2025: A Year in the Wild & My animal calendar

While I have always enjoyed photography, this year marked a distinct shift. Pretty much from the start of January, I fell completely in love with the art of capturing animals and wildlife. It has been a year of patience, observation, and an obsession with getting that perfect moment of capturing subjects..

A Global Journey

To say this year has been an adventure would be an understatement. My camera has travelled with me across the globe, allowing me to build a diverse portfolio of birds and mammals in vastly different habitats.

The journey has taken me from the humidity of Thailand and Singapore to the vibrancy of Spain, the unique atmosphere of Japan, and, of course, back to the rugged, natural beauty of Wales.

Curating the Collection

To mark this first year on my wildlife journey, I wanted to create something physical something that takes these images off the screen and into the real world.

I have put together a 12-month calendar featuring a collection of my images from 2025.

When selecting the images, I had to make a difficult choice. I didn’t necessarily pick what a judge might call my “technically best” photos of the year. Instead, I chose my personal favourites. These are the shots that resonate with me emotionally and remind me of the specific feeling of that encounter.

The Final Result

The calendar is an A3 double-sided format. Seeing these portraits in large print is a completely different experience from viewing them on a monitor; the images really stand out. It’s a bold, striking collection that offers a genuine insight into how I’ve viewed the natural world over the last 12 months.

It has been an incredible year of shooting with my Canon RF system, and I can’t wait to see where the wildlife takes me in 2026.

Unesco world heritage sites

I’ve been very fortunate to do extensive traveling this year, from Japan to China, visiting many different cities and countries. In this post, I’m reflecting back on some of the UNESCO World Heritage sites that I visited was fortunate to photography.

Japan

Mount Fuji

Japan’s iconic sacred mountain stands at 3,776 meters, revered for centuries in art and literature.

Himeji‑jō (Himeji Castle)

This stunning white fortress is considered Japan’s most beautiful original castle, nicknamed the “White Heron Castle.”

Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome)

A powerful symbol of peace and the only structure left standing after the 1945 atomic bombing.

Itsukushima Shintō Shrine

Famous for its “floating” torii gate, this shrine creates a magical sight during high tide.

Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion)

A Zen temple covered in gold leaf, surrounded by stunning reflection pools and gardens.

Tōdai-ji

Home to the world’s largest bronze Buddha statue and Japan’s largest wooden building.

Kasuga Taisha Shrine

Ancient Shinto shrine famous for its hundreds of bronze and stone lanterns.

China

The Great Wall

The world’s longest wall stretches over 21,000 kilometers, built over various dynasties.

Forbidden City

The largest palace complex in the world, home to 24 Chinese emperors over 500 years.

Summer Palace

An imperial garden featuring beautiful lakes, gardens, and traditional Chinese architecture.

Temple of Heaven

A masterpiece of Chinese architecture where emperors performed important ceremonies.

Bradgate Park Deer photography

Bradgate Park in Leicestershire is one of the region’s most beloved landscapes, preserved as a medieval deer park. It provides a wonderful experience for all visitors, especially photographers, who can encounter its significant herds of wild deer. The park is a true photography paradise where you can find both fallow and red deer. Photographing them up close is not only fun but also a fantastic opportunity to practice using different camera and lens settings.

Check out some of the photos I’ve captured visiting Bradgate Park here.

Red deer
Fellow Deer
Red deer stag
Red deer
Red deer stag
Red deer
Red deer stag
Red deer
Fallow Deer

Slimbridge Wetland Centre Gloucestershire

I’ve become really passionate about supporting conservation work. It’s heartbreaking to see the rapid decline in animal populations each year. England in particular has hunted many of its native animals to extinction, which deeply saddens me. I will take any opportunity and platform to promote conservation work and encourage people to support it animals deserve to share this planet with us.

Below are some photos I captured when visiting Slimbridge Wetland Centre.

Tufted duck

New travel guides created

I have a travel website where I document my literary takes on some of the places I travel to. I’m slowly building together a great library of travel guides. I recently have added some new guides that you can check out and read through they may even serve as inspiration for your own travel plans.

Chiang Mai Temples

This is a great guide to the 5 best temples you can visit in the province of Chiang Mai, which are all really close together. It’s a really good experience to see up close temples that are hundreds of years old.

Read more

Exploring Chiang Rai

Chiang Rai, a northern province of Thailand nestled within the mountains, offers a peaceful alternative to bustling provinces like Bangkok. I’ve created a guide that shares an engaging one-day itinerary to help you make the most of your time in Chiang Rai.

Read more

Exploring Beijing

Beijing was somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit, and it certainly exceeded my expectations. I’ve created a great guide of some must-see things in Beijing over the course of 2 or 3 days.

Read more

Gigrin farm red kite feeding centre

The red kite feeding station in mid-Wales is perhaps one of the best wildlife experiences available in wales. Hundreds of birds gather on this farm daily for supplementary feed. Since 1993, the farm has been supporting red kite conservation through these daily feeds.

It’s truly breathtaking to watch hundreds of birds swooping down to collect beef from the ground. These beautiful birds of prey were once hunted in the UK, shot by farmers, and had their eggs stolen to curb their population. It’s honestly beyond words to see these magnificent creatures now thriving.

Some photos I took on the day:

Gigrin Farm sheep

A video minutes before the feed with red kites arriving