Brought up in inner city Sheffield, I was fortunate for the 50/60s, in that my father was in the motor trade and we had two cars. At every opportunity my parents would take me out into the surrounding countryside. The Peak District and The Dukeries (North Nottinghamshire) being favoured destinations. Our family holidays tended to be in more rural costal locations such as the Lleyn Peninsular of North Wales, Dorset and Northumberland. 

 

It was in Dorset during my teens where my interest in wildlife began, exploring woods next to my family's holiday let. Here I managed close observation of  Fallow and Roe Deer and found a number of Badger sets. On my first self driving holiday to North Wales in 1976, I started birdwatching, my first written observations were of an Oystercatcher and Green Woodpecker on the 10 July of that year. On this  holiday I started using an old Kodak Retinette camera, with its manual aperture, speed, ISO etc settings, it was a good introduction to photography. 

 

My first SLR camera was purchased with a zoom lens in 1983. I have have continually upgraded cameras and lens since, going digital in 2003.

 

Since the early 1980s, I  became an active member of a number of local, regional and national wildlife organisations, holding senior posts in a number. During the 1980s my job in the engineering trade often meant long hours, seven days a week, but I had the opportunity to call in at Catcliffe Nature Reserve going to and from work.  This greatly grew my interest in wildlife and conservation. As well as photographing wildlife, I have undertaken many surveys for birds, bats, dragonflies etc.

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Based in the Sheffield/Rotherham area I have traveled widely photographing wildlife in Britain, Europe, South Africa and the Western USA. I have had family living in Slovakia since 2016 and spend at least six weeks  a year there, most of the time exploring Slovakia and surrounding counties for wildlife. Apart from a few night drives and walking safaris in South Africa, I have never used guides preferring to explore and find my own wildlife, often on my own. This usually entails having a hire car and more often than not finding wildlife from studying maps, than written "where to watch birds/wildlife" books.

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I first began giving public talks in the early 1990s to local groups/societies of which I was a member, often being asked back in following years. Since then by recommendations, I have started to give my talks to a wider audience. I am prepared to  travel to around 60  miles from Sheffield.

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Below are a selection of photos taken with the the various cameras I have owned over the last 35 years. these days I alway carry a bridge camera (Also handy for doing videos.) with me on my daily walks and a DSLR when there is the likelihood of some birds. I use this combination together on my foreign trips to save on carrying a variety of lens. Macro and extra wide angle lenses are used when appropriate.