DANI CONNOR

Peter Travers talks to the up-and-coming British wildlife photographer Dani Connor about how she shot to stardom with baby squirrels on Twitter, to taking photos of buzzards and big cats in Spanish mountains

- Peter Travers

DANI, SO tell us, how did you begin your photographic journey? I started taking photos over 12 years ago. I wanted to photograph our family dog, Ashley, in a woodland environment. My dad had a decent camera that I started to borrow and I would spend my afternoons after school in my local woodland. I soon got some nice shots of Ashley and I slowly started to notice the wildlife around me. My first few shots were of insects and pond ducks. In my first few months of photography, I started to enter a couple of competitions and by the end of the summer I had won the Young Marwell Photographer of the Year. The prize money allowed me to buy my first camera, the Canon EOS 550D, and after that I would spend all of my free time photographing wildlife.

What first attracted you to wildlife photography?

Although I am known for photographing red squirrels, I do enjoy taking images of all wildlife. I personally find the process before the photo very exciting. Learning and researching your subject, failing to get the shot and attempting again and again, and finally you’re rewarded with your early shots. Over time, your photos will greatly improve as you learn through observation, plus trial and error. This is very much how photographing the red squirrels went for me, but the same can apply to any species that you focus your time on.

Who has inspired you in your photographic life so far?

I was very inspired by the Wildlife Photographer Of The Year exhibition. I would look over the winning photos for hours. I worked out how the shots were taken from the EXIF data and description. Some shots are very creative and so unique, it definitely pushed me in my creativity with colour, light and composition.