Its Mental Heath Awareness week and the theme this year is Nature, which is so central to our psychological and emotional health. By having a greater connection to the natural world your life will benefit in so many ways.
Spring lifts the spirits and brings places to life. It’s the best time of year, full of life, action and wildlife behaviour. The British countryside is beautiful at the best of times but in spring it’s just incredible.
Nature is amazing, let it into your life and you will never look back.
Wildlife Photography isn’t a competition, it’s something very personal to the individual.
In August’s 2020 issue of Bird Watching magazine there is a sixteen page pull on why birding can change your life. I’m pleased to have contributed to this and hope it helps to inspire people to get out, into nature for their physical health but just as important their mental health.
It often takes something to have happened to us before we have a different mindset or want to change. As we start to ease the restraints of lockdown that we have been part of now for several months. Many people have become more aware of the normal things around us that most have never noticed, let alone stopped to enjoy.
Making the best of any situation is a real strength and one we are all capably of if we try. As the world now enters a challenging period of lockdown due to the Coronavirus this mindset has never been more important. We are all in this together and must follow the governments guidance.
For the third year in a row I was invited to Nottingham University to talk to the students their on a masters course in photography. I have really enjoyed the last two years doing this and to inspire, and light someone’s passion through my own work is something I love to do. Your photograph starts in your heart and is projected through your eye is what I told the students.
The talk at Nottingham University about my work, the industry and much more to the next generation of photographers went really well. It was really nice to catch up with the other speakers there I have met on previous years all well respected in their own fields of photography. The image above was taken during the talk and the following images below are from previous years.
I have never had a camera lesson or learnt in a classroom environment and that’s something I pressed home that don’t get to hung up on settings/books and gear, it’s all about knowledge that you cant buy, cheat or make up where you have to learn and know your stuff when it comes to wildlife and behavior the photography bit is easy to learn.
I always enjoy these talks as you can have a real impact on how people think and work once they here you talk . Nothing stops talent and passion twinned with determination though and anything’s possible, I told them all. Be true to your work and yourself. Let your peers/public know how you took the shot and what skills you employed and then they can judge your work and your skills while being transported to that moment you capture.
Thank you to the team at Nottingham University for inviting me once more, you all do an amazing job their for the students. To book a talk or for more information please see the following link, many thanks.
