In Your Eyes – Interview with Alain Loss – Hungary 2025

28th July 2025

Tell us a little more about your photography journey.  How long have you been taking photos and blogging?

My journey spans across half a century with an initial focus on travel photography at a time when to change iso you had to change film and when autofocus, image stabilization or subject recognition simply did not exist. It was a steep learning curve. I progressively switched to wildlife photography, helped by the fact that I worked many years in South Africa. By 2010 I somewhat reluctantly embraced digital photography and decided to explore tribal cultures in Africa and Asia with a particular emphasis on ceremonies, rituals and festivals. I have been posting my experiences on Flickr.com since 2015.

Alain loss’s albums | Flickr

What are you passionate about besides photography?  What do you do in your free time?

Now that I am retired I can thoroughly enjoy my second passion ie travelling beyond moderation. Of course photography and travelling go hand in hand. I tend to opt for single theme trips allowing a proper immersion and quality interaction with people. In this regard let me mention three recent trips in India, Mongolia and Ethiopia. In India we spent 9 days at the Kumbh mela, the largest human gathering on earth. In Mongolia we walked alongside the Kazakh eagle hunters and their herds during their week long winter migration in the Altai. In Ethiopia we were fortunate to attend the Oromo pilgrimage of Sheikh Hussein, often referred to as Mecca of the poor.

What drew you to visit Hungary for bird photography?

Hortobágy is one of the most important sites in Europe for both breeding and migratory birds. I was attracted by the network of photographic hides targeting specific species and habitats (ground hides, low-angle hides, aquatic hides and even a tower hide). With bird photography I am trying to add a new skill set.

What equipment did you use on our tour?

Olympus OM1 II with 150-400mm F/4.5. With the zoom reach, the crop factor and the integrated 1.25 converter, a focal length of 1000mm can be achieved which is ideal for birding.

What were your first impressions of Hungary for photography?

I am new to the concept of hide and already a convert. All the eight hides use a special glass window through which you shoot. The birds can’t see you (or rather their own reflection as one side is a mirror) and can’t barely hear you. It gives you a real opportunity to be close to the birds at eye level, and witness unique sightings (bathing, courting, mating, feeding and birds in flight scenes, just to name a few).

What surprised you about your trip there?

I was flabbergasted to discover the sheer variety of birds there: shorebirds, rollers and bee-eaters, raptors and woodland birds. Many of them winter in Southern Africa and migrate to Europe around may. June being the heart of the breeding season it is the best time to see birds like European bee-eaters, Eurasian hoopoes but also Red-footed falcons engaged in complex courtship rituals or feeding their chicks.

What were your frustrations on your trip?

Hide photography can be rewarding but is exceptionally frustrating too. Despite the understandable boredom over time, one has to remain in full alert with the finger on the trigger. You simply can’t take your eyes off the ball. Action scenes are sudden and somewhat hard to anticipate. Despite the use of custom buttons to save time, the number of missed shots because of a lack of attention is too high to my liking.

Of all the trips you have undertaken, do you have a favourite destination you prefer to photograph?

As it is hard to compare apples and oranges let me look at the question from a different perspective. For landscapes Mongolia tops the list, for tribal culture it would be Ethiopia and Angola, for religious festivals India is the ultimate and for wildlife Botswana takes the prize.

Aside from the photography, what other aspects of the tour did you enjoy?

I really enjoyed the company of birders, which I am not (yet). The five Brits and one German in the group were all very knowledgeable about birds and keen to share their wealth of experience with me. It was emulation rather than competition.

We were hosted in a beautiful lodge (Bibic Nature Lodge) set by a lake on the edge of Hortobágy National Park. The lodge is run by a lovely couple.

What have you learned from your tour of Hungary?

Robert Capa once said: If your pics aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough. Certainly true for birding photography but I would add: If your pics aren’t sharp enough, your shutter speeds aren’t fast enough. Small birds and birds in flight require 1/3200 to 1/4000^th of a second speed.

Do you have any advice for photographers visiting Hungary?

Patience, patience, patience. Something is bound to happen. The opportunity is seized or missed. It is down to you.

With the loss of light due to the glass window (one and a half stop) and the fast speed often required, high iso are inevitable. It is no longer an issue with most of the de-noising software tools. Thrive on 10000 iso with no guilt!

Are there any images that are particularly special to you?

I love the series about the mating pair of Red-footed falcons.

Why did you enjoy these images so much?

The essence of wildlife photography is to capture behaviours and emotions. Here you can see the male with its grey wings half-deployed clumsily mounting an initially very reluctant female which reacts with loud vocalizations while clinging to the tree branch with its sharp talons. Progressively the female gets more receptive and the pair ends up mating.

Would you return to Hungary for photography?

Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the experience I now have so many birding destinations on my bucket list (Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Gambia, Ecuador, Danube delta, Kerkini lake, Grimsey island) that Hungary may have to wait a bit.

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