Your photography is stunning G.B. London

Q&A

Q: How did you get into photography?

Pete: My wife-to-be, Joss, bought me my first ‘proper’ camera when we became engaged too many years ago to think about now. It was a Pentax ME Super, armed with that, a 75-300mm lens and a roll of Fuji Velvia 50 my journey started.

Q: Was it always wildlife that you were interested in photographing?

Pete: It was, but I soon found out how difficult that could be. On my first attempt, I was driving near the nature reserve at Cley, Norfolk, and a Bittern, not often seen back then, landed on the track in front of me. I thought ‘this is fantastic, Wildlife Photographer of the Year, here I come!’ so I gingerly took hold of my Pentax, started to wind down the window quietly and off it flew. I realised then that this was more tricky than I had imagined. I have tried many forms of photography and I still feel that wildlife is one of the most demanding photography disciplines (although I suspect Don McCullin and Sebastião Salgado would have something to say about that!).

Q: Who has been your greatest influence?

Pete: Oh, there have been many, not all of them wildlife photographers. I love the minimalism of Franco Fontana, he was probably the first photographer who made me think WOW, that is a completely different way of seeing things. In my early days I attended a course run by landscape photographer Charlie Waite in the Lake District, another present from my wife (thanks Joss!) and he taught me so much about the use of light, that was another eureka moment and a vital ingredient in my wildlife photography. There are many wildlife photographers whose work I admire including Vincent Munier, Michel D’Oultremont, Erik Malm, Kev Morgans, Ben Hall, Bastien Riu and I have made many friends along the way whose work I admire and who have influenced the way I approach my photography including Mark Carwardine, Paul Goldstein, Pedro Rego, Max Waugh and Michael Tweddle to name but a few.

Q: Do you have a favourite place?

Pete: That’s a tricky one, I suppose one of the most awe-inspiring places I have visited has to be South Georgia. It is as if someone has dropped the Alps into the ocean and the wildlife is incredible. There are so many extraordinary places in Africa that are wonderful to visit. In the Americas spending time on a yacht exploring the islands off the coast of British Colombia in Canada was very special as was the Pantanal in Brazil . I have many destinations that I have yet to visit and I am currently planning trips to Chile, Colombia, Mongolia, Madagascar and returns to India and Borneo.

Q: How much processing do you do and have you used AI?

Pete: I try to keep processing to an absolute minimum. I think it is important to try and get it right ‘in camera’ as much as possible and therefore if I have to spend more than a few minutes on an image then I consider it a lost cause. I approach every image as if it is being entered into one of the prestigious competitions such as Wildlife Photographer of the Year, their strict guidelines prevent manipulation and this is checked by inspecting the original RAW files. As a consequence, I don’t use AI. All the images on this site constitute true and accurate representations of the animals and vistas I have had the privilege to witness.