A new arrival, my cameras and old age

My fishing has ground to a halt with the arrival of my third child a beautiful little girl that we have named Grace Josephine. Weighing 6lb 8oz she is a new 'personal best' beating her big brother by a meagre 1oz. Been far too busy to venture out on the bank but give me a week or two and I am sure I will get back to it.

I have been asked a few times what camera/set up I use for my blogging photographs which is a fantastic compliment. I admit to not being the greatest photographer but I try hard and am usually pleased with the results. My set up is not fancy or spectacular but it works for me.
When I was searching for a camera a few years ago I had a few must haves. It had to have a remote control for self takes, I wanted it to be better than a compact camera in terms of quality but I did not want to be lugging around a large DSLR with several lenses and finally it needed to have a large screen for instant reviews of the photo. When you have fish out of the water, speed is of the essence. I spoke to the bloke with the big fuzzy hair in the local independent camera shop and came away with a FUJI Finepix S2000HD and I have been really happy with it.

Remote control and bank stick adaptor 

I am not sure if they are still manufactured but if they are I would thoroughly recommend getting hold of one. Mine has taken nearly 3,700 photos and is still going strong. It works brilliantly outdoors but take it inside and I really struggle with it, just cannot seem to get the right settings for indoor shots. I use it mostly on auto but it does have some excellent other settings for action and landscape shots.
Last year I treated myself to a second camera. I fancied trying to get some underwater shots inspired by Matt Hayes excellent photography book,  Fisheye-A guide to angling photography. He recommended the Panasonic Lumix FT3. I am still getting to grips with this compact camera but it has produced some great shots, there are not many venues with clear enough water to get good sub surface photos but I will keep working on this. It is lightweight and simple to use and fits in the 'Finepix' bag.

There is one other camera that I use occasionally, a Nikon D60 that belongs to Mrs C and does not come fishing with me very often.

The quality of photos are superb, pin sharp and full of colour but it is too bulky and most of the time I cannot be bothered to carry it and all it's lenses. As I say it does take great photos, even at distance:-

A pair of nesting Buzzards through the long lens

Is it a sign of getting old if you suddenly become interested in angling the traditional way. It started a few months back when I treated myself to a centre pin reel purposefully for trotting and now I have purchased some hand-made traditional floats to go with it.

Hand-made by Ian Lewis-click here

Some Avons for summer Barbel, a couple of cork bobs for Autumn Grayling and the darts for Winter Perch/Roach, I cannot wait to get them wet. What next-split cane rod?? possibly.