Chris Galvin: An introduction I have been interested in birds for over thirty years. As a young lad I used to accompany my dad on shooting trips to the estates of Lord Sefton & Lord Derby on the edge of Liverpool, before much of the area became a large housing estate. By the age of 10 I realised its was much more fun to just watch birds when I stalked them, rather than shoot them. It was then that I was presented with my first pair of binoculars, a pair of Prinz 7x50. Since then I have travelled extensively throughout Great Britain in search of UK birds. Birding since then has always been a key consideration when holidaying abroad. I have travelled to, and birded in Greece, France, Germany, Sweden, Iceland, Turkey, Spain & Canary Islands, Portugal, The Gambia, Seychelles, Mauritius, Ethiopia, Morocco, Texas, Hong Kong, Bali and India. Although always interested in photography, it is only since 1998 that I have been photographing birds seriously. My first published photograph was of a family group of Harlequin Duck taken whilst on a day trip (yes day trip) to Iceland, organised by the British birding magazine Birdwatch I adopted the new digital format ealy and was a prolific digiscoper with the Nikon Coolpix 4500. I then gave a series of talks at Birdfair 2005 & 2006 for Swarovski. My first digital SLR was the the Canon 10D and I have stayed with Canon whilst continually upgrading lenses and cameras. I currently have a Canon 7D, 40D and a trusty 1D MKIIn coupled to a either a 500mm f4 or a 300mm f4 or an assortment of other lenses. Currently working in a birding related industry where I am a Regional Account Manager for Opticron, which is a great job for a birder