Freelancers: outdoors and environment – in pictures

Nicky Kirk – architect. ‘Freelancing gives you the feeling of collaboration, spearheading designs or finding solutions to problems. It is the flipside of working as an employee in a large practice being told what to do and when. It also allows you to meet and develop relationships with a wide variety of clients and employers. This keeps you on your toes, as everyone’s expectations are different, and you quickly learn how to respond to others' expectations’
Photograph: Sam Peach and Tora Davidson

David and Leigh Oxby – car mechanics. David says: ‘I left school at 15 and started work as a mechanic. After 17 years at one garage I had a disagreement with my employer, and with a Mini and a boot full of tools I set up a rival business. That was when Leigh was born. He’s grown up around cars. And when he finished college he came and joined me. Amazingly, after 20 years we’ve never had a cross word’ Photograph: Sam Peach and Tora Davidson

Edward Wild – headhunter. ‘I’m motivated by providing clients with choices and candidates with an exciting, challenging and rewarding role where they can make a profound and sustained difference to both the organisation and the staff they lead’
Photograph: Sam Peach and Tora Davidson

David Everleigh – pyrotechnic event supervisor. ‘There is no typical day: I could be setting fire to a 50-foot giant; weaving willow figures; creating a magical labyrinth; welding metal figures; in meetings telling people the best way to spend lots of money having fun; unemployed wondering where the next job is coming from; overworked wondering where the next break is coming from’ Photograph: Sam Peach and Tora Davidson

Rob Bratby – gardener and garden designer. ‘A garden should be more than another room or an outside entertainment space: it can benefit you physically, mentally and spiritually, and help you feel more in tune with the passage of time. I find my work really satisfying and it allows me to work across four disciplines: running a business, design, building and horticulture. I never stop learning and there are always different ways at looking at a problem’
Photograph: Sam Peach and Tora Davidson

Sarah Siese – travel writer and publisher. ‘I had to work hard to visualise the dream of my first book – now I just check that my inspiration is coming from my heart, not my head. If it comes from my head it doesn’t last long, as I get distracted when the “next great thing” comes along. If it’s coming from my heart I know I’ll have the energy, enthusiasm and discipline to see it through’ Photograph: Sam Peach and Tora Davidson

Ralph Skrimshire – tree surgeon. ‘I love working outside and working with trees and wood in a hands-on way, and I enjoy the views. Tree surgery often takes you up into places no one else ever goes. The canopies of large trees are their own little worlds, and passing through them can be a fascinating experience’ Photograph: Sam Peach and Tora Davidson