STORY BEHIND THE SHOT
Love Birds
Sam captured this pair of puffins after a long wait for good weather
“I had wanted to visit Skomer for a long time and photograph puffins for even longer. We had six failed attempts to go, and had driven four times from Devon to Pembrokeshire before the weather prevented our travel. Finally, we got lucky. This was one of the last images I captured before leaving Skomer and it has become one of my favourites. I call it Love Birds, and whenever I’m struggling to stay motivated or I’m feeling frustrated, I look at this image and remember that with effort comes reward,” says Sam.
WE OFTEN hear about the negative impacts of using social media, but for photographers like Sam Hazell, platforms such as Instagram can foster a real sense of community. By exploring, shooting and sharing his images of the serene landscapes and wildlife of Devon, Sam has built a following of people who share his love of the natural world. He uses an EF-mount Canon telephoto lens on his mirrorless R6 camera to create artistic wildlife portraits, where the subjects are the centre of attraction and partly obscured by their surroundings. Over the years, photography has become Sam’s sanctuary, and now he’s keen to use his platform to help others with anxiety to develop their own skills. We caught up with him to talk about settings and subjects, as well as staying motivated during failure.
Hey, Sam. Tell us a bit about your photography journey…
I have been interested in photography and videography ever since a young age. It started out by photographing the adventures that my friends and I would have, whether that was skateboarding in the local car park, hiking on Dartmoor or exploring the local area. That then progressed into a jobthat others couldn’t – mountaineering in Scotland and kayaking the Cornish coast. I loved being able to combine my passion for the outdoors with photography. I also started shooting weddings.
