I’ve been fascinated by natural history all my life. Indeed, one of my early childhood memories is of planting a conker in the flower beds in the back garden of our family home and the delight in seeing it grow and develop into a small sapling. I was quite upset when my father removed it explaining that it was not the best place for a sapling that would grow into a big tree.

As an older child, I dug a wildlife pond in the same garden and was amazed at how quickly it became home to a myriad of plant and animal species. I can recall lying next to the water’s edge and watching pond skaters zip across the surface whilst tadpoles and water boatmen swam beneath and beautifully iridescent dragonflies hovered above.

The love of nature is one of the reasons I became interested in photography and I like…