Hello and finally I am back after a month away celebrating our wedding and honeymoon. It has been an amazing time and we would like to thank you all for your good wishes, which have been much appreciated.

Just before I left for the wedding I was told that I had won an incredibly prestigious award, but was not allowed to tell you until today. So I have just been awarded the Cherry Kearton Medal and Award for nature photography by the Royal Geographical Society. Wow, wow and wow was my first reaction as previous winners have included Simon King. It means a lot to me as the award is voted by the members of the RGS, which contains some very eminent names in the fields of wildlife and conservation. The Medal and Award will be presented by the President, Michael Palin, at the Society’s Medals and Awards celebrations on Monday 11 June 2012 and I will of course get some pictures of the day for you.

You may wonder who Cherry Kearton is? Well he was the first real wildlife photographer and traveled the world with a plate camera photographing large mammals. He was born in the Yorkshire Dales in 1871 and his passion for wildlife led him to want to record it all on film. I cannot imagine how difficult it was for him then, without any of our modern toys to help him. I still have a reprint of one of his first books here at home, I read it when I first started and his enthusiasm really started me off on the right track.

It’s so nice to get this award on so many levels as I feel it’s recognition of all that I have achieved with not only my photography but with my conservation efforts too. It really made me smile when I received the letter and I will continue to smile all that day!