First of all, the biggest thing I’ve learnt is… Wildlife photography isn’t easy.

A typical day is getting up in the early hours of the morning in the pitch black so I can get to my location during blue hour (you know, that hour before sunrise) giving me plenty of time to walk from my car to my location and still have time to setup my camera on it’s tripod and to be ready…. waiting for the sunrise and the wildlife to show.

Whether it’s being sat in a field on a chilly morning waiting patiently for Roe Deer or on a summers evening down by the river waiting for a glimpse of the Beavers. Whatever the subject I’m trying to photograph that day, nothing is ever guaranteed…

I’ve had times where I’ve sat in one spot next to the river for hours and hours and seen absolutely nothing, only to finally decide that perhaps I should move and yeah, you guessed it…. about a quarter of a mile up that river, I ended up capturing some amazing images that I would have missed out on, if I had only chosen to stay put.

Then other times it’s just been time to call it a day and go home empty handed, sometimes without even switching my camera on. That’s just the way it goes…. and at times like this, it always reminds me of that expression “oh well, it’s still better than being at work” and that’s what it’s like with wildlife photography. Quite often I don’t get the shot, but then I remind myself about everything I did get. I got to have hours of peace and quiet, I saw a beautiful sunrise or sunset and most importantly I got to spend time out in nature. It doesn’t matter if I didn't take any images or if I only end up with one grainy image because I was sat in the wrong spot, just too far away, because it’s these moments that make me want to get back out again tomorrow and try it all over again.