Naomi Stolow, an award winning photographer from the Dawlish & Teignmouth Photographic Club, was recently invited to take over the Instagram feed of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature over a week, focusing on sharing her wildlife photography from the Arctic, Africa and here in the UK.
They introduce Naomi by saying: "A few years ago, Naomi swapped a long-running e-commerce career in Central London for a life deep in the South Devon countryside. Now calling a renovated milking shed home, Naomi is devoted to taking pictures of the natural world and its remarkable wildlife – using minimal editing to keep the authenticity of her photos."
The first day of the takeover focused on images of Arctic Svalbard in summer, up near the NorthPole. 24 hours of daylight made for an eerie and mesmerising frozen landscape, and Naomi found it hard to imagine anything living in such a harsh environment, but soon discovered that Svalbard is full of surprises - such as a bearded seal resting on an ice floe, kittiwakes fishing by a glacier, incongruous walruses loafing around the shoreline, and arctic puffins fishing for their hungry young.
The second day the WWF concentrated on Naomi's images from her doorstep here in Devon, and around the UK. From spotting a pale tussock moth in her garden, to the Atlantic grey seals and the deer in Richmond Park, London, Naomi feels lucky there is so much wildlife here in the UK. Dawn and dusk are her favourite times for photography.
The final day focused on images from African safaris Naomi has been lucky enough to enjoy, from young leopard cubs to enormous elephants. She recalled two particularly special moments. “After a long wait in Kruger National Park one morning, a female leopard emerged from the bushes. As if that wasn’t exciting enough, the then revealed not one, but two 3-month-old leopard cubs, allowing us to watch on as they played in the dappled sunlight. On another trip to Kenya, I was showering outdoors when a small herd of elephants strolled by and stopped to munch on some branches. They were so close I could have touched them, prompting a quick camera grab for some close-ups! After finishing my shower, the herd had moved on and I just sat down with a quiet cuppa, realising just how privileged I'd been.”
When asked why she agreed to do the takeover for the WWF, she says "I believe it is now more important than ever to share these kinds of images, with the hope of inspiring others to embrace, cherish and protect our precious wildlife. I have long supported the Worldwide Fund for Nature and was honoured they loved my images enough to help get the message out."
Naomi is the webmaster for the Dawlish & Teignmouth Photographic Club which meet on Wednesdays at Holcombe Village Hall. The club welcomes anyone with an interest in photography. The website is packed full of useful information about what's on and how to join.
These are some of Naomi's images shared by the WWF over the week.
All images © Naomi Stolow