01767 260769

chris@chrisgomersall.co.uk

Profile

Portrait of Chris Gomersall, photographer.

Chris Gomersall is one of the UK’s best-known wildlife photographers, with a 40-year track record of professional activity, including 14 years employed as the in-house photographer for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). He continues to work as a freelance photographer of birds, wildlife and the environment, and has undertaken commissions for WWF (UK), Natural England, the Environment Agency, and BBC Wildlife magazine, amongst others. Chris’s work has won recognition in numerous international competitions, and in 2007 he was proud to be chosen as the European Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

As well as being the author of several books on wildlife photography, Chris is a very experienced tutor and trainer, leading tours and workshops at home and abroad. He acts as a training partner for Nikon (UK) Ltd, and has delivered workshops for institutions such as the London Natural History Museum, Cambridge University Museum of Zoology, and WildPhotos. As a tour leader, he currently works with Nature’s Images and Hebridean Adventures.

Chris is also honoured to be invited as a visiting lecturer by the photography faculties at the University of Falmouth and the University of Nottingham.

Outlook

Chris Gomersall’s photography is concerned with depicting wildlife in the context of its natural habitat, and most often relies on ambient light. He strives to meet the highest ethical and welfare standards and rarely works with captive subjects, except where utterly relevant and absolutely explicit. Fundamental to all Chris’s work is the belief in the power of photography to benefit nature conservation and biodiversity.

It is the photographer’s aim to look beyond superficial appearance, and to reveal something new, unseen, or previously unappreciated by the viewer – not just what something looked like, but an account of its place in the environment, an insight into its behaviour and, when things go really well, an expression of how it felt to be there. Sometimes we might approach this nirvana, often we fail, usually we’re somewhere in between; but always aspire to be the original artist, not merely the tribute act.

Awards & Competitions

BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition
Six awards since 1989
Member of judging panel, 2009

GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition
Overall competition winner 2007
Three “highly commended” awards

Bird Photographer of the Year competition
Category winner 2016 (Birds in the Environment)

Timeline

1998- Self-employed photographer
1984-1998 In-house photographer and photographic manager for RSPB
1980-1983 Research ecologist for RSPB
1976-1979 Nature reserve wardening for RSPB
1972-1975 University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
B Sc joint honours degree in zoology & plant biology