How did you become interested in wildlife photography/ filming?
Our passion for the natural world grew from an early age, after raising bottle fed lambs on our neighbours small holding our fasciation for animals soon extended to an interest and inquisitiveness for wild animals. The more we began to learn about the wildlife around our village, the more we wanted to learn and we became interested in photographing and filming as a way of recording our discoveries.
What is your favourite wildlife location and why?
Living in Suffolk, East Anglia, our quiet village is made up of a patchwork of farmland and woodland, has a small stream winding through creating a variety of habitats for photogenic subject. So our favourite location would have to be our local patch, it's where we do most of our photography and filming. It's a meadow with a stream running through it, which has Kingfishers, Barn Owl, Water vole, Fox, Badger and Deer. By concentrating on one specific area we have been able get to know the wildlife through the seasons.
What is your most memorable wildlife encounter to date?
Paul: Having a wild fox cub walk up to you in a woods takes some beating, I didn't have my camera but wasn't mad, it's great to just watch wildlife without a camera limiting your view. (Thats what I keep telling myself anyway!). Being stared out by a huge red deer stag a few metres away for what seemed like a decade was probably my scariest encounter.
Ryan: My first wildlife encounter is the most memorable. A Barn Owl coming into feed its young in a dead oak tree on a summers evening, so majestic in flight, I had never seen anything like it before in the wild. More recently a young Kingfisher fishing less than a metre away from me in the rain was a great connection, as the kingfisher and I were both in the same conditions, freezing cold, wet and hungry!
What is your favourite wildlife subject and why?
Our favourite subject is the graceful Barn Owl. They will often quarter the field for many minutes giving you a breathtaking show, there's nothing else quite like it.
What is your favourite wildlife film?
We are greatly inspired by many wildlife cameramen, particulary the stunning cinematography of Charlie Hamilton-James and Jamie McPherson in 'On The Trail of Tarka' and 'Wye: The Voice of the Valley' and most recently 'Victoria:The Smoke that Thunders'.
My favourite wildlife film however has to be 'Eagle Island' shot by Gordon Buchanan. I remember first watching it on television when I first started filming wildlife and remember feeling so inspired to continue filming local wildlife, and aspired to follow a family closely and obtain a real connection with individuals as Gordon had with the eagles. I love the simple story line and the personal touch Gordon adds to each of the films he's involved in making the viewer feel like their right beside him - a great wildlife cameraman and my role model. This summer we followed a family of barn owl chicks grow from fluff balls to fully grown fledglings and can now relate to Gordon's feeling when they fledged.
What equipment do you use?
Most of our photos have been taken with a Canon 40D with a Canon 70-300 f4 - f5.6, but recently we have purchased a Canon 70 - 200 f2.8 IS L lens which we use with a 1.4 x tele-converter giving us the option of a 200mm f2.8 lens for low light shots e.g Barn Owl at dusk/dawn or a 280mm f4 lens that's ideal for when there's a little more light giving a longer reach. After saving up some money over the last five years and with help from our parents we've recently brought a Canon XLH1A HDV Camcorder, which we used to film a family of Barn Owls over the summer and more recently to film brown hares.
What is your biggest ambition for your wildlife photography / filming?
Our aspiration is to become freelance wildlife cameramen/photographers and presenters. We would love our images and films to inspire people to care for wildlife and to be used for conservation projects. Please visit our website where you can see more of our work. www.paulryanedwards.com
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