Occupaion: Photographer, Lecturer and Photo Tour Leader Interests: Wildlife and Macro Biography: At the age of Nine 1953 I was given my first Camera a Kodak Brownie TWIN 20 which took 620 film with 12 exposures per roll in either black and white or colour. I still have this camera box and book. My uncle was a press photographer at the time working in Fleet St in London where all the newspaper offices were at that time. He used a 4x5 Speed Graphic but later bought a 6X6 Rollieflex and taught me a lot. When Nikon brought out their F 1959 I bought mine heavily discounted, and now having interchangeable lenses started the SLR craze with other Japanese makers like Canon, Pentax, Topcon Olympus. I was working with a well know South London Commercial Photographer Ivor F Howell which was where I got my darkroom practice as we did wedding photography and commercial worknusing a Hasselblad . I went to the Regent St Poly for 4 years and got some qualifications. I travelled a great deal and in 1968 drove to Istanbul then again in 1972 both from the UK. In 1977 I left to work in the Middle East and visited 39% of the globe looking at life through a viewfinder and have a good stock of subjects I stayed until 1993 when I brought my 5 litre Mustang by road where possible from Abu Dhabi to London using ferries when it was required.
Was once told by a Minister in Dubai when I suggested that they needed a Ministry of Tourism "that we don't need Tourist’s we have Oil” but that was in 1977. I was the first person to start a Tourist bus service in the Emirates long, before there were roads in a lot of places. I have travelled on 5 continents and spent 26 years living Overseas, 17 of in the Middle East followed by 7 in East Africa and 2 more in the Far East. I find it now ( relaxing )doing stuff for the RSPB not surprising when you see my surname, taking pictures and giving illustrated talks as well as selling framed pictures of my work. Have written several books of my own as well as contributed to many others. Today true to form I still use Hasselblad and a Fuji S5 Pro it uses Sigma lenses. Website: http://flickr.com/photos/birdseyeviewphotos