Conservation and Wildlife Photography.

I am Brian, a photographer based in Southam, Warwickshire, with a background that sits between science, education and visual storytelling. Before running Biopic Photography full time, I trained as a marine and freshwater biologist and worked for many years as a qualified teacher and headteacher.

This conservation and wildlife side of my work brings those strands together. I use photography and short film to tell honest stories about local habitats, species and the people working to protect them across Warwickshire and the wider Midlands.

A science-led approach

My training in marine and freshwater biology means I do not just point a camera at something that looks wild and hope for the best. I am interested in:

• how rivers and wetlands actually function;

• what species are telling us about water quality and habitat health;

• how farmland, towns and canals fit into the bigger ecological picture.

That scientific grounding helps me work closely with conservation groups, farmers, river projects and local volunteers, and to document their work accurately.

From classroom to field

Before I became a full time photographer I spent many years in education. That experience shapes how I approach every conservation project.

I am used to explaining complex ideas in plain language, planning learning journeys and working with different age groups. This feeds into:

• education resources for schools

• visual material for outreach and engagement

• talks and workshops for community groups

• clear, accessible writing to accompany images

If you need images that do more than sit on a page, and that genuinely help people understand what you do, this is where I can help.

What I photograph

Most of my conservation work focuses on local, repeatable stories rather than once-in-a-lifetime trips. Current projects include:

• Rivers and freshwater
  River health on the Leam and Itchen, macroinvertebrates, bankside habitats, flooding and restoration work.

• Farmland and open countryside
  Hares, deer, hedgerow birds and the seasonal changes that shape the farmed landscape.

• Canals and waterways
  The Grand Union and connected canals as wildlife corridors, and the people who manage and use them.

• Wetlands and reservoirs
  Wetland birds at sites such as Draycote and Kingsbury, and the role these places play for both wildlife and people.

• Urban wildlife
  Foxes, hedgehogs, birds and other species making a living in our towns and villages.

• Invasive species and habitat pressure
  Plants and animals that are reshaping local ecosystems, and the work being done to control them.

• Dragonflies, damselflies and other invertebrates
  Highly detailed macro work that reveals the smaller animals most people overlook.

Some of these stories run across a single season. Others are multi-year projects that I return to again and again.

How I work with organisations

I work with conservation charities, local groups, councils, schools and landowners who want to document and share their work more effectively.

That can include:

• photography for reports, websites, social media and campaigns

• short videos explaining a project or site

• visual material to support grant applications

• school-ready resources based on real local stories

• coverage of volunteer days, surveys and fieldwork

I am based in Southam and mainly cover Warwickshire and the surrounding counties, which keeps travel simple and budgets sensible.

Why local stories

There is real power in telling the stories that sit just beyond our front doors. A stretch of canal, a wet field on the edge of town or a small village pond can reveal as much about the state of nature as any distant wilderness.

By focusing on local habitats, I can:

• revisit sites through the year

• build deeper, long-term narratives

• involve schools and communities

• give organisations a consistent record of change over time

These are the kinds of stories that lend themselves to ongoing collaboration, rather than one-off image grabs.

Work with me

If you are involved in conservation, ecology, education or land management and feel your work is not being seen or understood as well as it could be, I would be happy to talk.

You might need a simple set of images for a report, a visual diary of a restoration project, or a longer-term partnership to document your work over several seasons.

Use the contact details on this site to get in touch, or explore the current project pages and field notes to see how I approach conservation and wildlife photography in practice.