Friends, this spring is not like the usual ones, we are not allowed to leave our regions in Spain and fo rthe most of you is almost impossible to get Spain from abroad. So, those of you being resident in Spain or for those living abroad and being allowed to come in Spain should focus in one single region. Here we give you a summary of the facilities and services currently working, in alphabetical order. Only services operating between April and the beginning of June are named here. We will update the information later.

ARAGON.
– Sandgrouse (both of them). Belchite. 6 seats. From June. If it does not rain, it is hot enough and we can open before June we will notify you through the WhatsApp alert broadcast list.

CASTILLA Y LEÓN.
– vultures. Arribes de Duero. 2 places. All year.
– Bonelli’s Eagle. Arribes de Duero. 3 seats. All year.
– Golden Eagle. Arribes de Duero. 2 seats. All year.
– Great Bustard. Villafáfila. 4 seats. April and first week of May.

CATALONIA.
– Little Bustard. Montgai. 4 seats. April and first week of May.
– Little Owl. Montgai . 4 seats. April to the end of June.
– Roller. Montgai . 4 seats. Middle May until the end of June.
– Bee-eater. Montgai . 4 seats. Middle May until the end of June.
– Montagu’s harrier. Montgai . 2 seats. Middle May until the end of June.
– Stone Curlew. Montgai . Montgai. 2 seats. April May.
– Drinking pools. Montgai . 4 seats. April to the end of June.
– Red Kite, Black Kite and other birds of prey. Montgai . 2 seats. April to the end of June.
– Hoopoe. Montgai . 2 seats. April.

– Black Vulture and Egyptian Vulture. Fígols de Tremp. 6 seats. April to the end of August.
– La Terreta family vultures hide. Tremp . All year.

– Montpol. Solsonès. Holm Oak forest birds 4 seats. All year. Also suitable for family use.
– Cogulers. Solsonès . Lammergeier. 3 seats. All year.
– Dipper. Solsonès . 2 seats. Canvas hide. April-?
– Drinking pool in Cattle area. Solsonès . 2 seats. April to the end of August.
– Drinking pool in fallow field. Solsonès . 4 seats. April to the end of August.

– Forest pond. Montseny. Buzzard + forest birds. 2 seats. All year.
– Genet. Montseny. All year.
– Chamoise safaris. With a date previously set. 2 places. All year.
– Kingfisher. Montseny 2 places.

– Delta safaris. 2 places. All year.
– Olive tree field drinking pool. Mas de Barberans. 3 seat. All year.
– Hoopoe. Mas de  Barberans. Canvas hide. 2 seat. April.


– Tengmalm’s Owl. With a date previously set. 2 places. May.

– Forest birds in Aran. The. 2 seat. All year.

MURCIA.

– Golden Eagle. Sierra Espuña. 2 seat. All year.
– Peregrine falcon. Sierra Burete. 2 seat. All year.
– Booted Eagle. Sierra de Burete. 2 places. All year.
– Crossbill. Sierra Espuña. 2 places. March August.
– Little Owl and Roller. Alhama de Murcia. 2 places. April to June.

MAJORCA.

– Ground level drinking pool. Alcúdia. 2 seat. All year.
– Drinking pool. Alcúdia. 2 seat. All year.

VALENCIA.
– Black Wheatear and Common Kestrel. Ribarroja del Turia. 2 seat. All year.
– Bonelli’s Eagle. Losa del Obispo. 2 seats all year.

Check prices and availability by email or WhatsApp message (+34 638 887 681).
If you want to be informed of news and things that only happen a few days a year, you can sign up for the ALERT IN Hides broadcast list by sending a WhatsApp message (+34 638 887 681).

Of course, mobility regulations may change depending on the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic. We will adapt to what the health and civil protection authorities say. Your service payments are safe, if you cannot come due to new official restrictions, we will refund your money or we will look for alternative dates and / or hides.

Of course all our services are safe and we never mix people from different homes. We did not do it before the pandemic and much less will we do it now.

It is not a secret; the health crisis caused by COVID19 has changed our lives. Everyday actions such as going shopping or taking a short walk have become much more complicated than they were, to become really hard in some cases

In this context we are. After weeks of confinement, the measures relax and step by step we are recovering a little more of our lives. And now is when we start to be able to go out into the field again, first at a local level. Travelling abroad will follow next. Therefore, our proposals are becoming possible, although for the time being, with many restrictions that must ensure the health safety of users and guides.

This is a post that will surely have to be updated. Our current framework is  between some (few) certainties and some (many) doubts. It will be necessary to see how the government or governments concretize the package of security measures with which it seeks to stop the pandemic. It is not a matter of taking it lightly in these moments. There is too much to lose. Therefore on our side we will not fail to comply with the established standards and, if we can, we will go further.

We know a few things:

1. Vehicles can be a source of contagion. Therefore, before and after each service, the surfaces of the cars will be disinfected. And, wherever possible, the use of the guide’s car will be reduced to the maximum.

2. All hides will be disinfected before and after each session. This will require longer waiting times before entering to use them, be patient please.

3. All users must bring their own mask and gloves equipment. We can have a spare set just in case, but don’t charge  all on the company. Your involvement is and will be essential. Of course, the guides will also wear a mask and gloves.

4. Let us reduce as much as possible the number of bags that we take to the hide. The less surface less probability of transmission. Anyway the guide will put your bags in large garbage bags with which you will transport the equipment to the hide.

5. The guide will keep the safety distance. Help him/her. It is not necessary to get closer than two meters. Let the guide get out of the hide before you come in. On safaris, always keep this basic measure in mind and don’t bother if the guide reminds you of it.

6. We will supply hydroalcoholic solution before and after all services.

We also know that until the end of the last phase, the international flights will be restricted or even closed at all.

Finally, if it is always good to be in contact, at this moment it is essential and the most effective and agile means is the WhatsApp broadcast list. It is not a group, nobody will send you messages more than us and your answers are between each one of you and us, nobody else sees them. If you are not already on the list you can sign up by sending a message with the word Alarm and your name and surname to 638887681 (Carles Santana).

We will shortly continue to update the information on the necessary measures due to the health crisis caused by COVID19. Do not hesitate to send us your concerns by the means that are most comfortable for you.

HELP US TO KEEP WORKING

Since the state of alarm was decreed in mid-March in Spain and tourist services were considered (obviously) not essential, the activity of PHOTO LOGISTICS stop the field work. Firm reserves of groups of foreign photographers had already fallen previously. From that moment, they were also postponed and, in some cases, all the reservations we had scheduled were definitively cancelled. The high season went to waste.

The first reaction was: 1. Let all our guides know that we were going to have months of involuntary break. It was a very strong moral blow. 2. Let’s take advantage of the confinement in our homes to do business training (we are naturalists, not businessmen, and all the training is little). Let’s definitively fine-tune our CRM, improve internal workflows, think new products, etc. 3. We wonder how we are going to face this phase economically; we do not know how long it will last? The basics of business management says that you have to defer payments and advance income. But, there are payments that cannot be deferred: taxes, payments to providers, to land owners, giving deposits back to clients who did not want to keep their payment for future services, insurance that was due … And, advance income? It is easy to say, hard to figure it out how?

This is where the idea of ​​offering you a € 50 advance on the next service you book comes in. In other words, € 50 is now paid to help keep us alive and we will discount them from the next hide or safari service that you book with us. It’s about paying your services in advance, not making a donation.

As a thank you we send you a t-shirt with the motto WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY IS A CONSERVATION TOOL. We have to charge the shipping on you, to avoid having to invest part of your advance in shipping, of course.

How the payment is made. As all our services are paid, through the bank details we will provide when you contact us by email info@photo-logistics.com or Whatsapp +34 638887681.

Our commitment is firm; you know that, as soon as the pandemic will be over we will go out into the field to prepare the best hides for wildlife photography. We have a team of guides for doing this job and we are deeply proud of them.

Can you help us not to stop?

SEO rules (Searching engine optimization), which have become a sort of 2.0 marketing sacred text; say that here should a subtitle that would make indexing easy by Google. Instead, we will explain how we have the international travel calendar, which we have already matured and ready and which ideas we can develop or not depending on your interests.

It was an idea that we had in mind since the very beginnings of Photo Logistics, ten years ago! But until recently, it could not have been done for various reasons. During 2018 and 2019 we have carried out some short trips and trips abroad that have started us in this type of service. This means that, contrary to what many people said, a company from here can operate at the same level and offering the same services as our British or Central European referents. Why not booking your photo trips with an Spanish company if they give you a good service and price?

The general idea is offering the possibility to enjoy biodiversity elsewhere in the world in the same way that we do here. So, you have to focus only in taking your best photos and leave the logistics to us.

From 2018  autumn until this 2019 September we have made a trip to Finland to photograph bears, wolverines, birds and landscapes in the incredible golden autumn light in northern Europe. Also two breaks  to Norfolk (United Kingdom) to enjoy the British winter with seals, waterfowl and spectacular daytime (and nighttime) owls and now we are about to head out to our first adventure in another continent: we travel the next week to the  South Africa springtime, to the Zimanga reserve, where we expect to take photos from the hides designed by Bence Máté and safaris driven by experts. We will make a post about that.

As those trips were so well taken we have already scheduled and booked second and third editions by 2020:

• Norfolk. From January 31 to February 3.
• Saltee Island, from June 26 to 29.
• Zimanga. From the 13th to the 23rd of August.
• Finland in autumn. From September 10 to 15.

You have all the information in the links to our website.

The three trips last year were guided from the airport of Barcelona by Roger Sanmartí, co-founder and guide in PHOTO LOGISTICS.

In 2020 we have more projects, and we would like to show them up here so you can tell us your thoughts about them.

Photo break to Finland in winter to photograph Golden Eagle on the snow and Black Grouse. It is true that here in Spain you can photograph Golden Eagle with us in Murcia, Arribes de Duero and, in winter, Bonansa. But the hides we propose in Finland offer different settings and conditions: birds on the snow, very possibly action scenes involving different birds, the possibility of other species and that atmosphere in northern Europe that makes the experience unforgettable. Those people in charge of the hides have recommended that we get there in March, because in this way there is also the possibility of Black Grouse hide sessions. In this way we can diversify our target.

Photo trip to Poland in winter, with the goal of getting wild wolves photos. Last February Carles Santana visited a wolf hide in Poland with the idea of ​​incorporating this trip into our offer. The snowfall the days before the sessions was impressive. So, the usual prey of the wolves could not easily escape the predators, which moved much more effectively on the snow and therefore, the carrion located in front of the hide was useless. The wolf sessions from hide are long and often fruitless. We cannot say any different, but when it works, the result is incredible. Having a wild wolf a few meters is an experience of those that every naturalist dreams of.

On the other hand, in recent years we have had contact with a Polish photographer who offers his services without using hides. In short walks or from the car offers stays for a few days in Białowieża, the last patch of untouched forest in Europe where you can photograph not only wolves, but other animals such as European bison, otters and beavers in a winter environment.

Therefore, we propose a trip for five people with a guide from Barcelona or at your arrival to the agreed airport in Poland, ​​spending three and a half days in the surroundings of Białowieża with this local guide, taking photos from a vehicle or through short walks, for all types of public and physical condition. Finish the fourth day in the area of ​​the wolf hides and spending three more days. The wolf hides require very long stays for what are perfectly sealed, they have heating, provided with toilet and with a lot of room. In addition to wolf meat attracts raptors such as Buzzard, Golden Eagle, etc. and Foxes. Also grain is supplied to attract Middle Spotted Woodpecke, Coal Tits, Jay, etc. The sessions are long, but fun. The total trip takes eight days. We cannot guarantee wolf photos, but it is an experience in the heart of some of the wildest areas in Europe. And you can also be sure that we work with local guides that will try hard to bring the best photo opportunities. Is it too much sincerity?

The dates are not closed, but February has been proposed because it is the moment when we assure (or almost) snow in Białowieża. We will be happy to receive your comments on the dates you have available.

Photo trip to Mongolia. We are preparing a spectacular trip in the mountains of Altaïr and the Gobi desert. It is the perfect trip for open spaces lovers. It will be by July 2020 and will focus on the mammals of these remote areas: Przewalski wild horse, Pallas’ Pika, Saiga, Pallas’ Cat, Corsac Fox, etc. Although we can also photograph birds such as Sacred Falcon, Pallas Sandgrouse, Kozlov Acentor, Père David Snowfinch, etc. We will also be able to attend cultural events like the traditional wrestling or spending some nights in a ger or tend  that the nomadic steppe cultures use still now.

Further details of this trip will come soon.

Photo trip to Borneo. In September 2019 (almost now) we will move to the Malaysian part of Borneo island in a prospective trip. Pay close attention to the details on this from the beginning of October! Our idea is to take a river trip with overnight on board of a boat to trace the river where we can find Long-nosed Monkeys, the threatened Orangutan of Borneo and other species of mammals and birds.

The idea is to schedule it by September or October 2020 and last for 7 to 10 days. As in the previous cases we will be happy to know what is your availability and if you are interested in this photo trip to the heart of the Southeast Asian jungle.

Photo Logistics is based on networking. Each one takes his/her place; each one does what he/she does best.

In August of this year PHOTO LOGISTICS will be ten years old. In this time we have built and consolidated the largest network of photographic hides in southern Europe. And if it has been possible, it is because many people have believed in this project.

Let us tell you how PHOTO LOGISTICS works. The company has different units: a booking and marketing centre, an accounting and administration of authorization applies; a workshop where hides are built and, of course the hides themselves working in the field. As you can see, if you want to do things well and in a professional way it is not enough to put some hides in the field. The whole thing requires the work of more than one person, since a single person hardly will know how to cover all the needs that a company requires. On the other hand, this allows everyone to have time to do what they do best.

When a photographer gets in touch with PHOTO LOGISTICS no matter the channel, he/she is advised, depending on what he/she requires, about the best period, what hide to use and other aspects. From here, the reservation centre contacts the guide to book the date and then the booking is confirmed to the photographer.

How does the agreement work with the guides? We always work on a percentage of the price of the service. It is generally 70% for the local guide and 30% for the central services. That 70% includes all the previous work that has had to be done in order for the hide to work: installation, maintenance, regular feeding (if required), water supply (if required), follow-ups, customer guidance, etc. What then includes 30%? all the marketing work, promotion at fairs, strategic planning, central booking, accounting, authorization applies, etc. That is, it includes all the jobs that would not allow you to be in the field long enough. Therefore, let’s speak clearly: a fixed salary is not offered, but rather work and income sharing.

We ask reciprocal exclusivity, PHOTO LOGISTICS will ask you, in a matter of hides, to work exclusively for the company. In return you can be sure that the company won’t work with any other guide in the geographical area agreed upon. We currently work in the following areas in Spain: Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia, Andalusia, Aragon, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Castilla y León and Castilla-la Mancha. In each territory we have a different situation, so if you are interested in working with us and you live in one of these areas, send us an email and see how we have the situation in your area. At this moment we are also working to expand the network outside of Spain. Therefore, we are open to studying collaborations anywhere in the world.

Who builds the hides? Usually, the hides are built in Parets del Vallès (Barcelona) and they are moved where necessary, but if we agree on the materials and design, there is no problem for them to be built by the guide. This is especially important in those distant places.

All hide of PHOTO LOGISTICS (in fact all legal hide, whoever it may be) must have a double authorization: from the corresponding public body and from the landowner. Let us clarify something: every land plot has an owner, this can be public (municipality or regional Government) or private (a person, an NGO or a foundation). Therefore, there is no place where you can set a hide without permission from the ownership. PHOTO LOGISTICS will proceed to ask for the authorizations, but we count on the help of the local guide to guide us in those places where we have no experience.

If you are interested in working as a guide with us, integrating yourself into an organization with ten years of experience and that exceeds seventy hides spotted  in different zones throughout Spain and working with a worldwide public, you just have to contact us via email: info @ photo-logistics.com or phone (including WhatsApp and Telegram) +34 638887681. We will be happy to open the doors of PHOTO LOGISTICS to you.

CHRONICLE OF A PHOTO BREAK IN ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING PLACES IN ENGLAND

Between January 2nd and 5th, three photographers with Roger Sanmartí as a guide from Barcelona airport and David Tipling as a local guide visited Norfolk County, one of the best places in England in terms of biodiversity and photo opportunities.

-Arrival day, this time we left from Barcelona airport and get Luton airport where we hired a car that was driven by Roger, who is used to be a right hand driver. No fear! Arrival in Norfolk, check-in at the hotel and dinner.

-First day One of the targets of the trip is to take pictures of the Barn Owls that in here are diurnal in winter. We needed to use a hide. David Tipling knows where to find them in a coastal wetland presided over by an old beautiful mill. After a while we had the owl flying near us. Then, we moved to another wetland where we can photograph waterfowl with the Brent Goose as a more attractive species to our Iberian eyes. After that a hide session came in a forest area, Grey Squirrels, Great spotted Woodpeckers, Pheasants and other birds were seen in a fantastic environment and with a pond that gave us the possibility to take photos with reflections, which are always beautiful.

In the afternoon more daylight Barn Owl photography and, as night came, one of the most curious experiences of the trip: photography of Barn Owl and Tawny Owl, without cells or hides. In a forest glade, an owls fan feed them every day with pieces of chicken. The Owls are used to grabbing the pieces of chicken in front of a spotlight that gives light enough to take focus on them. To take the photo, the camera flash will be necessary. Then we went to sleep, we had burned enough cards already.

-Second day. Here we had not come to rest. We had a quick coffee on the open trunk of David’s car and then to the beach for taking Seals pics.  At this point the Seals are quite used to people and even approach to the photographers. When they came out from the water we had the opportunity to take pictures of the Seals with the wave breaking them on top. We can also photograph the seals resting on the beach. In this time they are Grey Seal.

And then we went to a nearby place for Fallow Deer. Mock fights between young Fallow Deer (it is not the mating time, we could expecting nothing more).

In the afternoon we went for more of daylight Barn Owls that did not show up. Even with the best guides, wildlife has the last word.

At night we went for more Barn Owl and Tawny Owl. Once you get the technique on the first day, it is fine to come back.

-Departure day. Squeezing the last hours before leaving, we went back to David Tipling’s hide. Then, we went towards Luton airport to return the car and come back home.

You see, two and a half days of not resting a lot on a winter trip in Norfolk, with no logistics issues and with an exceptional local guide.

If you want to join us, please check the next dates here.