Seagulls are far from being anybody’s favourite bird, at least to my knowledge. I’ve never heard anyone say “Hey, look at this incredible seagull.” I’ve heard people say things like “Bloody seagulls; Is it legal to shoot them?” Most photographers look past them as unworthy subjects to photograph and I’ve never seen a group of birdwatchers stop to admire one.
All of this made me think. Can I use my skills, creativity and knowledge as a photographer to beautifully capture the often overlooked, sometimes even hated bird that is the seagull?
January 2026 marks the start of a personal photo project which, for lack of a better name, I’ve called Project “Seagull”. In the next 12 months, I’ll be photographing seagulls in their glory, telling their stories through the images and showing people and photographers that you don’t always need the most exciting, rare subject in the world to create great photographs.
Last week was the perfect time to kick off things and show seagulls in a different, more interesting way. I live in Folkestone in Kent and didn’t exactly have the warmest start of January and the year. The temperatures were around 0 to -3 for a good few days which was enough for some local ponds and canals to turn into perfect winter sport canvases -f or birds mostly, not for children!
The Royal Military Canal in Hythe seemed like the ideal place to go to photograph some “ice skating” action. I found a couple of young seagulls who were away from the rest who were struggling to keep their balance on the surface of the frozen canal. It was comical to watch. What made it all even better was the gorgeous morning light peeping between the row of houses on the side of the canal.
