My interest in photography started when my wife was pregnant of our first child. Many years were the children my main subject. Later this gradually changed in nature photography, especially birds.

The digital era enhanced the possibilities for wildlife photography immensely, e.g. visual documentation of behavioural patterns like mating rituals, hunting strategies or flight/landing techniques of waterbirds has become possible. These are for me challenging exercises.

Beside photography I have been an active amateur musician (baroque), which I had to end because of progressive hearing loss. Also I have a lifelong love for woodwork and restoration of antiques. Although retired, these interests are so much time-consuming, that my days are too short.

Thanks to Covid I decided to build a hide in my garden in 2020, which enhanced my photo opportunities enormously. So far 40+ bird species have been willing to visit it, enabling a.o. close-up photography.

My present equipment is Sony A9 with several lenses up to 600 mm. One of the very important advantages is that it is completely silent, not disturbing wildlife by clicking sounds.

Some of my photographs have been used in publications, a.o. here:

-Afrika Safarigids, Ruud Troost, 2014. ISBN 978-80-822081-1-5

-Better Birding, Armistead and Sullivan, Princeton University Press, 2016

-Birding app's Mitch Waite group: United Kingdom and North America, Hawaiï & Palau, 2016

-Argentinian Bird Guide, Bernabé Lópes-Lanúz, 2017

-Madre Natura, Danilo M. Bonanni, 2017

-Evolution Letters, Hugo F. Gante et al. Real-time social selection maintains honesty of a dynamic visual signal in cooperative fish. 2017

-Safarigids Gambia en Senegal, Ruud Troost, 2020. ISBN9789082208139