Since childhood, Lee has always had an interest and passion for the natural world. Growing up close to the countryside in Staffordshire, he was inevitably to be found looking for nature amongst the fields, woodlands and streams on his doorstep.
From the age of 12, this interest in the natural world took a turn for the exotic, keeping and breeding a colourful array of creatures ranging from Chinese Water Dragons, Basilisk and Emerald Swift lizards, Corn Snakes, crabs and tropical fish.
When he left school, an NVQ in Animal Care followed – a natural progression for someone for whom the natural world held such a fascination. That fascination took a new direction almost a decade ago, when Lee bought his first camera, a second-hand Nikon D90 with a telephoto lens.
He self-taught himself everything, learning the camera basics by practising, and coming to understand exactly how the camera worked. After a while, having taken many images of all types of wildlife, he was drawn to macro photography, and bought a 30 year old macro lens. Through it, a whole new world opened up! The first photo he took with that venerable lens was a ladybird, and he recalls being blown away by what he could see - the amount of detail of something that was generally unseen beneath our feet had him hooked. More recently, Lee has switched to more contemporary mirrorless Olympus cameras, and is an enthusiastic advocate for the advantages they provide for the macro photographer.
Since those early first steps into the macro world, Lee’s photography skills and eye for composition have been widely recognised, with a series of awards culminating, most recently, in him winning the title of “Best British Macro Photographer” in 2023 at the British Photography Awards.
His work has featured with National Geographic, the BBC, in newspapers worldwide and close to home, and in photography magazine and journals.
Never happier than when he’s got a camera in his hands, Lee is a passionate proponent of macro photography, and loves helping others to explore the colourful possibilities presented by macro photography.
