Somerset dad stubs out smoking habit for photography

Mr Shaw has become an accomplished amateur photographer

A man who took up smoking at the age of 12 has kicked the habit and transformed himself into a clean-living amateur photographer.

Former heavy-smoker Dave Shaw, from Somerset, was inspired to "turn things around" after his wife became pregnant.

Since then, the 39-year-old has gone from an unfit smoker to being able to "practically skip up a hill".

"I needed to change my way of life and this is where photography came about," he said.

Mr Shaw, who lives in Wincanton, said all his previous attempts to give up smoking failed as soon as he started drinking.

But when he discovered in 2015 that his wife was pregnant with their first son he was "determined" to make a change.

The father-of-two takes regular photography trips

"I wanted to be able to run around after my son without keeling over, but even with this extra motivation, I struggled massively," the father-of-two said.

"As soon as I had any kind of alcoholic drink I would start smoking again, so it was clear to me that in order to stop smoking I would need to stop drinking."

He admits that he did not take to the hobby instantly, but seeing the quality of his photos gradually improve motivated him to persevere.

He now gets up before dawn to capture the best light for his photos

"I'd read that the best photos were taken during 'golden hour' - think sunrise and sunset - so I started to go out early in the morning to see if too could capture better photos," he explained.

"A side effect of getting up early meant that I would leave the pub early the night before to avoid oversleeping, or even better, I wouldn't go at all.

"As my photography hobby became more of a passion, I found I was able to move away from the pub culture completely.

"Stopping smoking then became much easier too."

Taking up photography helped him stop smoking and drinking

The hobby has also made him much fitter, he said

Mr Shaw said that as he walked further to create more interesting photos, he quickly noticed an improvement in his physical fitness.

"I can now trek up to Corfe Castle at 04:00 without collapsing," he said.

"And, more importantly, I can run around after my boys without coughing and hacking, which makes me a better dad."

Mr Shaw said "the reward is the health benefits and the piece of mind, so anything extra beyond that is a really nice bonus"

Despite a love of birds while growing up, the practicalities of sitting in a hide for hours waiting to take one photo quickly made this type of photography impractical when he had a young family to support, so he turned to landscapes.

"I'd be out taking pictures then back at around 08:00 for breakfast and to look after the family," he said.

"It's just nice being able to get out for a couple of hours then you can get back to the chaos of a five-year-old and a one-year-old running around."

Mr Shaw shares his best photos online and through his social media channels

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