Sailing Away From The Safe Harbour
As a wildlife photographer, it seems that the harder I work, the luckier I get. The more risks I take, the luckier I get. The more I push myself to think "outside of the box", the luckier I get. The luckier I get the better my work is.
Last year I travelled to Patagonia with the aim of photographing pumas. The trip was self-funded. I was not leading a photography tour where not only would all of my expenses be covered, but I would also be paid for my expertise as a wildlife photographer and tutor. The trip was not without risk. The first day looking for pumas did not start well. However, late in the morning it started to snow. Unseasonable for the time of year, whilst the snow lasted it made for spectacular photographic opportunities. The snow afforded me the opportunity to make this image of a female puma surveying her territory, an image I had not expected to make.
As a teenager and into my early twenties, my passion was for the high mountains. I climbed throughout the UK, from my home crags of the English Peak District to the mountains of Scotland. I spent two months in Nepal, trekking into the Annapurna Sanctuary and then to the top of Kala Patthar (at 5,644 metres it is widely considered to be the highest altitude that can be reached without a climbing permit) from where I had a spectacular view of Mount Everest. I had three Alpine seasons where, amongst other things, I climbed to the top of Mont Blanc which at 4,805 metres is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe. All mountaineering involves taking calculated risks.
After leaving University, as my career as a corporate lawyer progressed, I found myself advising clients on the risks that they were taking when engaging in corporate transactions. During this time, I became increasingly risk adverse myself. This aversion to risk permeated into the decisions I made in my everyday life.
It has now been some 15 years that I came home from working my last day as a lawyer and started working as a full time wildlife photographer. During this time, I have been fortunate and privileged to have visited some of the most incredible places where I have spent time watching and photographing some of the most beautiful and diverse wildlife that we share our planet with. It has not been an easy path, despite what some would have you believe, wildlife photography involves a lot of hard work and a fair amount of luck just to keep your head above water. The easier route would have been to stay in the "comfort zone" and to continue working as a lawyer.
Taking the decision to leave a legal career behind was not without risk but sometimes you have to take that leap. I just wish I had had the courage to have done it earlier.
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.