FROM THE BLOG

The cheeky chocolate-cake-stealing monkeys of Jinchini

In the gardens of Jinchini on the coast of Msambweni, Kenya live a band of Sykes monkeys who tear through the neighbouring properties like marauding pirates – sucking the pollen from flowers, licking leaves like their lives depended on it, stealing chocolate cakes, fighting over food and inhaling bananas left behind by the Humans. These comical monkeys, which consist of nervous mothers, gangly spider babies, boisterous and naughty juveniles and the larger ‘dude’ males with their moving caterpillar eyebrows,  series of squawk, barks and squeaks and unsubtle crashing from tree to tree, provide hours of entertainment every time I visit Kenya. They are such[…]

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From acrobats to askari – the faces of coastal Kenya

I’ve spent the past week relaxing at my friend’s coastal beach house, Jinchini, in Msambweni south of Mombasa, Kenya, as I prepare for my trip to Samburu and Namibia. It’s my fourth visit to Jinchini and the pace of life is still as it was when I first visited ten years ago. The toughest decisions here are what to eat, whether to lie by the beach or by the pool and which way to walk along the beach. Despite the fact there are two large hotels at either end of the beach and an enormous compound for a thriving moringa business,[…]

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All creatures great and small … a tribute

Before I head to Africa to photograph big mammals I think it’s only fitting I pay tribute to all the little creatures of Britain from the owls to the harvest mice, the foxes to the squirrels. I’ve been lucky to have had the opportunity to photograph a number of these sweet, sometimes funny and very British animals over the past year and here are my favourite shots (in no particular order). 

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From Net-A-Porter PR Director To Wildlife Photographer

This piece was first published in Refinery29 on Tuesday November 8 2016. Earlier this year, after a decade of working in the glamorous world of fashion magazine PR, I made one of the toughest decisions of my life – to quit my job and step into the unknown.  I vividly remember the day I resigned – hands shaking, palms sweating and my boss’s surprised face as I handed her my resignation letter. But I couldn’t ignore the voice in my head anymore – the voice that was telling me I was on the wrong path and I was running out[…]

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I quit my job to follow my heart …

After ten fabulous years in fashion magazine PR including two years working as Head of PR at the NET-A-PORTER Group, I have scarily but excitedly quit my job to pursue a freelance career as a photographer, PR consultant and writer. Yesterday I had the most amazing send off from the team at PORTER and The EDIT magazines who produced this brilliant cover…Thank you guys! My next adventure includes two months’ in Africa photographing elephants for Save The Elephants, looking after baboons, cheetahs and wild dogs at a wildlife sanctuary, volunteering at a research centre and training and riding horses in Namibia. I[…]

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In celebration of elephants

I recent visited the amazing Howlett’s Wild Animal Park in Kent run by the Aspinal Foundation. I was there for six hours practicing my photography skills ahead of my trip to Africa next month to Samburu where I’ll be doing a photographic internship with Save The Elephants. While Howletts isn’t exactly the plains of Africa, it still gave me great insight into how elephants move and interact with each other especially the comical youngsters who rushed around with ears flapping and trunks flailing as only baby elephants do. I especially enjoyed watching some of the elephants stretching as far as they could until their legs were nearly folded[…]

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Creative photography with a mobile phone

Creative photography doesn’t just have to be done on a DSLR. There are also plenty of ways to take great photos on your mobile phone and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the quality and the amazing apps on offer. In fact with a bit of imagination and creativity you can turn what might look like a mediocre image into a work of art. There are also plenty of competitions for mobile photography including the MBA awards which offer a generous $3k in prize money plus other goodies. I tend to use the Phototoaster app to sharpen, crop and add certain colour elements to my shots.[…]

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The magical tale of the fox and the mushroom

This beautiful fox staring intently at a piece of  flying sausage lives in Leeds. She comes round to this house every breakfast and dinner. Her family have been visiting for generations and she has about five or six brothers and sisters. Sometimes she comes alone, sometimes with others. Whenever the Human family who look after the foxes go out for dinner, they will often ask for a ‘fox bag’ instead of a ‘doggy bag’ to take home to their orange friends. When the foxes first started visiting they were given dog food but didn’t like it, so now it’s a steady diet of[…]

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Why you should NEVER use stinging nettle as toilet paper

For those who enjoy listening to Clare Balding’s Rambling programs on BBC4, you’ll know that rambling is supposed to be a pleasurable activity, an opportunity to explore the countryside, get fit, relax and unwind from the stresses of everyday life. Unless of course you’ve just been poisoned by an enormous pot of fruit salad that you scoffed on the train before the ramble and all hell has broken loose . . . which is exactly what happened to me many moons ago. This isn’t a story I’m particularly proud of but it makes people roar with laughter and everyone said I should post it[…]

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Cyclists raise more than £5k for Sepsis

We did it! Last weekend, the Dons of Oxford – a team of five cyclists (Christoph, Anika, Mark, Melissa and Estella) and a support crew (myself, my cousin Liz and her son Emeran in one van and Toby and his two dogs in the other) – travelled from Oxford to Wales to raise money for the UK Sepsis Trust. The cyclists rode more than 165 miles through driving rain, wind and sunshine, up and down hill, over dale, from town to town until they reached Cardiff on Sunday lunchtime. The highlight of the ride was when they crossed the Severn[…]

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