ANNEY'S WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHYMY JOURNEY SO FAR

Email: [email protected]

Red Deer stag Scientific name Cervus elaphus Magnificent R

Adult curlew calling in Springtime, Swaledale, UK

I am a self-taught, Yorkshire based wildlife and nature photographer, where I spend most of my time on the high grouse moors in Swaledale, Nidderdale and the North York Moors. I sit in my car, quietly and unobtrusively observing my favourite bird - the Curlew. Sadly, this iconic bird with its haunting call is in sharp decline and is a "red listed" species.

Our heather moorlands in the Yorkshire Dales, Northern Pennines and on the North Yorkshire Moors are important breeding grounds for these beautiful birds.

Red Deer Stag staring at me outside my rented cottage in Rahoy, Scottish Highlands.

It's never too late to take up photography !

It doesn't matter whether you're young or old, shy or lacking in confidence, nervous about picking up a camera or feel the jargon is just too much to take in. Believe me, if I can learn from scratch how to use a camera, take wildlife images and , edit them in Lightroom and Photoshop, then anyone can.

I remember being on a one-to-one wildlife photography session a few years back and asking what now seems like the silliest of questions, looking back, I now realise, I asked them because I was learning and that's the stage I was at. Learning photography didn't come quickly to me, but I was determined to keep improving. I'm a trier and I'm persistent and know what images I want to take.

Today my images are licensed through leading stock agencies and my greatest reward is sharing the joy of wildlife photography with others.

So if you're interested in wildlife photography, watch the many excellent YouTube videos, go on photographic workshops, then pick up your camera, head outdoors and don't be afraid to make mistakes.

Most of all - have fun, take photos for you and just

GO FOR IT :)

Badger, Scientific name: Meles Meles. Wild, native badger emerg

Young badger cub on Mid-summer's day

A stunning Jay, taken at Welham Lakes, wildlife hides near Malton

HOW MY PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY STARTED

My interest in photography started many years ago with a Canon AE-1 35mm film camera. Back in the day, we posted our rolls of film off to places like Truprint and waited eagerly until the postman returned our developed photos, (together with their negatives), through the letterbox.

But life happens and photography was more or less shelved for many years as worked full time and had children to care for.

Then around 2011, I found that I had more time to myself and purchased my first DSLR camera a Canon 7D. There was so much to learn going from film to digital, but I perservered, then ....

I jumped in at the deep end and bought my first "professional" camera - a Canon 1DX. I was frightened to even pick it up at first, and thought "what have I done? " but what a good old work horse of a camera that turned out to be. THEN..

COVID 19 HITS AND THE WORLD CHANGES

Suddenly in 2019, the world changed forever when a terrible pandemic named Covid 19 forced us into isolation, to "stay at home" and "social distancing" became the norm.

As a free roaming spirit always out n about on the moorlands, I was like a caged animal, this enforced confinement was truly awful, so I spent my days in the garden with my camera. The bees buzzed on the Cherry blossom, the frogs spawned in my pond, and early evening, my family of hedgehogs would make their way to the feeding station.

I would say this period was one of the greatest learning curves in my photographic journey. With nothing else to do, nowhere else to go, the garden and its wildlife, especially my hedgehogs, became my sanctuary and my saviour.

Hedgehog, Scientific name: Erinaceus Europaeus. Wild, native, E

A hedgehog in my wildlife friendly garden

Wild Brown Hare, Scientific name: Lepus Europaeus, sat in natura

Hare munching a blade of grass in the rain

I learned more about my camera in the Covid years than at any other time.

As rules surrounding Covid relaxed and we were able to travel a certain number of miles from our home, I would take my camera and drive to farmland and photograph the beautiful hares.

As evening approached, the leverets would venture out and munch on the lush green vegetation. I puchased a sturdy bean bag and placed it over my car window where I was able to rest my lens with no camera shake.

Just after Covid, I moved home, leaving my wonderful garden, pond and all the wildlife behind.

It was a very sad time in my life.

I moved to a property with neat manicured lawns, perfectly cropped and shaped hedges and not a bird, animal or even a flower existed in that sterile, devoid of wildlife garden.I soon changed all that!I put up bird boxes, placed hedgehog houses under the "left to go wild" hedges, scattered wildflower seeds on the front verges and now my new garden is filled with many species of birds, a wildlife pond which attracts the most beautiful dragon flies, even a visiting fox, badger and best of all a growing population of hedgehogs. In 2025, I replaced my pop up hide with a wooden, permanent hide which enables me to watch and photograph wildlife without them ever knowing I'm there.

Red fox, Scientific name: Vulpes Vulpes. Close up of an alert re

Little vixen in my garden. She was such a beauty, but on bonfire night with all the bangers going off, she disappeared and I never saw her again

WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY IS SO MUCH MORE THAN GETTING THAT PERFECT IMAGE

As wildlife photographers, it's so rewarding to capture that perfect image of which we are so proud.

All those long hours of waiting patiently, of sitting in some mosquito infested forest, of lugging heavy gear about until our backs ache, and yet wildlife photography is so much more than getting that perfect image.

For me personally, it's silently leaving the house whilst everyone else is still asleep, it's driving up the A1 as the sun starts to rise over the white chalk hills of Thirsk with the promise of a fantastic day but still convinced that I've forgotten something).

Some days I will return home with not one image, but that doesn't matter. I've been out in the countryside and I've seen some beautiful scenery. Tomorrow's another day and perhaps the light will be kinder tomorrow.

Oh my ! I was walking through a wood when I heard rustling and this tiny little badger cub was coming towards me. He was smaller than the bluebells. Not a sharp image cos I was shaking, but the encounter melted my heart !

Red Grouse hen in Springtime with two tiny chicks peeping out be

Red Grouse hen with large brood of chicks on the North Yorkshire Moors. Taken at distance from car window, long lens on a bean bag. No disturbance whatsoever

It's sitting in the car below Penhill in Wensleydale with that first steaming mug of coffee, watching the racehorses from the Middleham stables as they gallop through the clearing mist.

It's watching a Red Grouse hen gently lift herself from the heather revealing a huge clutch of fluffy chicks, the cockbird and father, looking on protectively.

Red Grouse are such comical birds but make the most wonderful parents.

Nature is just wonderful, it restores the soul, it brings peace and tranquility and.... getting that perfect image, well that's just an added bonus.

ROADS LESS TRAVELLED

I don't like busy places. I suppose I'm a bit of a lone wolf in that respect, so in Yorkshire, I usually follow a familiar route, starting at Penhill in Wensleydale, then over to Askrigg, across the high moorland and down into Swaledale, Gunnerside, Muker, then up to Keld, through West Stonesdale, passing Tan Hill across the lonely grouse moor down into Reeth, then over Grinton Moor, down past Castle Bolton and back to where I started probably at 6am that morning.

I like early mornings. Wildlife is just waking up and moving about plus there's not many people and vehicles about. Once it gets to about 10 am, I like to head home and load my images into Lightroom for post processing.

Black Grouse, Scientific name, Lyrurux tetrix. Close up of a Bl

Black Grouse Cockbird in Swaledale, there were two of them chasing each other around my stationary car!

MY FOCUS ON THE FUTURE?

My focus will always be on wildlife as my main photographic subject, simply because I love wildlife and nature. But as my photographic skills develop, I'm beginning to see like a professional photographer and identify the photo opportunities which exist everywhere........

Livestock, the expression of love between a cow and her calf, Springtime lambs and a mother's love. Capturing that moment of tenderness between a mother and her young is so rewarding.

What's in the news? That's always interesting ! I will continue to look for editorial and stock opportunities...

Potholes, who knew :) Flytipping, flooding, climate change, renewable energy, the Waspi Women. There's so much out there to photograph.

I hope to travel. Always to Scotland, but maybe further afield..

The colourful houses of Tobermory, the remote train station on Rannoch Moor,

to visit Agricultural shows, Birds of Prey photographic workshops, beautiful Swaledale, TV personalities, badgers, curlews, grouse moors, the conflict and the contrast.

I hope my photographic journey continues to be even more diverse and exciting in 2026 and beyond !!