Keith Blomerley

Bedfordshire, UK

I was born in Manchester and have been interested in birds since carrying out a primary school project at age 7. This interest was continued and nurtured by joining the Young Ornithologists Club. When aged 18, and in possession of a driving licence and proper field guide, the world of birding really opened up. The passion for birds and habitats led me to a career as a warden with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, which ran from 1988 to 1997. I then moved up to the RSPB headquarters in Bedfordshire and joined the Information Systems department, where I am currently a project manager.

It was the move to RSPB HQ that opened up the opportunity for joining trips abroad, and after being invited to Borneo I decided to purchase a camcorder (Panasonic DS150B) to capture some of the once-in-a-lifetime images. This then led to a desire to obtain footage of as many species as possible. I use a shoulder-pod rather than tripod, which means an element of shake on the footage, but this allows the filming to fit in with a normal birding trip, and for rapid deployment when something mega pops up. In 2012 I have finally retired my trusty DS150B and gone HD with a Panasonic HC-X900, with Colombia being the first trip using the new camcorder.
IBC Personal statistics:

• First material posted on 31 January 2005
• Number of videos posted: 1880 covering 1445 species (14.48%)
• Number of photos posted: 0 covering 0 species (0%)
• Number of sounds posted: 84 covering 78 species (0.78%)