Can you tell us the story behind your photo in this exhibition?
I’d heard about an amazing roost of pied wagtails at Heathrow Terminal 5 and during a cold snap in winter, I felt it was the perfect time to pay the area a visit. When I arrived there were no birds and as dusk fell I thought maybe the roost had moved. However, over the space of the next 20-30 minutes, hundreds flew into the trees just outside the terminal building. An amazing sight! I wanted to include as many man-made lights as possible to highlight the urban setting. It took a while to find a bird near fairy lights that I could line up with one of the yellow gate number signs within the terminal behind too. I then just had to wait for the bird to untuck its head for a split second to give a more interesting silhouette, it didn’t take too long thankfully!
How did you go about getting that shot?
It wasn’t too difficult logistically, it just involved an expensive few hours parking in the short term car park at Heathrow Terminal 5! I had to wait about an hour and a half but took several others in that time.
What are your favourite scenes, species or motivations behind your photographs?
I love urban wildlife, using man made lights and celebrating how wildlife copes and thrives in our towns and cities.
What are the difficulties of wildlife and nature photography that you face?
For me it’s finding the time, I have a full time demanding job. It can also be very tricky finding something new in the UK, that doesn’t mean I’m against using other people photos for inspiration though.
What would you like people to think about when they see your work?
Hopefully it helps them realise what amazing nature is there to be seen and celebrate what we have in the UK. I would also like to think it inspires people to get out and take their own photographs.
How long have you been a photographer and how did you get started?
Since I was around 10, so roughly 20 years but more seriously in the last 6-7 years. I have always been interested in wildlife and my mum let me use one of her old film cameras on nature holidays, this was the trigger!
What would you advise someone wanting to start taking photos of wildlife or nature in their local environment?
Get up early and stay out late – that’s the best time to see most wildlife but also when there’s the best light for photography. One thing I find good in photography is to keep it local, visit places multiples times and focus on certain specific subjects – you’ll take better photos than one off visits to faraway places.
What projects are you working on now or have coming up?
Recently I’ve been photographing otters in Suffolk and seals on the Norfolk coast but plan to start some more regular visits to London over the next few months to photograph the urban birds (starlings, pigeons, etc).
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