About Chris

Chris Mattison has been photographing wildlife for over thirty years. After working as a laboratory technician for several universities and medical units he took a degree in zoology as a mature student, graduating with an honours degree in 1989. By this time he had already written several books about reptiles and amphibians and taught himself to photograph wildlife. Backpacking trips to South-east Asia and South America, and several summers spent in southern California and neighbouring Baja California, convinced him that working in a freelance capacity was the best way to pursue his three main interests: photography, writing and travel.

Since then he has travelled widely, both independently and as a leader for wildlife and photography tour groups. He lives in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, close to the Peak District National Park, and gives talks and holds workshops in England and Scotland, as well as travelling overseas two or three times a year.

Web-footed geckos, Namib Desert

In 1996 he won an important award in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, with a photograph of web-footed geckos in the Namib Desert, and subsequently qualified as a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society with twenty photographs of reptiles and amphibians.

He has a daughter living in Chile and a son in Dubai. You can learn more about them by visiting their websites, here and here.