AN awarding-winning photographer has been creating a stir with his stunning images of the natural world.

Thinesh Thirugnanasampanthar, who lives with his family in Woking and runs the Brookwood Food and Wine store in Connaught Road, Brookwood, has been taking photographs in his spare time for around 10 years.

“I’m a bit of a late developer,” said Thinesh, who was an accountant before taking over the shop in 2011. “I started taking nature photographs with a small and basic camera while still in my late 20s, and my hobby has developed over the years and I enjoy the magic of wildlife.

“My motivation is to try and catch that special moment in a picture, and I find that when I’m away from a busy shop and spending time in green spaces my hobby is a form of stress relief.”

Thinesh’s pastime has taken him from nearby locations such as Goldsworth Park to much further afield such as the Scottish Highlands. Some travels have been successful, other less so.

“I’ve got up at two in the morning to catch a sunrise, waded out into the middle of a lake, sat waiting in a hide for hours, and once made a trip to Scotland where I didn’t manage a single photograph thanks to the weather.”

He is a well-respected award-winning photographer who has won awards in an Indian online competition and certificates and cups as a member of Woking Photographic Society.

“Joining the society has raised my level of photography,” he said. “I’ve learnt so much and gained my LRPS, becoming a Licentiate of The Royal Photographic Society.”

It was in response to suggestions by his customers that Thinesh has published a calendar of his nature photographs for the last five years, and some of his pictures are available as cards.

At time of going to press, Thinesh was in Greece photographing pelicans. He has already booked a trip to Finland in the spring to photograph bears emerging from hibernation, and is also going to Kenya. When travel restrictions ease further he’d like to see a polar bear in his viewfinder on a trip to the Arctic Circle – adding to his stunning collection of pictures.

For more of Thinesh’s pictures, see the 20 January edition of the News & Mail