My name is Leigh Perkins
From Studio to Nature
From the sanctuary of my studio to the great outdoors and building a luxury birdwatching hide! My journey of discovery and love of nature photography began when we moved to Wales.
I’ve been a professional photographer for almost all of my adult life – shooting everything from weddings and portraits to politicians and film stars. I learned my trade in the days of film and darkroom before moving seamlessly into the digital era. For over 20 years I was almost exclusively based in the studio, shooting boudoir and glamour. Studio flash only, no daylight!
Following a hankering for a more outdoor lifestyle, I moved from suburban Berkshire to a smallholding in West Wales with my wife Zena and our dog Ziggy. I built a purpose-designed 60 square metre studio for my boudoir and photography tuition business. But after a few years I found myself wanting to “retire” from studio life and began adapting my photography skills to wildlife and bird photography.
We worked hard re-wilding our meadows to provide great habitat for birds and animals and every year we seem to attract new species. I have spent the last few years honing my wildlife photography and videography skills, so building our own luxury birdwatching hide was the obvious next step. I have designed the space to hopefully have everything you need for a comfortable and productive photography experience. With multiple perches, a large drinking pool and spectacular views over the Teifi valley, it is a wonderful place to escape to nature.
My name is Zena
My Dream Job!
As a child, I was obsessed with birds. I grew up in rural County Durham with fields full of skylarks on my doorstep. My work in sales and marketing took me to London before I met Leigh and we settled in Berkshire.
I worked as Studio Manager for our photography business for over 20 years but always dreamed of escaping back to a country life. So in 2020 we took a leap of faith to West Wales and a smallholding with two holiday cottages and enough land to keep the nature nerd in me happy.
It has been a steep learning curve (especially through Covid times) but the holiday cottages are now really popular and busy all year round. Our cottage guests love spending time in our meadows watching and listening to the birds. So we realised creating a dedicated luxury birdwatching hide would be a great extra feature for our guests – and a dream come true for me!
It truly is such a special peaceful space – I’m so excited to be able to share it with fellow birding enthusiasts!
Misty Heights Bird Hide
A Luxury Birdwatching Hide
Read the story of the how our bird hide came about, the build and new developments