John with Jumbo - Kenya 2007

Hi, my name is John Devries.

I have been obsessed with wildlife and the natural world for as long as I can remember. Over the years I have accumulated a wealth of knowledge that has enabled me to understand my subjects sufficiently well to be privileged to enter their world. I get such a thrill, when through patience, or perhaps a little edible bribery, a normally timid species accepts me sufficiently to enable a close approach and to allow me and my camera to capture something of their essence. Every picture on this website has a story behind it, and my aim is to hopefully share with others, something of the beauty and wonder of the natural world that I have been honored to witness and photograph during my years as a wildlife photographer.

I have exhibited my work, and my images and articles are widely published in magazines and books, are used on numerous websites, plus I also sell my images as prints. In 2006 I made a short TV programme with the BBC on wildlife photography and was featured in the Kent on Sunday "Review" magazine.

Although I can provide images directly via my own website, I also use two international photo agencies, one in Milan, one in London.

I lead photographic field trips and I am able to provide one-to-one photography tuition. (Please contact me if interested in a Digital SLR masterclass or beginners session)

 

 

Although I love all living things (well, maybe not mosquitoes and midges) Britain's wild orchids have always particularly fascinated me due to their beauty, rarity and extraordinary life-histories. By photographing these plants as a child, my interest in wildlife photography began, so I thought that it was only fitting that I name this website and indeed my photography business after the "Ophrys" family of orchids in their honour.

My extensive travels and number of hours in the field have produced wonderful opportunities for me to photograph other flora and fauna besides orchids. I have now broadened my remit to capture good images of birds and animals, particularly the mammals, and also some insects such as butterflies and moths.

I have converted totally to digital cameras since 2004, so nearly all the images on the image galleries are taken with newer generation digital slr cameras. Not only do I find that they have many practical advantages over film, but more importantly, I firmly believe that digital files now comfortably exceed the quality of scanned film.

The digital photographer has to be master of both a camera and computer digital editing techniques, so I have tried to communicate some of the lessons that I have learned in my Tips and Tutorials pages. These are becoming very popular, judging by the feedback that I am regularly receiving.

All my images are available for purchase as prints or for commercial use. Please contact me for more information.

< Back to About Us