Ian Silvester is a keen amateur photographer, particularly of steam trains and African wildlife. He took up photography as a serious hobby in 1973 when he bought his first Nikon SLR camera. Since then, he has used Nikon equipment almost exclusively, buying a digital camera in 2005. His colour photography is now solely digital, while for black and white images he uses a second-hand Rolleiflex camera.
Capturing the last workings of live steam trains has taken Ian all around the world, to countries and regions little visited by mainstream tourists.
Now that steam has virtually ended as regular main line motive power, enthusiasts recreate the experience by organising steam-hauled private charter trains. Regular steam still exists in China where he has spent 8 weeks in the last year.