What's your most memorable wildlife experience?
"In 2000, a whale died in False Bay, South Africa and 28 great white sharks fed on it for over 18 hours, eating two thirds of the whale. Nobody before or since has seen so many adult great whites together. It was just the most unbelievable experience to be within arm's length of these incredible animals. To see the complete breakdown of social structures and behaviour atypical of the species was just spectacular."
What's the proudest moment of your career to date?
"That I have never done anything to jeopardise an animal. Most of the time I'm on my own or with my wife, so I could do whatever I wanted, and nobody would be any the wiser. I think the fact that I can look in the mirror and know I've always done what is best for the animal while trying to capture a great image is, for me, my proudest achievement to date – and I hope it's a quality I never lose."
What's the toughest shoot you've ever done?
"In terms of wildlife interaction, it was probably photographing while walking along the ocean floor in New Zealand – in the dark, 65ft down, running out of air. I had multiple great whites around me, and I had no idea where they were. They'd swim through the occasional beam of light that my strobes were illuminating. That was a very tense hour or so!"
What would you say are the biggest challenges with wildlife photography?
"I don't work with captive animals, so they're all wild and free to come and go as they please. The most difficult thing is that wildlife is disappearing so quickly; it's becoming more and more difficult to find the subjects that I'm used to photographing. A lot of the areas that were wild are no longer wild, so it's a race against time."
How important is understanding animal behaviour when it comes to wildlife photography?
"That's the most important thing; while I might not be of the same technical standard as some of my peers, my greatest strength is my knowledge of my subjects. I've spent a huge amount of time around predators, and I have a thorough knowledge of what my subject may do, so I can prepare myself for what might happen. They say luck is where anticipation meets preparation, and I think that holds true."
What piece of Canon kit can you not live without, and why?
"I place huge emphasis on the ability to quickly compose an image and the Canon EOS R5 allows me both creativity and control. My favourite lens of all time is undoubtedly the Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM – I shoot probably 75% of my imagery with it. On the ocean it is light, fast and easily manoeuvrable, allowing me to quickly focus on lightning-quick wildlife behaviour in what are often difficult conditions. It is a lens I can take anywhere, from the smallest overhead locker on an aircraft, to the steepest mountain or roughest ocean. So many of my bestselling or most well-known photographs were taken with this lens. Without it, my portfolio would be a shadow of what it is today."
What else could we discover in your kitbag that helps you elevate your work?
"You won’t find it in my kitbag, but an elephant-proof box means I can safely house my camera when photographing elephants at low and close quarters; and special cutout doors on my boat allow me to shoot from down low. Both have enabled me to take unique images from creative angles."