Experience

Over the years I have taken many hundreds of thousands of photographs both for work and leisure.  They were taken for a variety of reasons The main ones were:

• Recording activities and events
• Illustrating presentations, talks and courses
• Producing leaflets and other print media
• Providing photos for the press
• Illustrating websites
• Recording habitat and historic features

Most of my photography is done outdoors in natural light. I have not really been interested in taking photographs of people. I much prefer things in the natural world. I have a particular liking for macro work. What sets me apart is I am not a photographer that takes pictures of wildlife but a wildlife expert that takes pictures of wildlife. A bit like a chef that has a side hustle of food photography. I know what I am taking a picture of. I know interesting behaviour when I see it and I can usually interpret it at the time. If I am not sure I have the knowledge to just look it up. The technical aspects of photography I am learning all the time. I suspect I will never stop learning.

Equipment

As mentioned above I have an enormous archive of both film and digital images. I was an early adopter of digital in 2002 when I changed from Canon A1 film cameras. I liked that film camera so much I bought a second one. When I went digital I part exchanged the A1s with lenses for a Canon 300D which though basic now, then, it did more than just the job. To me at that time the quality was amazing. The fundamental difference was being able to shoot and shoot at no cost. I then went on to a Canon 70D. Many of my stock images have been taken with this camera. It still gets used a lot. I finally ended up with a Canon 5D MkIV. This is an amazing piece of photographic equipment. I feel I’m just scratching the surface of the capabilities of this camera.

Having stuck with Canon cameras and upgraded lenses as I went along through a combination of buying outright, selling and part exchanging so that now I mostly use just four lenses. A wide angle, standard, telephoto and my go to lens, the 100mm macro.

Stock photography

Having shot a large portfolio of images it seemed to make sense to me to try and get them actively used whilst at the same time generating some income. You can read a quick guide to stock photography here to give you more of an idea of what is involved.

In addition to stills work I have been shooting quite a lot of video. It’s an exciting and interesting development for me.  A totally different skill set is needed. I am more than happy to take on commissions for photography work linked to parks, countryside or wildlife.  Even if what you require is not the sort of photographic work I normally do I can help by pointing you in the direction of someone more able to help you.