Meet photographer: WildingPix

, 19 June 2026
Meet photographer: WildingPix
Bittern © WildingPix

Kim discovered photography at the start of this year, after a magical encounter with a Kingfisher changed her life. We already loved her photography, but talking to her for this blog made us appreciate it even more. It's remarkable what she's achieved in such a short time, and it's moving to hear how much the wildlife at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve has helped her through such a difficult time.


What do you enjoy about photography? 

I enjoy photography because I see things in nature and how beautiful they are and want everyone to know how amazing this world is and how we need to look after what is such an amazing gift we have been given, it is my escape and release from all that comes with life. I have suffered with my mental health since the death of my daughter and always struggled, but since I discovered photography and nature it has been the best medicine I have ever found - it beats any real medication I have tried. When I have been out doing photography I feel revitalised and ready to take on the world again, it makes me smile and feel a warm glow come over me. It’s simply amazing.

What draws you to Rye Harbour? 

I live in Rye Harbour and it is local for me but Rye is such a beautiful place and Rye Harbour Nature Reserve is one of the best in the South East for diversity and richness of nature. It's a beautiful haven on my doorstep, I feel overwhelmed with a privilege to live here. Myself and my husband wake up most days and feel as if we are on holiday in a beautiful destination. How lucky are we?

What is your favourite thing to photograph and why? 

I love to photograph all wildlife and nature and want to show off the beauty of it to everyone, as I think a lot of people walk around with their eyes closed to it and I want to shout from the roof tops. Stop take a moment and look and listen it’s beautiful. Birds are my favourite though they have such diverse colours different natures and I love the simplicity on how they evolve and look at surviving just one day at a time, I think they are all just a magical gift.

One of Kim's first photographs that she took
One of Kim's first photographs that she took

What's your favourite photo that you’ve taken at RHNR and why? 

I think my favourite of all is my kingfisher on New Year’s Day 2026 - it was a beautiful sunny day and a new start to the new year. We walked up to Denny’s hide and had just sat down when the Kingfisher turned up and proceeded to fish in front of us for nearly 2 hours. Oh my gosh I felt so alive. What a moment, I was completely lost in the whole moment and forgot about everything. I was hooked, I had never had a feeling like that before, it was magical and I have looked forward ever since. If ever I feel overwhelmed or low I go for a walk to RHNR and I come back feeling refreshed and ready to take on the world. It’s simply such a magical thing. Nature is the best medicine.

Kim will be on the judging panel for the photography competition run by Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. You can find out more about the competition here.  

We will also be showing a selection of her work on our digital exhibition screen in the Discovery Centre from Sunday 21st June.

You can see more of Kim's work here.

Leave a comment

Comments

  • Teresa Longhurst:

    Such an inspirational interview. What an amazing lady x

    19 Jun 2026 11:25:00

  • Kayleigh longhurst:

    Love this interview, it shows there are so many things we just dont take note of in nature. The difference being out in it can make is magical. Thank you for a fab blog including an amazing lady like kim! X

    19 Jun 2026 13:38:00

  • Amazing to read your story Kim and happy to always see what you post too. Wildlife and wildlife photography really does help so much

    20 Jun 2026 07:05:00

  • Paula:

    I have loved your pictures ever since they started appearing on my Instagram feed and now they are even more beautiful having read this lovely article. Thank you so much for sharing❤️

    21 Jun 2026 15:14:00

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