From shoe factory catwalks to forest hides with bears—why Estonia might be my most creatively fulfilling adventure yet.

🎥 Watch the Journey Unfold (Video)

Let’s get this out the way—Estonia wasn’t somewhere I had circled in red on a map. But when two wildly different gigs came calling—Estonia Fashion Week and a wildlife photography expedition with Wildlife Dreams—I said yes. No hesitation. Just packed my kit, boarded a flight, and braced for a creative curveball.

Spoiler alert: I loved every damn second of it.

👠 Estonia Fashion Week: Runway Grit in a Working Shoe Factory

📽️ Watch the full runway shoot

Shooting fashion in a working shoe factory? Yes, it’s as mad and brilliant as it sounds.

Forget your pristine, overproduced venues—this was raw. Concrete floors. Leather scraps. Conveyor belts running just feet from the runway. And the models? Fierce. The designers? Unapologetically bold. Every look told a story, and the space added a gritty, industrial soul you just can’t fake.

I was in my zone. Backstage was chaos in the best way—laughter, hairspray, creative tension. My job? Catch it all.

📽️ Watch how I tackled it technically

In this video, I break down how I handled some of the most challenging lighting and movement conditions of my career. We’re talking reflective surfaces, fast-paced models, weird shadows, and zero room for error. It was fast, gritty, and electric—pure adrenaline for a photographer like me.

🐾 From High Fashion to Hides: My Wildlife Dreams Experience

📽️ First-timer in a wildlife hide

Fashion one day, forests the next. I traded runway flashes for moonlight filtering through trees, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

I partnered with Wildlife Dreams, a specialist wildlife photography company, and spent days in the wilderness guided by the incredibly knowledgeable Phil Gould. From custom-built hides to dawn stakeouts, I was plunged into a world of patience and quiet observation.

📽️ Go behind the scenes of that experience

This wasn’t just “point and shoot” nature photography. It was a game of waiting. Listening. Letting the forest breathe around you. And when something finally moved—when a raccoon dog or wild boar stepped into the clearing—it felt like magic. There’s no buzz like it.

🎒 Same Gear, Different Worlds

What I found fascinating? I used mostly the same gear for both shoots. My trusty setup served me backstage with fashion divas and in silent woodland hides. What changed was my mindset.

• Runway: React fast, track movement, shoot confidently.
• Wildlife: Anticipate, be still, let the subject come to you.

One demanded aggression. The other, humility. But both required vision, focus, and a deep respect for storytelling.

✨ What Estonia Taught Me

Estonia reminded me why I love this job. Photography isn’t just one thing—it’s many things. It’s chaos and calm. Movement and stillness. Sweat backstage and frozen toes in a hide. It’s the art of seeing—whether it’s a model mid-stride or a bear in the distance.

This trip forced me to adapt, to trust my instincts, and to rediscover the joy in learning again. I walked into Estonia a fashion and portrait photographer. I walked out a little more wild—and a whole lot more inspired.

🔗 Watch the Full Estonia Series

📸 Runway Factory Shoot – Estonia Fashion Week
🎥 How I Shot the Runway – Tech Breakdown
🦌 Wildlife Photography First-Timer in Estonia
🌲 Behind the Scenes in the Hides – Wildlife Dreams

💬 Over to You

Ever felt your creativity get a kick up the arse by doing something totally outside your norm? Drop a comment or message me—I’d love to hear your version of Estonia.