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I spent three days camping in the New Forest dedicated to photographing wildlife, with a particular focus on species I had long hoped to encounter. The trip allowed me to explore the forest ecosystem in detail while pursuing a personal interest that had grown over many years.
The motivation for the visit stemmed from a fascination with the European Stag Beetle, one of the UK’s most iconic and threatened insects. I had hoped to observe them in the wild since childhood, and the timing of the trip in May coincided with their seasonal activity, significantly improving my chances of finding them.
Staggering Beauty Male stag beetles spend much of the day sunning themselves on trees, branches and logs. Exploring a woodland in the New Forest, I encountered this individual on a low-lying, moss-covered branch. Absorbing the sun’s rays, he warmed himself in preparation for the commencing flights later that evening. Positioning my camera below this gentle giant helped provide a perspective of just how large and impressive these beetles really are.
During the visit, I was fortunate to encounter two stag beetles. These encounters provided an opportunity to capture both their striking physical form and the environmental pressures they face, including habitat loss and declining populations. The images aimed to highlight their majesty while hinting at the broader ecological challenges affecting the species.
Photographing the beetles required careful observation at dusk, when they are most active. I worked from low angles to emphasise their size and shape, using natural light supplemented with my camera flash to bring out texture and detail.
Urban Explorer After spending up to 5 years underground as a larva, the magnificent stag beetle emerges, ready to take flight. Adults only live for a couple of months in the summer, spending most of their time looking for a mate. Only flying at night, male stag beetles encounter many problems along the way. Birds, other male stag beetles, cars, cats and foxes all pose risks to them, but perhaps the biggest problem they face during this journey is light pollution. Artificial light emitted from houses, road signs, and streetlights affects their navigational ability and causes them to fly towards them. This leads to hundreds of stag beetles each year flying straight into a housing estate, where they buzz around a lamppost for a few days until they’re exhausted or eaten by birds. Only the male stag beetles tend to fly, and so this often leaves female stag beetles without a mate, and therefore unable to produce future generations. I found this male stag beetle haphazardly banging against a street sign before losing control, barely sticking his landing on the lower part of the post. After finding his footing, he stood still, allowing me to take some photographs. This was the first stag beetle I had ever seen, so it was a sad thing to witness.
The trip produced a small but focused series of stag beetle images. These photographs not only captured the subjects' beauty but also provided an opportunity to tell a story about conservation challenges. They remain a highlight of my UK-focused invertebrate portfolio.
