I’ve loved wildlife for as long as I can remember and grew up obsessed with David Attenborough’s documentaries. I had always dreamed of going to Africa and seeing some of those animals for myself. After months spent cooped up during the pandemic, I was determined to finally make it happen and booked a last-minute trip to Kenya as soon as the first lockdown lifted – multiple covid tests, fear of quarantine and all. I bought a basic DSLR camera for the trip with little idea of how to use it. My first proper photograph was three cheetahs lying beneath an acacia tree in the Maasai Mara. Technically, it was terrible. The light was poor and the composition even worse, but I can still picture the scene clearly. From that trip, I was hooked. For me, much of the appeal of wildlife photography lies simply in being there — away from the everyday and surrounded by wildlife and vast landscapes.