January 2024

Hello and thank for visiting our website

Maybe firstly a little bit about ourselves. Both Claire and I have enjoyed photography for many years, Claire slightly more seriously than myself.

I was fortunate to live in South Africa for 2 years between 1975 and 1977 and in that time was sent to Nairobi on a course for my job. It was in Nairobi in 1976 that I found two of my lasting passions; photography and conservation. I went on my first safari whilst there and found with great disappointment my little instamatic camera could not cope with animals at any great distance. It was then I invested in what became a longtime friend, an Olympus OM1, together with a telephoto lens. A first step in being able to take wildlife images from a distance of more than a few yards. Whilst there, I joined the East African Wildlife Society and that membership lasted for many years after I returned to the UK.

I found that after returning to the UK, I realised what was meant by “Africa gets into your blood”. It took a few years but I went back on holidays whenever I could and swiftly realised it was also the wildlife that had gotten “into my blood”. Safari became my holiday of choice-and my two passions converged.

I am fortunate to have found my soulmate in my wife, Claire. She shares this combined love and we go whenever we can. We have helped on game counts in Namibia and we went on the inaugural Mara Predator Conservation Programme: Photography & Survey Fundraiser Safari. On the latter safari we accompanied the Chief Scientific Officer of the Mara Predator Trust and a professional photographer to assist in capturing the whisker patterns of the Mara predators as it is this feature by which they are recognised. Also, when I retired I spent a year or so being a trustee for the UK arm of the Painted Dog Conservation charity.

Our photographic safaris have occasionally been with professional photographers which have been a great help to our development as photographers as have the various field courses we have been on in the UK.

I think our photography really took off with the advent of digital cameras with the many advantages these cameras have. We have travelled together to South Africa, Botswana, Namibia as well as Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. I certainly cannot pick a favourite as each destination has something really special and unique to offer.

So the first digital camera I bought was around 2006 and it took until 2023 to put our heads above the parapet, as it were, and put our photographs in an exhibition, prompted by family members. We have now exhibited with the fabulous Under the Rainbow Events twice and once at the Wealden Times Summer Show.

Keep a watch out for our next blog post in February when Claire will give some insight to her background.

Best

Mike