Nature spotter Wayne Havenhand is combining his love of the great outdoors with a passion for photography to capture some stunning snaps.

Persimmon Homes North East site manager Wayne, 53, from Bedlington, in Northumberland, has a stunning portfolio of fabulous shots of the natural world and his camera skills are all self-taught.

“I have always had an interest in photography and always used to have a camera on me – just simple point and shoot ones,” he said. “I used to take shots of the family and portraits, but a couple of times when I was out hillwalking in Scotland I came across animals. One time I encountered some large stags and took some photos just with my small lens, but it was then that I decided to get myself a big zoom lens and my interest really grew from there.”

Over the last six years Wayne has honed his skills to produce excellent results.

“I am self-taught and I admit I am a pixel peeping perfectionist,” laughs Wayne. “You can take shots with automatic settings on digital cameras, but you lose some of the depth and quality. I have taught myself all about the settings I need and I love working them to get the best image possible.”

Wayne, who started with Persimmon Homes as a groundworker in 2004, has seen his work published in national newspapers and recently on Fox News admits his hobby requires patience.

He said: “I will travel to get the right shot and go to Scotland, Norfolk and even London where I travelled to capture shots of urban foxes.

“I will drive and sit until I get the shot I want. I drove to Inverness through the night and waited from 7am until 5pm to capture a pine marten. I sat in the forest until I got the picture I wanted at 5pm and then drove home.