Welcome to the Landscape Moments website – and I really hope you find much of it interesting and easy to navigate.

Creating the website seemed an obvious medium in which to showcase and celebrate what I’ve been lucky enough to see and experience in recent years. It probably reflects a lifelong interest in our varied landscapes (with a working life as a geography teacher) and a much more recent passion to root out the best in wildlife moments. The formative years at a 1950s Cleethorpes and happy schoolyears in the East Midlands in the sixties helped inculcate the interest in steam on the railways. And there’s now been over fifty years to get to know so much of my favourite parts of Britain – North Yorkshire, Mid and North Wales and Western Scotland – and as a relatively recent convert – The North Norfolk Coast.

“Landscape Moments” has a special meaning to me – it’s the point of capture where a split second image can become lodged in your mind – something like a very precious and vividly recognisable moment in a constantly expanding film. It could be when the White-tailed eagle’s talons make contact with its unfortunate prey, or as the barking steam locomotive explodes from the tunnel-mouth into the clear fresh air beyond. There’s probably sophistication in detail just before and just after – but almost certainly, within the whole experience, a priceless instant to capture.

I should mention there is a lot of luck involved – but planning, research, knowledge, experience, patience and a lot of time play their part as well. Opting to retire early was a brave decision never regretted for even one second. There is now opportunity to stay a while longer, or to wander and explore without a prescribed agenda. Words like targets, deadlines and responsibilities have no place in my world of Wildlife and Landscape Moments! There is so much to see, ever-changing landscapes, habitats home to such marvellous mammals and birds, and steam locomotives still to be found doing what they were designed for in the last century. There’s much more on this theme in the autobiography ‘Ticket to Life’ – a very good read, of course, and highly recommended!

Please feel most welcome to offer your thoughts and feedback on whatever you find of interest on the “Landscape Moments” website. You can imagine I would naturally encourage you to subscribe to the Dave Benjamin channel on Youtube (and click any notification button/bell) so that you receive the next DBLM Wildlife or DBLM Steam video. For those not too familiar with Youtube – the word ‘Subscribe’ simply means to join the list of subscribers for free – there is no financial commitment! And beneath the screen, probably on the left near the two or three lines of information (click the arrow beneath to reveal much more extensive background information) – there will be an optional space from where you might like to make a comment on what you’ve seen.