The Wildlife Lens is where wildlife photographers and naturalists come to actually connect, learn, and help each other find more of what we love. Built by Gareth Parkes and Fiona Etkin, this isn't a faceless info hub. It's a community of people who'd rather be cold, muddy, and watching a Lilac-breasted Roller at dawn or watching otters in a Dorset stream by than scrolling Instagram from the sofa. 🤝 Share Your Passion — Or Just Soak It In Whether you're a seasoned field naturalist eager to share decades of knowledge, or someone who just loves wildlife and wants to learn more — you belong here. If you love to share: - Post your field reports, best shots, and hard-won location tips - Teach what you know about your local patch or favorite species - Help others with ID questions and fieldcraft advice - Contribute sighting intel and seasonal updates If you're here to learn: - Absorb expertise from people who've spent decades in the field - Ask beginner questions without judgment (we all started somewhere) - Follow along with expedition stories and species guides - Lurk, learn, and jump in when you're ready — no pressure If you're somewhere in between: - Share the occasional find that excited you - Ask questions that help everyone learn - Celebrate others' wins - Build confidence at your own pace - This isn't about proving expertise or performing for likes. It's about genuine love for the natural world — whether you've been birding for 40 years or just bought your first pair of binoculars last month. Your curiosity is enough. Your passion is welcome. Your questions help others learn too. Your next steps: → Introduce yourself in START HERE (where do you shoot? what do you love?)→ Browse Species Spotlight for identification tips and behavioral insights→ Share your latest field report or ask about your mystery sighting→ Jump into discussions — we're genuinely happy to help Fair warning: We talk a lot about dawn starts, muddy boots, missed shots, and species that refuse to cooperate. We believe the best wildlife experiences involve questionable weather, occasional equipment failures, and the very real possibility of ending up ankle-deep in something unexpected.

Got the shot you've been chasing for months? Saw something you never thought you'd see? Finally nailed that technique that's been defeating you? This is where you tell us about it. Share your wins - big or small. "Finally photographed a kingfisher in focus" deserves celebration just as much as "saw a leopard kill in Kruger." Your wins are your wins. We're not ranking them. Rare sightings absolutely welcome. If you've seen something unusual, tell us. Where, when, what you were doing. Other members might want to try the same spot. And frankly, it's just exciting to hear about. I still get a buzz from other people's good fortune. "After 50 attempts..." stories are the best. The shot you worked for has a better story than the lucky one you stumbled into. Tell us what you tried, what finally worked, what you learned. That's valuable to everyone here. Beginner milestones count. First time identifying a bird by call? Successfully used manual focus? Recognized a species without checking the book? That's progress. Share it. We all remember those moments. Context makes it interesting. Don't just post "Saw an otter today." Tell us how it happened. Were you in the right place at the right time? Did you track it for an hour? Did it pop up three feet from you while you were eating a sandwich? Story matters. Celebrate other people's wins too. When someone posts something brilliant, tell them. A genuine "that's outstanding" means more than you think. This place works better when we're genuinely pleased for each other. I'll share my own wins and rare sightings as they happen - including the ones that were pure dumb luck and the ones I worked hard for. Both types count. Right, who's got the first win to share? Gareth

Right, here's how this works. Share your photos. Good ones, mediocre ones, "I have no idea what went wrong here" ones. All welcome. If you're waiting until you've got the perfect shot before posting, you'll never post. We all started somewhere rubbish. Tell us what you were trying to achieve. Context matters. "Here's a robin" gets polite thumbs up. "Here's a robin - I was trying to freeze the wing movement but it's blurry, what did I miss?" gets actual useful feedback. Include your settings if you want real help. ISO, shutter speed, aperture. If you can't remember, that's fine - just say so. But if you want to know why your heron looks like a grey blob, settings help us tell you. Celebrate other people's wins. When someone nails a shot, tell them. We're not competing here. Their success doesn't diminish yours. Community means genuinely being pleased when someone gets it right. Equipment doesn't matter as much as you think. I've seen stunning shots from phone cameras and terrible ones from £3,000 setups. Technique beats gear every single time. So don't apologize for your camera - just show us what you captured. One rule: Be kind. Critique the photo, not the photographer. "This composition would work better if..." is helpful. "You clearly don't know what you're doing" is not. We're here to get better together, not tear each other down. I'll kick things off with a few of my own shots - including some disasters - so you can see it's safe to share the imperfect stuff. Who's posting first? Gareth