Behind the Lens with Bob Foreman

Emma Chaplin
, 05 April 2020
Behind the Lens with Bob Foreman
Brown Argus © Bob Foreman

We talk to Bob Foreman, Biodiversity Data Lead for the Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre, about his work and his photography 

Tell us a bit about yourself

I grew up near Torquay in Devon, surrounded by glorious countryside. Then I went to London to work in the professional photography industry for 13 years, in the days before digital. My job was managing a slide processing lab. I was working in Joe's Basement in Soho, which was open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and located in Hammer House, where the Hammer House of Horror series were produced. There was even a private viewing cinema in the basement! The paparazzi would come from Mayfair at 4am, bringing in film to be developed for photos for the tabloids the next day. 

Eventually my partner and I got disillusioned with London and looked around to move out. We settled on Lindfield. After our children were born, I became a house husband for a while, then, when my son went to school, I used the digital imaging skills I had learnt in London to do freelance web and graphic design. 

But I'd also had a lifelong interest in nature, especially butterflies and moths, and in 2005 was given a moth trap for my birthday. I set up a moth diary online, which became popular, and this allowed me to connect with nature and wildlife. 

Ledra aurita

Ledra Aurita

I joined the Sussex Butterfly Conservation Branch Committee and what really struck me was what a lot these people knew. I realised I needed to change tack and decided to go to Plumpton College to study countryside management, then did an ecology top-up degree at Brighton University. I met Penny Green who asked me to volunteer for the Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre, which is how I eventually ended up in my current post as Biodiversity Data Lead. 

TreeHopper Centrotus cornutus

Tree-hopper

Tell us about your job

The Record Centre is the hub for environmental information for Sussex and my job is about the maintenance and management of the species database. We currently have more than 7.6 million species records! I also consult/liaise with national and local recording groups, gathering information and encouraging recording. 

My job combines my skillset of data tech saviness with a knowledge of wildlife. 

I love my job, and working with wildlife every day. I’m part of a great team and am in awe of the people I work with at Sussex Wildlife Trust.

BRC L to R Andrew Lawson, Henri Brocklebank, Lois Mayhew, Cl©Miles DaviesSussex Wildlife Trust

Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre team - L-R Andrew Lawson, Henri Brocklebank, Lois Mayhew, Clare Blencowe, Helen Hodson and Bob Foreman © Miles Davies

You take photos of species?

Yes, photography has become an integral part of wildlife recording, especially since it went digital, because there's no cost implication. I take as a good a photo as I can get to identify what a species is. It means you don't have to collect it. I used to be keen and interested in traditional methods of printing and processing, but for now, photography for me is mostly a useful addition to my field notebook. 

Hornet

Hornet

What have been your most interesting finds?

In 2008, I found a tiny brown moth, and shared the photo in a chat group. I was contacted by someone from the Natural History Museum, and after sending them the specimen, it was identified as the first specimen in the UK of Blastobasis vittata, confirmed by the world’s leading authority on this group at the University of Copenhagen. Another time, my partner saw a little moth in the garden, and put it in a pot for me. It turned out to be the Orange-blotch Cosmet - the first Sussex record since 1880.

Blastobasis vittata

Blastobasis vittata 

Do you still love moths?

Yes I do, and moth traps are a good way to lure people into nature. There's a huge array of different shapes and sizes. People can't help being amazed.

Orang blotchCosmet

Orange Blotch Cosmet

Leave a comment

Comments

  • Sara godfrey:

    Hi Bob – love the pics

    27 Apr 2023 21:05:00

Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1783237717.59590 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1783237717.62110.0252Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1783237717.62120.0001Server address: 216.73.217.150
1783237717.62130.0001Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1783237717.62130Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/behind-the-lens-with-bob-foreman
    [s] => behind-the-lens-with-bob-foreman
    [1] => behind-the-lens-with-bob-foreman
)
1783237717.62170.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783237717.62280.0012 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1783237717.62470.0019 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1783237717.62520.0005INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1783237717.62720.002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22643190
1783237717.62770.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22643190
1783237717.62830.0006 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-05 07:48:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-05 07:48:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1783237717.62960.0013 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='behind-the-lens-with-bob-foreman')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-05 07:48:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1783237717.63250.0029 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783237717.6330.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=2017 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-05 07:48:00'
1783237717.63380.0008 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1783237717.63440.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1783237717.63510.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=195 LIMIT 1
1783237717.63560.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=69 LIMIT 1
1783237717.63610.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783237717.63630.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1783237717.63730.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-05 07:48:00' AND postSlug='behind-the-lens-with-bob-foreman'
1783237717.65910.0218Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783237717.65970.0005 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1783237717.66110.0015Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1783237717.66140.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1783237717.6620.0006 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1783237717.66320.0012 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783237717.66580.0027 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783237717.66640.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783237717.66830.0019Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1783237717.66840 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783237717.66890.0005 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783237717.66910.0002 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783237717.67070.0016 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783237717.67120.0005 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783237717.67190.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783237717.67370.0018 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783237717.67440.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1783237717.67640.0019 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1783237717.67680.0004Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783237717.6770.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1783237717.67770.0007Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1783237717.67820.0005 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='behind-the-lens-with-bob-foreman')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-05 07:48:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1783237717.68010.002 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783237717.68060.0004 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783237717.68320.0026Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1783237717.68430.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=2017 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1783237717.73530.051 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1783237717.73590.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783237717.73610.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1783237717.7370.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1783237717.73780.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1783237717.73840.0007 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783237717.74070.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783237717.74120.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783237717.74310.0019 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783237717.74390.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783237717.74470.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783237717.74510.0005 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783237717.74770.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783237717.74820.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783237717.75020.002 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783237717.75340.0032 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1783237717.7540.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1783237717.75450.0005 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783237717.75660.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783237717.75710.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783237717.75910.002 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783237717.76160.0026 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783237717.76230.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783237717.76280.0004 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783237717.76490.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783237717.76530.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783237717.76710.0018 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783237717.76820.0011Request time: 0.1746
1783237717.76820Process time: 0.1745
1783237717.76820Memory: 1.6529