Wildlife: Honorable Mention 2024 (professional)
ENTRY DESCRIPTION
We had positioned ourselves so that we were amongst the elephant herds as they exited the swamp area. The elephants seemed restless perhaps because they sensed a storm was coming. Suddenly the wind picked up & dust was swirling around. I noticed this single bull elephant moving towards the foothills of Kilimanjaro & framed him in the dust & against the brooding sky.
AUTHOR
My wildlife journey began 20 years ago when I did my first safari in Tanzania & I was completely captivated by seeing animals in the wild. On those first safaris I was using an advanced point & shoot, the photos weren’t great, but that wasn’t my focus on those early trips to Africa. My job was stressful & just being in the wild enabled me to completely unplug & be at one with nature & those endless African skies.
Then in 2009 I decided to go on my first Photographic Safari to improve my photography, bought my first Canon SLR & so began what will truly be a lifelong passion.
Another defining moment was joining National Geographic in 2012. As a senior executive in the programming team part of my job was to lead the strategy for Nat Geo Wild internationally & curate the programming lineup for the yearly Big Cat stunt to help support Big Cat conservation.
Working at National Geographic also meant that I was able to meet & spend time with some of the world’s best photographers, explorers & filmmakers, giving me another opportunity to learn & be inspired by their stories.
Unfortunately, I was made redundant at the end of last year as part of a corporate restructure & returned to London from Washington DC earlier this year. However, as they say, when “life gives you lemons make Lemonade” & having more time after over 30 years of working, has enabled me to have the focus to put together a website showcasing my portfolio & is allowing me to travel to favourite spots & new places to continue what is a true passion.
back to gallery