ABOUT ME
Welcome to my website!
I am a photographer based in Yeadon, West Yorkshire with main interests in wildlife, aviation and some landscape thrown in. I do love a good sunset too!
I started with my first “proper” camera, a Canon DSLR in 2003 mostly taking pictures of aircraft as part of my main hobby. Over the years I have worked to improve technique, composition and my technical knowledge of the art of photography - And still learning! Every day is different and you get to try different styles and deal with different conditions and subjects - especially in wildlife!
Work life and Lockdown
I worked in retail for a well known supermarket, my career grew from a general worker on a counter to being one of the store duty managers. I put all my time and energy into work but it was never enough. My family were very supportive but I knew I was missing out. Work wanted more and more and more and something had to give…
In 2020 I realised that I was not happy, I wasn’t seeing nearly enough of my wife and child and photography was non existent! When I got a day off I didn’t want to go out or do anything so my wife and I sat down and worked out our finances to allow me to step down from management and become just a general worker. Quite simply, the best decision I ever made!
All of a sudden I had that commodity that people assume they will always have - time! Time for family, time for photography and time for enjoying life! However the small issue of a worldwide pandemic stopped everyone in their tracks! Work life for retail workers didn’t stop so I was still working but our daily permitted exercise allowed me to go explore my local patch - most of which I had never taken much notice of. I still find it amazing to notice how much is actually going on around us…The flora, the fauna, sights, sounds and the changes with the seasons. My camera was coming out with me and I was sharing what I had seen with friends of Facebook. I was itching to get out and about further afield and with the lifting of restrictions we were off!
Out and About
As well as getting out and about, seeing different things I, along with my wife and daughter were learning about nature and wildlife…The more we saw the more we discovered and the more we wanted to see and learn! My daughter become very keen on the different bird species and we joined her up to the RSPB which quickly changed into a family membership. In turn the passion my daughter had for birds was meaning she also loved going out and exploring! It was great to see how excited she got when we saw a new bird! And when the seasons change the wildlife changes! some migrate away and some migrate here so then there are new things to see and photograph!
I had gone from the guy that couldn’t be bothered to leave the house to the outgoing adventure, nature and photography chaser! - I was even falling into rivers in Glen Affric chasing waterfall pictures! I was getting a few people saying I should make a calendar and then a few more and a few more so I decided I would give it a go. I put out a message saying I would be producing one and asked for pre orders - The response was overwhelming and I sold a boat load!
Onwards and Upwards
In the lead up to Christmas 2021 I decided to try holding a stall at the Guiseley lights switch on. I had some prints and Christmas cards produced as well as some more calendars and did well and most importantly, got to meet and speak to people in person and get my work out into the public domain.
From this I decided that I should pursue more of a career in photography. I have done a few commissions and weddings etc and now I have made a website which should help me reach a wider audience and be able to showcase my latest adventures. I am excited about the blog section and writing up topics and trips and I hope you enjoy reading them!
I am very grateful to all who have supported me, bought a product and ultimately allowed me to enjoy my passion and share it with you all! Thanks for coming with me on the journey. Look out for my latest updates and please follow me on social media. I have lots of exciting plans coming up and can’t wait to share the results with you!
Thanks.
Graham Perkin