Empress
Price range: £250.00 through £1,150.002020
In early 2019 I decided that I wanted to capture a head-on portrait of a ring-tailed lemur, unfortunately I didn’t get the shot that year, the nearest I came to achieving it was the image titled ‘The Emperor’ — it was close, but it wasn’t perfect.
Earlier this year I set the target of nailing the image by the end of the year, and I achieved it in early February.
I wanted to capture the distinctive facial markings of the species, whilst also inviting the viewer to look deeper than the animals appearances — that meant her eyes had to be pin sharp, and the background free of any tension points.
A shot like this takes time, because these are nervous creatures and they do not like looking down a camera lens — why should they?! Trust and perseverance are both key, and then you need a little luck regarding the light and weather. We got lucky, and this is the result.
Calculation
Price range: £250.00 through £1,150.002022
I am always looking to create photographs that are perhaps a little deeper than simply reportage, and playing with composition is one of my favourite pass-times – I have a couple of notebooks full of very rough sketches, sometimes it can take years before they get turned into an actual photograph, but I enjoy the generation of ideas just as much as the physical shooting process.
Nice to turn on of those sketches into this powerful portrait.
Neck-To-Neck
Price range: £250.00 through £1,150.002022
The Matriarch
Price range: £250.00 through £1,150.002018
The elephant is a herd animal, they cannot survive without each other and it is well-known that they will spend time mourning the death of a fellow herd member; none more so than the herds matriarch.
The elephant is a beautiful and unique animal that deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. We must work hard to ensure the survival of this most unique beast.
Big Wide World
Price range: £250.00 through £1,150.002022
This encounter with a troop of gelada baboons was not only my first time photographing the species, but also my first time photographing baby primates.
Autism often means that my brain moves at 100mph from one idea to the next, and despite being confronted with an entire troop of baboons to photograph, I became fixated on the fragility of the baby baboons in this big wide world.
All other potential photographs were out of the window until I captured a frame that spoke of the journey ahead of them.
It can be tiring move at such speed from one thought to another, but I guess it has it’s positives.
Tears Of The Vanishing
Price range: £250.00 through £1,150.002019
Tears Of The Vanishing, a personal favourite from 2019. It is an emotional portrait with a strong message.
The elephant is vanishing, in 2018 it was anticipated that the species would be completely wiped out by 2020.
In the current climate, the elephant faces more threats than just the poacher. Populations are growing to unprecedented levels and the continent of Africa is struggling to accommodate these increasing populations alongside the native fauna.
I fear a world without the elephant; if we are ignorant enough to allow this most spellbinding of species to fall into extinction then who knows what other species we will allow to suffer the same fate. As humans we must take a step back and evaluate how we can live in harmony with these wonderful beasts.
After all, they were here long before us.
Out Of The Dark
Price range: £250.00 through £1,150.002022
I recently spent some time working on a special collaboration with @oxleybob to raise important funds for @thebigcatsanctuaryuk and our subject was their resident white tiger. When we departed the Sanctuary, I knew I had to work with a white tiger again – they are so enchanting.
On the train home I began to dream of photographing a white tiger again, and decided that the aim should be to create a portrait — it should be all about their unique beauty (they lack pheomelanin; the pigment that turns fur orange) and their should be no distractions.
I finally got myself and my cameras in front of this beautiful creature a few months after initially setting eyes in a white tiger, and knew immediately that I had to be at eye level – he was laying in some tall grass, and that would provide a beautifully simple background upon which I could justice to this most beautiful creature.
Always Watching
Price range: £250.00 through £1,150.002018
There are thought to be just 600 Sri Lankan leopards, and only 60 Amur leopards left in the wild and these heart-breaking figures make this image and this day even more powerful.
Her beautiful gaze may no longer exist in five years time. That is utterly heart-breaking. We must do all we can to preserve these beautiful creatures, and the ecosystems in which they live.
Soulful
Price range: £250.00 through £1,150.002022
This was taken on my fourth encounter with this beautiful male lion, and each time I work with him the results seem to get better and better. He is easily the most beautiful lion I have ever set my eyes on, and his eyes really are the windows to his soul.