Congrats to Fran and Adam!

They just got themselves a 3.29 kilo bouncing baby girl called Amelia, nice work guys. When you are ready to sell the mkIV Adam, let me know, I am looking for a cheap deal. You will be needing a G12 from now on ;)

The early bird

On my day out at Marquenterre bird reserve near Le Crotoy in France I managed to get as close as I ever got to a family of storks on their nest. Shooting from below is hardly perfect but I enjoyed the encounter. 

First rule of the roost, nag mother!

 Keep nagging, even when all around you have given up!

Make sure you get in there first!

Get your meal down ASAP, those kungfu ninja eels can escape from anything!

Now settle back and pretend to love your siblings. Dad will be home soon. 

Oh oh, dad is home and it looks like hunting didn't go so well, so keep your heads down!

A very fine sunset

Our last evening in Le Crotoy, France. We were told the sunsets are fabulous, but after two days of overcast and rainy weather we were in doubt. On our final night, the last hour of the day, the clouds broke and we both rushed out for a romantic walk on the beach. Of course I had my camera with me ;) but no tripod, unfortunately. What we saw, was magnificent.

1DIII, 17-40L

Fotolo-co interview

The guys over at Fotoloco asked me to do a quick interview, how could I say no? 

Fotoloco is a new web/tablet photo viewer that will help outdoor, sports, and nature enthusiasts find cool activities, places, and things to discover. It is not quite ready but I will let you all know when it is, sounds cool.

http://blog.fotolo.co/2011/interview-with-a-pro-neil-burton/

Same old, same old.

As you may have noticed my choice of subject has been somewhat limited recently. Limited time has meant I stuck with that that was certain. Knowing that wildlife will appear and when is better than sitting for a few hours on a whim and getting nothing, thats how I see it at the moment since I really cannot get out enough. So here, for you all, are more roe deer, my current favourite wildlife ;)

How I hate summer!

First off we get alot of sunshine in Munich, usually on my days off, with not a cloud in the sky. What the heck is a nature tog supposed to do? Stay in bed I think.
Then we have the joggers and dog walkers. Lets not forget families out on their bikes looking for completely off the road tracks which nobody but the insane photographer would want to use...and they always manage to stop for a talk and a play RIGHT behind me!
Then we have the summer residents. Ants, they bite and the bites hurt. Mosquitoes, they too bite and itch like buggery. But the big freak of the forest has to goto these guys:

yes the forests and fields around here are full of ticks. Dozens crawing on my trousers, tripod, camera...you name it, they are on it. Best to avoid the long grass they say. Er, where do the wild things live?

You got it. Roll on winter. Yes, I have had my FSME vaccination ;)

A quick heads up!

I have been using my new Markins Q20 ball head for a few weeks now and have to say I am impressed. I will not go into details like weight, height, load...etc... but just will say it is an amazing piece of engineering. Having had already heads from Benro and Manfrotto this is a class above. I can use it with the 500 f4 IS alone or with the sidekick without worry, perfect fit with my Gitzo 3540LS (review later maybe ;) )

Here is a picture, sexy or what?

7D, 500 f4, 1.4TC, sidekick and Q20

My tip: if you are travelling to USA or know someone how is, get them to bring you one back, saved me 150€, thanks Ronny!