{"id":2207420,"date":"2026-09-15T06:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T05:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/?p=2207420"},"modified":"2026-09-17T16:02:57","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T15:02:57","slug":"i-was-once-charged-fortunately-i-could-run-faster-than-the-photographer-i-was-with","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/i-was-once-charged-fortunately-i-could-run-faster-than-the-photographer-i-was-with\/","title":{"rendered":"“I was once charged \u2013 fortunately, I could run faster than the photographer I was with…”"},"content":{"rendered":"

What inspired you to get into wildlife photography in the first place?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I went to a lecture by the photographer Laurie Campbell. His first slide was a robin on a spade \u2013 a cliched shot, but on that huge screen, it blew me away.<\/p>\n

If not Scotland, where would you live?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Somewhere cold and snowy. Maybe Norway.<\/p>\n

Red squirrel or lynx?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You\u2019ve got to love a\u00a0red squirrel. But we\u2019re one of just a handful of European countries refusing to live with large predators. There\u2019s an ecological, economic and moral case for bringing back the lynx.<\/p>\n

What shot is most important to you?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A simple silhouette of a whooper swan standing on a frozen loch at dawn in winter.<\/p>\n

I can still remember the sun burning through the mist. Photography delivers both great images and lasting memories.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s been your closest shave?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I was once charged by a\u00a0musk ox \u2013 and they can shift. Fortunately, I could shift faster than the photographer I was with.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the poorest investment of your time on a shoot?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I spent three months trying to capture a\u00a0golden eagle\u00a0on a camera trap. It was 150km away and an hour\u2019s trek across open hill ground. I made around 40 trips only to find that rain or snow had fogged the lens, mice had chewed the cable or the light was too low. I ended up with one image.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your most useless piece of kit?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Just before drones were mass produced, I paid \u00a36,000 for a bespoke rig. I flew it three times and then couldn\u2019t even give it away.<\/p>\n

Have you lost much gear in the field?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Yes. Note to self: don\u2019t leave a camera bag on a beach when the tide is coming in.<\/p>\n

Do you have any advice to budding wildlife photographers?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Trends come and go, but tell powerful visual stories and you will always have
\nan audience.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This article\u00a0<\/a><\/em>by\u00a0<\/em>BBC Wildlife Magazine was first published by Discover Wildlife on 10 September 2026.
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