It’s never too late to follow your dreams. Jessica Riederer’s dream is to earn a living shooting wildlife.

The 41-year-old photographer wants to do it with her lens — not a bullet.

She’s given herself a year to see if it works.

“I took part in the Art Walk in St George’s recently and sold a few pieces there and was so grateful that people bought some of my images. It felt so good to work so hard to get a nice photograph and for people to look at it, appreciate it and want it to be part of their space — that was just so special for me.”

Ms Riederer’s work is now on display at Masterworks. It’s her first exhibit despite having dabbled in photography for nearly two decades.

“I would love to be able to make it as a photographer full time and this is the year to find out if I can do that,” she said. “I have travelled a lot through Australia, Europe and North America and when I look back on my photos from my 20s it’s clear I’ve obviously always been interested in photography.

“I started taking it more seriously six years ago. That’s when I started getting really interested in birds, which are one of the most fascinating species to photograph in the world.

“Whenever they see a lens they think it’s an eye of a predator and they fly away. I spend hours and hours and hours working on it.”

Photographing animals can be “tricky”, she said.

“There are times when the light is in the wrong direction so it’s too dark to take the photo. Pictures are all about finding the right light. A lot of times when the light is good the animals or wildlife aren’t around and when they are out and about the lighting tends to be off.”

Her camera isn’t the only thing keeping her busy. Ms Riederer is also working on a wildlife-focused book.

The photographer doesn’t just want to dazzle people with her images. She also wants to educate people about some of the issues facing wildlife today.

“It can be quite heartbreaking working with them,” she said. “You see birds like bluebirds trying to raise their young and there are so many things that can go wrong. Sometimes sparrows will kill the little ones.

“In Vermont where I just came from we had a hawk that was hanging around the house and got the bluebirds I was looking after.

“Unfortunately as well, as the population grows we are taking up their space and their room and they are dealing with a lot of issues from habitat destruction — pollution and negative human influence as well. I tend to get a bit attached sometimes. I wish I wasn’t so much, but I just love animals.”

Ms Riederer hopes that by sharing interesting facts and titbits about the creatures she photographs other people will develop a heart for them as well.

“In this exhibit, one of the animals I have focused on are humming birds because they’re quite important to me,” she said. “I absolutely adore them.

“They have managed to migrate to Bermuda. They are tiny birds and weigh less than three grams so to think they crossed an ocean is just incredible.”

Ms Riederer grew up with rabbits, guinea pigs and horses as pets. She taught at Somerset Primary and then joined Yorkshire Wildlife Park in the UK as its education officer.

“I was there for four years and during my time there helped to raise funds for their lions. The whole park has been doing well since then,” Ms Riederer said.

“My job involved me teaching people about wildlife, so I didn’t do so much of the hands on taking care of them, but I was in proximity to them.

“I taught people about reptiles, so the funny thing is I’m comfortable with holding snakes and tarantulas, but if I see a cockroach I’ll be gone.”

The Masterworks exhibit is a huge deal for her, Ms Riederer said.

“I have worked really hard and it’s amazing right now that I am doing what I want to be doing and following my passion. I would love for people to come into the gallery and learn more about what they’re seeing and if I can move them by the images I’ve taken and affect them positively in some way that would be great. So I’m equally as excited as I am nervous.”

Ms Riederer’s exhibit runs until August 13 in Homer’s Cafe at Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art.

Visit www.jriedererphotography.com.