MSc Biological Photography & Imaging, School of Biology, The University of Nottingham.
After graduating from the Masters in Biological Photography and Imaging in 2003, Charlie Richards went on to assist still-life, portrait and food photographers in London, about 25 in total, to cement the lighting and photoshop skills learnt on the course. After two years of this he set up on his own as a freelance food and lifestyle photographer and now, a total of seven years later, Charlie is established with his own studio in south London and a client list that includes Elle Magazine Sweden, The Telegraph, Sainsburys, Tesco, Waitrose and numerous magazine and publishing titles. To date Charlie has shot 8 cookbooks and has worked with chefs and food writers alike: the most recent major project has been the packaging photography for the Sainsburys Taste the Difference range which can be seen on the shelves today countrywide.
Biologically, having spent the last seven years working toward establishing a client base, he is now turning his attention to projects on Grevy’s Zebra in Tanzania and the Arabian Oryx in Saudi Arabia, two endangered species, the aim being to spend a few weeks a year in between client commitments and to increase awareness of the species’ plight through collaboration with conservation organisations.
‘The course was the perfect springboard for assisting work, with the photoshop and basic lighting and camera controls taught necessary to give me a foot up into the industry.. plus it was a fantastic year which will always be a major part of my life and future career’
The future? Charlie hopes to maintain his food photography and lifestyle work which would allow him to spend time every year working on a new biological project of his choosing and to continue his association with the MSc course through lecturing.
http://www.charlierichards.com <http://www.charlierichards.com>
Laura Sutherland
I completed the MSc Biological Photography & Imaging in 2009. Since then I have been working for Wildscreen as a Media Researcher on the award winning ARKive project (www.arkive.org). As part of the Media Team I am responsible for locating the images and footage of threatened species, whether this is from image libraries such as Nature PL, NHPA and OSF, individual photographers such as Kevin Schafer, Nick Garbutt and Doug Allan, or scientists in the field. ARKive is a great resource and record for future generations. (If any students, past or present, have any photos of endangered species please drop me an email and let me know – laura.sutherland@wildscreen.org.uk)
I have also been fortunate to be involved with both WildPhotos and the Wildscreen Festival, and managed to catch up with Kat Dixon and Peter Moonlight at Wildscreen 2010 (other former MSc students).
As part of my work with ARKive I have recently become a STEM Ambassador (Science Technology Engineering Maths). This involves working with schools to engage and inspire young people and get them enthusiastic about STEM subjects (www.stemnet.org.uk), in my case biology. So far I have been to one Bristol primary school where we gave a lesson to Years 4, 5 and 6 about ‘Adaptation’, where we discussed what adaptation means and how species are adapted to their different environments. We also challenged them to design their own animal specifically adapted to a given habitat and lifestyle (predator vs. prey), an activity which yielded some utterly unique and imaginative creations! National Science & Engineering week is coming up soon (11-20th March 2011) so I have lots more school visits coming up, and can’t wait.
For the latest wildlife news and more about the ARKive team visit our blog – http://blog.arkive.org/2011/03/meet-the-arkive-team-laura-sutherland/
Liza Glesener
After leaving the MSc, I went on to work for an environmental NGO in Luxembourg, officially to be a phone consultant, but in real life also to do most of their photography, layout and design and biological fieldwork. I stayed there for two years and then left to become a freelance biologist and writer. Although I could do all the kinds of work I like with the NGO, I wanted to be able to travel and to shift my work more towards fieldwork, photography and writing.
My first travel brought me to the Outer Hebrides, where I worked as a hedgehog trapper, and kind of got stuck: so now, I am only travelling between Luxembourg, where I worked the past two years as a habitat surveyor and popular science writer and Scotland, where I caught hedgehogs…Scotland will become the main home slowly now though. I will continue to do the science writing for the Luxembourg side (including some layout and design) and will either stay in hedgehog hunting with possibly some wader surveying, or become Balranald Nature Reserve’s new information officer (to be decided soon), and do more freelance work on the side (photography, web design, writing, ecotours…). Maybe try a PhD? Freelance work is quite uncertain at the moment and trying to establish yourself on a tiny remote island doesn’t make it any easier, but hey – I will continue the work and still think that the MSc is one of the best things I ever did.
MSc in Biological Photography and Imaging (graduated 2009) Luke’s background is in marine biology, but his interests have diversified out of the ocean and now encompass the wider terrestrial world. He is currently working as a research associate for The University of Nottingham’s Archaeology department developing a fully accessible database of fish bones for national and international use. He also returns to the School of Biology to teach film-making techniques to both masters and undergraduate students.
Helen Walsh
M.Sc. in Biological Photography and Imaging (graduated 2002 with Distinction)
As one of the first students to graduate from the Masters, my passion for communicating the natural world and the issues it faces was ignited. Since then, I’ve worked across the conservation sector, helping organisations to share their messages about the environment in a variety of media.
Working as a freelance photographer, designer and writer at Lonely Cottage Productions, I’m incredibly lucky to be able to inspire people to help wildlife by combining my creative flair with my love of the natural world.
Alice Smith
While studying for a BSc in Zoology I decided that I would like to continue in education and decided to go on to study for an MSc. After learning about the MSc in Biological Photography and Imaging at Nottingham University I decided to apply and was delighted when I was granted such a unique place, as Nottingham was the only university in the country that offered this type of course. On arrival I immediately liked the grounds and the general atmosphere of the campus.
I quickly learnt that studying for masters is very different to studying for a bachelor’s degree and had soon made friends with my colleagues and tutors, friendships that I continue to keep. Having no experience in photography I was on a very steep learning curve but I was continually given excellent support and encouragement by my tutors and enjoyed every minute. The work load was high but enjoyable, we learnt something new almost every day and by the end of the course I had become an adept photographer both in the studio and outside, learned how to shoot an edit film, enjoyed various field trips, learnt at least 5 different software programmes and had been given a great understanding of the various career options open to me with my new skills. For my final dissertation project I was able to go to Madagascar to put everything I had learnt into practice and returned to create a website and magazine article. Some of the images I had taken were also used in the EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) Madagascar campaign 2006/7. Throughout the course I was given great encouragement and benefited from the experience and knowledge of those teaching me, we were also provided with top of the range equipment to help us with our work.
I decided to start my career by entering the stock photography industry and now work for Photo library group in London. I am a specialist researcher and work across their 3 specialist collections, Oxford Scientific (wildlife), Garden picture library (horticulture) and Anthony Blake (food photography). Researching imagery for magazines, newspapers, advertorial campaigns and books. I couldn’t have got the position without an understanding of analogue and digital photography and knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and scanning techniques. Competition in the industry is high and I was given a great advantage by having my master’s qualification, as almost everyone who applies has a degree in photography or appropriate specialist area. I have also made my own website and continue to produce my own photography.
Dean Lea is about to embark on anew career at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences. As an Outreach and Media Co-coordinator. Dean will be in charge of producing all the educational materials to be used in the local schools. Producing and editing short documentaries about marine biology, climate change and other films along the same lines, Dean will also be educating the children on science and practical applications (like how to scuba dive) when the children visit the Institute. Dean Lea had worked on a marine photographic project involving Ultraviolet underwater photography, during his main summer project whilst studying at The University of Nottingham, M.S.c Biological Photography and Imaging.
BIOS is an independent marine science organization. It was founded in 1903 as the Bermuda Biological Station by scientists from Harvard and New York University to take advantage of Bermuda’s ideal location for deep-ocean and coral reef research and education. BIOS is a Registered Bermuda Charity and
Emily Keefe
Since finishing the M.S.c Biological Photography and Imaging, Emily Keefe has done an internship as a conservation photographer, Emily was also a camera operator and set director at the Ellerslie Flower Show (the southern hemisphere equivalent of Chelsea Flower Show) with Bush Telly. From there Emily went on to a job with the New Zealand Racing Board as a TV camera operator. After 2 hard but enjoyable years of traveling around the country for horse and dog race meetings and running studios and organising presenters, Emily is now moved on to a completely different tangent and is now working at Christchurch Hospital as a Medical Photographer and videographer.
Ed Charles
After graduation from the Masters in Biological photography and imaging, Ed Charles went to work in Bristol as a wildlife television producer and cameraman. He worked up until recently for the BBC Natural History Unit on productions such as Life in The Undergrowth, Life in Cold Blood, and Nature’s Great Events (all with David Attenborough) and Saving Planet Earth (Carol Thatcher).
In 2009 he left the BBC to start work for a new company called Wild Horizons, set up by the ex-head of BBC factual and the man behind Planet Earth and the up-coming Frozen Planet. The company is currently finishing a Big Cat movie and a Chimpanzee film for Disney, and we’re also producing a 7 part series on the wildlife of North America for the Discovery Channel and BBC – Discovery’s biggest ever commission.
Ed’s role in the company is Assistant Producer and cameraman, so spending time in the office working out the programme story and structure, and then heading into the field to shoot and direct.
As for Ed’s future plans – hopefully more of the same! We hope that it will work out for him and wish him all the best.
After graduation Bryan stayed on with the Masters course as a member of the teaching staff until December of 2009. Early in 2010 Bryan started on a project with the EDF and the University of Bristol. The project involves teaching children how to produce and edit sequences of film together to create their own documentaries about the construction of a new Nuclear power station in Somerset. Bryan is also involved in the teaching of biology.
Amazing people, extraordinary course.