AN adventurous Bolton photographer has returned from a trip of a lifetime capturing the wildlife of Sri Lanka.

Brian White has been a member of Bolton Camera Club for 12 years and has been around the world photographing exotic creatures.

For six weeks the 56-year-old has been trekking through the island's rainforests and photographing many species including birds, leopards, snakes and elephants and will be showcasing his work in an exhibition in Bolton.

Mr White, of Deane in Bolton, said: “It was an amazing, incredible experience.

“I travelled around mainly by tuc tuc, which is an experience in itself and visited the national parks, including Kumana, Wilppata, Yala and the Sinaraja rainforest.

“I wanted to do something totally different and India is one of the top 10 biodiverse places in the world.

“I saw species that you would see never see anywhere else.

“The bird life was incredible.”

In his 30 years of photographing nature, Mr White has been to the Amazon and Mekong rivers, Rwanda, Cape Town and the Victoria Falls and on his latest trip he even had a close encounter with a king cobra.

He added: “I was photographing a Beefeater bird, when all of a sudden a snake jumped out at me and I had to jump back as it had raised up at me and then it was off into the grass again.

“It is just brilliant to be able to capture, people, wildlife and the planet. It is what I love to do.

“I love exploration and have travelled and been interested in photography from a young age”

Mr White uses his experiences to lecture on conservation and is also hoping, in the near future, to give talks and showcase his travel pictures in his own exhibition.

However pictures of his Sri Lanka trip will be showcased in an exhibition, organised by Bolton Camera Club in Waterstones in Bolton.

The exhibition is open now and will remain open for two weeks featuring a range of photography from club members.