I’m a nature photographer with a passion for British and European wildlife, especially mammals, birds of prey and woodland birds.

I prefer to photograph local subjects, such as views of the Ridgeway, Kestrels, Red Kites, Brown Hares and other Oxfordshire wildlife but I also travel frequently to Scotland and Finland to create images of their beautiful and specialised flora and fauna, including Otters, Red Squirrels, Crested Tits, Capercaillie, Brown Bears and Wolves.

Traditionally, I have concentrated on creating beautiful images of wildlife; more recently, I have reignited my passion for the wider genre of nature photography, so expect to see photos of our earth, sea and air feature more prominently in my image gallery, very soon.

If you’re interested in how I became interested in nature photography, read on for the full story.

Early Beginnings

My dad joined the army when I was an infant and so I grew up in military housing, in various parts of the UK and Germany, before my family settled in a large council estate in South Yorkshire.

During my childhood, I didn’t often venture far from my home patch, so my awareness of the natural world was limited to watching birds peck holes in milk bottle tops to drink the cream from the top of the bottle, and watching cloud shapes form and dissolve in the sky. My only experience of photography consisted of taking snapshots with a compact camera, usually borrowed; but I do remember an uncle opening a bag that he had just pulled out of a cupboard, to reveal an assortment of ancient lenses, film camera bodies and filters, all covered in dust. It was the brightly coloured filters that caught my eye as he held them up to the light, one by one, naming them and explaining their purpose as he did so.

Whilst for most of my life, I couldn’t tell the difference between the various species of common birds that visited my garden, I clearly recall the fascination I felt when, as a young child, I came across a bird recognition book in the local library: I turned the pages, read the description of each bird and my excitement piqued when I realised that all of these strange creatures lived in the British Isles. However, my interest waned quickly with no-one to nurture it and with no means of exploring alone, at the tender age of seven. So, throughout my childhood and early adulthood, a love for the natural world and the magic of creating pictures lived within me but they lay dormant and unrecognised, save for a few, brief moments.

Inspiration

In 2006, during a business trip to South Africa, I went on a Jeep safari and within hours, encountered much of the wildlife for which that country is so famous. I saw Black and White Rhinos only yards away, distant Elephants, Wildebeest, Warthogs, Zebra, Leopards and Lions; the only member of the “Big Five” which I didn’t see was the Giraffe. I felt humble, exhilarated and excited and my life instantly changed its course (but I wouldn’t realise that until a few years later).

Some of the incredible moments which occurred on that brief safari are still vivid to me: a Leopard crossing the road in front of our vehicle, entirely unconcerned with us and our excited whisperings; being within a few short yards of a pride of Lions that were lying by the side of the road in the parched grass, staring impassively at us; I will never forget their intense gaze and startling beauty.

I took some pictures of what I saw and whilst I wasn’t able to do the scenes justice, that was the start of my journey into nature photography.

First Steps

As soon as I got home, I bought my first digital SLR camera, a Canon EOS 30D. I blazed away at the birds in my garden, through the windows, the open patio doors and then from the dark bowels of the garden shed, creating some quite terrible images in the process. Slowly, I settled down and began to learn about the technical aspects of photography and about the wildlife that visited my garden. I read books and magazines, searched the internet and attended training courses and experience days with other photographers, to accelerate the learning process. I spent lots of money on gadgets and gimmicks, most of which were entirely useless to me.

Throughout 2007 and the first half of 2008, I amassed material of varying quality at an alarming rate but I practised hard and gained valuable experience and gradually, I saw an improvement in my work. Once understood, the technical aspects of photography took up less of my time and so I was able to spend more time thinking about what I wanted to achieve with each shot – that was a big breakthrough for me.

Evolution

By the end of 2008, I had a reasonable understanding of what I was doing. By then, I had also upgraded most of my equipment: I was now using a better quality camera (a Canon EOS 1D Mark III) and much faster lenses (chiefly, the EF 300 f/2.8L IS USM). I spent more and more of my time photographing woodland birds, almost to the point of obsession, then I began to travel further afield, broadening the range of subjects I would encounter. Finally, I began to build a small collection of images that I was happy with.

I was taking far fewer photos than before, constantly reminding myself that quality tops quantity. It’s easy to say that to oneself but very much harder to actually apply such discipline in the field, when the action is happening all around you. It’s a valuable lesson which I continue to try to learn.

Motivation

The encounter is the thing which drives me on, to do what I do. I use a camera to attempt to convey some sense of the experiences I have had. I want to communicate with my subject; I want to form a connection. And then I want you to be able to share that connection, through my images. If you can do that, then I have achieved something. It won’t always work but I will keep trying.

The world is changing fast and some of the creatures that share it with us are disappearing, forever. We live in times where the pressures on habitat and food sources are vast and unrelenting and we always seem to put our own needs before those of our fellow creatures. I feel like I am as much a part of the problem as anyone else. In fact, I know I am.

I don’t know what to do about it though: I don’t have any, never mind all, of the answers. So I will continue to take pictures of the flora and fauna I share this world with and then share those pictures here, with you, in the hope that in some small way, they may help someone, somewhere to work out what on earth we can do to change things for the better.

The Present

Nature and wildlife photography continues to teach me much about myself as a person and my place in this world. Through this passion, I have connected with people I would otherwise never have known. It gives me the solitude I need to grow and learn, the refuge I need from the things that trouble me and hope for the future. I continue to be amazed by the things I see and hear when I am lying in the mud, watching some remarkable creature share something of itself with me. I will never tire of these unique, privileged moments.