I carry a notebook full of sketches of pictures I want to take - they are really scruffy sketches, but at least I am going out there with a clear objective.

All I really wanted to do was wildlife photography.

My first serious project was photographing badgers - very, very difficult as they are shy and nocturnal.

So about twenty years ago I gave up on painting - and got into terrible debt after buying a load of camera gear!

A large wildlife book, start to finish, could take one to two years, but then I would expect to get several good (nature) magazine features off the back of this, plus of course a lot of stock.

Close encounters are bad. Bad for the animal, as it causes stress, and bad for me for exactly the same reason.

In The States I would have no edge, no advantage at all.

The Kalahari is brilliant - and easy to visit.

Photography started as a means of getting reference material for my paintings of nature subjects.

For the first few years we lived in a tiny rented cottage at the bottom of a friend's garden. We often joked that there was plenty of film in the fridge, but not too much food!

Currently I am working on another three books, doing a lot of magazine work, am shooting for fifteen stock agencies, plus my own photo library - all this keeps me quite busy!

But you're so busy changing the worldJust one smile can change all of mine

Life is like music, it must be composed by ear, feeling and instinct, not by rule. Nevertheless one had better know the rules, for they sometimes guide in doubtful cases, though not often.

Memory is always in art, even when it works involuntarily.

There are various names for god- Allah, Almighty, Jesus and hundreds of other names but the one I like the most is 'mother'.

I am a work in progress Dressed in the fabric of a world unfolding Offering me intricate patterns of questions Rhythms that never come clean And strengths that you still haven't seen

It takes time and energy, and if I'm working, then I'd rather flop in front of the telly than put on a tiny dress and work out how to get myself to God knows where. I mean, lazy some would call it.

A good character when established should not be rested in as an end, but only employed as a means of doing still further good.

You can't get an actor to do something that is beyond his range, so you have to be aware of the range of the actor and, if necessary, alter the part to suit the actor.

Freedom battles are not fought without paying heavy prices.

I never go online on my iPhone. Sometimes I'm tempted but I remind myself and the kids - it's a tool. Use it as a tool. You're not the tool. My iPhone, 85% of the time I'm writing down ideas.