Forthcoming Exhibition - Veteran: Words of a Wolf
I didn't get the help that I needed from the system until 12 years after I had left the RAF. I suffer from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). The exhibition is a collection of poems and images that show how I feel at times and how photography helps me to cope with the condition.
The purpose of the exhibition is to raise awareness of PTSD not just to undiagnosed veterans but also to their loved ones. From my own experience I found it extrememly difficult to get the help that I needed. Maybe you'll recognise someone else in the poems. Maybe you'll be able to help them to get the care that they need and deserve? The other aim is to demonstrate the value of creative arts as a coping mechanism for PTSD.
Please keep an eye on my blog for developments about the exhibition and other news: http://wolfphotograpy.blogspot.com Click on the follow button and sign on if you'd like to keep up with the progress of the exhibition. Please help to spread the word about this project.
Biography
I started photography as a hobby in 1981, while serving with the RAF Police. During off duty time I would go for walks around RAF St Mawgan in Cornwall and photograph scenery, wildlife and airshows. The nature photography filled me with a sense of peace and I would spend hours just walking around, watching every kind of insect and animal that was around in those days.
I stopped taking photos in 1983, soon after being posted to Northern Ireland. It seemed as if my soul became locked in a cask and that I started carrying out my duties without emotion. I didn't know that I had contracted Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and it would be a further 11 years before I would get any form of support from the system.
I joined the Metropolitan Police in 1986; six months after leaving the RAF Police and getting out of Northern Ireland. The symptoms of PTSD affected my service. My policing career was finally finished after an incident involving an exploding bin. I became another casualty of a system that doesn't provide adequate care and support for its veterans.
I spent the next 10 years fighting injustice in the Citizen's Advice Bureau service. I served at Newquay, Bristol, Kingswood and eventually went on to manage Truro.
In 1995 I was hit by a stolen motor vehicle that left me with injuries that won't heal completely. I live with chronic pain syndrome. So it's important that I push my physical boundaries rather than just give in to the pain. Photography is a key part of my coping mechanisms. in 2001 I decided to go and work for the NHS as an IT engineer.
As part of my healing process I started photography again in 2000, while working for the NHS in Cornwall. I showed my images to friends at work who encouraged me to start selling them to the general public, so this web site, www.wolf1964.co.uk, was setup in 2002.
In 2004 I held my first exhibition at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, where I exhibited pieces from the first couple of years of work in Cornwall as well as from my travels to the USA. Alongside these I displayed images of Wolves.
Since that time I have journeyed to different places and countries looking for wolves to photograph and spend time with. My deepest desire is to meet wolves in the wild. However,I do like to view and photograph other creatures and love watching nature and feeling a part of it.
I then joined the Royal Photographic Society in 2005 and applied for my first distinction, and successfully achieved the Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society (LRPS) in October of that year.
In 2006 I retired from the NHS. When I'm in the wilderness I escape from the chains of human society and feel at peace, and totally connected with, the Earth and the many creatures that we share this space with. Photography became my therapeutic work.
In 2007, I had three of my surfing images included in 'Portfolio One', a publication of the Royal Photographic Society. In December of the same year, I went full circle and moved back to the Midlands.
The Royal Photographic Society had started off 2008 in a great way for me by featuring one of my wolf images on the 2008 membership cards.
As for the future, I just want to keep travelling and meeting people from different cultures that have a deep connection with the Earth and to photograph as many places and species as I can in the time I have left. My photography is an important part of my coping mechanism with regard to my disability. I still live with the effects of PTSD and push my limitations when I can, carefully.
Villayat Wolf Sunkmanitu, LRPS. 
Accreditations to date:
2009 Burghley International Horse Trials, UK
2009 Red Bull X Fighters, London, UK
2009 Renualt World Series, Silverstone, UK
2009 Bramham International Horse Trials, UK
2009 MXGP, Mallory Park, UK
2009 Chatsworth International Horse Trials,UK
2009 Handlebar Festival, Shropshire, UK
2008 Canadian Open Snowboard Tour, Calgary, Canada
2008 Nokia World Snowboard cup, Calgary, Canada
2007 British Longboard Championship, Godrevy, Cornwall, UK
2007 Royal International Air Tattoo, RAF Fairford, UK
2007 Red Bull air race, London, UK
2006 Big Wave competition, Newquay, cornwall, UK
2006 Hare & Hounds (bikes & quads), Camborne, Cornwall, UK
Relevant Licences:
2006-2010, Licence to photograph an Osprey nest from Scottish National Heritage.
2008-2010, Licence to photograph an Osprey nest from Natural England.
Registered Charity projects undertaken to date:
2005-2006, Photographic monitoring of the wolf project and other animals at the Highland Wildlife Park, Kingussie, Scotland. Licensing the organisation to use images in their publications and website.
2008 - current, Licensing of aircraft images to the Royal Air Force Association's website.
Competitions Entered
Portfolio One 1997, 3 images successfully published
Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008, 17 images reached Semi-final stage (only the second round)