Ugong Rock, a karst limestone pinnacle with cave passages leading to the summit. The city of Puerto Princesa has developed it as a new ecotourism destination. There is now a zipline connected to Ugong Rock.
    Philippines-children7.tif
  • Philippines-children17.tif
  • What an auspicious start to my trip! I had already made one false start leaving too late in the day and having to head back to the relative shelter of Tamatave. The next day I paddled 20 miles along the completely featureless coastline, and all I saw was a continuous, steep beach, with the big swells of the Indian Ocean crashing down onto it. I couldn’t see any ideal places for making a safe landing so I had to just go for it, come what may. I monitored the sequence of waves and made a dash for it at what seemed the safest point. I managed to get through the surf but as soon as I hit the beach and jumped out of the kayak the next wave broke into the cockpit and the powerful undertow started to drag my heavy flooded kayak back out to sea. The alarm bells were already clanging away inside my head, along with the thought, “Here’s another fine mess I’ve got myself into!”<br />
I instinctively started grabbing bags out of the kayak and hurling them up onto the beach while either my feet or knees were desperately anchoring into the abrasive shingle, but I was still being dragged around mercilessly by my unruly kayak. I looked down along the endless beach and saw two diminutive figures so I started hollering for help. As they got nearer my heart sank because I could see that it was a young girl with a child. They could only grab my things that were floating away in the relentless surf but then miraculously a strong young man appeared on the scene, and jumped into the sea to help me wrestle with my half-submerged kayak. The kayak was a dead weight in the water so I decided to start dismantling the cockpit coaming so that some of the water could be drained from the cockpit. It worked, and after much heaving we managed to drag it up the beach away from the surf; we both collapsed on the shore, utterly exhausted and chilled by the cold water. I was eternally grateful for the providential arrival of that young man on that deserted stretch of coastline.
    Kayaking-Madagascar-journey1.jpg
  • This was an unforgettable wild encounter! The sea was very cold so I had to haul myself back into my kayak to warm up, with my legs dangling over the side and my flippers slapping the surface like a stranded fish. Moments later I was surprised to see another kayaker paddling towards me; It was an American called Corrie who told me that he had just made the long sea crossing from Isla San Jose. It was great to be joined by another kayaker and even greater when I discovered that he had a wetsuit! There was no holding back now so I returned to the underwater circus. I discovered that there was one juvenile sea lion that was bolder than the others. At first it was trying to bite my mask and then it was nipping my chest as if it was trying to suckle from me; I think that the black neoprene wetsuit had transformed me into a marine mammal! This apparent attempt at bonding with me was taken to the next level of hilarity when all of a sudden I was aware of its flippers being wrapped around my body from behind and then feeling the little clown clinging tightly to my back! I reached behind me to feel it and it was very smooth, soft and spongy, making it conform to the shape of my back like an orthopaedic back-support. I continued swimming along with this unexpected diving accessory still firmly clamped to my back like an air cylinder. It eventually released me and disappeared momentarily; then Corrie exclaimed, “look at your kayak!” and to my amazement I watched it hauling itself onto the back of my kayak! It promptly settled down for a snooze on the most comfortable and exclusive bed available. Corrie climbed into the cockpit of my kayak to take some photos of me with my new friend, or should I say foster child, as photographic evidence was surely required. Corrie tried to evict the stowaway with my paddle, but the little rascal nipped at it and promptly slid down inside the cockpit to confirm its status as a stowaway but it was eventually evicted after much protest.
    Kayaking- Gulf-of-California38.jpg
  • I found this beautiful, tiny, exquisitely coloured specimen underneath a rock. The brilliant red on the tips of its legs looked as though it had been freshly painted. As a child I spent my school holidays at the seaside and there was nothing that I enjoyed more than looking beneath rocks for hidden natural wonders.
    Kayaking- Gulf-of-California20.jpg
  • I found this beautiful, tiny, exquisitely coloured specimen underneath a rock. The brilliant red on the tips of its legs looked as though it had been freshly painted. As a child I spent my school holidays at the seaside and there was nothing that I enjoyed more than looking beneath rocks for hidden natural wonders.
    Kayaking- Gulf-of-California21.jpg