Elliot Nichol

I am a wedding photojournalist currently based in the North East of England. I started my life behind the lens over 20 years ago after I gained an HND in Photography at Newcastle College School of Art and Design in the UK. I worked as a photojournalist for several years in the Northeast of England before travelling the world and building up a stock library of images that I sell through international stock libraries.

I have lived in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Holland, Malta and Sicily where the majority of my work stemmed from stock, editorial, events and wedding photography. These opportunities had the added bonus of extending my personal knowledge and experience of different cultures and appreciating working in different styles which informed and developed my fine art photography.

I have personally concentrated mainly on developing my interest of personal work in fine art photography.

Born and raised on the northeast coast of the UK, I have always had a strong connection to water. The natural powers of the oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, their reflective properties and movements have always inspired me to capture these elements with my camera.

At the beginning of my photographic career, before the digital revolution, I fell in love with the pure magic and mystery of photography. Endless hours in the darkroom processing films and prints, surrounded by jars of chemicals, thermometers, the constant sound of running water in a room poorly lit by a red light, with all sorts of equipment littering all over the place, was like a wizards cave. My memories are still so vivid – watching a blank piece of paper in the developing tray come to life was always mesmerising. I think it was also the anticipation of it all, not knowing what you’ve got on your roll of film until it's processed hours after you have taken the final frame or how the amount of light exposed from the enlarger will be on the photographic paper.

Digital photography has changed everything, a lot for the better, but I still miss the magic and anticipation. I guess that’s why I love long exposure photography. Long exposures from thirty seconds to several hours give back that uncertainty, not knowing how it’s going to turn out.

Long exposure photography creates another dimension that the eye cannot see, time slows and even the roughest of seas now calm. Working in black and white you get to see the world in a more simplistic, pure and uncomplicated form.

Through my Long exposure photography I intend to create tranquil, soothing and absorbingly beautiful imagery.