An Invitation...and a challenge!

I'd be delighted if you would join me for the launch of my new wildlife photography exhibition

'The Trophy Room' at St Mary's Inn Morpeth on Saturday July 16th from 2-4pm

Trai Anfield: The Trophy Room intimate wildlife photography as a challenge to trophy hunting

"My challenge to all trophy hunters is simple: pick up a camera instead"

Please see below extracts from the press release about my new exhibition The Trophy Room

"Merely seeing a species is rarely meaningful - what matters for me is the quality of encounter

for both the photographer and the subject - that’s what stays with us for life."

Trai's ongoing concerns around climate change and species conservation are evident throughout her portfolio, and she attributes the development of her photographic style to the intimacy and involvement she seeks with each subject. The powerful dynamics of connection she creates between viewer and subject are striking, and sometimes unsettling, but each image is ultimately a celebration of the species and the individual.

Talking about this exhibition Trai says “With the Trophy Room portraits I invite comparison between the skills required in wildlife photography and those required for trophy hunting. My challenge to all trophy hunters is simple: pick up a camera instead! We use the same field craft, and experience the same adrenaline rush from proximity to the animals. But to my mind the technical and artistic aspects of photography mean that more skill and understanding is required to successfully photograph an endangered species than simply to shoot it. For me photography offers a sustainable alternative to trophy hunting, and ultimately a far more satisfying experience for all involved. I'd love the chance to convince trophy hunters to reach for a camera instead of a gun."

“I hope viewers will experience my photographs in the same way that my guests experience safari with me: it's not about careering around wild places frantically ticking species off a list, but quietly considering each animal we are privileged to encounter, gaining more understanding of its nature, behaviour and circumstance, and trying to convey something of its essence and its experience of the world. Merely seeing a species is rarely meaningful - what matters to me is the quality of encounter for both the photographer and the subject - that’s what stays with us for life."

"This is my most personal exhibition to date and is work that I am extremely proud to present to a wider audience. I look forward to seeing you on the 16th, but if you can't make it to the opening the exhibition runs until October 2nd 2016 so I hope you'll have a chance to enjoy it throughout the summer."

Enlightened Media and Enlightened Photographic Safaris support numerous charities through their Community and Conservation Commitment. The company donates or produces photography and films for organisations they support on a not for profit basis. To date in 2016 films for Lifespan, St Oswald’s Hospice and the Children’s Heart Unit Fund have helped to raise over £625,000. Trai is currently planning two further charitable partnerships for autumn 2016: to donate an educative film to the Kwazulu Natal Black Rhino Project in South Africa, and to collaborate with Gorilla Doctors in Rwanda. Trai is also Patron of Friends of Red Kites, Lifespan and ME North East here in the UK.

Limited edition prints from The Trophy Room are for sale through our Gallery Shop

Trai Anfield: The Trophy Room wildlife photography is on exhibition at St Marys Inn from Saturday the 16th of July to the 2nd of October 2016.

St. Mary’s Inn

St. Mary’s Lane • St. Mary’s Park • Morpeth • Northumberland • NE61 6BL

01670 293 293

hello@stmarysinn.co.uk • stmarysinn.co.uk