Behind the Lens with Emma Varley

Emma Chaplin
, 09 January 2020
Behind the Lens with Emma Varley
Forget-me-not (c) Emma Varley

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I grew up in Stoke-on-Trent, but came to Sussex 25 years ago, meeting my husband on the second day of my new job. We’re lucky enough to live in the South Downs National Park near Chanctonbury Ring. I work in Horsham as a Reception Class teacher.

Emsmaller

How did you develop an interest in wildlife photography?

My older cousin gave me my first Kodak Instamatic camera. The Christmas present I remember being most excited about though was a copy of David Attenborough’s Life on Earth. My parents enjoyed walking in the Staffordshire and Derbyshire countryside, which sparked a love and respect for nature. It wasn’t until five years ago that I finally treated myself to a ‘proper’ camera and began to look more closely at beautiful Sussex around me. 

Web 1mushroom

What qualities do you need to be a good photographer?

Taking up photography showed me that there is a world of difference between enjoying being in the countryside and truly seeing it. Learning to look closely, appreciating changes in seasons and light and being curious about how wildlife looks through the lens has helped develop my skills. Patience is important, as is a camera that allows control over settings. 

Web 1first blue

What equipment do you use?

I use a Nikon d7200 DSLR camera with a Sigma 105 macro lens for close up work and a Tamron 100-400 telephoto which I picked up second hand. A tripod is useful for low light and landscape work and I always carry a fabric reflector to throw light back onto a subject, which I prefer to flash.

Web 1dragonfly

What’s your favourite shot? 

A frosty river sunrise near Partridge Green which was taken shortly after having my camera and involved a lot of luck. The excitement I felt watching this magical scene unfold is what keeps me going. It won the Sussex Wildlife Trust Photo Competition that year, which gave me a lot of pleasure. 

Web 1frosty sunrise

What are you trying to communicate with your photographs?

Our three children have been lucky to spend time growing up on a farm, surrounded by nature. I love sharing my passion for wildlife with the children at school – we’ve especially enjoyed taking part in The Wildlife Trusts 30 Days Wild each June. Close-up photography appeals because it seems to convey a little of the wonder of being young, seeing tiny treasures for the first time – a slippery earthworm wriggling in your hand or a ladybird tickling your arm. There’s always some surprising new detail to see through a macro lens, though I like to use a shallow depth of field for a dreamier feel.

Web 1will snail

What do you find most challenging to photograph and why?

Anything that moves too quickly! I’m happy with still subjects such as wildflowers or resting butterflies, but I have challenged myself this year and captured squirrels on Brownsea Island and dragonflies in flight. I was excited to photograph my first Kingfisher at Warnham Nature reserve this year. Well worth the wait.

Web 1beautifuldemoisellewoodsmill

Where, and when, historically, would you most have liked to be with a camera? 

How impressed would my class be with a photo of a T-Rex? As someone who loves photographing insects, the terrifying decline in their numbers makes me wonder how much richer the experience would have been half a century or more ago, and which species our children will still be able to enjoy as adults. It makes the work of the Wildlife Trusts and other ambassadors for nature so important, raising awareness and leading campaigns. It is why I’m so proud to be a member.

Web 1doeKnepp Castle

Has anything unexpected happened with your photography?

Nothing quite prepared me for the number of kind passers by offering medical assistance when they see me lying on the ground photographing butterflies or fungi – only waving my camera apologetically has prevented a call to the ambulance service.

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1783271782.10870 [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
1783271782.13530.0266Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1783271782.13550.0002Server address: 216.73.216.170
1783271782.13560.0001Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1783271782.13560Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/behind-the-lens-with-emma-varley
    [s] => behind-the-lens-with-emma-varley
    [1] => behind-the-lens-with-emma-varley
)
1783271782.1360.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783271782.1370.001 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1783271782.13890.0019 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1783271782.13950.0006INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1783271782.14120.0017 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22659922
1783271782.14170.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22659922
1783271782.14220.0006 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-05 17:16:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-05 17:16:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1783271782.14360.0014 [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-emma-varley')) 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 17:16:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1783271782.14610.0025 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783271782.14660.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=1939 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-05 17:16:00'
1783271782.14750.0009 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1783271782.14820.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1783271782.14880.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=195 LIMIT 1
1783271782.14930.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=69 LIMIT 1
1783271782.150.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783271782.15020.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1783271782.15110.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-05 17:16:00' AND postSlug='behind-the-lens-with-emma-varley'
1783271782.18890.0378Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783271782.18960.0007 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1783271782.19140.0018Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1783271782.19170.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1783271782.19250.0008 [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
1783271782.1940.0015 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783271782.1970.003 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783271782.19760.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783271782.19970.0021Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1783271782.19970.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783271782.20060.0009 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783271782.20110.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783271782.20420.003 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783271782.20520.0011 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783271782.20610.0008 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783271782.20910.003 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783271782.210.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1783271782.21220.0021 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1783271782.21260.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783271782.21290.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1783271782.21350.0006Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1783271782.21390.0004 [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-emma-varley')) 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 17:16:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1783271782.21590.0019 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783271782.21640.0005 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783271782.21980.0035Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1783271782.22090.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=1939 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1783271782.26820.0473 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1783271782.26840.0003Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783271782.26870.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1783271782.26960.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1783271782.27030.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1783271782.27080.0006 [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
1783271782.27280.002 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783271782.27330.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783271782.27530.002 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783271782.27640.0011 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783271782.2770.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783271782.27740.0004 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783271782.27990.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783271782.28050.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783271782.28240.0019 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783271782.28610.0037 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1783271782.28680.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1783271782.28720.0005 [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
1783271782.28950.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783271782.290.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783271782.29230.0023 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783271782.2950.0027 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783271782.29580.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783271782.29620.0005 [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
1783271782.29820.0019 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783271782.29870.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783271782.30090.0022 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783271782.30260.0017Request time: 0.1974
1783271782.30260Process time: 0.1972
1783271782.30260Memory: 1.6507