Ophrys Photography - Wildlife Photography. Professional wildlife photography by international wildlife and nature photographer - John Devries, Kent, UK. High quality wildlife prints and stock images for sale.

Ophrys Photography is world-renowned for high-quality, professional wildlife and nature photography.
The galleries contain thousands of beautiful images photographed by the highly experienced naturalist and wildlife photographer - John Devries working from Kent in the UK.

© Ophrys Photography2008

John's wildlife pictures are widely published and feature in books and magazines around the world. He has also featured on a BBC television programme about photographing wildlife.

It is suggested that you start by visiting the showcase gallery to see some favourite images. These all make great prints to hang on your wall. There are nearly 3000 more images in the main image galleries . These are continually being added to, so please bookmark the site if you wish to return to view the latest material. There is a list of the most recent or newly-updated gallery links to the left of this page.

All images are for sale as limited-edition (500) A4 or A3 fine-art prints or as stock images for use in commercial applications by publishers and webmasters.

A selection of wildlife stock images images are also available for purchase through two International photo agencies - Tips images in Milan and Science Photo Library in London, however all images may also be purchased directly through this website if you prefer.

Finally, if you live within a reasonable radius of Kent, and fancy improving your own wildlife photography or Photoshop image-processing skills, John can provide individual or small group tuition for users of digital SLR cameras. Please contact me for further details if interested.

Please enjoy your visit.

John Devries

Tips to maximize your viewing experience on this web site

1. The slideshows and wildlife photography image galleries take up a lot of room on the screen. If you have less than a 19" screen you may find that images are chopped-off at the bottom, requiring scrolling to see the whole image. To reduce the need for scrolling :

Use Fullscreen mode (By clicking on the Fullscreen icon at the top of your screen) or by pressing the F11 key shortcut. (F11 toggles fullscreen on/off)

2. Ensure that your screen is calibrated. You can do a quick visual set up using the Screencheck button below or by using Adobe Gamma (found in Control panel) if you have Photoshop. Set the gamma to a value of 2.2 for a PC, or 1.8 for a Mac. Better still, is to use one of the screen calibration products available such as the Colorvision Spyder2 that I use.Carry out the calibration in a dimmed room at the same room ambient light levels that you usually use to view your screen.If you use a monitor profile, ensure that you disable adobe gamma loader (in control panel) by dragging it to another location (such as the desktop).

Why the name Ophrys?

Ophrys Photography takes it’s name from "Ophrys orchids" which grow wild in the UK and Europe. Ophrys being the latin name for this group of terrestrial (ground-dwelling) orchids. My interest in British wild orchids, (and subsequently wildlife and nature photography in general) probably began, when as a small boy, I found a wild Fly Orchid (Ophrys insectifera). This fascinated me as it was so beautiful and also so unusual. I later discovered that Charles Darwin had once lived in Kent in the UK near to where I found it and indeed had often come to this very place to study wild orchids.

Fly Orchid (Ophrys insectifera)

It seemed only fitting that I should name my nature photography business after this wonderful group of plants. Instead of the fly orchid, I chose the late spider orchid (Ophrys fuciflora) as my photography company logo (the logo is in the title bar at the top of this page) as it is only found in the county of Kent in the UK - where I have lived for nearly all of my life.

Click here to go to see more pictures of UK ophrys species

Photographing wild orchids was only the beginning of course, and although this website started out as a celebration of British wild orchids, it has grown out of all recognition into a general wildlife photography site. The site now includes includes many pictures of animals and birds, insects and plants which I have encountered in my travels.

What do the wildlife image galleries contain?

FAUNA

Subjects covered include mainly wild animals - but also some domestic animals including sheep, cows, and some pedigree cats.
British mammals, such as seals, foxes, badgers etc are well represented, but there are also exotic species such as polar bear, brown bear and arctic foxes. There are numerous lemurs that were photographed in the wild in Madagascar. There are reptiles and amphibians, many birds, including owls and other birds of prey, and some insects - but mainly British butterflies and moths.

All wildlife photographs on this website are available for purchase as prints.

FLORA

Extensive galleries of images of British wild plants, garden plants, and as wild orchids are my speciality, the site contains an extensive library of many beautiful and rare British species and subspecies of orchid -including the ghost orchid, which is now possibly extinct in the UK. There are of course all the species of Ophrys after which Ophrys Photography takes its name.

I have included numerous hybrids and variations (vars) which have taken many years to locate. The galleries also include some tropical and European wild orchid species. I am continually adding to the European list as I travel.

OTHER CATEGORIES

Finally, there are a number of landscapes and sunsets, and even a few cityscapes - mainly images of London - not exactly wildlife photography I know. I am quite opportunistic with my landscape photography - I don't tend to go looking for it - but if something special occurs while I am out on location - I take that as a bonus.

New additions to the the wildlife photo galleries are constantly being added, so please bookmark the site if you would like to keep up to date.

What else is on the website ?

Free Images

There are free wildlife images on this website which you are free to download. These are in the "Free Images" section of this website. Please note that all other images are protected under copyright.©

I plan to extend the number of free images on the website, so please feel free to bookmark this site and keep checking!

Wildlife photography hints, tips and tutorials

I am gradually adding photography tips and Photoshop hints and tips that are relevant to wildlife photography. I hope any budding wildlife photographers out there will find useful. There is also a section on equipment - what I use and why.

Funnies

Finally I have included a "funnies" page - As animals and birds can be really comical, and I am starting to find that some images just cry out for a caption to be added. If you have any better suggestions for captions - please contact me and let me know.

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