About Windows on Wildlife
Windows on Wildlife photography hides and workshops is a small independent business owned and run by a husband and wife team, Dean and Stephanie Mason, both of whom are dedicated to offering a professional, personalised and friendly service. Great care and consideration has been taken in the development of our wildlife photographic hides, offering you the photographer some excellent opportunities to capture the images you are looking for without having to do all the usual hard work in finding your subjects.
Dean, a renowned and dedicated wildlife photographer for over 20 years and considered by many to be an expert in his craft, decided to take the plunge and leave his 20 year employment to set up Windows on Wildlife photography hides and workshops. His decision was influenced after visiting many hides and workshops over previous years and often leaving very disappointed due to poor running of various sites, lack of amenities and uncomfortable hides in general!
As Dean has stated in the past "wildlife photography is never easy at the best of times and it's the challenge that drives us on, comfort is a very rare opportunity and we grab it when we can"! Because of this, he decided to offer hides with just a little bit of comfort, adequate and comfortable seating, tea and coffee as and when required and most importantly toilet facilities, especially for the lady photographers who often struggle when they are out and about.
Many previous customers have commented how blatantly obvious it is that the Windows on Wildlife hides and workshops have been designed by a photographer for photographers, what greater compliment could there possibly be ?
Being committed and sensitive to the needs of the wildlife that surrounds us has ensured that the natural inhabitants are always happy to visit our site on a regular basis, thus ensuring that you will leave with some memorable images for your portfolio.
We began running harvest mice photography workshops in 2017 and it became a very popular workshop in a short period of time. Customers have maximum photographic opportunities with our little furry friends due to our unique policy at Windows on Wildlife, we never mix groups of people on our workshops. If you book a session with us, then that session is yours for the duration and there is NO extra cost!
About Dean
Dean is a completely self-taught photographer who first began taking photos at the ripe young age of 17 with his beloved Olympus OM10 35mm SLR.
His interest in the early days was speed and he would spend much of his free time travelling to and from various race circuits around the country including the Isle of Mann TT races, in the hope of capturing images of his favourite motorcycle riders.
His other passion has always been the beauty of nature, including wildlife. You would often see him wandering around the countryside and river banks in the hope of spotting local deer, badgers, foxes or his favourite avian the kingfisher.
Approximately 18 years ago Dean decided to embrace the digital era and combined his passion for wildlife with his knowledge of photography and has never looked back.
Accolades
Dean, the owner of Windows on Wildlife photography hides and workshops is a renowned wildlife photographer himself, and has spent many years wandering around the countryside and devoted most of his time in capturing images that many of you may have seen or know. His time, effort and dedication has produced some award winning images that have been published both in the national press and magazines worldwide.
His kingfisher on the "No Fishing" sign was also used by Carl Zeiss in the advertising campaign for their new Victory SF binoculars, endorsed by wildlife expert and T.V. personality Simon King. Dean has also featured on the BBC Radio 2 breakfast show presented by Chris Evans, and his cheeky water vole image entitled 'One of my 5 a day' made an appearance on BBC breakfast T.V. which was presented by Susanna Reid. Other accolades include winning the Nature TTL wildlife competition with his little owl image entitled “Batman".
Perhaps his greatest achievement to date came in 2017 when he won the BBC's Countryfile calendar competition with his image of a water vole entitled 'Berry Brunch' who was caught in the act of eating berries by a stream. He was incredibly proud of this particular achievement because along with the eleven other images that made up the calendar, it raised over two million pounds for the BBC's Children In Need charity campaign. He also had the privilege to meet and be interviewed by the legendary John Craven for the BBC Countryfile T.V. programme, who surprised Dean on the day when he handed him the first copy of the calendar showing his winning image on the front cover.
Dean's work has appeared in both national, local press, and media on numerous occasions. He has graced wildlife magazines with many images that he has captured over the years and his quirky, comical images are always a hit with the readers. He is also in high demand with artists around the world who often use his photographic images for their own reference and artwork, and for a small fee he is always happy to sell his images to some very talented people.
‘Berry Bunch’ - BBC Countryfile winner, click to read more.