You could say it was a snap decision, but it's certainly brought a fundraising auction for Suffolk Wildlife Trust's Broads Appeal into sharp focus.
Award-winning young photographer Kyle Moore, from Lowestoft, has donated three stunning works that add to the trust's spectacular array of pictures that are metaphorically going under the hammer for the appeal which this week had raised an impressive £570,000.
Supported 'whole-heartedly' by Sir David Attenborough, the trust is seeking to raise £1million for the purchase of Peto's Marsh and Share Marsh - a total of 384 acres that would significantly increase the size of the charity's current 627-acre Carlton Marshes nature reserve, near Lowestoft.
Mr Moore, a professional photographer even though he has not yet reached the age of 20, has a special and deeply personal reason to help the trust secure its landscape-scale vision for what will hopefully become the Suffolk Broads National Nature Reserve.
He said: 'Having grown up with Carlton Marshes on my doorstep I naturally explored this oasis for wildlife from a young age, and it was this nature reserve that ignited my passion for photographing the natural world.
'I have been fortunate enough to witness some of my best wildlife experiences and encounters from Carlton Marshes, and so I was keen to give something back to this amazing location. I therefore contribute towards the Suffolk Wildlife Trust art auction in the hope that my work may help raise money towards the Broads Appeal, where profits may help secure this amazing habitat for future generations.'
Mr Moore's work has gained widespread acclaim, including taking prizes in the trust's popular annual wildlife photography competition, and he is especially noted for his photos of large predatory species. For the auction, he has given a stunning 120cm by 77cm winter landscape scene on canvas which was taken at Carlton Marshes, along with two portraits - a 52cm by 77cm bearded tit photo on canvas and a 77cm by 52cm canvas showing a fox and its reflection in water.
The 39 works that are being sold in the auction are being displayed in a special exhibition in the University of Suffolk's Ipswich Waterfront building which runs until the auction's end on July 28.
'Silent' bidding will mean that prospective buyers will not know if they have been successful until the winning bids are revealed on the trust's website from the week commencing August 31.
Minimum bid amounts have been set for each work and range from £20 to £400.
The trust's development manager Michael Strand, who has organised the auction, said the event stemmed from the generosity of a trust supporter whose name has not yet been revealed to the public.
'He is a long-standing member of the trust who lives in west Suffolk,' said Mr Strand. 'He is quite a collector of art and was downsizing from a larger property and found that he did not have room in his new home for all the works he had. Very generously he gave us about 30 to be sold to raise funds for our £1m Broads Appeal - it is a fantastic gesture and one for which the trust is extremely grateful.'
The works are also being displayed on the trust's website.
Bids can be made through the website or by post on forms available at the university exhibition.
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