I grew up in the Lake District in northern England. After receiving a 1st class honours degree in Animal Behaviour I landed my dream job working with wildlife. In the last few years my career has taken me from the north to the south of England and on to London where I now live.

 

I enjoy spending time studying, searching for and watching animals, and I see photography as a way for me to share how I see the wonders of the natural world with a wide audience. Beside that, for me there isn't much that I prefer to do more than explore a new city, cook an exciting recipe or spend time with my friends & family.

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Some quick info:

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Favourite animal - After spending 5 years closely following a population of adders (Britain's only venomous snake) these amazing animals have a special place in my heart. They showed themselves to be extremely rewarding to observe over the course of my teenage years.

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Favourite food - Growing up in the north I do love a good steak and ale pie with chips, peas and gravy! Asian, especially Thai cooking, would also be a close contender for number one.

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Biggest challenge - Getting the work/life balance right. For me it is easy to bring my work home with me, sometimes literally - helping hand-rear a baby giant anteater, for example - and this can impact on personal time. Spending time away from London and in the wild provides the ultimate refreshment and an opportunity to see the important things in life for what they are. Sounds cheesy but it's true!

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Most rewarding experience - Seeing how the industry I work in can positively impact peoples' perception of the natural world. Many zoos now play a pivotal role in the continuing survival of Earth's wildlife and wild spaces and a number of species would simply be extinct now if it weren't for zoo efforts. The understanding gained by hundreds of millions of people worldwide from close encounters with animals, through smell, sight, sound and touch cannot be valued highly enough. This is one of the greatest tools available to make a positive impact on the nature of this planet and I am proud to be a part of it.

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Greatest ambition - Travel & education! While my favourite group of animals have always been reptiles I would love to visit places on our planet completely devoid of these animals - Antarctica and the high Arctic. Through seeing and documenting these unique places before too much more changes I hope to be able to do my part to inspire individuals, policy makers and those in power to stand up to tackle climate change, pollution and habitat destruction with the resources needed before the time has passed.