Mark McLaren Photography

07/11/2025

Its that way Markie !

Whats a Scottish guy getting shown what to do by a Brazillian scientist, whilst sailing in the festival of sails in Victoria?

Just a random thing when you click on an app (meetup) to go sailing with a bunch of people you have never met on a 50ft yacht in Melbourne.

Why are you posting this little moment in time Markie...?

Well like all things there is method behind my madness.. I had listened to my little American guru Mel Robbins who along with the British Actor Ross Kemp, have been the only two people to actually reply to a comment i had put on their X (Twitter) post.

I digress..

Mel is a wonderful author and just released her new offering "Let Them" check it out ..
She mentioned that life .. your life can change in a moment with one decision ..

This is true .. As silly as what im about to share might seem its true.

So here you have a pic of me on a yacht with my mate a scientist (professor) in viruses... I know ..

Crewing on a yacht and winning our section for that class of yacht.

Making wonderful friends and actually wearing a "Wild Oats crew shirt from the Sydney to Hobart team winners "Wild Oats a while ago.

All that from me clicking on the "i want to go sailing " on the app.

So as i await the nurses to zip me back into my fancy tight pyjama top and give me my dreaming pill... in my room with the bouncy wall paper.

I give the baton over to you to create a little , life changing moment that you can look back on and smile..

You never know where it might lead ..

Have a great weekend :)

Ross Kemp TV Mel Robbins Mark McLaren Photography Meetup

31/10/2025

It was a cold wind that fought with my eyes ears and nose. As I crouched down to take this shot , a silence engulfed me .. No more wind as I sheltered there in this mini tranquil world…
I lay down on the cold sand , being jabbed by the course worn stubs of the dune grass. as if i was encroaching in their space.

With a little bit of jostling and mutual acceptance I was just about to settle there for a while , when a family with dogs noisily wandered through the scene, forcing me to my feet and into the wind …

As we said our hellos and smiles as they passed in the tight space, I then turned and carried on wandering myself. It was only after going through the images that beautifully tranquil fleeting moment, reappeared.
So brief ..like all things appreciate it when its there…

24/10/2025

And breathe ….

How are you all ?

I hope well, and do hope you haven’t strayed too far … set anything alight or just been rascals , whilst I was away filming.. ;)

Its funny how a certain thing catches you off guard and brings you to a stop .. A complete stop .. !

Even though your body is still going about its business and it realises and does that double take a parent does when they realise the child is no longer holding their hand ..

Well the child in my story is the brain... its not there .. missing in action ..

It has been engaged mid stroll… mid thought…

I Digress ..

Well , It happened to me yesterday ..

Luckily I wasn’t in mid stroll or skiing for that matter, but the brain disengaged and zeroed in, onto something was very real.

I was in mid thoughts .. whilst editing .. like a chef in mid flow many things happening at once .. In the creative zone..

Then I scan read something amongst lots of other things that popped up in my feed .

It made me re read and actually stop .. sit back and unpack what I had just read…

“Get to the point already Markie” I hear you say…

Im getting there …slowly.

The thing I read , was a plaque on a wee pole that simply read…

“ Its later than you think”

It was put there in memory of someone who had obviously said this as a catchphrase and had since passed away.

“Its later than you think”..

It caught me from left field …

I reread it and reread it .. then i started to think about how we look at our lifestyle… our life… and looking at the future as if its a pre arranged agreement with the universe..

That an allocated parcel of time that we have to enjoy, that we walk around with it under our arm..

The reality, is nothing is arranged and that the time parcel is different for all of us .. Kinda like the back of an Amazon delivery van..

So my little cherubs.. Get amongst it and enjoy every moment , forget the could haves .. the should haves and do the things that make you feel alive ..

Things that quicken your pulse …. Make you smile … make you grow… even all of these at the same time..

Remember … Its later than you think “

Have a great weekend beautiful people !

Ps .. The image is sunset at Dampier … ;)

14/10/2025

I wonder if our home knows how beautiful it looks ..

10/10/2025

Now before we all think we have had a weather event .. This was at the start of the year..
I only came across it and wanted to remind us all of what is coming ..

More of me standing in the middle of nowhere as all hell breaks loose. As you may be aware i do have a cape for chasing these little storms.
This little image isnt a particularly good one . it was late at night after a few hundred kilometres driving trying to intercept the storm as it headed for the coast.
By the time i got set up and got a few pics i was done .. soaked through and knackered..

I dont know why i do it ... Well thats not really true ..
The actual power that is on show and its indifference to all that lies before it is very humbling ..

So as i start to clear out old hard drives in preperation to this years weather when it arrives .. I thought id get us in the groove of what to expect ..

So from me in old memory lane have yourself a lovely weekend .

08/10/2025

Well well Well ...look what the cat dragged in..
. I know me ..
Bit rough around the edges and actually look as if a cat has dragged me in..

Albeit a large cat that can drive a truck .. with towing capabilities..
.I digress..

Even though i havent been waffling on and sharing images i have been dusted from time to time with a light sprinkle of guilt.. Not posting .

But now back in Karratha and only a few weeks before we head to Melbourne filming and catching up with the Stereophonics !
Looking forward to that... (Check out " Stereophonics Dakota live" on You Tube, see what you think )

Anyhoo.. back from Perth and it was nice , lovely souls and the weather stayed decent whilst there.

Remember the Blue Planet III story .. Well this was the little star of the video ..
This is a Flatbacked Turtle that successfully survived repeated attacks from a Tiger shark . It fought , swerved , dived , turned over and over to escpape the teeth of the shark. Ending up on the beach exhausted . As i lay down in front of it and snapped this pic .. I could feel the energy of the little thing.

So todays inspiration comes from the little turtle ..

No matter how the odds are stacked against you keep fighting .. you never know where and who you might end up with ;)

02/10/2025

Friday ...

Nothing more nothing less .. just plain ol Friday ..
Now you know from my ramblings over the years .. that ol Friday is a bit of a favourite of mine ..
Weekend right behind, It always made me feel lighter ...happier... dare i say poorer.. For this was the day that my little pocket full of wages were sprinkled on shiny things .. fishing lures .. night clubs .. cars .. I say cars .. (Of course i am referring to car maintenance parts )

But as i grow older i appreciate not only ol Friday .. I appreciate all the supporting days now..

I appreciate more so the things that i do within them.

Like this little pic.. Once a thriving Galbraith store in Cossack .. Now only graced by sunlight and me ..

When. i captured this i wondered about all the people that waked through those doors .. The store clerk that looked out the window and the kids of Cossack that looked in.

Then heres me looking out all three .

So where are we going with this Markie..?

Full circle..

Friday and its time for appreciation ... just to appreciate where we are at this moment in time..

Have a appreciation Weekend beautiful people ..

( Did i get full circle ? ... If not you can help fill in the gaps ;) )

26/09/2025

Wouldn't it be nice if you were caught off guard ... where an email from someone made you smile , gasp , and reminisce all at the same time..

It happened to me..

Wildlife on One , Life Of Birds, Mammals, and everything inbetween ...all the way through to the highly succesful Blue Planet series.

I have watched them all .. From a little boy sitting at my dads feet, in my jammies in ol Scotland on a Winters Sunday evening watching wildlife from all over the globe right up untill ... till now.

So imagine my eyes when i (Flying Fox Media) recieved an email from a researcher from BBC Bristol Working on the Blue Planet Series III.
Enquiring if i could share footage of a interaction i captured .
.. I know right ...

The footage i had captured was apparently quite a rare moment rare of a Tiger Shark predating a Flatbacked Turtle here in the Pilbara.
I had already shared the footage with a lovely Murdoch University Scientist who was writing a paper on this who had reached out to use the footage a while back .
It was this lady who then passed on my details and footage to the BBC when they contacted her for this section in series III

Once ,my eyballs climbed back into my skull and my heart resumed a normal rythym ..Of course i said yes and even offered my services when filming starts .. to assist with the crew, filming ... even making the sandwiches.

After a few emails and sending off the footage i sat back in the office and remembered those nights as Sir David Attenborough transported us off around the world.

I never though my name would be in the same email chain as BBC and Blue Planet..

Remember that last post of looking out the window as a schoolboy.. See thats what happens.. ;)

So with that

Have a wondeful weekend beautiful people.

Ps .. I apologise for the AI image .. just thought it was topical.. Normal service will resume shortly :)

Blue Planet BBC Blue Planet Project Flying Fox Media Creation

18/09/2025

I was out on the water yesterday and well Mother Nature always seems to make you smile.
Let me explain ..
I was filming and finished the mornings videos and as i got back into Dampier the water looked so still and beautiful.
Before i knew where i was i was out of breath and heading out into the blue.. It was like driving a car out early on a Sunday there.. Smooth roads , great tunes and no traffic.

I pulled up an hour later to my little fishing mark and started to fish. I was brought to my senses by a really loud fishy WHOOOOSH !..

As a Humpback whale surfaced beside me.. Then another .. and another.. I scrambled around looking for my phone .. dropped it.. as i looked up one breached right beside me .. I let out a sentence that only one may use when they see their pay packet after a very large bonus..

I took a few snaps which looked like they were far away.. I remembered choosing not to bring my large zoom lens and camera and thought the drone would be better to find some bommies to fish..

Thats right the Drone !..

Before i knew it the drone was up and they were down .. way down..

I brought the drone back and sat reflecting on a missed opportunity..

About an hour later at a new position guess who decided to say goodbye.. The same pod.

They were having a blast fin slapping , breaching , all of the above and as they finished their little farewell show i wished them well and safe travels .

The wind picked up and the drone decided to put on a farewell show of its own ...
Luckily i convinced it to get back on board..

So there you have it ... "Goodbye To The Pilbara"

When you watch the video see if you can tell the bits where the large bonus in the pay packet is seen..

Have yourself a bonus filled weekend beautiful people.

A unique moment , when a pod of Humpback Whales decided to say goodbye to the Pilbara , with a Pilbara wave , as they headed South leaving the Dampier Archi...

11/09/2025

The sky looked nice .. I see a photo opportunity .. I got closer and closer ... lower and lower .. Turns out i have the reaction speed of a cat .. a wall mounted museum exhibit cat..

That is all ..