It’s not always easy taking photographs, even when there are a multitude of opportunities to take advantage of – last weekend was a perfect example of this. Tropical World in Leeds is a fantastic place for taking photos – colourful plants, butterflies, birds, meerkats, insects, reptiles – you really are spoilt for choice. So why did I come away with only one half decent photo?

There are two reasons really – one technical, one not. One of the main challenges was to take a shot before the lens misted up, the air in large parts of Tropical World is kept intentionally very humid so as soon as you get your camera out of the bag the viewfinder mists up and as soon as you take the lens cap off you need to wipe it clean. I found I had about two seconds from cleaning the lens before it misted up again, how professional nature photographers work in the jungle I really don’t know. The second reason is one that I can’t complain about and that is that I simply didn’t have time to take many shots because my 18 month old boys were too busy running around and enjoying themselves – sometimes getting the best shot isn’t top of my priorities but at least I got one photo which I am happy with!