Welcome to my web site
The name of the web site was chosen because my main interest is in all aspects of nature
 photography.  Something that I have been doing for over half of my 60+ years using a
camera.
The images on this site are representative of my photography today which through club
photography has encouraged me to expand to subjects other than nature with varying
degrees of success.
In May 2010 my wife and I moved to Aviemore in Scotland.  We have been visiting this area for some 20 years
for family holidays and also for bird watching and photography. The backdrop to the garden of our new house
is the northern extension of the Craigellachie Nature Reserve.  It is a birch wooded hill that leads onto a pine
wood part of which was used for timber in the past.  We are regularly visited by  Red Squirrel, Red Deer,
Slow-worm, Bank Vole and a whole range of local birds including Siskin.  The back garden provides a good
wildlife list and plenty of opportunities for photography ‘on the doorstep’.
My equipment is Canon as it builds upon my earlier investment (is that the right word?) in expensive prime
lenses. However, this kit was getting quite heavy to lug around on some of my birding trips so in October
2019 I purchased a Sony DSC RX10iv bridge camera which, using the optimised x2 digital extension, gives me
1200 mm focal length (35 mm equivalent). It is an impressive piece of kit. Image quality is good the only real
downside is the rather poor battery life even with Sony batteries. Some of the images on the galleries page
have been taken using this lens. I have now sold all my mirrored camera bodies, my Canon 500mm and
100-400 mm lenses and purchased my first mirrorless camera - a Canon EOS R7. This camera involves a steep
learning curve to get the best out of it but so far it is very impressive particularly the focussing options and
speed. I am using the camera with EF-RF adapters on some of my remaining EF lenses and replaced my long
lenses with the excellent Canon RF 100-500 mm lens.
When I retired in 2000, I embarked on an A level course in photography and I am a Licentiate of the Royal
Photographic Society.

MY EYE ON NATURE

photography by Mike Hems