Stephen G Smith
My interest in photography started in my childhood along with my fascination with wildlife. My photography hobby waxed and waned as I grew older. It took many directions from landscape to architecture. However, my appreciation for wildlife stayed consistent, just separate from my photography.
In 2005 Marie and I took a holiday in Kenya and experienced our first safari. This coincided with buying my first digital camera and both the place and the kit blew me away, with endless possibilities and potential. The digital era had swept away the constraints of film and the African wildlife experience was something I could never have imagined.
Today, the two interests of photography and wildlife are firmly cemented together. Marie and I are regular visitors to the African continent. Whilst my own experience and skills in wildlife photography have grown, we have also both learned that the wildlife around us, in our Scottish home is just as interesting and worthy of photographing.
The local flora and fauna are more challenging to photograph but just as rewarding when you get it right.
Both Marie and I are now published photographers with a few awards to show for our efforts as we grow from our experiences.
I hope you enjoy our selection of African and Scottish wildlife.
Marie T Smith
I wasn’t always a wildlife photographer.
My relationship with the camera started at a very young age. I got my first camera in my teens. It was a pocket automatic camera which took a 126 film cartridge. The only thing automatic about it was the focus. Everything else was manual. From the flash cube to the film wind on. It was the 1970s! and I just loved capturing family memories.
Life took over eventually. It just so happened that Steve was a bit of a hobby photographer, too. With way better kit than me. So over time I deferred to him for capturing the memories. I was 39 years old before I started to rediscover my camera.
By then digital was the new kid on the block. I started small with a 4MP Nikon Coolpix, before swapping out for a Sony Cybershot camera seven years later. A superzoom camera which looks a little like a DSLR – but with all the advantages of a compact travel camera. With a 30x digital zoom, and a whopping 18.2 MP resolution, it ticked all my boxes. It could “pull in” images really well. It also had all manner of manual functionality for those who prefer to be in control. Did I really need anything more technical?
That was until we booked onto a professional wildlife photographer led trip to Botswana. It was a game changer. After months of practice and debate I succumbed and bought a Canon EOS 800D. I got on a plane, and spent ten days focusing on how to get a really good photo. Not just a memory, but something which spoke to me through the lens.
I came home and spent several more days processing. Leading travel and photography publications published my articles too. I was already an accomplished writer, so that was enough to hook me in. With my own images now sitting comfortably and confidently alongside my written work, what’s not to love?
That is pretty much where I am now. And, indeed, what has led Steve and I to look at sharing those images with our ever-increasing audience. We love that you see what we see, in those special moments that we capture. So I do hope you will stay with us as we discover new places and bring home even more images – captures of wildlife in their incredible surroundings that we all can enjoy.
Read more about Marie’s early love of her camera
