Storm, Maasai Mara, 2021

< Previous / Next >

  • I take real issue with the concept of luck in photography, the more hours you put in the greater the possibilities. While I had not planned 'Storm' to the extent I may have with 'Michael' or 'Kalite', my field notes show I have now spent a shade over 2,000 hours on safari in the Maasai Mara, so eventually outcomes you have not planned can provide some of the most exciting results. Wildlife rarely works on your schedule.

    A good zebra shot has eluded me for years. Despite living and working in the Maasai Mara for much of my early 20’s, where zebra were numerous, things had failed worked out before. Perhaps due in part to my obsession with elephant and big cat shots.

    As time wore on though and I spent longer in the reserve, I was drawn more towards the lesser appreciated species particularly as so often sightings around the more sought after species were flooded with vehicles - as many as 70 cars were counted around a cheetah sighting recently.

    On one of my final evenings in the reserve, as my time working there was drawing to a close, storm clouds gathered on the boundary of Mara North conservancy, so it was there we headed. Much, I expect, to my guide Bernard Koros’ dismay.

    “Why must we always drive towards the rain, William?”

    My response, “because no one else is”, drew a small chuckle and despite me always asking to drive in the direction of a storm, in our three years working together I have never seen Koros get stuck.

    As we reached the boundary, a herd of zebra were making their way over the ridge ahead of us. Directing Koros to a low point where I knew we could create a false horizon, I settled on the last zebra in the group, increasing the chance of a clean shot while, miraculously, a beam of light broke through the clouds and drew out the contrast in the zebras stripes against the stormy backdrop. While I say I take issue with luck, someone was smiling down on me somewhere that day.

    As the light provided the penultimate piece of the jigsaw, the flick of the tail offered the final one. It was all I needed to inject some energy to the image, adding as much as the storm clouds above. The image needs both to work.

  • Standard:

    Large:

    William is proud to be represented by London’s Red Eight Gallery, where his work hangs along side the likes of Banksy, Damien Hirst and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

    With William’s work having sold around the globe, all print sales are handled by the team of professional art advisors and to make an enquiry use the “print enquiry” button below.

  • 10% of the proceeds from William’s print sales are donated to his partnered conservation charities, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation and Saving the Wild.

    Both these organisations focus on an holistic approach to wildlife protection, ensuring local communities are at the forefront of efforts and decision making.

    With William’s style deeply focussed on wildlife in its environment, working with organisations of this calibre and determination is a natural fit and prints are proudly embossed with the logos of the charities they support.

    To date William’s work has been used to raise over £45,000 for a variety of charitable organisations.

  • Having put so much effort in to capturing these images, it is vital the same attention to detail goes in to the printing and framing process.

    Over the last decade William has exclusively used Dorset based company, PictureFrames, the only bespoke framing company in the world certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council - meaning all the timber based products used are sustainably sourced.

    In that time they have honed their signature pieces to reflect the style of his work. The use of Innova Etching 315 GSM cotton rag paper perfectly highlights the contrast and tones within William’s black and white images, while using Canon Lucia inks ensures the prints last for 80 years, even behind glass.

    Once printed, pieces are framed to museum standard with a black ash frame and off white image mount, creating a timeless look for contemporary photography.