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Brian Macfarlane was eight years old when he was given his first bird book as a Christmas present. That book is now 64 years old and still a favourite. As a boy he read it by torchlight under the blankets when he should have been asleep, and memorized every page, and there began his lifetime interest in birds and wildlife. He ruefully recalls that he built his own dovecote when he was twelve years old, but it had to be removed when his younger sister was born, as his mother did not fully appreciate the good luck value of the droppings on her pram. In his early teens he spent several summer holidays with two cousins at Southend, who included him in their shooting and fishing expeditions, which brought Brian to the conclusion that he did not want to shoot birds, or at least not with a gun. His interest in photography took off in the Lake District where he and his wife, both painters, took a holiday in 1968. Although the landscape of the fells is static, it is dramatically influenced from a painter's perspective by the rapidly changing skyscape, and Brian soon found that the clouds scudding past so quickly were difficult to capture on canvas. So he took photographs. From this practical solution a serious interest in photographing wildlife was born. Over the intervening years Brian has used a number of cameras, starting off with Prakticas followed by a succession of Zeniths. Later, a Chinonflex camera met a salty end when he tripped and fell into the sea. The shutter seized up solid and Brian moved on to a Pentax, which was eventually replaced with a Nikon in 1981. After serving a long apprenticeship with mechanical cameras Brian went digital in 2003 and rapidly mastered the art. Equipped with his Canon 20D he has instant access to the image rather than waiting for films to be developed, which makes those early dawn shoots so much more satisfying. On one such occasion Brian was positioned near a nesting site at Colby at 4.30 am with a mist coming up from the ground as the sun rose. He saw a barn owl leave on a hunting expedition and waited for it to return to the nest. To Brian's surprise, when the owl returned it was attacked by a kestrel and he was in just the right place to take a nine frame sequence of the attack. (Click on the image below to view the sequence).
Unusual images like this brought Brian's photography to the notice of BBC wildlife magazine. In 2005 he was invited to a 22 hectare lake in Gloucestershire, where beavers bred in captivity in Europe were being introduced at the start of a five year scientific observation programme with a view to breeding and eventual release in this country. It was a beautiful day in October. BBC and ITV were there for breakfast live TV and Brian was one of the few independent people privileged to take photographs of the event. It takes a great deal of dedication, which can only be sustained by a genuine and insatiable interest, for an amateur photographer to capture such beautiful images of wildlife, and Brian's enthusiasm is infectious. When we first met him everyone in our office was drawn to listen to his stories and anecdotes, and exchange stories of their own. His support for the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary, where his photographs are included in their leaflets and posters, is a particularly important issue for him, and for this reason we have added our support with donations to the sanctuary for each of the photographs we use. Please use the link below to visit their website, or better still, take the family to the sanctuary at Stonham Barns where you can meet the owls in person. If you would like to see more of Brian's work please click on the Gallery link below If you would like to buy any of these photographs please contact Brian by email to discuss the size, price, and mounting if required
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