David Daniel Nicholas Beath (6 September 1960 – 14 January 2013) was a British landscape and wildlife photographer and botanist. He was renowned for his images of Scottish, Welsh and

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

flora and fauna, in particular butterflies and fungi.

Early life

Beath was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

in 1960 to a military father ( Capt DTL Beath SCLI). The family had numerous postings to military camps around the world including Singapore in 1966 and Malaya in 1967 and it is here where he became acquainted with tropical fauna and flora for the first time. A consistent education was difficult owing to numerous family moves and after some unhappy boarding school placements he became a pupil at Shotton Hall in Shropshire in 1973 where he began to flourish intellectually. His appreciation of the natural world at that time is demonstrated in a plant map of the grounds of Shotton Hall (1975). He left Shotton Hall in 1978 and gained entrance to

Bridgwater College Bridgwater and Taunton College is a further education college based in the heart of Somerset, England, with main centres in Bridgwater, Taunton and Cannington. It educates approximately 3000 students between the ages of 16–18 in academic and ...

(then known as Cannington Horticultural College) in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

Research

After graduating from the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

in 1987 with a BSc in

Botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

, Beath went on to study for a PhD in

Tropical ecology Tropical ecology is the study of the relationships between the biotic and abiotic components of the tropics, or the area of the Earth that lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn (23.4378° N and 23.4378° S, respectively). Th ...

at the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

between 1989 and 1993. During his post-graduate and post-doctoral period, he travelled extensively through the

rainforests Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

of the Old and

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

, including several years' experience in West Africa and Central America. It was here that he did much of the research for his papers and articles on the

pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, a ...

of Amorphophallus johnsonii by

Silphidae Silphidae is a family of beetles that are known commonly as large carrion beetles, carrion beetles or burying beetles. There are two subfamilies: Silphinae and Nicrophorinae. Nicrophorines are sometimes known as sexton beetles. The number of ...

, the biology and pollination ecology of

Araceae The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). A ...

in Ghana and spadix heating in African arcaeae.

Autism

Beath was diagnosed with autism at the age of four in 1964, thanks to the persistence of his mother who knew he wasn't simply "retarded" (as it was expressed in the language of the day). She took him to see Dr Kenneth Soddy and followed his programme for autistic children which emphasised inclusive and stimulating activities with trusted family members such as singing, talking, reading aloud and imaginative play and a reduction in the time he was allowed to spend in solitary activities. Within eighteen months he was speaking and enjoying play with children he knew but remained shy and confused when confronted with children unknown to him or in a setting outside his home. As an adult, he became an advocate for those living with autism and frequently gave talks about his life and living with the syndrome. He was an active participant, supporter and speaker of Autonomy Shropshire (a self-help group based in Shropshire for young people and adults with high ability autism) and Autism Cymru. For several years, he was an advisor to the board on autism spectrum disorders for Autistica.

Photography

Like his great uncle

Ivo Peters Ivo Peters BEM (29 July 1915 – 7 June 1989) was an English railway photographer and filmmaker. Peters spent his life in Bath, Somerset and is best known for his amateur photographs and cine films of steam railways in the British Isles, p ...

, Beath's main passion in life was photography. His photographic subjects included a wide range of insects (especially beetles, butterflies and moths), amphibians and birds as well as the flora of tropical rainforests, which were the subject of his thesis. He was completely self-taught, and it was when studying for his PhD at The University of Aberdeen that his passion really took off. He joined the university's camera club and started to refine his photographic technique and also developed an interest in photographing Scottish landscapes. In the last decade he had focused photographing the natural landscapes in and around his hometown of Shrewsbury. He was a keen member of the Shropshire Photographic Society and was the club's competition secretary for several years. During 2010 he was commissioned to write a monthly feature about Shropshire photography through the seasons in ''Shropshire Life'' magazine.

Death

Beath died of a heart attack on 14 January 2013 at the age of 52. On the day of his funeral he was announced as the winner of the Travel Photo of the Year competition.

Competitions

Exhibitions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beath, Danny 1960 births 2013 deaths Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Alumni of the University of Reading British botanists Photographers from Shropshire People on the autism spectrum British scientists with disabilities British artists with disabilities