Birds

I'm lucky enough to live not far from the Camargue, which is an ideal place to photograph greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus)! This photo shows one of them feeding in a small muddy pond with its beak covered in mud. Photographed at the end of the day last winter with light cloud cover and applying exposure compensation to achieve this High-Key effect. The result reminded me of a paintbrush covered by ink.

Eurasian nuthach (Sitta europaea)

Seemingly common and not worthwhile models - for me they are a source of inspiration. Sometimes I get a feeling that some species are underestimated. People very often prefer to looking for very rare specimens, while these considered as common ones, could be really surprising in front of a camera.

Portrait second northern gannet (Morus bassanus), despite the bird flu on Helgoland, the population of gannets is currently safe. The picture shows the typical situation of a bird colony, where thousands of animals breed.

A few short-eared-owls (Asio fammeus) had wintered in a pasture on the outskirts of a village in northern France.  I pitched my leather tent and lined up with a picket line and the street lamps of the town.  A short-eared owl landed on it at nightfall, just where I expected it.  The halos of light in the background are produced by street lighting.

Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) with the first rays of the sun one autumn morning after a big storm the evening before. He liked this perch to catch small fish and crustaceans. The background of the scene is autumn wet cattails (Typha sp.) from the humidity present on this stream in Ubrique (Cádiz) after pouring rain all night.

The Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger) is a very curious and little known seabird. It is characterised by its rapid flights at the surface of the water to catch fish. This individual came directly towards me and I was able to capture this unique scene where the thick bill looks like a needle seen from the front and the wings form a perfect V shape.

I was heading to a small church on a tiny road of the Snaefellsnes peninsula in the middle of a lupin field (Lupinus sp.) when I saw two black-tailed godwits (Limosa limosa). They were walking on the road without being upset by the incoming car. I stopped the car on the side of the road and spent one hour with the birds sometimes walking, sometimes flying over the field.