N-Photo

if they were growing out of the corner

of a kerb by a drain. I then got my

girlfriend at the time to put on some

fishnet tights and stilettos and walk

past. I lit it as well, using power from a

neighbour’s kitchen. Somebody said

I should be shooting ads for Pretty

Polly tights! In another project, I

collected a lily pad and recreated it on

the floor of a warehouse, so it looked

like it was growing out of the floor of

a very incongruous environment.

It took days...

You then become a wildlife film

photographer, right?

Yes, although I focused on stills

photography for periods of time.

I’ve known full-time pro stills

photographers, but they have always

struggled, and I didn’t want to go

back to having no money. For the last

two years I have been focusing on my

writing and not done much

photography at all. I’m now

back into it, though.

How would you currently describe

your style as a photographer?

It’s become a lot cleaner over the

years. I am OCD and don’t deal well

with detail and clutter. I’m speaking

to you from a kitchen where you

wouldn’ t know anyone was living in

the house. It was interesting, I did

a proposal with another wildlife

photographer recently and his

approach was so radically different

to mine. His images involved the

environment, while mine did

everything they could to cut it out,

using close-up techniques rather

than wide angles. I focused on

aspects that were beautiful in their

own right rather than focusing on

the bigger picture, in other words.

I find more harmony in my

photographs by focusing on detail

and cutting out the clutter. I am

hyper-critical about my work too,

and a real perfectionist. Sometimes

it takes the enjoyment out of

photography, but it’s the way I am.

Do you still believe that

photographs can make a

difference to the cause

of conservation?

Yes, definitely. Photography is

a very powerful medium. It can

communicate beauty and hope,

and yes, it can be depressing when

you see what is happening to wildlife.

A great photograph really hits you

between the eyes.

What’s your attitude to infrared

camera traps when it comes to

photographing wildlife?

I don’ t mind at all so long as the

animal isn’t harmed. Even if you use

camera traps, you still need to make

choices about exposure, angles and

so on. If the animal is rare, shy and

inaccessible, then traps are perfectly

acceptable. Take Steve Winter’s

amazing images of snow leopards,

for example, that he wouldn’ t have

got otherwise.

How did you find the advent of

digital cameras? Was the

transition an easy one?

I found it quite difficult, actually. I liked

the feel of transparency film, and the

discipline of working with it and trying

to get the exposure spot-on. I’ve

always been a photographer who

likes rules and constraints. One of my

recent projects involved shooting

“I set this Nile

crocodile against a

backdrop of weeds

which carpeted the

water. I liked the

silhouette, but

couldn’t resist

bouncing a bit of

light back onto it

to show its scales.”

“Shot in Canadian

waters. Every

creature we found

was terrified of our

boats because the

level of aboriginal

hunting is out of

control.”

“Photographing

grey wolves in

Scandinavia is

difficult, as they are

so timid because of

hunting pressures.”

118 March 2016 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com

PRO ZONE INTERVIEW