Once again, 2018 flew by. Before I turn my attention to the new challenges in 2019, I would like to share a highlight video with you. look back on 2018, which was such an eventful year for me personally.
Eventful, because I spent more time in nature than ever before in my life. I have been started his own business as a nature filmmaker and took my first steps into this small and difficult industry. Even though it's not easy to show 365 days in just 6 minutes, the film gives you a good insight into what I was able to experience in 2018.
Tip: By the way, I took the pictures with the camera "Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5SEG-K" (is available here*). The lens was the "Panasonic H-RS100400E9" (is available here*).
Making nature part of everyday life
My goal in 2018 was to be outside as much as possible and to always have new experiences. In handling the camera and, above all, in interacting with nature.
Also for my Wildlife highlights from 2017 I have already invested a lot of time in my passion for nature filmbut 2018 was a much more intense year. Not only did I become self-employed, but I also reduced my full-time job in the office to three days a week. For me, this was the key to being able to spend more time in nature than ever before in my life.
I have experienced nature from a perspective that is normally denied to us in the madness of everyday life. is. Because we often no longer have the patience to sit somewhere for several hours and wait for something to happen.
Especially when this something so unpredictable and we don't even know whether it will happen at all.
This question about the proportionality between this uncertainty and the effort that one makes, was less for me since last year. And so I could take the time for moments in which I could also use it very well.
My most emotional experience
The The most memorable of these moments was certainly the birth of two crane chickswhich I was able to witness up close in the spring. I waited in my camouflage tent for over two days for the second chick to hatch. It was a long time coming, while the first chick saw the light of day two days earlier.
The day after Ascension Day was the day. I won't forget the night before in a hurry 😀 I spent the night in my camouflage tent 15 meters from the cranes and there was such a heavy thunderstorm that this night became extremely uncomfortable.
After a few hours' sleep, the next morning I saw the completely soaked mother craneas she continued to brood in her nest and never allowed her offspring to see a single drop of rain. When the storm cleared and daddy crane returned from foraging, I was able to film the moment when the second crane chick saw the light of day for the first time.
These insights into the lives of such hidden animals were Priceless for me. No specialist book in the world can convey the experiences that you take away from such situations. It's an emotional experience that no other animal species in our native nature can offer in this form. I hope that I was able to make this special moment as tangible as possible for you in my short film.
Sea eagle invasion and black sun
I had another highlight in 2018 in the Peene Valley in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. At times, there were Over 230 sea eagles fishing together. A simply incredible spectacle when you consider that sea eagles are actually solitary creatures.
Fortunately, word of this special event had spread all the way to Berlin and I made the two-and-a-half-hour journey without hesitation. I spent the night in my VW Caddy and the next morning the many sea eagles in the dreamlike backlight as well as countless cranes, herons, waders and many other bird species.
If someone had told me before this year 2018 that I would get around 15 white-tailed eagles in one picture this summer, I would probably have hardly thought possible. In the end, however, it actually became reality. The incredible biodiversity and the great morning light rounded off the impressive overall picture of this beautiful place.
I will certainly remember this experience for the rest of my life and I hope that it will happen again at some point. Even if the background was not necessarily positive, of course, because the many white-tailed eagles gathered mainly due to the extreme drought. A well-set table for the white-tailed eagles, but this hot summer certainly didn't suit other species.
Another highlight was a small Tour to the Danish border to see the flocks of starlingswhich spend the night in the extensive reed beds in the fall and search for food in the fields during the day. I was particularly lucky as the starlings flew into the reeds at the exact spot where I had positioned myself shortly before.
I was able to get close-up shots of them that I would never have dreamed of before. I had hoped for more formation flights and the odd attack by a bird of prey, but maybe next year it will work out better. In any case, it was a breathtaking experience when the black curtain closed and hundreds of thousands of starlings suddenly took off. I'm definitely planning a tour to see the starlings again next year.
Moments without camera
This year I have learned that moments on camera are not everything. Even some moments of which I have no or only unusable shots will certainly remain in my memory in the future. For example a Pygmy Owlwho watched me in a pitch-black forest about an hour after sunset as I searched disorientedly for the way back to my car.
When he then flew over me at a height of about 5 meters and sat down on a branch next to the path, I had the last necessary proof that nature sweetened even the worst possible day for me in the end can.
Surprising moments like these are what make nature a real experience. However, I probably had my most memorable experience without a camera in the Lower Oder Valley National Park. There I observed from a distance three different animal species as they formed a kind of "hunting alliance"that I didn't know in this form.
Several dozen Cormorants, gray herons and black-headed gulls went hunting for fish together. While the cormorants hunted the fish in the deeper water towards the shore, the gray herons waited there for their chance to catch a fish from the shallow part of the water.
When the grey herons struck, the fish swam back into the deeper water. But there again the cormorants were waiting for their second chance and made big prey. The laughing gulls were the third beneficiaryby literally picking up the fish from the surface of the water.
Such a Fascinating cooperation between several different animal species I have never experienced this before. That same day, I tried to find out whether this type of behavior has been observed more frequently in these species, but found nothing.
Unfortunately, the little spectacle broke up shortly afterwards and everyone went their separate ways again. So unfortunately I don't have a recording, but at least wonderful memoriesthat I won't forget in a hurry. And who knows: maybe I'll manage to document just such a scene in the new year.
Either way, I have a lot planned for the next few years. I'm already looking forward to the tasks ahead and will be happy to keep you in the loop. CareElite Wildlife Blog up to date. Until then, I hope you enjoy my highlight video! 🙂
Many greetings,
PS: Feel free to visit me on my personal Nature film websitewhere you can learn more about me and my work.
