Into the Woods – Wildlife Photography as a Surrealist Nightmare.

In Search of the Varied Thrush. The varied thrush is not a rare bird where I live on the Lower Mainland. B.C.. Usually it overwinters in lowland forest and scrubland, but with ever increasing urbanisation many of its natural habitats are disappearing. Worldwide, woodland birds are under pressure as our numbers continue to rise and many natural areas are given over to agriculture, industry and housing. Once, when a student, I went for a jog in Central London. Setting out from my hall of residence in South Kensington at 5.00 p.m. on a Friday afternoon I ran diagonally across Hyde…

If You Can’t Take a Photograph – Will a Painting Do?

Well... Maybe. A photograph can be targeted to help save the Planet, or more precisely, benefit present bio-diversity, but what about a painting? Perhaps a painting can provide a more imaginative approach and demonstrate truth more effectively than photography. Our minds relate to stories and a photograph sometimes tells a good one, but paintings can be honed more precisely - nothing need be left to chance - creating an image that really sticks in the mind. When a few years ago I started photographing eagles on a local nest where generations of birds have reared their young for as long…