{"id":8234,"date":"2020-08-25T09:22:27","date_gmt":"2020-08-25T09:22:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/?p=8234"},"modified":"2020-08-25T18:08:08","modified_gmt":"2020-08-25T18:08:08","slug":"ross-hoddinott-shooting-close-to-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/2020\/08\/25\/ross-hoddinott-shooting-close-to-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Ross Hoddinott – Shooting Close To Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Photographer\n

Little critters have always fascinated Ross. He\u2019s been shooting insects since he was 10-years old, using inexpensive close-up filters at first to enable him to achieve frame-filling results.<\/h2>\n

Aged 11, he won BBC Countryfile\u2019s inaugural photography competition with a photograph of two emperor dragonflies. He enjoys capturing the exquisite beauty, intricacy, shape and form of insects and miniature subjects, favouring natural light and always photographing his subjects in situ in the wild while hopefully causing minimum disturbance. He is the author of Digital Macro and Close-up Photography (Published by Ammonite Press) and has won awards in Wildlife Photographer of the Year, British Wildlife Photography Awards and International Garden Photographer of the Year with close-ups of insects. He\u2019s a Nikon Alumni, an Ambassador for Manfrotto, and passionate about conversation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We asked Ross about his background, and what life during lockdown has been like for him\u2026<\/h3>\n

My family moved to North Cornwall when I was aged 7. My parents were ahead of their time really, being passionate about conversation and rewilding, and they transformed a few acres of fairly barren farmland into a young woodland, with ponds and wild areas. They planted over 500 trees \u2013 mixed species \u2013 and managed the land to encourage wildlife. Wildflowers thrived and spread and the meadows buzzed with pollinators. I\u2019ve grown up watching this habitat evolve, mature and develop. Growing up, this was where I took my very first nature shots and where I nurtured my love of photography and all things wild. Aged 10, I got bitten by the photography bug and I was so lucky to have so much to photograph on my doorstep. My parents could never have realised then what an influence on my life and future career the woods would have. Even after I moved away, I returned regularly \u2013 not just to see my parents, but to visit to the woods and fields and take photographs.<\/p>\n

7-years ago, we purchased one of my parent’s barns and converted it into our family home. I moved ‘home’. Now we care for the land and manage the woods. It is a fascinating and emotional journey to see the woods mature and the habitat evolve. My kids now climb trees I helped my dad plant – and to watch them learn about nature in the little haven my mum and dad created 35-years ago is wonderful. So many of my close-up images are taken here and it continues to play a key role in my work. I continue to take a large chunk of my shots here and we have now inherited the responsibility to manage and develop the habitat. I\u2019m a big fan of shooting close to home \u2013 getting to know local subjects intimately and also limiting my carbon footprint. Not everyone has the opportunities I\u2019ve been fortunate enough to have, but even a small garden can be wildlife friendly and a haven for all types of things \u2013 big or small.<\/p>\n