In the winter of 1981 a Great Spotted Woodpecker visited our bird feeder on a daily basis and I took many pictures with my old Pentax camera and then had the film developed only to be disappointed at the results which led me to setting up an old long Birch log to look like a tree stem, I drilled a big hole in the log and crammed it with crushed peanuts which the bird very quickly adopted as a great source of food, I then borrowed a telephoto lens from a friend to take close-up pictures, bought a tripod and set up a makeshift Hide and then spent a number of very early mornings taking pictures before leaving for my office. The bird would always land low on the log and work its way up to the food and as my focus point was near the peanuts I would wait until it came into view and in that split second take a couple of rapid shots before it was spooked into flight by the very noisy shutter, thankfully shutters are now relatively quiet.

The results were far more rewarding and the Woodpecker became my first successful attempt at bird photography. Today this picture remains one of my favourite and memorable shots.

I had previously studied commercial art, typography and photography at Art School in the 60s which I used in my 44 years as a graphic designer and advertising executive running my own design/interior design business with my wife for over 33 years. Since retirement I volunteer at a private nature reserve near Ripon and every week volunteer for a Nature Conservation Group in Nidderdale helping plant and manage trees, repairing dry stone walls, pond creation along with nest box management, I also spend many hours in the countryside visiting RSPB Reserves, Wildlife Trust Reserves and places of interest to take pictures primarily of birds but also wildlife, landscapes and other interesting subjects as you will see from my portfolio.