Why are there pictures of birds on this website?

There are two possible answers to this question.  I leave it to you to select the one you prefer.  As with many things in life, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Answer 1

The birds in the photographs are terns.

Terns have long been used as navigational helpers by Polynesian and other seafarers.  Some terns fly out to sea in the morning to hunt fish, then return to land at night. So if you are seeking land, the tern is your guide.  In the morning, you sail opposite the birds’ path, and in the evening, you follow them home. 

But you do need to know the right species of tern because not all terms behave in this way.  You also need to take into account changes around the breeding season.

Like the right kind of tern, I will guide you on your journey and make sure that you are heading in the right direction – towards your goals.

Answer 2

If you sell flowers or motorbikes, then choosing images for your website is easy.

But if you provide advice about trusts and foundations, how do you picture that?  There is no concrete thing to look at except perhaps piles of papers – which are not that photogenic.

For this reason, almost every provider of similar services goes with the old faithful “Happy family” picture.  It is true that this is the outcome we are aiming for, but the message conveyed by the pictures is saccharine, bland, and not distinctive  – because nearly everyone else is using almost identical imagery.

That’s why I went with terns.  They are fantastic birds that I remember well from my childhood in New Zealand, they are distinctive, and they are certainly not bland.

That, and the fact that one of the most common miss spellings of my name is Ternbull.