Victoria Hillman

"I am a scientist by training with a BSc in zoology with marine zoology from the University of Wales, Bangor and an MSc in Wildlife Biology and Conservation from Edinburgh Napier University, photography for a long time was just a hobby.

I don't have any photographic qualifications or training, I am completely self-taught learning as I go, looking at what I like or don't like and being critical of my own work looking at ways to improve. From an early age I have enjoyed being outdoors and had a fascination for all things living. This was an interest that was encouraged and nurtured by my family and teachers. In the years that followed I developed a deep understanding and passion for the natural world and knew that working with animals was the career path for me. Alongside my studies I began to develop my photography with the help of family, friends and teachers. This development is ongoing, learning more every time I go out with my camera and has blossomed into my own unique way of portraying the natural world.

Over the last few months my focus (no pun intended) has changed to macro work, spending time recording and photographing all the smaller things we have around us, from plants to insects with the odd reptile thrown in for good measure and this will be my project over the next few years. As I collect new images I will upload them to the galleries and you will definitely see this shift over time, but I will be really aiming to bring out the beauty and characters of my subjects using more artistic images and developing new ideas and techniques along the way to really bring out details and characters of my subjects. As I explore this world of macro I am delighted to now offer a talk on just macro work in the field and from 2016 my Forgotten Little Creatures talk will also be available to book.