RSPB member and Bishop's Stortford grandfather Arthur Southwell takes amazing pictures of birds and other wildlife
Arthur Southwell has been taking photos since he was 15. He started with a box Brownie, developing and printing his own pictures.
He will be 81 in August – and as you can see from this spread, his talent and his eye for a picture are as sharp as ever.
Arthur lives in a first-floor apartment, overlooking the River Stort, in the Nicholls Lodge retirement complex in South Street in the heart of Bishop's Stortford. From there, the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) member is able to capture photos of visiting feathered friends.
He moved there in August 2018 to be closer to his son's family – David, wife Helen and children Jodie, 16, and Max, 13, live in Cannons Close – and he loves Stortford. "The people are so friendly," he said.
Previously, Arthur, who worked as a print buyer for jewellery company Mappin & Webb, lived in Cheshunt for 50 years. He was widowed six years ago, soon after he and his wife Susan, a court dressmaker, celebrated their golden wedding anniversary.
Arthur reckons he has taken tens of thousands of photos over the years. "Photography makes you very observant," he said.
He is savouring the opportunity to get outdoors again and likes to walk the Stort towpath to Sawbridgeworth.
