Alan Williams

My interest in the natural world started as a young child and I soon became an enthusiastic birdwatcher. It was not until many years later in the early eighties that photographing the wildlife that gave me so much pleasure took over from just watching. In the mid-eighties my company transferred me to Holland where I met some excellent Dutch wildlife photographers. It was through these contacts and obtaining professional standard equipment that I improved my technique to a level that justified use of my images for publication in later years.

I came back to England in 1988 and a few years later had the opportunity to retire from my company at the age of 50. I decided that it was time to indulge my passion for wildlife photography and take it up full time. I joined an agency and submitted pictures to magazines and was very encouraged to find that my work soon started to be published. Also, through winning competitions, I got to know other wildlife photographers and through them learned more about all aspects of wildlife photography.

I have travelled to many parts of the world to see and photograph wildlife but over the years I have realised that to really improve you have to specialise. Today I devote almost all of my time to British wildlife and more specifically birds and mammals. Although wildlife photography in this country is more difficult, not least as a result of our weather, success in achieving good images gives that much greater satisfaction. All the images on this website were taken in the UK.

I have always kept up with the latest photographic technology and at the end of 2004 switched to digital. This has given me additional freedom both in the taking and processing of my images but has also meant even greater competition as many other photographers also experience the same advantages.

So the challenge is to at least keep up by trying to find new opportunities and improve my images - not easy but then if it was easy I wouldn't do it!