For me photography is trying to tell a story, I always want to try to achieve something different in my images to capture a new angle on life. Like many artists, photography for me is a way of expressing myself, being able to use photography to tell a prominent story is something I feel is really important. My normal subject of photography is wildlife photography, although you have probably gathered that from the image that I have taken. For me wildlife photography allows me to give nature a voice in an ever-increasing human population we are pushing wildlife aside for our own industrial food production. In the long run especially in small rural communities across the world with the lack of nature and biodiversity these communities will be the ones who will have the most devastating impact.

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I captured this chicken whilst in rural Hertfordshire on a walk, whilst lying on the ground. I really liked the composition of the image, the low angle framing and how the trees in the background draw you into the main subject. I felt it was something a bit different and almost like the Chicken was posing for me!

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When I entered this competition, I really wasn’t sure how my photograph would be received as I don’t really see myself as a food photographer and the photograph is not the traditional entry for a competition like this. Unintentionally, around this time of entering the competition currently in the UK we have a bird flu outbreak, meaning that commercial chickens that are normally free range must have their eggs classed as “Barn eggs” due to the length of time they have been kept inside.

I feel that calling my image “Free Range Chicken” tells an important story of what is currently going on in the Poultry industry in the UK and I hope that my photograph is a picture for the future where we can allow our chickens can be Free Range again.