About Paul 'PJ' Joynson-Hicks MBE

Africa-based, London-trained and specialising in wildlife photographic safaris with people from all over the world, I have been fortunate to gain a depth and range of experience that is the lifeblood of the images you see displayed here.

Having earned my stripes as a young photographer in the urban sprawl of London, I found myself in Uganda, scanning the shelves of a bookshop for a coffee table photography book of the country. There was none to be found, and so it fell to me to find a publisher and travel the country, documenting its culture, wildlife and landscapes in a record that still remains today. I have subsequently had the privilege of doing the same in Tanzania, seeing the country in ways no casual observer could. 

Thirty years of living and working in Africa has nurtured an appreciation of the wildlife, and a passionate understanding of the value of conserving it. To this end, two further photography books have been published celebrating the continent’s wildlife. I have also developed various social enterprises ranging from football academies for street children, to enabling men and women with disabilities to create artwork from scrap metal. For these projects, and others, I was awarded an MBE by Prince Charles.

More recently, my aim to highlight awareness of conservation around the world has led to the creation of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, now one of the world’s most publicised photography competitions.

Apart from my wildlife photography and conservation work I am a passionate sportsman and play most sports, albeit not very well, and hugely enjoy trying to explain the rules of cricket to anyone who will listen. 

During these weird days of the corona virus, I was able to head into the Seregneti and film four series of, almost live, short YouTube vlogs. Each one around 8 minutes they are great fun, very informative and a great way to get to know me as well.

Watch them here.

I live in Usa River, just outside Arusha in Tanzania with my beloved Cat, two noisy boys, a pair of Springer Spaniels, a flock of annoying cats and a bunch of chooks. It's heaven.

Download my latest Fine Art Prints Catalogue here