p r o f i l e
w e l c o m e t o g e o f f s i m p s o n p h o t o g r a p h y . c o m
Born in Jesmond Dene and brought up in rural Northumberland, England. I have been working as a professional photographer since 2000 specialising in capturing evocative and expressive images of the natural world, with a particular interest in ecological and environmental issues affecting vulnerable ecosystems found throughout the British Isles and Iberia Peninsula. I am a naturalist first and foremost with an in-depth knowledge of British Lepidoptera and Herpetofauna which I have extensively studied all my life. My travels todate have taken me from the volcanic peaks of the Faroe Isles archipelago in the North Atlantic, to Europe's richest biodiverse region, the cork forests and steppe plains of Alentejo, the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Andalusía and to the remote upland rainforests of the Eastern Arc and Uluguru Mountains of Tanzania. There exists many thousands of points in between, all endowed with incredible biodiversity and natural beauty that inspires me in so many different ways.
I reside on the edge of the Peak District National Park with views from my office of the regions highest location "Kinder Scout." As a teenager I trained as a classical musician, playing the oboe, cor anglais and soprano saxophone and I'm a great admirer of the works by classical composer, Ralph Vaughan-Williams and rock musicians Eddie Jobson, Steve Hackett and Anne Wilson. My interests include cooking, gardening, wild camping, reading literature on themes related to adventure, exploration and human endurance. Before embarking upon a photographic career, I previously had an extensive career in corporate IT, working for SAP and Micros-Fidelio in business development. In 1986 by examination, I was awarded a Fellowship of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain with Distinction, presented at the Goldsmith's Hall, London, by the then Secretary of State for Education & Science, the late Sir Keith Joseph. Despite being successful in the field of crystallography, I decided to leave the world of dichroscopes, refractometers and spectroscopes behind and follow my passion and embark on a career as a photographer to portray an authentic vision of the natural world.
I run many masterclass one-to-one tuition courses by arrangement and photographic tours to Southern Portugal. As a training partner for Calumet (UK) I offer both landscape and nature photography weekend workshops. In 2012 my photographic tours will be extended to include, Andalusiá, Spain and the Azores, Portugal. My partner Julia, joins the business at a time when my new commercial and hospitality website is launched. My first coffee-table book "Visionwild - The Realm of Nature" is currently in pre-production, will be published to coincide with an exhibition at the stately, Lyme Hall, Cheshire in the autumn of 2011 and accompanied by a comprehensive lecture and book signing tour throughout England and Wales. My latest project involves working on an iPhone App with a significant third-party.
n a t u r e t h e s o u r c e o f i n s p i r a t i o n
"My passion for natural history and the desire to be outdoors was installed from early childhood. Nature forays along the banks of Northumberland's, River Wansbeck accompanied by my father and grandfather would often be a rewarded by a fleeting glimpse of a kingfisher, a leaping salmon making its arduous journey up river; watching countless numbers of elvers and catching bullheads from the stepping stones below the historic Bothal Castle. These early childhood experiences nurtured a deep respect and passion for nature. During my formative years my influences were wildlife artists, Keith Shackleton, Sir Peter Scott and J.C. Harrison as opposed to photographers. A chance meeting with eminent wildlife artist Charles Tunnicliffe at Rostherne Mere only served to fuel the desire to capture natural history in one form of media or another. I later found inspiration in the work of American photographers Eliot Porter, John Shaw and Galen Rowell. The aspiration to become a professional photographer was born partly out of my desire to reacquaint and document the various expressions of nature I had witnessed and to present my encounters to a wider audience through various forms of visual media."
e t h o s
"My ethos of working alone in the field, not only ensures that my images are distinctive and unique, it dramatically increases my knowledge through observation while placing less pressure on the subjects and environment in which I am working. Being constantly on the lookout for new and interesting subjects to photograph has undoubtedly enhanced the quality of my interactions with the natural world. With my work I hope to promote awareness, dignity and respect. If people are moved by something, they inevitably want to know more about it; there is something to keep and cherish. I prefer to show the strength in the ordinary, the often overlooked but equally important aspects of nature. Photographing wild creatures in wild places and capturing the exclusive sprit of my subject is what I live for and photography is the means by which I am able share my passion. Photographing and observing what are considered uncommon events to the human eye, though everyday occurrences to the creatures who play out these scenes is often an arduous task but one that drives me on."
a s e l e c t i o n o f f r o n t c o v e r s
s e l e c t e d c l i e n t s i n c l u d e
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n a t u r e o n b l a c k - n a t u r e o n w h i t e c o l l e c t i o n s
A new and exciting collection consisting of 6,500 digital white background and 2,500 digital black background images, the largest of its kind by any British photographer. Inspired by American natural history painter John James Audubon and numerous Victorian natural history illustrators. The collection contains images suitable for both editorial and illustrative purposes. Subject range includes common garden biodiversity, solitary bee, earwigs, slugs, snails to the vast array of wildflowers, orchids, insects including many species of leaf insect, preying mantis, bee, wasp, dragonfly and tropical bug. Amphibians including all European species of salamander, newt, tree frog and a number of species of South American poison arrow frog. Reptile species include all the major locality morphs of Madagascan Panther Chameleon, Carpet, Fischer's, Parson's, Von Hohnel's, European, Africanus and various pygmy chameleon species including Rhampholeon acuminatus and Rhampholeon spinosum, leaf gecko, eye-lash pit viper, green cat snake, iguana, rocky mountain dragons and all British native amphibian and reptile species. Scorpions, seashells, crystalline minerals including andalusite, demantoid, kunzite, spodumene, tourmaline, zoisite etc make up part of the collection.
i n t e r n a t i o n a l a w a r d s
- 2010 - results soon to be announced
- 2008 - Nature's Best - Windland Smith Rice International Awards - Highly Honoured - Wildlife Category
- 2005 - International Wildbird Photographer Awards - Overall Winner - Birds In Britain Category
t e l e v i s i o n a n d r a d i o
- BBC 1 - Countryfile - interview with Michaela Strachan
- BBC 1 - North-West Tonight - interview with Peter Marshall
- BBC Radio 4
- BBC Radio Manchester
i n t e r n e t
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A former contributing editor with www.naturephotographers.net - in 2000 I founded the UKNP/European forum.
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Natural history multimedia resource ARKive "Images of Life on Earth" contributor.
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Work showcased on Microsoft Media Expressive website.
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NEW! Geoff Simpson Photography Workshop Forum on Flickr.
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Flickr - Geoff Simpson Visionwild
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Facebook - Geoff Simpson
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Twitter - Visionwild
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