I’ve always had a fascination for stone circles and have, over the years, photographed a number of them, so I was intrigued to discover there was one in Surrey. I’ve since visited it a number of times, and on my very first visit I met Eleanor Anstruther, the land owner whose idea it was to build the circle. Although laid relatively recently, the story behind them is no less interesting. BBC Sounds have made a podcast, interviewing Eleanor about the stones, and I was lucky enough to have one of my images used to promote the podcast.

I spoke with BBC Surrey journalist Patrick Barlow yesterday about our Woking Peregrines. This year they’ve laid 5 eggs, which whilst not that unusual, is still quite significant. A normal year would tend to see 4 eggs laid, and its the first time that this particular pair have laid 5. Our previous pair managed to lay 5 eggs on 3 separate occasions, and they were certainly one of the most successful breeding pairs in the country.

At the time of the interview three eggs had hatched, and so Patrick contacted me wishing to find out more, and what sort of future lay ahead of them.

So excited to announce I’ve made it into this year’s BBC Countryfile Calendar! It’s been on my bucket list for many years now, and I honestly thought the chance had gone, but this year I decided, pretty much on a whim, to enter, and I’m so glad I did! With over 17,000 entrants, getting through to the final twelve is extremely difficult, so you can imagine my surprise when I received the following email –

“Hello Craig,

I’m reaching out in regards to the Countryfile Photograph competition you entered with your lovely photo Seal Dunes. I wanted to let you know myself or my colleague will be in touch soon to run through a series of questions with you. It should take about 25 minutes. It would be really helpful if you could suggest a time that works for you on Monday or Tuesday next week?”

I’m excited to announce that a short clip of my drone footage has been used in the Sky Documentary ‘The Girl Who Caught a Killer‘, which details the Babes in the Wood murders in 1986. The murders were committed in Wild Park, near Brighton in West Sussex. The accused, Russell Bishop, was initially acquitted of the murders at his first trial, due to a lack of evidence. Four years on, he then committed a further sexual assault and attempted murder on seven year old Rachael Watts, dumping her body in a bush at Devils Dyke. He’d believed she was dead, but Rachael regained consciousness, and was later able to identify Bishop in an identity parade. Bishop spent a number of years in prison for the abduction, assault and attempted murder. Upon his release, and with a change in the law to allow for people to be charged twice for the same offence, he was re-tried for the first two murders. With the advances in DNA evidence, unavailable at the first trial, the jury found him guilty and he was sentenced to life imprisonment. He would eventually die in prison from cancer at the age of 55.

I’m delighted to announce that one of my images is now being featured in a range of cards to support the BBC Wild Isles series.

Publisher Abacus Cards have secured the rights to release a collection of cards celebrating our Wild Isles. The image of mine chosen is the same that features in the accompanying book to the series. There are 12 cards in total, with work featured from the likes of Alex Mustard, Guy Edwardes, and one of my photographic heroes, Ben Hall, so it’s an honour to be amongst such esteemed company.

It’s available to purchase at Burnells Cards & Gifts here. The full collection of images can be viewed here.

For more information there’s an interesting press release on PGBuzz.nett.

Every now and then something comes along that is truly revolutionary, and instantly creates a step up in the quality of your work. DXO Pure RAW is a plugin that has got me very excited, and I’m continually reminded, every time I use it, just how good it really is.

I should probably mention at this point that I am in no way sponsored by DXO to promote any of their products (chance would be a fine thing!). With that said, I wanted to say just how game changing their product is. An often used phrase, but in this instance it’s with some justification. I have quite simply been blown away.

For the second time in two years I’ve been shortlisted in the British Photography Awards. Back in 2021 I was shortlisting in the Birdlife Category, with an image of an Oystercatcher in a sea of Knots, taken at the Snettisham Spectacular in 2020. This time around I was shortlisted in the Landscape Category, with a shot taken at Newhaven during Storm Eunice in 2022. The presentation evening was held on the 10th November, and although the image didn’t progress any further, as its a very short shortlist(!) I still think it’s an achievement to be proud of.

Very proud to have one of my images appearing across a double page spread in the book to accompany the new BBC Series, Wild Isles. Presented by Sir David Attenborough, the series begins on Sunday March 10th, and documents the wonderful wildlife we have right here on our doorstep. The series contains some incredible footage, not least the Snettisham Spectacular in Norfolk, where hundreds of thousands of wading birds all congregate in the Autumn. As the tide rises the waders are forced off the mudflats and into the adjacent lagoon, and the BBC have utilised drones to get a unique overhead angle on the murmurations.

I’ve been lucky enough to see and photograph the Snettisham Spectacular a number of times. I was contacted by a BBC Picture Researcher back in December of last year about the possibility of using one of my images in the book, and I very readily accepted! It’s been an agonising wait, but the book, published by William Collins, is now available to buy. You can purchase a copy here.

For a little taster of what’s to come you can see the trailer for the series here –
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0dvdpvh/wild-isles-wild-isles-trailer

You can view my full gallery of Snettisham Spectacular images here.

Very excited to announce that I’ve received a Commended in the World Landscape Photographer of the Year 2022. There were 8,655 images entered into the competition from 67 countries, so to get down to the last 50 is an achievement I’m very proud of.

The competition, now in its third year, is the brainchild of Nigel Danson, who has a huge following on his YouTube channel. The aim of the competition is to raise as much money for charity as possible whilst bringing together the best nature photographers from around the world. This year, over £16K was raised towards the British Red Cross Ukraine Appeal Fund.

The image, commended in the Seascapes section, was shot at Newhaven Harbour in February this year as Storm Eunice hit our shores. Having braved the beach front for a while I’d retreated to the rear of the beach where the cliffs gave a little shelter from the wind. From here I had a wider view of the drama in front of me, and including the figures still braving it helped give a real sense of scale. I wouldn’t normally include people in my shots, but I think they’re critical here to the success of the image.

Congratulations to the overall winner Paul Killeen for his stunningly beautiful image. You can view all the winning and commended entries at worldlandscapephotographer.com

It’s always nice to be featured in any magazine, and few come with a greater international reach than Landscape Photography Magazine. I was lucky enough in the April 2022 edition to have an image featured in the Gallery section.

‘The Woking Peregrine Project – The First Five Years (2016 – 2020)’ documents the entire project history, detailing year by year one of the most successful breeding pairs of Peregrine Falcons in the country.

It’s long been an ambition to have one of my shots appear on Spring / Autumn / Winterwatch. When I got serious about my photography many moons ago I had a number of targets I wanted to achieve. It may’ve taken a few more years than I anticipated, but I’ve slowly been able to tick off a few on my bucket list, but Winterwatch was still on the ‘to do’ list.

Considering what a strange year it’s been, it’s also been a surprisingly productive one from a photography standpoint. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt this year, it’s not to overthink it, just go out and enjoy the simple pleasure of taking photographs. During the most stringent first lockdown, it was surprising just how much I missed photography, and I couldn’t wait to get out again with the camera as soon as government restrictions were eased.

Here are some of my personal favourites from the year, month by month.

Ten years on from my original trip to Iceland I returned again, this time with the family. My lovely wife had bought flights to celebrate my 50th Birthday. I was keen to try and see a couple of places I hadn’t seen before, as well as show the family some of the best bits of Iceland from my previous trip.

I usually hate January. I can get quite depressed in January; Christmas has been and gone, there’s nothing to look forward to for the whole month, and thanks to grey, drab overcast skies photo opportunities are few and far between.

Thankfully this year has been a little different. Over the last six weeks or so I’ve been working on a little project, photographing and filming a Jackdaw roost at Stoke Lock, on the River Wey near Guildford. It’s a subject matter that doesn’t really rely on the weather. In fact, the moodier the better. As long as I’m out photographing I know my mood will lift.
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I received some good news yesterday to help see in the New Year, an email from Landscape Photography Magazine to say I’d won their Intimate Landscape feature this month! Having won this back in July last year I really didn’t expect to be winning it again, and if I’m honest I’d forgotten I’d ever submitted this image, so it came as quite a surprise!

I actually took the shot back in December 2016 on a cold, frosty morning at Virginia Water, a location I often return to, and one I’d definitely recommend. I’m considering running a workshop here in the Autumn, as it’s particularly beautiful at this time of year. There are so many great spots, including several that are hidden away and people may not be aware of, so if this is something that might appeal to you please contact me here and I can go into more detail.

You can see the image in place here.

To download your copy of Issue 95 (January 2019) please click here.

I’m delighted to announce that I’ve won the Coast & Marine Category in the British Wildlife Photography Awards! It’s been a long time coming, I’ve entered every year for the last eight without making it into the book up until this point, and so I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk a little about some of my inspirations over the years that have led me to this point.

Storm Gull, Newhaven. Coast & Marine Category Winner, BWPA 2018.

The first printed book collection from the British Wildlife Photography Awards back in 2010 was the catalyst that really set me on the path of wildlife photography. I remember pouring through the pages in awe. Marcin Zagorski‘s shot of a Mountain Hare bracing itself against a snowstorm in the first light of dawn. Craig Jones’ shot of a Barn Owl out hunting early on a frosty morning, the beautiful contrast of the warm rays of the sun in the foreground offset against the cool blue tones in the shadows. Yannick Dixon’s shots of a Starling murmuration in Blackpool. Ben Hall’s wonderfully composed shot of a Mountain Hare sheltering from the elements. Chris Elliott’s intimate shot of a pair of Great Crested Grebes feeding their young at close quarters. All these images set my creative juices flowing and I couldn’t wait to get out and try for myself.

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Had a lovely surprise today, I’ve won the Landscape Photography Magazine Intimate Landscape feature this month!

For those who don’t know, Landscape Photography Magazine is run by highly respected photographer Dimitri Vasileiou, and has probably the largest readership of any online landscape photography journal. The website has over 300,000 unique visitors in more than 190 countries, so a truly worldwide readership.

You can see the image in place here. One thing I should point out – those aren’t my words in the description, it seems to have been re-written by an eight year old, but never mind.

To download your copy of Issue 89 (July 2018) please click here.

It’s always been a dream of mine to have a book published. Unfortunately the number of publishers beating a path to my door has been non-existent (I know, I can’t understand it either), and the chance of seeing my work in print seemed remote. Self-publishing offers a lifeline, giving anyone the ability to produce their own books. It may not offer a lucrative return, but there’s a great deal of satisfaction to be had from seeing a project through, and seeing the final work in print.

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Proud to announce that for the second year in a row I’ve received a Commended in the Outdoor Photographer of the Year Competition, again in the ‘At the Water’s Edge’ category.

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