Instagram @paulthompsonstudio
Paul Thompson (b 1977 UK), graduated with a H.N.D. in photography from the Newcastle Art & Design College in 1999 and opened his London studio in 2005 after assisting leading advertising photographers.
Since opening his studio, Thompson has been recognised and honoured by leading institutions. Thompson has received both a Gold and Silver award from the Association of Photographers, two Silver and one Bronze award from Creative Circle, a yellow pencil at D&AD. He was also shortlisted in the Terry O’Neill Photography Award.
Thompson has exhibited three times at the National Portrait Gallery - London. In addition, he has shown work at The Strand Art Gallery, Design Week’s Awards exhibition, as well as at Creative Review’s Photography Annual. Thompson has appeared twice in the D&AD book, and he’s had work featured in national and international print and online publications.
While continuing to build an extensive commercial portfolio, Thompson has devoted recent years to a collection of ongoing, interconnected bodies of fine art work. His minimal, abstract photographs are often (but not always) made on the coast, usually late into the night, using a large-format film camera. Instead of adding artificial elements, Thompson subtracts them, stripping his compositions down to their most essential features.
In Thompson’s world, art is about sacrifice and dedication, and it shows in the work. In engaging with a rich and layered history of photography and visual art in general, his work also raises questions about the future of our world-- the land and the sea-- and mankind’s ever-shifting place within it.
Projects
- IsobelFor the last 15 years I have had the privilege to work with Isobel to create a group shot of the agency, once a year. As the agency has grown, so has the shots. They have won many industry awards over the years and have become something that people look forward to seeing/receiving every year. 2020 proved difficult, however we still managed to come up with a creative solution while maintaining social distancing.
- MoonlightMoonlight I spent my childhood on the cold and wild coast of the North East of England, and as an adult, I’ve returned time and again to the sea. Moonlight is a lonely labour of love; I have now spent more than four years venturing to the English, Italian, Scottish, and Welsh coasts on dark nights, with only the moon to light my way. Every since the first whispers of lycanthropy in First Century Europe, the full moon has carried with it the promise of magic and madness. In science and in folk
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Work history
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PhotographerPaul Thompson Studio
London, United KingdomFreelance
Shooting Advertising campaigns for Advertising & Design Agencies worldwide. Selected Clients include - Barclays, D&AD, The Discovery Channel, Expedia, Fujitsu, The Guardian, Hiscox, LG, Lloyds, Logitech, MasterCard, Mentos, Natural History Museum, Nike, Phillips, Playstation and Virgin Media. Acquired valuable strategic insight, highly organised, strong managerial and people skills, conceptual thinking, planning, project management and being responsible of big budgets/productions from the very start of a project through to it appearing on billboards or in print.
Skills
- Advertising
- Events
- Film
- Photoshop
- Photography
- Fine Art
- Fine Artist
Education
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HND PhotographyNewcastle Art College
- Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
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BTEC OND PhotographyNewcastle Art College
- Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
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Awards
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IPA 2019 - 1st Place - WinnerThe International Photography Awards
1st Place - WINNER - The Professional Analog/Film, Landscape categoryLife Framer 2018 - 1st Place - WinnerLife Framer
“This is a stunning image, a delicate and captivating musing on the interactions between man and nature – of the indelible marks we make on our environment. Paul describes the efforts taken to achieve this shot (and the others from his series ‘Moonlight’) – the scouring of coastline for the perfect viewpoint, the monthly wait for the full moon, the three-hour exposures… That meticulousness is palpable, and yet the resulting image has a certain effortless. The long exposure has the effect of cutting through the water in the foreground, and smudging it in the distance. Simultaneously clear and knowable, and vast and incomprehensible. It’s a beautiful, intricate image. A reflection on time passing, on distance and on solitude.” – Life Framer+ Show more