Photography by Philip Moll

    Photography
     Progress dictates that we lose the familiar. It's a gradual change  
        sometimes hardly perceived. I like to record  those familiar scenes
        that we pass by every day, that make up our natural environment.

        My main interest is natural history and wildlife photography to show off
        the rich North Shore biodiversity also in other areas in New Zealand. 
            
        If you would like to use any of my images, please contact  by email.
        I am  pleased to supply images for environmental groups and DoC.

        Whether you are visiting for pleasure or educational reasons, I hope
        you enjoy my photography.

        Philip Moll 

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In New Zealand

Natural History- Shoal Bay or Great Shoal bay as I now prefer to call it is a valuable and vulnerable wildlife habitat. My interest is to acheive more protection for this special area by education including talking to local school students and installing interpretive signage and dog control signage to protect shorebirds that attempt to nest and roost ( rest) on the shell banks in the estuary.

Shoal Bay is a tidal estuary with areas of salt marsh, mud flats and mangroves. It has rare and important chenier shell barrier banks similar to those found at Miranda and is an important area for many species of birds including the residents species, the NZ dotterel, Variable oystercatcher and NZ migrant species including the Wrybill and South Island pied oystercatcher. An International migrant, the bar-tailed godwit  visits from Alaska from September to March. At least 12 species regularly seen in the estuary have a Conservation status of 'At risk' or 'Threatened'. The area is designated as a Department of Conservation SSWI ( Site of Significant Wildlife Interest) with Ecological overlays on the Auckland Unitary plan.

Tuff Crater -  Tuff crater is a fascinating place to experience urban wildlife and is large enough to support a wide increasing number of interesting species. As a member of  Forest and Bird I have become interested in some local projects such as the Tuff crater restoration project.

Hauraki Gulf - The many Islands of the gulf including Rangitoto, Motutapu. Motuora, Motuihe and Rotoro have become important places for the protection and research of many at risk species. These island have also had extensive  replanting programmes and vigorous pest control and monitoring to restore native trees and shrubs to attract and support a wide range of wildlife species including some seriously at risk species. Tiri is the oldest of these projects and is world renown as an example of how  a community environmental project could be run..

 NZ Rural Rides documents some of the scenes that hint of a way of life that is disappearing fast.

In the UK.

Natural History - Horsell Common near Woking in Surrey is 850 acres of beautiful heath land, an increasingly rare habitat on a world scale. HG Wells landed his creatures from Mars on the common in his famous book The War of the Worlds. This was something I was mindful off as I studied the mammals on the common including badgers, foxes and deer especially after dusk for a project to manage the wildlife interest with the Surrey Naturalist Trust and the Horsell Common Preservation Society.

Other Interests - During the 70's I documented aspects of an area of Woking and Horsell in Surrey, using a 35mm film camera. My aim was to record, mainly in black and white, the places around me that appeared to be at risk of  a radical change to their character and appearance. These subjects appealed to me for their rustic charm, timelessness, their state of neglect and in some cases their potential as great places of environmental interest.

 Woking Palace - the historic Tudor palace was sadly neglected but now has a 'care plan' and the wildlife interest of this moated site, complete with coppiced woodland and stew (fish) ponds are in good hands.

 The Basingstoke Canal was compulsorily  purchased by the two councils through which it ran and was then  restored to a partially navigable waterway, avoiding being filled in and turned into a road as at least one local councillor had advocated at the time. The towpath takes you through some of the best wild life interest of any  UK canal and runs through the  beautiful countryside of Surrey and Hampshire.

The images taken of the UK projects are now  archived with the Lightbox Gallery.  Some images are also featured in the 2007 publication Woking Living Words Volume 1.

Other UK Projects

Midlothian Meanders 1973, 74 & 76. Documenting the neglected artifacts in the environment of the Pentland and Moorfoot Hills with Mike Dagless.

Photography of Eskmeals archaeological excavation -1977 under the direction of Clive Bonsall, British Museum.

Copyright © 2006-2023  Philip Moll

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