Focus-Gambia: Photographic Workshops in The Gambia, West Africa

Phil Newman has kindly given us permission to show his stunning shots taken in The Gambia in 2003.

Born in 1954 and brought up In Caerphilly, South Wales, Phil remembers developing a keen interest in birds from a young age. The photographic angle developed through his father, a professional photographer, who would be dragged across the moors and fields to photograph nests. However, it was not until he moved to Aberdeen in 1976 and saw the wide variety of nesting waders and met, for the first time, serious bird photographers, that he decided to give it a go.

Phil is a great fan of Canon equipment and believe this company is the major innovator in moving photography forward. Over the years, he has upgraded to the Canon EOS 3 and EOS IV camera bodies with the 500mm UIS lenses combined with the 1.4 and 2.0 converters for sharper images. He is enthusiastic about the image stabilisation - something Nikon colleagues look upon with great envy.

By profession, Phil is a geologist and wildlife photography is a serious hobby, with his photographs lodged with several photographic agencies and frequently appear in books and magazines. www.nature-photographer.co.uk