My Wildlife Journey Began 20 Years Ago...
My wildlife journey began 20 years ago when as a busy tv executive working for Channel 4 I booked a safari to Tanzania, simply to escape my hectic schedule for a week or so. I immediately fell in love with Africa. Seeing animals in the wild for the first time, the landscape & those endless African skies captivated me then, as it still does now.
Then in 2009 I got serious. I bought my first Canon SLR & embarked on my first photographic safari to Kenya. And that was that. I was hooked. Over the last decade or so I have had the privilege to travel across all the major continents, always with my camera in hand, to capture wildlife images which I hope you will love as much as I do.
The art of wildlife photography requires skill, a deep understanding of animal behavior & immense amounts of patience! Hours spent on Mara plains, the jungles of India or on the ice in the Arctic have all undoubtedly helped me develop my craft & become the photographer I am today. I have also been the lucky recipient of wonderful advice & mentorship from Wildlife photographers that I admire so much- Paul Goldstein, Federico Veronesi & Richard Peters. They have all pushed me to be better.
Another career defining moment was joining National Geographic in 2012 & working in Washington DC leading the programming strategy for Nat Geo channels internationally. One part of my job that I relished was curating the programming for the yearly Big Cat event to support conservation. This job was a dream come true. I could soak up all the expertise around me & collaborate with some of the world’s best photographers, explorers & filmmakers. I watched, I listened & I learnt from the best. But was I ready to turn a passion into a career?
Then the Covid pandemic happened. Like many I decided it was time for a reset. So, after 30 years working in the television industry, I took a leap of faith & decided to follow my passion & become a full-time wildlife photographer.
So, how would I define my style? I hope you will find in my work nuances of light, composition, and storytelling. I want my images to provoke an emotion or a spark of curiosity. I want images that you will want to hang on your wall & get pleasure from it every single day.
I particularly love the timeless beauty & elegance of black & white images & I am increasingly looking for those subjects & environments where I know black & white will enhance the final image.
More than ever, I seek an unmistakable sense of place in my photography. I hope you find this reflected in my strongest images. It is an evolving part of my style as a photographer. As I compose an image my eye is constantly seeking to capture & frame the raw beauty & majesty not only of the wildlife in front of my lens, but equally important to me is the environment around it.
“Your animal in landscape work is really strong. I always feel like I wish I was there when I view them, helped in part by the compositions pulling both subject & surroundings together”
Richard Peters
My work has been recognized in competitions run by the WNPA, Mono Awards, Muse & Refocus Awards, all of whom aim to showcase the work of the best photographers around the globe. My images also help to support the conservation work of Mara Elephant Project & 10% of print sales goes to support various conservation charities in Africa. I post regularly on Instagram which is another means of growing my reputation within the industry.
So why do I do it? Well I think that is best summed up by a fellow photographer Will Fortescue who commented on a photograph he took that it was “a sighting that kept on giving. It just takes one on an eight-day trip. 2 minutes out of 80 hours. A feeling more addictive than any other”.
I couldn’t agree more & it brings me great joy.
Take A Trip To The Wild Side
Interviews with top photographers and filmmakers, articles on conservation and the what I love about wildlife.
If you are looking to be inspired by daring, flamboyant & exquisite wallpaper & fabrics then Divine Savages has what you are looking for. Formed in 2017 by husbands Jamie Watkins & Tom Kennedy they have in 5 years built up a great reputation & following in the interiors world & also collaborated with the Natural History Museum & Heals.
Shannon is an award winning wildlife photographer & cinematographer & passionate conservationist who I had the pleasure meeting in India a few years ago. Better known under her brand name Shannon Wild she has had a fascinating wildlife journey which we explore in my interview with her. It’s not always been smooth sailing as you will hear, but Shannon has shown plenty of Aussie grit to overcome the challenges that have been thrown her way over the years.
Beverly & Dereck Joubert are two of my wildlife heroes & have had the pleasure to get to know them & work with them over the last few years. I sat down with them recently over zoom in between their edit for an upcoming series for National Geographic, where they are busy updating & remastering some of their classic films.
I think Shaaz is one of the most creative & poetic photographers around at the moment & I am constantly in awe of the images he creates whether from the forests of Kabini or the Serengeti plains. It’s been wonderful to get to know & work him over the last few years, especially on “The Real Black Leopard” project for National Geographic.
Federico Veronesi is in my opinion one of the best wildlife photographers specializing in East Africa at the moment. If you are not aware of his work please check out his book “Light and Dust” & his most recent release “One Life” where his storytelling & photographs weave a compelling & stunning narrative.
Russell MacLaughlin is a world-renowned & in-demand wildlife cinematographer whose recent credits include “Growing Up Animal” for Disney + & “The Year Earth Changed” for Apple +. However, we first In India when he was filming “The Real Black Panther” with his wife Shannon Benson for National Geographic & we became firm friends.
I got to know Alex Braczkowski when he was pitching a film to the Nat Geo Wild team about a project he was working on for National Geographic focused on the unique behavior of a pride of tree climbing lions in QEP, Uganda & the challenges they face. It’s always great to support a first-time filmmaker & his film premiered in 2018 & continues to be aired on Nat Geo Wild & on Disney +
When I was researching doing my first trip to Alaska in 2014 to photograph Brown Bears one of the companies that I contacted was ‘Expeditions Alaska’ run by Carl Donahue. That was such as success I have now done 5 trips with Carl to photograph not only Brown Bears in Kodiak but also Polar Bears in Kaktovik which can be challenging but the results can be amazing.
Shop Prints
The latest Black & White and Colour print collections
