Life is about making memories

I'm Rhiannon, a part-time landscape, wildlife, and drone photographer based near the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire. My work has taken me from the Home Counties to Iceland, Greenland, and Antarctica, but it started somewhere much less glamorous.

I grew up taking photos on family holidays with a Kodak Star 110, then a Kodak Star 735 (very retro). After every trip, I'd wait, sometimes a week, for our local Boots the Chemist to process the film. The photos were usually pretty awful, but I kept every album, and I loved looking back on them.

Woman with red curly hair holding a camera outdoors in a scenic landscape during sunset, wearing an orange jacket.

I didn't pursue photography as I grew up, though I always loved to travel and share experiences with people. I rekindled it in 2016, on a work trip to New York. My then boss had a Canon camera and asked if I wanted to try it. I loved the weight of it in my hands, and the photo it captured of us on a rooftop bar, unwinding after a day in the office, overlooking the city on a warm summer evening.

(I later found out it was golden hour and one of the reasons the photos look so magical!)

Rhiannon Lawler admiring icbergs in Greeland

From there, I borrowed a Canon 5D MKII and started my journey of learning the fundamentals of photography.

Photography opened my eyes to locations I had never considered before, I was very much a lay-on-beach holiday and relax traveller, but suddenly mountains, rivers and moody weather had an appeal I’d never felt before.

Silhouette of Rhiannon Lawler at Fagradalsfjall Volcano Eruption Meradalir

Early on, I found myself joining photography trips in Lofoten, Norway & the Dolomites, Italy. Not only was I learning photography, but I was also learning how much I loved nature, all whilst laughing and making the most amazing memories with people who shared those moments with me.  

A woman flying a drone over a scenic countryside at sunset, holding a remote control.

Those tripe changed the kind of traveller I was. I went from someone who wanted a beach and a book to someone who'd cross a country for the right weather. These days that curiosity has taken me to the Arctic and Antarctic more than once, and it still starts every time with the same feeling I had on that rooftop in New York.

If you'd like to see where it's led, my gallery or shop are the best places to start. I also run photography workshops in the UK and abroad, in some of the places that changed me, I also exhibit my photography locally throughout the year, including at Bucks Art Weeks. If you'd like to talk about a print or a workshop, do get in touch.

Silhouette of a person standing on a hill during sunset or sunrise, with a large, bright sun in the sky and orange clouds and sky in the background.

“My approach to my photography is to enjoy the moment first, and then try to get the shot.

I often enjoy just sitting there, soaking up the light, colours, smells and textures of where I am.

I’m sure this means there are times when I’ve missed the best light or a quickly changing composition, but I have those sensory images of those moments.

Photography encourages me to slow down and enjoy the hidden beauty that often goes unnoticed in our busy lives..”

Rhiannon Lawler is a UK-based, part-time professional landscape, drone and wildlife photographer.

She lives near the Chiltern Hills, in Buckinghamshire.

Please contact me for public speaking opportunities and collaborations.