Being a Wildlife Guide

Sea Watch Foundation has had a long-standing business relationship with Dolphin Spotting Boat Trips of New Quay, West Wales for many years. Originally known as New Quay Boat Trips, the family business began in 1955, by sea lover and entrepreneur Winston Evans and has now been taken over by his hard -working son Jonathan.

Their trips are popular with visitors during the summer months and their understanding of how to behave around marine mammals is thorough. When you adopt a dolphin you receive boat trip vouchers which you can use to go out to find the bottlenose dolphins and other wildlife in Cardigan Bay.

Sarah Michelle-Wyer is a wildlife guide for DSBT’s and here she talks about how she got this role and also offers her top-tips for taking awesome dolphin photos!

Hi, I am Sarah, a wildlife guide and photographer with Dolphin Spotting Boat Trips in New Quay, West Wales, UK.

I have always been slightly obsessed with dolphins and marine life since I was a young child and dedicated my life’s goal to one day having a career with marine mammals.

Education wise, I gained a qualification in animal husbandry and studies Marine Zoology at Bangor university, graduating in 2015. After spending a few months abroad on internships with bottlenose dolphins in Florida and Tenerife, I was fortunately accepted for the Sea Watch Foundation internship in the spring of 2017.

The internship with Sea Watch Foundation was amazing. I learned valuable skills towards the research and conservation of marine mammals in the UK. It also put my foot in the door with Dolphin Spotting Boat trips with whom Sea Watch collaborate, and being in the right place at the right time enables me to obtain a very special job role which, seven years later, I am still proudly doing.

Photography has always been a hobby of mine, again since I was young. After saving up and purchasing my first DSLR camera, I taught myself the basics of photography, and with lots of practice and patience began to develop my wildlife photography.

Photographing dolphins is not easy. I am very fortunate that I am on the water a lot with these animals where I have the advantage of seeing them on a regular basis and have learned a lot about their behaviours throughout the years. The main three tips I would give for photographing dolphins are:

• Fast shutter speeds. These animals are fast! You need a high shutter speed to capture quick, sharp action. Go for 1/500 sec as a minimum.
• If the dolphins are about, don’t put your camera down. Hold it close to your face/eyes and have your finger resting on the shutter button because you just never know when things will start to get interesting!
• Learn their behaviour. This is a MUST with all wildlife photography. It takes time and a lot of patience but the more time you spend with wildlife (or a certain species), the more you learn their behaviours which in turn enables you to have a better chance of getting that shot!

Again, I have the advantage that I am out on the water all the time with these animals, and I have spent my life studying and working with them. But they are unpredictable! Even I can never pinpoint exactly when and where a dolphin will breach out of the water or toss a fish into the air. I still miss shots and I still get blurry photos and as frustrating as it is that’s just how it goes! But when you do finally capture an iconic photograph of a dolphin breaching high out of the water (and it’s actually in focus), it is a feeling I cannot find the words to describe.

The first time I saw a dolphin I was just ten years old, and I remember feeling the rush of excitement- the awe of how big and powerful these creatures are. Now, I get to be part of that same experience with hundreds of people each year. The look on a person’s face when they see a dolphin for the first time and knowing you were part of that experience they will never forget, is just magical. We are so lucky to have a plethora of wildlife on our doorstep here in New Quay, from marine mammals to birds to fish, not to mention also breath taking scenery. Growing up in the Midlands, I never knew New Quay existed until I discovered the Sea Watch internship. Seven years later, I’m still here and I never take a day for granted.

Sarah’s photos are often been published in the media, like this recent one in the Times newspaper. Check out Sarah on Instagram!