Studio · Bristol, UK · between field seasons
Tell me what
you need.
Commissions, licensing, print enquiries and expedition questions all land in the same inbox, and I answer all of them myself — usually within three working days, sooner when I’m back in signal.
01
Editorial commissions
Long-form field assignments for magazines, books and broadcast. Typical lead time: 3–9 months, because the good frames take that long. Rate card and past features on request.
02
Conservation projects
Documentary work for NGOs, trusts and research programmes — survey documentation, campaign imagery, species stories told honestly. Reduced rates for registered conservation charities.
03
Licensing & image use
The archive runs to 40,000 frames across 38 countries, much of it unpublished. Describe the frame you need or browse the gallery and quote the title — licensing quotes within two working days.
04
Prints & collections
Limited editions of 10–25, museum-grade papers, hand-signed. Collector enquiries, framing advice and "view on wall" mockups handled personally.
Enquiries
Start the
conversation.
The more you can tell me about the story, the timeline and where it will live, the more useful my first reply will be. There are no stupid questions and no such thing as too early an enquiry.
Direct · studio@understory.photo
Agent (UK editorial) · agency@understory.photo
Instagram · @ossianreyes
Licensing
40,000 frames,
mostly unpublished.
Fifteen years of field work across 38 countries means the archive holds far more than the gallery shows. If you need a frame that doesn’t exist here — a species, a territory, a behaviour — describe it and I’ll search the archive. Editorial and conservation licensing is quoted within two working days; exclusive and commercial use is assessed case by case, always under the same ethical-fieldcraft pledge: location data for sensitive species stays protected, whatever the fee.
Questions, answered plainly
How quickly do you reply?
Within three working days — sooner when I’m back in signal. Every enquiry is answered personally; there is no studio team, just me and a very patient editor.
Will you travel for a commission?
Yes — travel is most of the job. Commissions are quoted as day rate plus field costs, with an honest estimate of the hide hours the story realistically needs.
Can I license a frame from the gallery?
Almost certainly. Quote the photograph’s title and your intended use. Editorial and conservation use is straightforward; commercial use involving an animal’s likeness is assessed case by case.
Do you take photographers with you?
Four expeditions a year, maximum six photographers each. The 2027 departures — Svalbard, Borneo, Serengeti, Patagonia — are open for booking now.
Where are you based?
Bristol, UK, between field seasons — which is to say, rarely. The print studio is in Bristol; the rest of the work happens wherever the animals are.