Iberian Lynx in Spain, 2024

August 08, 2024

I recently returned from a trip to Spain to photograph Iberian Lynx with Julian Terreros-Martin.

We were in Spain for 6 days, with 2 travel days and 4 days in dedicated photography hides. These hides overlook watering holes which are a vital resource for the Lynx in the hot summer months, as such there is a good chance they will visit these hides at either end of the hot days, either before the temperatures increase at sunrise or as it begins to cool around sunset.

28th July 2024.

During our first evening in Spain we decided to get out for a bit of a safari-style activity, looking for wildlife on some of the dirt tracks in the area. We had sightings of Imperial Eagle, Booted Eagle, Red Kites, Black Kites, a range of smaller birds such as Hoopoe, Crested Larks and Bee Eaters.

29th July 2024.

The next morning we were out of the door at 5:30 am to be settled in our hides by sunrise. After arriving at the location and being driven to our hide by 4x4 we were only in position for a short time before the first Lynx of the trip appeared. Expertly predicted by Julian after noticing the Magpies behaviour changing.

Iberian Lynx, Spain. 29th July 2024.

Our first encounter was a very lucky one. We saw one mother with three young initially and shortly after they left we were treated to another visit from another mother with two young.

This made a total of seven Lynx sighted within our first hour in the hides. The latter visit was a little bit later on and so thankfully we had improved lighting for photography.

After a morning session in the hide we’d pop in to the local supermarket to get some lunch before heading back to the hotel for a well deserved siesta and a quick editing session to review the images and videos captured from the morning.

We made our way back to the hides at 6pm for our afternoon session but unfrotunately we used up all of our luck during the morning. It was still a great opportunity to capture some other species that were regular visits to the watering hole such as Corn Buntings bathing and the Iberian Green Woodpecker.

Iberian Green Woodpecker, Spain. 29th July 2024.

A couple of Cervezas and some food followed our evening session before heading back to the hotel to squeeze in a few hours of sleep before our 5am start the following day, where our luck continued.

30th July 2024.

It was a cloudy morning with little activity until we spotted some of the rabbit running through the shrubbery ahead of us. As I said “I wonder what they’re running from” a beautiful male Lynx came in to view in the distance just as the light broke through the haze, giving us lovely diffused morning light.

Iberian Lynx, Male, Spain. 30th July 2024.

As the Lynx approached he paused and the perfect spot to capture his reflection in the watering hole in front of us before puffing out his beard and making his way closer for a drink. The path this Lynx decided to walk made for some perfect reflection shots.

This was one of those rare sightings where everything comes together at the perfect time. These moments are few and far between in wildlife photography and we couldn’t believe our luck.

The rest of the session passed quickly as we still processed the Lynx encounter. We did photograph some of the other regulars and heard a Little Owl calling in the area. We hoped the Owl would come for a drink but we clearly already had our fair share of luck this morning.

After our session we did the usual call at the local supermarket to pick up some lunch and snacks. I should have spent less time processing images and more time on my siesta but I was far too excited to sleep!

As with every day, the time between sessions went quickly and we returned to the hides that evening.

Unfortunately we had no Lynx sighting this evening but again there was always an abundance of the regular visitors to photograph. This time we had visits from the Iberian Magpie for the first time and we practiced some backlit shots, wishing the Lynx would arrive in this beautiful lighting but enjoying none-the-less.

Iberian Green Woodpecker, Spain. 30th July 2024.

By now we’d established a good routine and after leaving our hide again went for some dinner, a few cervezas before heading to the hotel for our well deserved 4-5 hours of sleep.

31st July 2024

The next morning session was another without a Lynx sighting, but the anticipation of one potentially turning up coupled with the regular array of interesting birds and rabbits kept us entertained. This time we spotted a new bird at the watering hole, and a lifer for me, in the way of the Sardinian Warbler.

The evening session of the 31st July looked like it was going to be similar to the day before, we practiced some backlit shots of the regular visitors and eagerly awaited a thirsty Lynx.

Just as I was preparing to pack up my camera a Lynx appeared in the fading light, followed by two young. I managed to get some sharp photos with a slower shutter to keep my iso at a reasonable level before attempting some very slow shutter shots of the young Lynx as a disappeared back in to the foliage.

Iberian Lynx, Spain. 31st July 2024.

This was a brief but exciting encounter. I’m very pleased with my images here considering the challenging lighting conditions. The slower shutter photo I think works well in the context and I’m very happy to come away with something a bit more abstract that the other portraits and environmental portraits.

Just 5 minutes after the Lynx left the hide the 4x4 arrived to pick us up and return us to our car. We made our way back to the local town for another couple of beers and this time some absolutely massive sandwiches.

1st August 2024

Another healthy 4 hours of sleep later we were back at the hides for our final morning. We weren't lucky enough to see the Lynx this morning but again we had beautiful morning light to capture images of the other species in the area. We later heard that the Lynx were spotted elsewhere, with a young Lynx climbing a tree in front of another hide! While I was extremely jealous and wished we saw this, it just made me excited about the possibility of capturing this sort of behaviour in this area, as well as absolutely thrilled for those who witnessed this.

Another morning session down, another trip to the local supermarket to pick up our lunch and some snacks.

We had one more evening session at a location where we knew backlit images would be incredible. We eagerly waited in the hide awaiting the Lynx, wishing one would walk in a particular spot so that we could get an image of it silhouetted against the evening light as it picked out the details in it’s fur. There was a moment or two where we heard a pheasant from behind us let out a pained squawk, which led us to believe the Lynx was hunting in the area. There was even a momentary glimpse of one in the foliage off to the side, but unfortunately a real visit wasn't to be. While 4 sightings in 4 days would have been incredible, we knew this would have been very lucky too. We managed to get sightings worthy of good images 3 of the 4 days we were there which was a very successful trip. I also still captured some other images of the regular wildlife in the positions I was hoping the Lynx would be.

Iberian Green Woodpecker, Spain. 1st August 2024.

This was an exceptional trip, and besides the amazing Lynx encounters there was opportunity to capture portfolio worthy images of other species that visited the watering holes.

If you are interested in photographing one of the rarest felines in the world in the Iberian Lynx then I highly recommend getting in touch with Julian. I believe he has limited availability for 2025 which may be the last year he runs these trips. You can message him on his instagram by clicking the button below.

Julians Instagram

Camera Bag:

Nikon Z9

Nikon 400mm 2.8 TC VR S

Nikon Zf

Nikon 24-70 2.8 S

Nikon 14-24 2.8 S

How I Plan My Photos

September 12, 2020

If you’re dreaming of taking amazing landscape photos one of the first things you need to do is learn how to plan and prepare. In this post I’m going to run through some of the steps I take while planning a landscape photo, from finding and deciding on locations to reading the weather and working out the best time to set up and take the photo.

Morning mist around Dryslwyn Castle.Nikon Z7 + 70-200 2.8E FL ED & ftz adaptor — Morning mist around Dryslwyn Castle.
Nikon Z7 + 70-200 2.8E FL ED & ftz adaptor

Finding a Location

Sometimes one of the most challenging elements of landscape photography is deciding where to go. You can find and scout locations that catch your eye before going to take the photo and there are many popular locations you can find on social media sites like Instagram by asking other photographers etc but I like to use a website called Photohound. This website has many photo locations added by other photographers and includes information about the location, what to shoot, tips on how to take photos there as well as nearby webcams and information about sunrise/sunset etc. They also promote responsible geotagging by advising users of the site if it’s a location where they need to be careful to protect the local flora and fauna and follow local rules.

In the above screenshot you can see how many locations have been entered in to Photohound in South Wales alone. They have locations all over the world but if you’re somewhere there aren’t any locations entered, you are able to add your own.

The Weather, Sunrise/Sunset times & more.

So you’ve decided on where you want to go, but if you really want to make the most of the location you need to be going when the weather compliments the scene. This does’t mean you should only ever go out at sunrise or sunset, some subjects such as waterfalls or minimalistic long exposures will suit overcast days with diffused light for example. It’s up to you to decide what conditions will compliment your scene best (although Photohound does offer suggestions on the best conditions for each location).

There are two main apps I use to help me predict the weather;

1) UK WeatherMaps

As you can see this app shows you the cloud placement over the next 24 hours, it’s not exact but I do find it to be pretty reliable. I find this very useful as sometimes weather apps will correctly give your location as cloudy, but with this app you can see if there’s a clear sky to the east or west (depending on if you’re shooting sunrise or sunset) which means there’s a better chance of the cloud above you being lit up on the underside by the golden light.

2) Clear Outside

Clear outside is a weather app designed for photographers, it gives you a lot of information that at first may seem daunting but once you know where to look it is very useful.

For example in the images above I can see; time of day, sunset + sunrise, % of cloud coverage at both low, medium and high altitudes, when the ISS passes overhead, visibility, fog, rain (chance + amount), wind speed and direction, frost, feels like temps, dew point and humidity.

Using the information in the screenshots I can see that on this day there’s high humidity in the night and a lot of low and high cloud, this tells me that there’s likely to be some cloud inversion (mist) on the valley floor due to the high humidity but unlikely that there will be any golden light from the sunrise. These are similar conditions to the photo of Dryslwyn I’ve shown at the beginning of this post.

Another App I use to help me plan my photos is Photpills.

This app has so many features I could never cover them all here, but you can see the sunrise/sunset, moon rise/set, moon phase and the positions of the Milky Way across the sky. It even has augmented reality modes so that you can see exactly how everything lines up at a location at any time and date in the future.

Using all of the sites and apps above I can plan and prepare for a wide range of photos but my main piece of advice would be to not plan too much. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by having so many locations and differing conditions in your mind.

Planing your photos can greatly improve your photography but don’t get analysis paralysis. Settle on a plan and see it through, you’ll always get better photos and improve more by getting out and taking photos than you will staring at your phone and over-planning.

I hope this post has helped you! If you have any questions you can always send me a message on my Instagram or contact me via email.

Ricoh GR III - A Landscape Photographers Review

March 04, 2020

In February 2020 I was fortunate enough to win a Ricoh GR III in Camera Centre UKs Landscape Photography Competition with the image below. In this post I want to discuss the features of the camera I found relevant to Landscape photography and give my thoughts and opinion on how useful I found them.

Bwlch Hairpin near Treorchy, multiple photos blended together, shot on Nikon Z6 with Nikkor 14-24 2.8 lens.

About the Ricoh GR III

The Ricoh GR III is a favourite among Street Photographers for it’s small size and ease of use while retaining very impressive image quality and dynamic range on it’s 24 MP APS-C Sensor, I do dabble in Street Photography but with my main interest being Landscape photography I was keen to discover how useful I’d find it. Keep reading for my opinion on that.

Size & Weight

This is a seriously small and lightweight camera, it’s ideal for keeping in your pocket as you hike and allows you to have both hands free which is... handy. They say the best camera is the one you have on you, and the size and weight of the Ricoh GR III means it’s easy to take with you everywhere, no faff getting it out of your bag etc means you take more photos and inevitably means you have more keepers from a trip.

Yes, those are “Moo” sizes business cards in the background. It’s a seriously compact camera.

Focusing

Autofocus on the GR III is decent, it’s not the fastest focus system I’ve used or seen but it gets the job done. The touch screen is very good and I find I use a tap on the screen to select my focus point on this more than I have any other touch screen camera. You can’t select the focus point using directional buttons on the camera body though so maybe that’s why, but it doesn’t bother me at all.

Manual focus is a pain, with no focus ring on the lens or dial on the body it’s basically unusable, however the snap focus function is very handy, especially for landscape photography. I tend to have snap focus set at a distance of 2m and then when I shoot at f/8 or above basically anything from 2m to infinity is in focus. This is perfect for those quick photos while on the move or at times when you don’t want to keep your camera out for long (eg. windy / rainy conditions, although the camera isn’t weather sealed so be careful).

The camera also has an auto mode and face detect which can be very useful as well as being fast and easy to use.

Wheal Coates

Ricoh GR III - 1/250, f/8, iso 100

Built in ND and IBIS

With a 2 stop built in ND and In Body Image Stabilisation you can really lower your shutter speeds and maintain sharp images. I’ve got away with dragging my shutter to half a second and you really can’t tell. It works a treat for getting water silky smooth or showing any sort of motion in your images.

Holywell Beach

Ricoh GR III - 1/15, f/16, iso 100

The photo above was very challenging, I wanted to show the motion in the long grass off the dunes but it was seriously windy (difficult to stay upright). I managed to slow my shutter to 1/15th of a second with the bright midday sun by using the built in ND and f/16, the IBIS had to work very hard here so I’m impressed with how it turned out.

Battery Life

Ok, battery life on the GR III is poor. However, i found myself charging using the USB-C in my car or with a powerbank between locations. The camera charged pretty quickly as I was driving or eating lunch at a restaurant and I didn’t find the poor battery life to be a problem in the end. If you plan on shooting all day without access to power then you need multiple batteries or this camera just isn’t for you. If you’re able to charge for 30 minutes between shooting then you’re good to go.

Conclusion

If I’m honest I did plan on selling this camera pretty much as soon as I won it. I would have used the money on a deposit for a new iMac to help with my editing (my 2014 MacBook sounds like it’s taking off as I type this), but over a weekend in Cornwall and Devon it proved it’s worth to me and now I’m seriously considering keeping it as the camera I take everywhere (as well as my iPhone). Time will tell if I continue to use it as my run and gun camera but I’m definitely going to hold on to it for a while as I’ve already developed an attachment to this little machine. This camera has character.

A few more photos taken with the Ricoh GRIII, most of which I probably wouldn’t have managed on my Z6.

If you’re interested you can buy the camera here

Visit Wales Guide to Business in 2020

December 11, 2019

I was asked to write a short article on taking photos for social media marketing for Visit Wales Guide to Business in 2020, you can read all of my tips on this below;

Creating good photo content for your social media marketing can be a challenge, but here in Wales we’re blessed with some incredible coastlines, mountains, ancient woodlands, rivers and some pretty impressive cascading waterfalls. So, how can you capture some of the beauty often found on our doorstep? Here’s a few tips and things to consider when you’re out and about taking photos.

Locations & Opportunities;

While there are many Instagram famous spots scattered throughout Wales, you really can get some beautiful photos anywhere. So, get out and explore, often by wandering short way off the beaten track you can discover some hidden gems. Once you find some great spots don’t forget to go back in different conditions or seasons.

Composition;

Usually the first thing you need to consider. Following some rules of composition can have a significant bearing on your photos. Try following the rule of thirds (positioning your main subject/s in areas that will grab the viewers eye more effectively), positioning your camera to so that you can include a foreground, mid ground and background or using leading lines such as rivers, streams, walls or cracks in rocks to draw the viewers eye to your subject. It’s often worth considering what you can remove from a photo, instead of what you can include, messy photos often get overlooked so subtracting from your photos instead of adding to them often pays off.

A simple scene of Curck Rock, Broadhaven South Beach. This long exposure shot only has 1 main subject and no distractions.

No such thing as bad light;

There is no such thing as “bad light” for photography, contrary to popular belief. All light is good light, you just have to consider how to use certain conditions. While you can’t go wrong with golden hour (the hour just after sunrise or before sunset) you can certainly make the most of the varying conditions we have here in Wales. If you’re capturing some of our epic waterfalls, overcast days are perfect because the even lighting avoids harsh highlights or deep shadows from dominating your photos. Harsh lighting is perfect for making those shadows work for you as leading lines, or if you’re patient and lucky enough on a partly cloudy day you might capture a perfect sunbeam highlighting your subject. Another rainy day in Wales? Get your favourite raincoat on and make the most of the reflections in puddles or drama in the sky.

Don’t forget to look behind you! No, you’re not at the panto but it’s always worth looking behind you once you’ve got that stunning sunset captured. The soft golden light hitting the landscape behind you is often equally impressive.

Shot in harsh midday light in Lanzarote, the light combined with a bit of haze adds a nice effect to the photo.

Filter or no filter;

There’s nothing wrong with editing your photos before you post them, but a soft subtle edit is always better, so go easy on those sliders! It’s also worth considering your crop when shooting and before posting, a crop ratio of 4:5 in portrait orientation works better for Instagram as this takes up most of the viewers screen, increasing the chance that they engage with your photos. Consider your grid, if all your photos have a similar theme, tone and colour palette this will make your profile more consistent and increase your chances of people following you and engaging with your posts.

Captions & Hashtags;

Now that you’re ready to post some of your favourite photos you should think about what you want to say, if you’ve got a photo that compliments the message you want to share then that’s perfect! Good captions grab the reader’s attention in the first line, so that they want to press ‘read more’ and usually end with a ‘call to action’, prompting the viewing to like, comment or share the post with their friends. Try to use Hashtags that are relevant to your post as they make your content more discoverable to people searching for posts along the same theme.

Engage with your followers;

It is called social media after all; people will be complimenting you on the photos you’ve taken and shared using these tips, so make sure you respond and have conversations with your followers, this way your posts will show up on more peoples feeds too!

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