Welcome to my website. I am an experienced editorial, news, portrait, press and public relations, business, photographer based in Stroud, Gloucestershire. I’ve had a 30 year career in press and editorial photography, 25 of them in an around Gloucester, Cheltenham, Stroud, Cirencester, Swindon, Newport, Bristol and Bath. I am used to covering a wide variety of assignments in many different situations to specific requirements within tight deadlines. My extensive career to date has taught me to be resourceful, creative, patient, flexible and courteous.
My rates are reasonable and negotiable please speak to me or e-mail for a quote.
My love affair with news and editorial photography started the moment I saw 200,000 copies of my front page picture thunder off the huge printing presses in the basement of The Hull Daily Mail. A bell rang the building shuddered all the brass fittings glowed red as the safety warning lights flashed. My name was misspelt, but it didn’t matter my work was on the front page, a picture I’d taken less than an hour before. I’ve never looked back.
I’ve had the privilege to cover an extraordinary range of assignments from ; The Samaritan’s Purse delivering Christmas shoe boxes to children in Belarus near Chernobyl, The Cromwell Street murders. In Kenya, AIDS orphanages, anti poaching teams, and the army live fire training. Not forgetting school sports days, local theatre, summer fetes, celebrity events, sport events, fires, business stories, and artists at work. I’ve photographed from tanks on Salisbury Plain, microlights, hot air balloons and bi-planes. I watched and photographed Tornadoes re-fueled in midair over The North Sea, I’ve landed on the deck of The Ark Royal in a Sea King Helicopter, and crawled through caves in the Mendips and the sewers of central London. I’ve photographed film stars, royalty and Prime Ministers.
I have adapted to massive rapid technological changes. When I started in newspapers I was hand developing in black and white films exposed in simple manual cameras, sending live news picture by Red Star on train from district offices. Through to scanning colour negative film to today’s mobile digital technology, taken on highly computerised wireless enabled cameras. The skills I’ve learned have prepared me for most photographic challenges.
Having worked as a photographer for, and edited, my university newspaper, I attended full-time The National Council for the Training of Journalists, photojournalism course in Sheffield. I gained the The Daily Telegraph Distinction Award.
I freelanced for two years, before working in London for The North London Post Newspaper Group covering 220 square miles of the capital in including Hampstead, Barnet, Camden, Enfield and Brent. Finishing up as Chief Photographer, I left to work at The Citizen in Gloucester and to raise a family in the countryside.
Born in Clifton, Bristol, I presently live in Stroud, Gloucestershire.
I also work as an agency special needs teaching partner. I have a strong interest in, and some qualifications in teaching and education. I have taught workshops in: editorial photography, pinhole photography, photograms, Victorian photography, news writing and creating newspapers, from primary school level right through to university media courses.
Thank you for taking the time to visit my site. Simon Pizzey
Mobile; 07718152169