My first ever collection was the set of cards you used to get in boxes of tea. They were illustrations of British Native Trees. I have always loved looking at pictures, and was never much of a reader, perhaps due to being visually orientated. Thus, to end up photographing landscapes, woods and trees is the fulfilment of a childhood dream.
I have been able to immerse myself whilst working within a diverse range of landscapes and forget about the outside world. I am wondering whether Robin Hood and his Merry men were actually happy, not because of the effects of copious amounts of mead and partying, but simply because they spent most of their time living in a forest.
One of my very first lectures at university was by an eminent agricultural professor fondly named Dick Whittington, it started with him saying - "we wouldn't have most of the beautiful woods now if it weren't for our ancestors hunting." I assumed he meant, like the New Forest, that they had been planted for this purpose but it was not until later that I realised he meant 'preserved'.
Throughout my career I have been fortunate to have interacted with thousands of acres of trees and woods, in many of the features I have photographed, for a host of the world's leading countryside magazines.
I am privileged to have photographed King Charles III for the past 22 years in his previous roles as The Duke of Cornwall and The Prince of Wales. Many private visits to estates have nearly always involved some aspect of forestry, woodland management and many a walk through woods, old and new.
Much of my work over the past two decades has taken me to rural locations far and wide and inevitably, in a wood or near a tree. Being in a woodland clears my mind from the daily concerns and worries of life, giving me clarity and focus. Thus, being in a woodland with a camera and being "in the zone", is truly a happy place to be.