“I would like to thank you for coming to South Manchester Camera Club to give a presentation entitled Wild Pennines.
It was a tremendous presentation with loads of wonderful pictures including some technical information to help us with our photography.
Your book projects on the polecats and the black grouse were particularly interesting to our members as it showed what you can do when you are a keen wildlife photographer.
Thank you again and we hope to see in 2025 for more beautiful photography.”

“I’d like to thank you, John, on behalf of Stokesley Photographic Society’s members for last night’s informative and entertaining presentations on Polecats and Black Grouse. The mixture of video and still images, plus details of the camera and flash set up for various locations, made for a very enjoyable evening. We certainly appreciated you battling through one foot of snow and crossing the A66 to reach us! We look forward to seeing other presentations you have in the future and the book when you finish it.”

“Thanks a lot John for sharing your adventures with us and giving us a real feel for what it takes to be a wildlife photographer. It was great to hear your behind the scenes stories.

Thousands of insect bites, constant rain on the lens, animal subjects that do not show up, heavy camera kit, subjects hidden in the tree tops silhouetted against a bright sky are just some of the privations and challenges when trying to photograph wildlife in the tropics. All eloquently presented and demonstrated.

Thank you”

“On behalf of all the members can I just thank you for an excellent evening. Because of the skills you have developed we actually had the opportunity to see wildlife that the majority of people will never see. And up close and personal. It was absolutely fascinating to watch the behaviours of the polecats and the grouse and a really good idea to concentrate on the two so we could really see the process you followed to get your footage.
So once again John, many thanks for sharing your work with us. It will be fascinating to see the book as it develops. ”

“Everybody found the presentation to be very interesting and informative, and for some members this is the first time that they seen video and pictures of a wild Polecat...

The overall feedback I got from members was very positive...”

“Thanks very much for your presentation on Tuesday, which I found interesting and informative.

It was very comprehensive, with some great examples of how an average image can be transformed into something much more impressive.”

“On behalf of Stockton Camera Club I would like to thank you for your presentation on “Wild Pennines” last night , it was truly fascinating to see the pole cats and the black grouse at close quarters.
The images and video clips were stunning and it was interesting to hear how you overcame some of the practical problems to capture the work.
We look forward to seeing your other presentations in the future.”

“Thanks very much for your presentation last night, it was good to see you and to put a face to the name. I thought your talk was really enjoyable and informative, and it was refreshing to hear someone provide some explanations about the “how and why” the images were taken rather than just one continuous slide show. I’m sure all our club members who attended would agree with me.

On a personal note, I tend to veer towards nature photography myself so I am very envious of your wonderful images and the locations you have been to so perhaps I shall have to try and attend one of your workshops when circumstances allow!

Anyway, thank you again for a great talk, and maybe in the future we can invite you to our club in person next time.”

“John was a guest speaker at the Copeland Photographic Society. He gave a very interesting presentation on his wildlife photography which we can highly recommend. John described his recent trip to the Artic and his close encounter with a Polar Bear and other artic wildlife. He went on to talk about his Polecat family near his small holding here in Cumbria. He showed some top notch images along the way.”

“Three thousand people and 3,500 hungry Polar Bear, don’t lock your car, and don’t venture far without a well trained sharp shooter by your side.
John and his very tolerant wife took to a Research ship in this harsh and dangerous archipelago off the coast of Norway.
For his companions of eleven fellow photographers and the identical number of crew it was 24hours of daylight, and two inflatable ribs for fast manoeuvring once,
the ice had been eased to make a safe passage.
It was the stunning images of the white landscape, long, barren and hostile. John had used his vast knowledge to high light the occasional snow free gullies
running down the mountains. And the denseness of the landscape. The sense of size was size was enhanced by the lonely Polar bear on the distant pack ice.

For seven miles the ice floated away, carefully followed by, on board, camera in hand he was able to capture stunning photographs as
the hungry animal swam, tormented and then devoured its prey. What drama John captured when 300 meters away, red fur and predatory look met his lens.
Astounding is the only word for it.

Soon it was time for John to take us, photographically, round his back garden. A back garden that sits high on the hills of Stainmore, and brings with it
considerable wild life. John has set up a network of Trail Cameras all of which he uses, together with his hides to capture fascinating images of what goes on after dark.
Chickens, are his wife Pride and Joy, alas one day after they had returned home from a few days away, there were the sad remains.
Polecats, were the culprits, hammer and nails to the Hen House and cameras on reset.
Also birds of prey feeding there chicks in the nest were another of Johns, images.

The evening came to a close after we had seen some of the most remarkable wildlife images which we had seen for a long time.

We must thank John sincerely for both entertaining us with his photographs, easy flow, but also the valuable hints and tips which he gave to us.”

“Hi John. Just wanted to thank you again for last night, everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. We even had 4 people who said that they don’t normally like / photograph nature and they nearly didn’t come along, but they are so glad they did. They really enjoyed it.”

“Thank you for a wonderful presentation last night. Your photographs and presentation were outstanding.”