Midlands Today 23/06/2015 Wildlife photography: Craig Jones puts his focus on orangutans in Sumatra
Growing up in Stoke-on-Trent, Craig Jones received a present from his mum on his eighth birthday. It was a book entitled Animal World and, in Craig's words: "Started my love and fascination for the natural world." More than 30 years later, Stoke is still his home and after a career in the British Army, Craig now travels the world as a wildlife photographer - using his Army fieldcraft skills to get close to his subject. Earlier this year, Craig travelled to the Indonesian island of Sumatra to highlight the rescue and release of endangered orangutans, teaming up with the Human Orangutan Conflict Response Unit. The organisation works to save the critically endangered Sumatran orangutans from life-threatening situations. Together with local communities they have planted more than one million trees to restore the animal's habitat in the Gunung Leuser National Park. Craig first visited Sumatra in 2012 and returns each year to highlight the charity's work. "We all have a duty of care to keep wildlife alive and my work lets me give those animals a voice to a wider audience and that's what I try and do and hope to archive. I try to highlight through what I have seen on the ground in Sumatra and the need to preserve these rainforests and the orangutans, tigers, rhinos and elephants that all live there," Craig said. "I am extremely lucky to have turned my childhood hobby into my profession and I'm very proud to be a wildlife photographer and the way I work I feel is unique - carrying forward skills I learned as a child, in the army and in life. "Those skills I now employ to gain those amazing moments I'm lucky enough to see in the wild. My camera allows me to capture that moment in time and this is the true wonder and beauty of photography." You can find out more about Craig's work here: http://www.craigjoneswildlifephotography.co.uk/
