We are proud that we are able to provide amateur wildlife photographers the opportunity to work with us, helping them gain experience whilst following their passion. In turn, they provide us with stunning wildlife photography that supports us with Naturehood’s mission to empower people to take positive action for their local wildlife.
In February we ran a competition to find our next two Photographers in Residence. We received a large number of entries from many talented wildlife photographers. It was a difficult decision but we chose Jamal Kabir and Leah Pink, as we were impressed by their stunning photography and their dedication to inspiring others to connect with and help nature.
Meet Jamal and Leah, our Photographers in Residence for 2022-23!
Jamal Kabir
Jamal is an aspiring wildlife conservation photographer with a passion for biodiversity and sharing its beauty, and the threats it faces as well as sharing conservation stories to captivate people.
As a passionate advocate for environmental protection, he uses photography with the aim of bringing society closer to nature by documenting the importance of a healthy environment for both people and wildlife. He’s also a dedicated early career conservationist and has worked numerous internships, photographing wildlife and sharing photos on social media.
Being born and raised in the urban environment of Birmingham, Jamal had limited exposure to the natural world and he wants to change that for others. He gradually developed an interest in the environment, studying biology before specialising in conservation, where he became a passionate environmentalist and naturalist.
Jamal said, “I bought my first camera when I realised that it was possible to use the natural beauty of threatened butterflies to tell an engaging story that could captivate the public.
I try to capture both common local species and globally rare or threatened species to motivate people to get into their gardens and motivate those with a keen eye to look further.”
As a photographer, he is interested in capturing the immense variety of life and rarely seen behaviours that provide context into the life of wildlife. Jamal has developed his photography over the last year, spending countless nights photographing rare frogs and snakes and by day taking to the coast to capture seabirds against rugged cliffs and sparkling waves.
Leah Pink
Leah is a 16-year-old amateur wildlife photographer from Hampshire, England. She is currently studying A-level photography and environmental science at college. She has a passion for nature and wildlife which led her to wildlife photography as she enjoys capturing the wildlife she sees on camera.
Leah has an Instagram account where she shares her photos to encourage other young people to enjoy nature and take care of our wildlife. She is also part of a local community called the Hampshire Ornithology Society. One of the highlights from being a part of this group was meeting Chris Packham and having the opportunity to ask him some questions about photography.
Leah said, “I enjoy sharing the natural beauty around us and I hope it opens people’s eyes up to what's on our doorstep.”
