My story as a photographer, conservationist and outdoor enthusiast.

School days

Growing up in Belfast, childhood was filled with nature stuff: tree climbing, cross country running, beach walks with the dog, chickens, horse riding, cycling and just generally being outside exploring - whatever the Northern Irish weather had in store. I remember being super excited at getting my first little point and shoot camera at around 10 years old which came everywhere, although the memory card was mostly full of photos of the beloved family dog. I guess this was the start of my story as a photographer.

Me in a tree!

At school, a combined love of creativity and outdoors lead me to an unusual combination of A-Levels - Art, Biology and Geography.

GSCE art work of horses in watercolour - painted from my photo taken at the Ulster Folk and Transport museum.

Trying to use my first camera with a broken shoulder.

University

Persuaded by the travel experiences and field trips, I turned away from the idea of becoming a vet and followed the environmental sciences route. During the 4 year BSc degree I somehow managed to squeeze in both a semester abroad in Australia and a year abroad in Spain. While travelling, I started by taking my Dad's Panasonic point and shoot camera, which I used to capture a monitor lizard that won a little university competition. I eventually upgraded to a Nikon D5300 which I had for 6 years.

Monitor lizard on Fraser Island that won a university course photography competition.

Russafa carnival, Valencia

Throughout my degree, something that interested me most was the way people and different cultures relate to and perceive their environment around the world. As well as wildlife images, the connections people have with nature is something I really enjoy capturing in images.

Although I enjoyed the science degree, I missed creativity. Following a career that involved hours diving into and writing research papers wasn't really for me. This is when I had the idea of being able to use art and photography to communicate science to make it more understandable, exciting and inspiring.

One Summer towards the end of my BSc degree, I spent 9 weeks as the Media Co-ordinator and camp Photographer at Circle Square Ranch in Canada. If at the end of this intense Summer photographing outdoor adventure activities I didn't enjoy photography anymore, I would drop it as a career option.

Circle Square Ranch camp fire

The opposite happened. I didn't get sick of doing photography. The photography got better and I started putting basic films together of camp activities.

The Summer of 2018 was spent photographing outdoor camp activities.

COVID 19 and local wildlife

Being the perfect blend of science and creativity, I completed a MSc in Biological Photography and Imaging in Nottingham. Unfortunately, the course wasn't all that it lived up to be for various reasons, but particularly because of the COVID 19 outbreak which shut down the university, cancelled a 5 day field trip and stopped all social aspects of university life and sports.

Before COVID, I was hoping to travel and perhaps complete my Summer photography project in a more exotic location. The idea of traveling anywhere was quickly blocked during the lockdowns. Instead, I started becoming fascinated with the wildlife visiting the overgrown student house share where I lived. Setting up camera traps, I tracked the foxes and hedgehogs coming out to forage and then began setting up a DSLR with a remote shutter release and sitting up all night waiting for the animals to walk past. Photographing live badgers, foxes and hedgehogs passing through was an experience comparable to seeing the most extravagant Australian wildlife.

Watching for wildlife from the kitchen with a shutter release connected to the camera setup in the garden.

The MSc was a great way to explore different ways of communicating through film, photography, writing and design. I graduated having completed a book on garden wildlife, a magazine on connecting people with nature and a short documentary film on bats. Meanwhile I had been building a portfolio and started a website called One Planet Wonder - a business idea aiming to showcase the environment and inspire wonder so that people explore, value and protect nature.

The fox image I captured in the garden which was the title of the book I created for my MSc.

Cycling and outdoor adventure

While at Uni, I got involved with triathlon and cycling club. I'm so thankful for the ladies group at cycling club who got me out on the bike. With the blessing of quieter roads during COVID, I rode my second hand road bike into the ground, until it was literally falling apart. Endurance cycling became an obsession that grew alongside photography. It was a different way of connecting with nature and with people through shared experiences. Cycling also became a way of inspiring my creative work. On the bike, I frequently have birds of prey including barn owls fly over and close encounters with deer. Cycling is a way of discovering hidden nature reserves to go photographing in that I would never have known about otherwise.

Cycling from Nottingham around Rutland water with my camera, home to ospreys and beautiful wetlands.

This love of outdoor adventure grew and I decided to do the Instructor Training Programme with Rock UK in the Scottish Boarders. This was one of the best things I could have done just after the first major 2020 lockdown. Although I didn't really do much photography at this time, I just focused on enjoying living in a outdoor community close to nature where I could learn outdoor skills like climbing and kayaking. It showed me an enormous link between faith, exploring creation and outdoor adventure.

Kayaking on Loch Lomond with Rock UK.

The hunt for conservation jobs during a pandemic

Unfortunately, lockdown 2.0 hit again (or was it 3.0?) and I ended up only doing 3 months of a 2 year programme, heading back to Belfast and starting the process of job searching. I was told numerous times that I needed to get more experience in conservation despite not being able to due to volunteering opportunities being closed down. I began making a handful of YouTube videos and redoing my website as well as doing a lot of cycling and job applications. After 200 job applications, I got offered an amazing job with the National Trust as a beach Ranger at Studland in Dorset.

The pandemic seemed like an extremely frustrating time, particularly for young people who were less affected by the virus but more impacted socially and economically by the lockdowns. However if it weren't for COVID, I wouldn't be working in beautiful Dorset and I wouldn't have met my husband!

Sand lizard basking on a log at Studland.

Conservation work and restarting One Planet Wonder

The job at Studland set me off towards working in various places doing ranger type jobs carrying out practical land management tasks. The roles suited me well given that most of the time I was outdoors, hands on and working with like-minded enthusiastic nature loving colleagues. However after many temporary job contracts, long commutes, weekend work patterns and being paid just above National Living Wage in one of the most expensive areas of the UK, I nearly gave up on conservation. At one point, I totalled 7 jobs in 3 years - not a strategy I would recommend!

Checking sheep used for conservation grazing on chalk downland.

For a while, One Planet Wonder was just a website to display nature photos, videos and art. But in 2024, I got married and started taking this business idea a lot more seriously. Two part time Summer jobs gave me some work flexibility to build One Planet Wonder and think about where it would lead to.

Then, somehow I landed on a dream job at the Dorset Wildlife Trust as a Warden. It is a real privilege to work at this charity to help manage a range of unique habitats and work with a lovely team of people.

Outside of my full time Warden job, I am building this website, running photography workshops, cycling and going on outdoorsy adventures. I love exploring the local nature through sport and adventure, photographing it, showing others the amazing environment on our doorstep and helping to protect nature for the benefit of wildlife and people.

Want to join a workshop or find out more? Contact me here.

Azure damselflies on heathland.