Simon Kirwan Image Archive

simon@magog.demon.co.uk

Telephone 01704 550221



Simon Kirwan is an advertising photographer based in Merseyside. He started his career at John Mills Photography, the largest studio in Liverpool, tackling everything from architectural and industrial location work, to studio advertising, portraiture, and large room-sets. He then moved to Lister Kilpatrick Associates in Nottingham, a much smaller operation,where he handled mainly location work, covering a geographical area from Scotland to Kent. During this time he recalls the appearance in the studio of an Apple computer, possibly in 1984.

"We didn't really know what to do with it, but it seemed to offer more interesting possibilities than my 48k Spectrum!"

After a brief flirtation with Amstrads and PCs, Simon finally acquired a Mac last year, and now spends more time in Photoshop than in the studio.

"I copied my portfolio on to Kodak Photo CD, and I can now create digital slideshows for clients, and even send mailers on a floppy, using highly compressed low-resolution images which look fine on a screen, but cannot be pirated."

Simon firmly believes that digital photography is an idea whose time has come. Photography has been lagging behind other sectors of the wider graphic design and print industry, which embraced digital technology several years ago. Working practices in many photographic studios have been unchanged for decades, the equipment itself in many cases being well over twenty years old.

"As a photographer, I believe that Photoshop belongs in the hands of image-makers, whether photographers, designers, or both. As multimedia and the Internet develop, and image-makers produce work that is destined to be viewed on screens, rather than the printed page, only those people with a full range of computer skills, and a wide knowledge of software applications will be employable in the creative job-market."

Simon currently divides his time between working in an advertising studio, lecturing on photography and digital imaging to design students at two local colleges, and spending several hours a day using his Mac to explore Photoshop, and to create digital archives of his photographs. Here is a selection of recent images from his portfolio.

Select an image to download