100 Things That Caught My Eye

Award-winning photographer Chris Packham has traveled the world in his quest for the ultimate image. Here, readers are offered a rare glimpse into the imagination of an exceptional photographer at the moment he captures each picture. Chris has chosen these iconic images from over 25 years of traveling. Alongside each image is an accompanying explanation as to why he took it. Chris believes that taking great pictures requires the mind, not just the knowledge of science or of which lens does what. "It is about engaging that part of the brain which feels for the picture, that learns how to see it coming and then, in that critical instant, makes all the decisions from the heart. No book of technique will help you at the crucial moment. That type of advice has to be far behind you when you are poised finger on button. This is just you, alone, at the only moment in all time when, if you feel it, the picture may be there. It's not spiritual. Equally it's not scientific or empirical. It is artistic. That fusion of all disciplines which some of our species can manifest as a great gift."

As a young scientist, Chris Packham studied kestrels, shrews and badgers, and later studied zoology at Southampton University. Post graduation he began taking photographs and trained as a wildlife film cameraman. He has hosted several BBC nature series, and is the author of The Practical Naturalist.