CHRIS JONES

As a young boy my escapism from the trials and tribulations of life was found through immersing myself in the natural world that beckoned to me from out beyond my childhood home.

Male Greater Crested Newts flashed a broadside of speckled orange below an array of dragonflies in the local pond. Greater spotted flycatchers bounced off fence posts only to return again seconds later with mouthfuls of insects ready to take back to their young.

Everything seemed so magical, a new world to be discovered - hidden from all except those who took the time to look.

My favourites were the birds of prey. So majestic, proud, alert and beautiful. One summer’s morning I wandered along the hedge line of a nearby field and spotted a number of birds mocking something, intrigued I crept closer to see what had sparked their fury. And there, suddenly, sat the culprit on top of the hedge - a Great Grey Shrike. So striking, rare and as surprised as me - for a few seconds we both stopped and considered one other. Then just as suddenly as we met off it flew with its band of hecklers in tow.

I’ve never seen a Great Grey Shrike since but the memory stays with me as vividly as if it was yesterday. I remember the bird for its markings, it’s rarity and it’s part in the fragile wilderness that recedes that little bit further every day.

For me it was a connection with another creature just as powerful and real as with a human being. Fellow brethren as important or unimportant as me and you with the power to lift my spirits on the darkest of days.

That is the narrative that inspires my photography. Each photograph I take allows me to rekindle that connection - nothing more and nothing less….

 

Chris Jones