About Geoff Simpson
from passion to profession
Born in Jesmond, Northumberland, England, Geoff has forged a career primarily as a freelance professional photographer, naturalist, columnist and lecturer. He combines these activities with presenting a weekly video diary for a major Spanish TV company, running inspirational photo tours to Andalucía and owns a prestigious showroom gallery. Before turning his lifelong passion for natural history and photography into his profession in 2000, he worked in the City with De Beers as a gemmologist and marketing executive; a Fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain by examination, qualifying with distinction and graduating with a BSc (Hons) 1st class in Gemmology & Applied Mineralogy from Kingston University (London) or put simply, he knows a considerable amount about crystallography, dichroism, spectroscopy and optical physics.
A dedicated advocate of Canon, Geoff uses the 1DX, 5D MkII, 7D DSLR's, PowerShot G12 and L-series lenses from TS-E 17mm f/4 to 600mm f/4 MkII. He also uses photographic equipment from Gitzo (G1548), Arca Swiss (D4), Lee Filters, SanDisk, LowePro and Wimberley. His apparel choice is Mountain Hardware, Patagonia and Arcteryx. The back office is a mixture of Apple and Sony computer equipment running Adobe Creative Cloud CS6 & Premier Pro CC, Adobe Lightroom v5 and Photo Mechanic v5. The Epson Stylus Pro 9900 printer is used to produce all fine-art printing using Hahnemühle fine-art and Kodak Endura Metallic media.
As one of the world's leading exponents of tilt and shift optical technology, he can explain and demonstrate the Scheimpflug principle in plain English for those interested in such technical jargon and technique. A composer as opposed to a cover artist, Geoff's images are known for incorporating ephemeral natural light in his highly original and evocative compositions to produce truly stunning artwork that epitomises the spirit of his chosen subject. When it comes to his professional image-making, he most certainly is a lone wolf and fervently avoids the crowds; this approach causes less impact on the environment. As a naturalist, first and foremost, his great understanding of natural history, ecology and conservation translates into unique photographic opportunities by working with the rhythms of nature.
In 2011 the animated Brit made the life-changing decision to relocate to the Serranía de Ronda, Andalucía, España; a region of dramatically contrasting climatic conditions, diverse landscapes and the biodiverse hotspot of Europe.
television presenter
Geoff appears weekly on Mijas International TV (España) in Visionwild: the unfolding story of Wild Andalucía.
international awards
-
2012 ~ Nature's Best (US) - Windland Smith Rice International Awards ~ Art In Nature ~ Highly Honoured
-
2010 ~ British Wildlife Photography Awards ~ International Year of Biodiversity 2010 ~ Winner
-
2010 ~ British Wildlife Photography Awards ~ International Year of Biodiversity 2010 ~ Portfolio
-
2010 ~ British Wildlife Photography Awards ~ Wildlife Portraits ~ Portfolio
-
2008 ~ Nature's Best (US) ~ Windland Smith Rice International Awards ~ Wildlife ~ Highly Honoured
-
2006 ~ International Wildbird Photographer of the Year ~ British Birds - Winner
published worldwide
Geoff's work is published globally and esteemed editorial and corporate clients include: AstraZeneca, Apple Newsstand, BBC Wildlife Magazine, GEO Saison, Canon Explorer, Archant Publishing, Bright Publishing, Future Publishing, Outdoor Photography, The John Muir Trust, Dorling Kindersley, Nature's Best, Chicago Botanical Gardens, Visit Scotland, Wild Travel Magazine, Natural World, Practical Photography, Digital Camera, Digital SLR Magazine, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, advertising companies, broadsheet newspapers, calendar companies and many prestigious hotel properties across Europe.
television and radio appearances
Geoff has made numerous television and radio appearances including: BBC One ~ The One Show, BBC One ~ Countryfile, BBC Two ~ Inside Out, BBC One ~ Look North-West (Manchester), Sky News, Canal Sur TV (España), Mijas International TV (España), BBC Radio Four, Radio Gibraltar, iTalk FM (España) and Talk Radio Europe (España).
prestigious showroom gallery
The Geoff Simpson Gallery is a prestigious showroom gallery located the Serranía de Ronda, Andalucía, España. It's here where you can relax and peruse a collection of luxurious, limited edition, fine-art framed and metallic prints, artist proofs and objets d' art.
franchising the Geoff Simpson Gallery Brand - another first
The business model is to offer a worldwide franchise to artisan and retail outlets, photographic artwork investors in the Geoff Simpson Gallery brand. The concept appeals to the artistic, the would-be gallery proprietor, photographic entrepreneur and those who are looking for a new business opportunities and/or direction in their lives. To receive our PDF brochure, please call Fee, at the office or email. And the other first: In 2000, Geoff was the first professional nature photographer in Europe to advertise one-to-one tuition.
Fee Brookes - business manager, etymologist and voice over artist
Fee Brookes, the former editor of the periodical journal "Birds of Andalucía" is the Geoff Simpson Photography business manager. Fiona is also an etymologist and voice over artist and accepts professional commissions for both disciplines.
why we lead photographic tours and workshops
At the core of Geoff's tour and workshop business "Andalucían Photo Adventures" is the genuine passion for helping others to realise their aspirations in an enjoyable manner. He is an outstanding field naturalist with a vast amount of knowledge, experience to share and an open-mind, ready to hear your stories and tailor the tours and workshops in a dynamic way to benefit you, the paying client. Geoff won't tell you what to do and walk away; as a trusted photography expert and an experienced communicator he will support and mentor your photographic ambitions as they develop.
the photographic journey so far
His photographic journey has taken him from the boreal forests of arctic Sweden, the gritstone edges of northern England, the steppe plains of Alentejo, the alpine peaks of the Sierra Nevada and the remote forests of the Eastern Arc and Nguru Mountains, Tanzania and many points in between. Though known for his vast knowledge of British and Iberian natural history, his in-depth knowledge covers a broad spectrum of subjects including: European lepidoptera, orchidaceae and Old World chamaeleon.
his latest exposition - "Secret Andalucía"
Geoff Simpson is an engaging speaker whose enthusiasm is tangible as he transports his audiences to captivating landscapes and nature that is inspirational and marvellous. His latest exposition: Secret Andalucía is a safari for the senses during which the rare, the spectacular, the breath-taking and the wild of Andalucía are encountered. This presentation is now available to book for the forthcoming season or occasionally at short notice by arrangement. Technically outstanding, he is only concerned with the emotive reasoning that makes each and everyone one of his images uniquely his own. Recent audiences that have enjoyed Geoff's lecturers, time-lapse video sequences and audio-visual presentations include: AstraZeneca, Thames Business School, WWF, SAP (UK) and Ciba Vision.
Please contact Fee directly by calling the office or email without obligation, to find out about engaging Geoff for a refreshing discourse that is pitched to five to 95-year olds.
social networking and blog contributor
Geoff, posts regularly on several social networking sites including: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and writes a weekly blog post for the high-profile, online lifestyle magazine, marbella-eye.com. Geoff also happens to be one of the highest ranking photographers on 500px, the world's premier photography community. From August 2013, Geoff will be contributing to the new Apple Newsstand magazine, Wildlife Photographic.
a balanced lifestyleGeoff enjoys family life with Fee and the children, playing tennis, wild camping, learning to speak Spanish and as a lifelong supporter of Newcastle United he knows all about the emotions of pride, pain, frustration and misery. An accomplished musician, as a teenager he played a conservatoire system oboe and cor anglais; he now plays a soprano and tenor saxophone. He greatly admires the musical talents of Radiohead, Eddie Jobson, Steve Hackett, Brian Eno, Roland Orzabal, Mel Collins, Peter Gabriel, Phil ManZanera, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev. He cites the greatest live performances in his humble opinion as that of Radiohead, performing "Paranoid Android" on Later with Jules Holland (1997). And actually witnessed as that of Roxy Music, performing "If There Is Something" Manchester (1975) and Tear for Fears, performing "Elemental" Birmingham NEC (1993). With 3 girls, Geoff is now fully acquainted with the songs and lyrics of rock legends, One Direction, as they say there's no accounting for taste.