David

I am over 80 years old and have over 2000 species on my life list. I have travelled pretty well all over the world (over 100 countries), first on business and then after retirement. Only in the last few years have I taken up photography. My goal is to get a picture of as many species as I can. I am up to just over 900. Some are very poor and barely recognizable, but I keep on trying for a better picture.  I use a Canaon EOS 70-300mm zoom lens with a stabilizer. I take hand held pictures except when I can find a hard surface to rest the camera on, which is a rare luxury. From this session I think I will consider a high quality tripod, although I am very concerned about weight and portability. I use a Black River shoulder harness, which I find excellent when using both a camera and binoculars, making it very easy to switch from one to the other. I do not have any preference for background vs close-up. I will take what I can get. I use Digital Photo Professional to edit my pictures (although I have not learned to use many of its features) and I use Irfanview to add the text. Here are three examples from around the world. With the puffins I was shooting the ones on the rock and it was only after downloading the picture that I realised that I had caught one coming into land.