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An eye for a bird (1 Viewer)

Dave Adshead

How much!
Thought I'd tell you about an oldie I've just read, its the autobiography of Eric Hoskins, An eye for a bird. I managed to pick one up via Amazon.co.uk.

Its a good read one which I found hard to put down, Hoskins writes about his early life and gives details of his journeys and quests to obtain photographs of his favoured subjects, birds.

He lost an eye to a Tawny Owl at the age of 27, hence the books title, but that did not stop him from becoming a a pioneering bird photographer, one of his most famous images is surely the Barn owl in heraldic pose, complete with a vole in its bill.

Granted, a lot of his photographs are taken at the nest, but that was due to the limitations of the equipment at that time, and its obvious that the bird comes first.

He once had a portable electronic flash unit made, complete with batteries it weighed 1cwt. This he carried with his other equipment to the various photographic locations. And I complain about my 13kgs.

He got some of the first photos ever of certain species, with equipment we now consider ancient. In the introduction to the book, Frank Lane, writes
" He took his first bird photograph with a Box Brownie when he was 8 years old, today he use some of the most sophisticated apparatus that space-age technology can provide"

That was written in 1970, I wonder what Hoskins would think of todays equipment, Personally, I believe he would be putting it to good use.

So to the budding bird photographers out there, I do recommend that you get a copy, it will certainly get you thinking.
 
I read it many years ago....early 80's...when I got it out of my local library and it IS a good read from what I can remember.
Then last summer I picked up a copy for less than a fiver in a charity shop in Newcastle and it's on my bookcase now - just haven't got around to reading it yet *so many books, so little time!*

Will definitely second it as a recommendation to anyone who hasn't read it yet!

Gill
 
An Eye For a Bird

I read it many,many years ago and met the man at Hilbre Island on the Dee off West Kirby,Wirral.A very nice pleasant charming person.very profesional.
 
I used to have a copy of this book. A couple of things stick in my mind......how (fortuitously) he saw, and photographed (!) the Suffolk Houbara Bustard, and secondly the fact that (once he could afford it) he habitually owned a Rolls Royce.

Hands up any current bird photographers snapping mega-rarities from a Roller!
 
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