My name is Edwin Kats and I was born in 1974 in the Netherlands. At the moment I live in Nunspeet together with my wife Alexandra and our 2 year old son Christian.
I am based in the middle of the Netherlands surrounded by forest, lots of water and hayfields.
This offers me lots of possibilities to capture the wonderful flora and fauna.
Since 1992 I have mainly shot native Dutch wildlife but I also like the excitement of travelling to other fantastic places in Europe like the UK and Finland.
Since the beginning of my photography career I have used Nikon SLR cameras like the Nikon F90, F4 and F5. You have got to love these cameras because they are built like tanks. In 2006 I took the plunge and bought the Nikon D200. Although I miss working with slidefilm like Velvia and Provia, I got used to digital quite fast and learned to love it. In December last year I sold my D200 for a fair price and bought the D300 because of it’s better noise handling and faster AF speed and most of all the 8 frames per second.
My telephoto shots are all taken with the Sigma 120-300/2.8 often with the Sigma 1.4 converter attached. I don’t wish for greater focal length because I like the game of getting close to the subject. Most of the time I use this combo on a Feisol tripod. Mainly I shoot from a hide or use a camo photography bag blind. I also use a floating blind in spring and summer to shoot the waterfowl.
My macro shots are all taken with the Sigma 150/2.8 with or without extension tubes or converters. I like the sharpness and working distance of this lens. 90% of my macro shots are taken with the camera handheld to be as flexible as possible. I love to use the Nikon SB-800 as a fill flash. Almost all my macro shots are taken with a bit of fill flash.
On a regular basis my work is sold to various magazines and entered into one or two photo contests with quite pleasing results. The thing I’m most proud of is winning first place in the 2007 Nature Photographers Network Annual editor’s Awards in the Macro category, as it is a place where lot’s of great photographers post their work. For me NPN is a great source of inspiration.
Well I hope you enjoy my photographs and don’t forget to visit my website from time to time because it will be updated on a regular basis.
Best wishes,
Edwin Kats
Two days a week I am to be found in my hide in the beautiful forrest of the Netherlands and be close to nature.
Edwin Kats
