How did you get into photography?
I have always loved wildlife. When I was 18, I went on safari to Kenya and a guy in my Jeep had all this great gear – I just had a little point-and-shoot camera. I bought some equipment and haven’t looked back.
Which shot is most important to you?
An image of a red deer stag that I took in my old film days. It was awarded in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, which meant a lot.
What’s your biggest ‘oh drat it’ moment?
I’ve always wanted to photograph a black-throated diver. It is rare in the UK and sensitive to disturbance, so I planned a trip to Sweden, where it is more common.
I built this elaborate floating hide and travelled by ferry so I could transport it. On the maiden voyage, it started to list, then sank. I should have tested it first...
Anything ever tried to eat you?
While photographing brown bears in Finland, I fell asleep in my hide and woke to find a bear cub had stuck its head into the camera porthole and was pulling at my sleeping bag. I was pulling it back when its mother and sibling joined in. That was a tug-of-war I was never going to win. They eventually got the sleeping bag out and the cub ran off with it. It was expensive, too.
- How fast are bears?
- "They are designed for ripping apart blubbery seals, so they will make short work of our puny bodies:" The 10 deadliest bears on the planet
What’s your poorest photographic yield?
On another trip to Finland, I spent eight days in a hide waiting for wolves. I never so much as glimpsed them.
Which piece of kit have you used least?
That expensive sleeping bag...
What’s the shot you nearly got?
I was in Norway, checking out a hide a friend was building. He’d told me not to bother bringing my camera. While on site, we saw a female stoat on the move with nine kits. It was an amazing spectacle.
Any advice to budding photographers?
Pick a subject or location, work it and work it some more. There is always another shot to be had. And always take your camera.
Danny Green is a wildlife photographer from the UK. dannygreenphotography.com
