Monarch
Price range: £250.00 through £1,150.002023
Our trip to Wales was preceded by a great deal of research, and conversations with locals had alerted me to the regular presence of a beautiful stallion near to our base. This news had got me excited – it would be incredible to photograph a dominant stallion, and what if we could somehow include a dramatic backdrop?
We found him on day 3, high in the Welsh mountains on a day the sky was filled with dramatic cloud – it was a dream come true. I was reluctant to photograph him with a towering mountain behind him, he is part of this place, rather than just living in it. I decided to try and photograph him side-on, and found the perfect spot with a rolling mountain; I would photograph him in front of it, almost as if he was part of the rolling mountain.
Everything came together in the end. I love the knots in his mane.
The Climb
Price range: £250.00 through £1,150.002023
The rolling hills of Northern Wales are breathtaking, and the ability of young foals to thrive in this most rugged of places is remarkable. These foals look tiny when compared to the gigantic mountains they are surrounded by, and a question that occupied a sizeable portion of my thoughts during the first couple of days in Wales was how to capture the scale of this in a single photograph.
On Day 4, during my routine daily scout, I discovered a group of ponies high on a ridge in the distance. I un-packed my camera, attached my longest lens, and zoomed in on the herd – there were two tiny foals amongst the group, and I knew immediately that I had to pursue this opportunity.
I ran across the heathland towards the mountain, but by the time I got there most of the herd had reached the top and had their heads down grazing, then I noticed a mare and foal were still at the bottom. If they followed their friends up the ridge then I had my shot, so I had a much-needed rest and bided my time.
Sure enough, after a while, they began the ascent and I got into position. I got lucky, because the foal was slower than her mother, meaning I had an opportunity to photograph her on her own.
What a remarkable thing to witness.
Spirit
Price range: £250.00 through £1,150.002024
Reverie
Price range: £250.00 through £1,500.002024
It is always refreshing to take a different approach to photographing a species I have worked with before; I love to focus so intently on the eyes of these wonderful creatures, but my diagnosis of autism always ensures that I am obsessed with the pattern of the animals that I love so deeply, and the snow leopard is a perfect example.
As recent releases have shown, I worked on capturing their beautiful coat and their haunting gaze face-on in recent months, and it was time to try and idea I had been toying with for sometime – a side on portait to highlight the beautiful facial markings from a different angle.
On my second attempt, I was lucky to find the male I had been photographing was sitting proudly atop a rock formation, meaning that if I waited for the cloud cover to move in I would have a clean and elegant backdrop that would really highlight his markings.
The clouds moved in quicker than expected, and he sat proud for seveal minutes. Second attempt, sucessful!
What A Bad Day
Price range: £250.00 through £1,150.002024
My experiences of bullying during my time in education made me naturally weary of the human race, and it has taken many years to regain my trust of people. During those years, I grativated more than ever towards the animal kingdom – I felt at home around animals, and I picked up on all of their behaviours and emotions.
I guess as I have rebuilt my relationships with people, I have compared their behaviour with that of animals, and noticed many similarities; those similarities have been incredibly reassuring to me.
On a recent assignment with Norfolk’s seal population this moment made me smile – it reminded me of many people I know!
Within
Price range: £250.00 through £1,500.002023
My first and only opportunity to photograph the incredible snow leopard was in 2016, and my time with them left me with fond memories – they are easily one of the most beautiful creatures to roam this Earth, and I have been waiting for an opportunity to work with them again ever since.
It has been a long wait, but it was well worth the wait – in recent weeks I have had three incredible encounters with this young male snow leopard, each unforgettable, and each yielding some results.
This portrait is perhaps my favourite photograph of 2023, it has everything and there is very little I would change if I had the chance again. He looks full of confidence and charm, and his eyes are so hauntingly beautiful.
Rosettes
Price range: £250.00 through £1,150.002023
My ongoing series, Patterns, has been some of my favourite work to create — I am autistic and naturally drawn to the beautiful patterns of nature, I have captured the stripes of the zebra, and the unique markings of the giraffe, and next I wanted to capture the beautiful rosettes of the snow leopard, something I have never done before.
It is not easy to get a tight portrait of these animals, and this young male was full of energy, he rarely stood still for more than a couple of seconds at a time. I spent all of my second encounter with him trying to achieve this photograph and left empty-handed, it was frustrating but I knew it was an opportunity I had to chase.
Late into the third encounter, something caught his eye, and a composition caught mine. The vision became reality, and Rosettes was created.
The Little Explorer
Price range: £250.00 through £1,150.002023
I love photographing baby animals, there is such an innocence in everything they do and I think we could all learn a thing or two from their boundless, happy energy.
I spent some time watching the two siblings chase their mother and each other, and then this brave little soul went off to explore by himself. What a little beauty he is.
Don’t Look Back In Anger
Price range: £250.00 through £1,150.002023