Behind the Lens with Brian Watkins

Emma Chaplin
, 14 November 2022
Behind the Lens with Brian Watkins
Kingfisher © Brian Watkins

Brian Watkins was recently announced as winner of our photo competition with his lovely capture of a Banded Demoiselle silhouette. We caught up with him to find out more about his wildlife photography. 

Tell us a bit about yourself

I was born in Redhill, grew up in the countryside and always loved nature. I now live in Haywards Heath and work in credit management. I found a passion for photography about eight years ago whilst on holiday, taking some snaps with a basic point-and-shoot camera, it was then I decided to get into it more seriously. I've taken a lot of inspiration from David Plummer and learnt a lot from him, especially during a five day photography trip to Skomer.

Do you have a particular subject matter you favour?

I love all wildlife, but I would say butterflies. It's always a challenge to get a nice clean shot, but going at the right time of day and in the right weather conditions maximises your chances.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary
Pearl-bordered Fritillary

What are the biggest challenges?

In terms of photography, getting a good clean shot in the wild is never easy so having knowledge and patience is key. In terms of wildlife, the loss of habitats to human self-interest can be devastating to certain species and is very sad.

Robin
Robin

What equipment do you use, in brief?

Canon mirrorless camera and multiple lenses. I prefer to work hand-held rather than with a tripod. I like the freedom of movement it gives and also enables you to react more quickly, should you need to.

Great Green Bush-cricket
Great Green Bush-cricket

What's your favourite shot and why?

I would say my image of swan drinking in the early morning mist is one of my favourites. The curve of its neck is beautiful and I think makes it quite unusual.

Misty Morning Drink © Brian Hawkins
Misty Morning Drink © Brian Watkins

What are you trying to communicate with your photographs?

I do it for my own enjoyment - I generally have an idea or vision as to what I'd like to achieve when I head out. I do share some of my photographs on social media for others to see and it's always appreciated if I get some nice feedback. If people approach and ask me questions about what I'm trying to photograph when out on location, I always try to mention the plight of wildlife if I can.

Medina Groyne
Medina Groyne

Has anything unexpected happened when you've been out with your camera?

I've met some fantastic people, a couple of whom have become close friends.

Any tips?

Patience and perseverance. Understanding your camera. Respect the environment you're in and the subject matter you're photographing. And enjoy it, it's a fantastic hobby.

Brian Hawkins © Emma Chaplin
Brian Watkins © Emma Chaplin

Follow Brian on Instagram : @brianwatkins_photography

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1787986716.17530 [907] 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
1787986716.21230.037Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1787986716.21250.0001Server address: 216.73.216.170
1787986716.21250Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1787986716.21260Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/behind-the-lens-with-brian-watkins
    [s] => behind-the-lens-with-brian-watkins
    [1] => behind-the-lens-with-brian-watkins
)
1787986716.21280.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787986716.21390.0011 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1787986716.21610.0021 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1787986716.21680.0007INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1787986716.23240.0156 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=24580184
1787986716.23330.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=24580184
1787986716.23410.0008 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-08-29 06:58:00' AND saleTo>'2026-08-29 06:58:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1787986716.23580.0016 [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-brian-watkins')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-08-29 06:58:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1787986716.24790.0121 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1787986716.2490.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=2929 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-08-29 06:58:00'
1787986716.25010.0011 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1787986716.2510.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1787986716.25190.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=195 LIMIT 1
1787986716.25260.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=69 LIMIT 1
1787986716.25340.0008Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787986716.25360.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1787986716.25480.0012 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-08-29 06:58:00' AND postSlug='behind-the-lens-with-brian-watkins'
1787986716.28580.031Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787986716.28640.0006 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1787986716.28850.0021Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1787986716.28880.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1787986716.28990.0011 [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
1787986716.29140.0015 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1787986716.29550.0041 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787986716.29630.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787986716.29920.003Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1787986716.29930.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787986716.30040.0011 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787986716.30090.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787986716.30710.0062 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787986716.30860.0015 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787986716.30930.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787986716.31280.0035 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787986716.31380.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1787986716.31680.0031 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1787986716.31730.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787986716.31760.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1787986716.31830.0007Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1787986716.31880.0005 [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-brian-watkins')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-08-29 06:58:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1787986716.32180.003 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1787986716.32260.0008 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787986716.32550.0028Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1787986716.32630.0008 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=2929 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1787986716.39540.0691 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1787986716.39560.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787986716.39590.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1787986716.39660.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1787986716.39730.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1787986716.39790.0006 [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
1787986716.40060.0027 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787986716.40120.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787986716.40370.0025 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1787986716.40450.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1787986716.40520.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1787986716.40580.0006 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1787986716.40870.0029 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787986716.40930.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787986716.41180.0025 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1787986716.41480.003 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1787986716.41560.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1787986716.41680.0011 [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
1787986716.41920.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787986716.42030.0011 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787986716.42210.0018 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1787986716.42450.0024 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1787986716.42520.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1787986716.42570.0005 [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
1787986716.42840.0027 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787986716.43170.0033 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787986716.43380.0021 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1787986716.4350.0012Request time: 0.2629
1787986716.4350Process time: 0.2628
1787986716.4350Memory: 1.6509