Photography by Dean Dolton

Me photographing grey seals and great northern divers in Scotland sometime in 2005

Me and My Photography.

Hmm, where to start?

Well, I spent most of my formative years growing up in a rural part of East Anglia. I used to spend nearly all my spare time fishing the local gravel pits, streams, lakes and rivers at the edge of the fens. It was here that I first used to watch wildlife up close. When you sit quietly for hours (and I do mean hours) you almost invariably get to see things that others simply miss. And often at very close quarters. I was also a keen birdwatcher and spent many an hour in my local woods. I was one of those kids that loved the country - from pond-dipping to farm-labour summer jobs.

It was definitely those school years that fostered an early interest in the great outdoors. And, although there have been a few years where my interest has taken a back-seat to career and family, I have always been a keen, amateur naturalist.

Ok, so the interest in nature came first but photography followed when I was 17. I initially went through a series of compact film cameras of dubious (actually, downright awful) quality: Halina, Zorki, Mamiya (though it had a nice lens) and Cosina. However, I soon progressed to 35mm SLRs. And for the next 20 years or so, I used a Pentax system. Over the years I collected numerous bodies and lenses and became completely absorbed in the hobby. I joined several camera clubs, entered club-level competitions and just generally learnt as much as I could. I also had an interest in Chemistry and, with a University degree in the subject under my belt, was quite interested in the chemical processes involved in black and white photography. I had my own darkroom for years and made most of my own processing chemicals.

And yet, I didn't mix photography and nature. I was only interested in shooting heritage (pubs, churches etc), landscapes, portraits and maybe some macro. But very definitely not much wildlife.

Then, when the Canon EOS 3 camera came out, I decided to jump ship and swapped my entire Pentax system for Canon. I bought a Canon 300mm F4 lens at the same time which was the longest lens I had owned to date. I soon found that the new auto-focus and long lens capabilities really lent themselves well to photographing wildlife.

I moved into digital photography when the D30 came out. And I've never looked back. I design and write computer software for a living and so the digital darkroom (computer) was the obvious choice for me. I haven't processed a film or used a darkroom now for years. And I guess I never will.

As I've got older, I've also become more interested in nature conservation. Through my photography, I hope to show others just how special the natural world is. I do shoot other subjects such as motor sport, portraits, weddings and so on but my main interest is very much the natural world.

Spot the photographer! Photographing dippers .

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