Laurie Campbell

From as far back in his childhood as he can remember Laurie Campbell was doing ‘the Gerald Durrell thing’ of collecting and keeping animals in matchboxes. As he got older he was able to wander further afield and got himself a camera to show family and friends what he was seeing. From these humble beginnings he was to become Scotland’s first professional wildlife photographer and is still one of the best.

His first camera was a 1950’s Practika and he developed and printed his own black and white film. It was only when he had the opportunity to photograph a kingfisher that he realised the limitations and moved onto colour film.

At first he took various jobs to subsidise his hobby but finally left school and became a keeper at Edinburgh Zoo. He began photographing the captive animals to sell black and white prints in the Zoo shop. ‘But I was happiest photographing things in the wild, where I strive not to set up photographs and be truly honest in what I portray.’

Although he enjoyed his job, Laurie decided to turn professional after a couple of years. ‘I felt I could do more for conservation by recording things. The wildlife most people encounter is through photographs in books and magazines, and in the media. So I did a degree course in photography at Napier College in Edinburgh. They had never had a wanna-be nature photographer before so I had to twist many of the assignments to suit my own particular interest.’