My trip to Donna Nook was one of my biggest ambitions so far in terms of what I had planned. I only spent a day on the beach but I wanted to ensure that I was totally prepared and that my time was not wasted as I only intended to photograph seals. I did have a backup day, which turned out to be awful so luck was on my side. The biggest single addition to my kit was (would you believe it) a kitchen tray. After spending a short amount of time on beaches with a tripod I find that the legs sink and sand gets into the tripod joints. I decided to make a 'tripod' using a tray that could hold the tripod mount and also the biggest lens that I own - the 500mm. I must thank my work colleague Alan Paice for his help in putting this together. I am not very good at making things and so I am indebted to Alan for his ingenuity. Click here for some photographer shots. Hasten to add the set-up was fantastic and I was able to get a wonderful low, close-up view of the seals. It also meant that I spent about 95% of roughly 7 hours on my stomach crawling around in wet sand. I hope though that I managed to capture some really intimate moments with the seals and although I didn't get every shot I wanted I had an amazing time too. Thanks also to Nick (for driving) and his girlfriend Audrey who came with me on this trip. It is great to be able to chat about our days' photography in the evening and compare and view our pictures. Click on any image to open which will then allow a slideshow type facility. Go to the Download page to get my new grey seal screensaver.