Ex-Top Gear Richard Hammond—From TV Presenter to Wildlife Photographer

Not many are lucky enough to fulfil their childhood dreams.

TV presenter Richard Hammond, previously of Top Gear, has dreamt since he was eight years old of being a wildlife photographer, ever since he received his first Children’s Encyclopaedia of Animals.

After the sacking of co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson, the subsequent resignations of Hammond and co-presenter James May and their signing for a similar show with Amazon Prime, the trio had some spare time to pursue other interests.

For Hammond this meant making his childhood dream come true.

For a series of films made for Sky Rainforest Rescue, a collaboration between Sky and WWF aiming to save one billion trees in the rapidly-diminishing Amazonian rainforest, Hammond was able to travel deep into the Brazilian jungle and explore the Amazon river, with camera in hand.

The images below will form an exhibition to teach schoolchildren about the unique eco-system and inspire them to protect it.

“Trekking through the Amazon rainforest with a camera to photograph wildlife was a childhood dream. The reality was, I discovered, far, far tougher than I had imagined, but the moments when I saw and caught images of the elusive creatures and fleeting encounters that make the place so special, so unique and yet so fragile were breathtaking and some of the best in my life.”

What do you think, does Hammond have a eye for photography or should he stick to TV presenting?

For more, check out the gallery on The Telegraph.