Wildlife of Mammals

Without doubt, mammals are the most difficult to photograph in the animal kingdom. They are elusive, have a very keen sense of smell, and are no where as numerous as birds.

The way in which animal photography is approached will inevitably vary according to the main motivation for taking the picture, I consider myself a photographer first and a naturalist second, and I feel it's this order that makes me strive for a higher standard of work.

I have spent many hours striving for that once in a life time picture we all dream about, but like so many photographers, it's still a vision. My favourite mammal is the badger. Of all my subjects, I've had many fruitless evenings waiting in a hide with fingers crossed, they are by far the most sensitive.

The red squirrel comes high on my list as another loveable creature. I am most fortunate living in the North East, as there are many Reds only a few miles away from where I live. Once you have established a feeding station in their territory and set up a hide, they are relatively easy to photograph, and become very trusting. However, the watery world of the amphibians needs a very different line of approach.