Nature is my happy place. The sound of birdsong absolutely lights me up. The pure joy of experiencing nature as it should be - untouched and undisturbed - gives me such a feeling of awe. While I’m skulking through the forest, going as undetected as possible, I snap photos, trying to capture the moments that strike me as special or fascinating. I can’t explain what a thrill it is to get a photo of a difficult subject after a great deal of effort. Sometimes everything lines up perfectly - the lighting, the way the bird is posing, my camera settings and it’s just the best feeling to know that tucked away on my memory card is a photo that I just can’t wait to share.

Sharing moments of my time in nature brings me great joy, I love telling stories to accompany my photographs and I hope that by doing this it connects readers to the subject more. I lean towards sharing photos of birds that I personally have got to know over time, months and even years. These birds are individuals with their own complex lives, some have names - which may seem superficial - but it adds a feeling of personal connection and allows us to get to know them as individual birds. My ultimate goal is that by sharing my adventures, others will be encouraged to seek out their own experiences and be inspired to form their own connection to nature, whether it’s a particular place or a certain species.

Observing birds and seeing interesting things happen in front of my eyes truly lights me up. Having spent many hours studying birds I have gained a deep understanding of what their behaviours indicate. I particularly enjoy sharing interesting observations that I witness and encouraging others to become interested in bird behaviour. I feel that by slowing down and paying attention we can gain so much insight into what is happening around us, whether it’s a bird gathering material for a nest, courtship feeding a mate or alarm calling at a predator nearby. I believe that curiosity and thoughtfulness lead to a deeper understanding and respect for the nature that surrounds us.

I have been photographing birds for over a decade now, I have amassed a huge collection of bird photographs and because of that I have started to think about the process differently, in more recent years I’ve started to think of photography as more than just the resulting image. Photography can be a great tool to assist in conservation related tasks, at Zealandia where I volunteer I use my camera mostly for identifying individual birds and providing evidence of injuries that may need intervention, it’s essentially a conservation tool. I love contributing in this way, even though some days all I take photos of are coloured leg bands the results aren’t necessarily glamorous but it’s rewarding for me to be able to help in this way.