NULLWhat was your childhood dream? Mine was to be a wildlife photographer. Inspired by the National Geographic documentaries, the voice and passion of David Attenborough and a desire to see the every corner of the world, I felt it was my calling. In reality, it wasn't to be. The money I saved was never enough to fund the photography equipment needed to get images that would pay for a living... and more trips. I remember my first trip to a South African Game Reserve when I was 16 years old. I remember evenly more clearly, though, the disappointment on getting the photos back from the printers. The wildlife I had painfully stalked appeared as tiny unidentifiable dots in the image. And in some images, I couldn't even work out where the animal was. While I saved and saved, the cost of equipment came down, and the world went digital. This meant that, with a few execptions, it was easier to find photographers local to the wildlife than pay to transport foreign photographers. And so, the dream slowly evaporated, but that hasn't stopped me photographing the animals I do see while travelling. Although this can often be at the dismay of my travelling companions as I settle in to observe an animal for long periods of time.
