CJH Natural
Pyrenees
After watching from afar on several occasions, I had the fantastic opportunity to walk one of the lead-ups to the Pyrenees mountain range last week. The summits in this shot could be perhaps classed more as "hills" rather than mountains, but when compared with the serious peaks, I still find them as "free" and demanding of almost as much respect. This is some serious terrain. Anyhow, landscapes were not my mission (no wide lenses from here on out).
Earlier in the year, a family member who lives in the French Pays Basque region (and just a short drive to the mountains), showed me several distant vulture pics from a smartphone. Knowing of my interests in birding and photography, I was promised a tour, with in-flight vultures on the agenda.
The opportunity arose as part of a short holiday, and I'm pleased to say that it was vultures I got! A whole host of Griffon Vultures to be exact - at times in kettles of up to 20. Spending the day photographing these glorious birds was an awesome experience and I've grown a newfound respect for the environment in which they thrive. As a bonus, I was able to snap the odd Kite (both Black & Red), Kestrel, Common Buzzard and even a couple of Short-Toed Eagles for good measure.
I'll look forwarding to sharing my bounty in the coming days. Thanks as always for looking!
Pyrenees
After watching from afar on several occasions, I had the fantastic opportunity to walk one of the lead-ups to the Pyrenees mountain range last week. The summits in this shot could be perhaps classed more as "hills" rather than mountains, but when compared with the serious peaks, I still find them as "free" and demanding of almost as much respect. This is some serious terrain. Anyhow, landscapes were not my mission (no wide lenses from here on out).
Earlier in the year, a family member who lives in the French Pays Basque region (and just a short drive to the mountains), showed me several distant vulture pics from a smartphone. Knowing of my interests in birding and photography, I was promised a tour, with in-flight vultures on the agenda.
The opportunity arose as part of a short holiday, and I'm pleased to say that it was vultures I got! A whole host of Griffon Vultures to be exact - at times in kettles of up to 20. Spending the day photographing these glorious birds was an awesome experience and I've grown a newfound respect for the environment in which they thrive. As a bonus, I was able to snap the odd Kite (both Black & Red), Kestrel, Common Buzzard and even a couple of Short-Toed Eagles for good measure.
I'll look forwarding to sharing my bounty in the coming days. Thanks as always for looking!