Wildlife photography and Glamorgan County Cricket are the two major interests in my life, and in that order. Born in 1954 and brought up In Caerphilly, South Wales, I remember developing a keen interest in birds from a young age. The photographic angle developed through my father, a professional photographer, whom my brother and I would drag across the moors and fields to photograph the nests we had found. However, it was not until I moved to Aberdeen, Scotland in 1976 and saw the wide variety of nesting waders and met, for the first time, serious bird photographers, that I decided to give it a go. I made three major steps forward in my photography in 1982, 1989 and 1999. In 1982 I joined the famous Paisley Colour Slide Club and learnt a great deal about basic composition, lighting and from Duncan McEwan, the importance of paying attention to detail.

Phil in Florida

Phil chimping in Homer

Phil at Osprey hide

1989 was an especially good year, I joined the Zoological Photographic Club (ZPC) (www.zpc-naturefolio.co.uk) and made the change from Nikon to the fabulous Canon T90 and 500mm lens. Joining the ZPC was a major break-through and allowed me to see, on a monthly basis, the work of some of the UK's leading wildlife photographers as well as to meet them at annual conventions. Through this I have made many friends who visit us in Scotland and join me on overseas trips. Following many years of photographing birds in Scotland, in 1999 I made my first overseas trip to Florida - and boy! what an eye-opener. For the first time, day after day of perfect photographic weather and endless opportunities. Within a year I was leading a trip to Florida, by which time Mike Lane was referring to me as 'Florida Phil'. Since then I have organised trips to Bosque del Apache, Lesvos, Bharatpur, Namibia, Oman, Gambia and Alaska. As indicated above, I am a great fan of Canon equipment and believe this company is the major innovator in moving photography forward. Over the years, I gradually upgraded to the Canon EOS 3 and EOS IV camera bodies with the 500mm UIS lenses combined with the 1.4 and 2.0 converters.  I supplement this lens with the Canon 100-400mm, 70-200mm and 300mm F2.8 lenses.

My tastes and ambitions in the pursuit of wildlife photographs are to capture images, which are wild and free, and which, through the use of sensitive lighting and creative techniques depict the subject in imaginative and refreshing ways. Often, it is only possible to shoot 'straight', however, I am constantly looking to capture action and behaviour.

In 2003, I bought my first digital camera, the Canon EOS10D, which I found produced superb quality images, even if the motordrive and autofocus were rather too slow. Nevertheless, I was captivated and completely converted to digital photography. The flexibility offered by these cameras and the ability to immediately assess the result is quite exceptional, not to mention the tremendous saving on film and processing. Since then, I have upgraded to the fast Canon EOS-1D Mk 1D4.  I have now sold all my film cameras and am completely digital.

By profession, I am a geologist and wildlife photography is a serious hobby, however my photographs are lodged with several photographic agencies and frequently appear in books and magazines.