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Illustrated Talks
Illustrated Talks
Mike Read is a popular speaker and uses his superb photographs to illustrate his presentations. Working as a professional wildlife and landscape photographer, Mike sees and photographs some amazing things and he gives his audience a chance to share some of these. An experienced speaker, Mike combines his informative and relaxed style of presentation with what he likes to refer to as his sense of humour!
Whatever focus of interest your group has, Mike will reflect it in the content of the presentation. He gives the information in a friendly, accessible and humorous way so that everyone feels engaged in the experience. No charts or graphs are used – just stunning visual images.
Mike is available each winter (September 1 – March 31) to give presentations to groups, societies and other organisations in Southern England. He sets the fee depending on group size and on distance from his home town of Ringwood in Hampshire. The length of each presentation can be varied to suit your requirements. It is best to book Mike in advance – but if your speaker falls ill or has to cancel at the last minute, Mike would be happy to fill in if he is free.
Mike has written or illustrated many books, and has used his beautiful photographs to produce delightful cards and postcards. He brings along a selection of these to sell at his presentations and they are very popular.
Below is a list of talks you can book. Bookings can be made by telephone, email or letter. See below for contact details.
Aotearoa - Land of the Long White Cloud
In November/December Mike visited the fascinating country of New Zealand; the title of the talk is the Maori name for that country. It is a place of great beauty and biological diversity. Sadly some of the native habitat has been lost and non native predators have been introduced. Consequently, a number of the native birds are now very restricted in range. The forests and mountains are still fantastic as are the number of seabirds encountered on the pelagic trips Mike went on.
Corsica – Mountains in the Mediterranean
This ‘Isle de Beauté’ is officially French – but don’t tell the Corsicans! It really is a wonderfully scenic and unspoilt island. Join Mike on a Spring visit when northward bird migration is at its peak and the roadsides are awash with the hues of masses of wild flowers. Mountains rise to twice the height of anything in Britain and are the haunt of Corsican Nuthatch, Alpine Choughs, Golden Eagles and a few pairs of Lammergeiers. Some passing migrants can be seen in the valleys but generally they stick to the coastal belt where food is more easily found. Thousands can pass by each hour and surely Cap Corse is the best migration watch point in the whole of France.
Wildlife of a Working Forest
Mike has recently made a new talk from his local patch, the New Forest National Park. It is now a fully digital lecture and deals with not just the wildlife and scenery of this beautiful location, but also the 'business' of the Forest; activities such as timber production, commoning, drifts and pannage. It is entirely illustrated by Mike's own unique style of photography and is in his usual light but informative style.
Red Kite Country – mid Wales
Over a period of three years, Mike visited this area in different seasons and produced an amazing array of images. Some of the time he was joined by wildlife artist Colin Woolf –and they captured everything from grand vistas to small details and from birds to botanical subjects. The presentation leaves you with a sense of knowing this beautiful wild area. Mike’s photos combine superbly with Colin’s artwork to illustrate the lovely book ‘Red Kite Country’.
The Barn Owl – Under the Cloak of Darkness
The Barn Owl is one of Britain’s most popular birds. For 18 months, Mike joined nature’s night shift and the resulting presentation shows a world we rarely glimpse. Based around this beautiful bird, it also features other UK owls and various other nocturnal creatures. The unique photos and Mike’s observations give you a new insight into this magical world.
The Art & Skills of Wildlife Photography
With recent innovations in lens and camera technology, especially digital capture, wildlife photography has become an increasingly popular hobby. In this light and entertaining presentation, Mike deals with some of the problems and pitfalls as well as some of the good things about photographing nature. This presentation is not technical and is therefore suitable for all kinds of audience interest.
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