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wildlife photography
natural history photographer
badger watch
greetings cards
Cornwall
images of Cornwall
Cornish images
David Chapman
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David Chapman was born and brought up in Blackpool, he
attended university in Sheffield and after achieving a 2/1 honours degree in
Mathematics he trained to teach. This enabled him to work in areas of
the country that satisfied his birding desire so initially he moved to
Norfolk. After two years he gained promotion and moved to Bridlington,
adjacent to the birding Mecca of Flamborough Head. Three years
later, in 1992, he
moved to Cornwall where he was soon promoted to Head of Department at Helston School and
it is in Cornwall that he still lives today.
During his time in Cornwall his passion for
bird photography really grabbed hold and when he married Sarah they
bought a small holding near Hayle. This plot of land is excellent for
wildlife with quite varied habitats for its modest size of five acres.
David and his wife keep a small number of animals but they are most
proud of their achievements in attracting and keeping some interesting
wildlife species including Cetti's Warbler, Water Rail, Badgers, Adders
as well as many 'common' species. It is sometimes difficult to
distinguish David's hides from the animal shelters but he has taken some lovely
images from them (the animal shelters and the hides!), some of which you
can see in the image library on this web site. His photographic subjects have
now expanded to cover all aspects of British wildlife and landscapes.
David's wildlife photography is well respected
in Cornwall and beyond, he is secretary of the Cornwall Wildlife Trust's
photographic group. In 2004 he became
a council member and trustee of the Cornwall Wildlife Trust. His images are often
used in newspapers as well as leaflets and on interpretative
panels. In 1999 he started to write nature diaries for Cornwall Today
and these proved to be very popular, so much so that he has expanded his
writing to include monthly features for, amongst others, the Caravan Club
Magazine, Smallholder, SAGA online and a regular wildlife travel feature for MMM.
A recent increase in the demand for David's writing
has seen him contributing to
other magazines including The Countryman, Country Life, Bird Art and Photography and Bird
Watching. His photography is now used regularly in Bird Watching magazine, Natural World
and BBC Wildlife as well as other birding and wildlife journals, he has
also had work used in calendars each year since 1998 in Cornwall and
throughout the world. David has
now produced ten books about Cornwall and has taken all the photos for
another book written by his wife, Sarah, for further details of these books
click here.
In 2003 David left his post of Head of Maths
at Helston School to work as a full time professional photographer and writer. David joined the Outdoor Writer's
Guild in 2001 and in his first full year of membership he won two of
their prestigious awards, one for photography and one for his writing of
nature diaries. He is the first person in the history of the guild
to be awarded two honours in one year. In 2004 David repeated this
feat with another double honour from the guild this time he received one
for his photography of conservation in the Outer Hebrides and the other
for his writing of a series of articles published in the Caravan Club
magazine.
In 2009 David was very proud to be awarded the
'Speech, Drama and Music' award by the Cornwall's Women's Institute for
the high standard of his exposition in demonstrations and workshops.
In 2011 he won the 'Wildlife in the garden' section of the International
Garden Photographer of the Year having previously come a close second!
David is always looking for opportunities to expand his
photography and will always consider taking commissions for wildlife and
environmental projects. In 2005 he took a one year commission from
Cornwall Enterprise to photograph the Gardens
of Cornwall since then he has worked closely with Trebah Garden
providing images for their calendar in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
He now also provides the images for the Cornwall Hospice Care calendar.
In 2011 he visited Norway on a commission to write about Dintur, a
wildlife and photography business, for the magazine 'Bird Art and
Photography.
Over the last three years David has contributed to the
running of the Natural History and Marine Photography degree course at Tremough campus, Penryn.
He has tutored students on photography and essay-writing as well as
planning and leading trips locally and further afield. On trips he
teaches students about ecology,
conservation and photography.
Among his other projects David
leads photographic workshops and guided walks, gives
illustrated talks as well as making and selling photo-based products
around the country. To find your nearest
store click here.
Enjoy the web site and please feel free
to contact David if you have any questions.
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