Will Nicholls was born in the UK in London on 9th of January 1995, who in 2014 at the age of 19 enrolled into the University of Exeter in Zoology, studying there for 3 years before going on to be one of the most prominent young adult figure within the Wildlife Photography industry. Before going into University, he was the overall winner at the Young British Wildlife Photographer of the Year by British Wildlife Photography Awards, at the young age of 14 and when 16, winning the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards, making a name for himself before the age of 18. As of 2022 he is 27 years old, having met Prince Harry as a conservation project to learn about the red squirrel, as well as credits with working with BBC, Plimsoll Productions, and Silverback Films. Will Nicholls himself has been involved in the conservation for the red squirrel act for years now, as the species is endangered in the United Kingdom. Will Nicholls also is the founder of the most popular resource for nature photography, Nature TTL, with many posts about how to get into and achieve big as a nature photographer.

Currently they do quite a lot of freelance & contract work for bigger business's and don't really work under any big organisations, allowing for a lot more freedom within the photography sphere but also and uncertainty with income. Coming from a Zoology course , which helped strengthen his understanding of animal behaviours and ecosystems, allowing for a more understanding of his chosen niche. After leaving university, he acquired a CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) & FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), allowing for the legal authorisation to use drones within publicly owned spaces. He also has training and specialisation within the use of using tree climbing techniques, with a iVisa certification, which allows for him to travel to US for media related instances. So to list in a conclusive manner for his qualications & certfications, he owns:

• CAA liscene

• FAA liscene

• Bachelors of Sciences - Zoology

• iVisa

• Tree climbing & survival skills

For his work history and experience within the industry, he worked with many influential people in some amazing positions, whilst in university.

Founded - Nature TTL (JAN 2014): By 19, he had founded his own online resource known as Nature TTL, which was covered above, which is an amazing resource to help budding Wildlife Photographers expand towards the industry they want to specialise in. Such as even Astrophotography, Weekly photography challenges & ways of breaking into within the industry. "There’s no time like the present! Jump in and get started with some of our most popular tutorials. Just select your interest below and we’ll point you in the right direction." - Nature TTL

Camera Assistant - National Geographic (JUN 2015 - AUG 2015): At the age 20, he got the opportunity to work with Charlie Hamilton-James, who he got to know Charlie through British Wildlife Photography Awards as both had won in their earlier years & he approached National Geographic whilst still enrolled in university within his summer break of 2015. He worked as a Camera Assistant for 3 months for National Geographic, by Charlie within the Amazon Rainforest in Manu, Peru. He would help maintain the camera trap systems & would carry all the equipment with them through the forest.

Staff writer - SLR Lounge (FEB 2016 - JUN 2016): Whilst still in university, he worked as a paid writes for SLRlounge which was a written blog which focuses on the photography tutorials & content helping individuals learn more about the usage of both camera and post-production picture procedures. He spent five months working as a writer for them, producing blogs and posts to help newer individuals, using his learnt knowledge to improve his own website.

Staff writer - PetaPixel (JUN 2017 - APR 2018): During his 11 months of working here, he was one of two writes for the company which, at the time, had over 5 million unique visitors each month. Though not stated, it is interesting that he picks up many writing jobs surrounding further knowledge of photography.

Camera Operator - Wildscreen (JUN 2018): He worked as a camera operator for Wildscreen to produce a short VT for the Panda Awards 2018.

Camera Operator - Silverback Films (JAN 2019) - N/A

Camera Operator - BBC (MAR 2019) - N/A

Camera Operator - Plimsoll productions (APR 2019) - N/A

Camera Operator - Silverback Films (OCT 2019) - N/A

Director - Bird Photographer of the Year limited (OCT 2020 - PRESENT) - N/A

Director - British Wildlife Photography Awards (DEC 2021 - PRESENT) - N/A

Jay Gearing is a Peterborough UK based Photographer & Filmmaker who has been working the business for many years, he is also the independent business owner of Red 7 Productions, which is a Peterborough run film company. With meeting with Jay Gearing, he was one of three award presenters at the Gateway Film Festival Student Awards 2022, and after receiving my award, I decided to approach him to talk about what exactly he does as a filmmaker and if he would be okay for an interview. After agreeing and setting up a time & date, I held an interview discussing his career & work, which can be found in podcast format below:

Lee Ashton is a Peterborough UK based Musician, whose focus is within helping Additional Needs individuals find a passion within Music and having an ability to express themselves through the medium. He currently runs a large company and is the CEO, with his current focus being on getting a room which allows for movement to be translated into sounds set up. I met Lee through the Gateway Film Festival, when he approached me over the curiosity of how I produced my short film, "Change". I decided to inquire a bit about himself and had a lot of fun talking, so I asked if he would be available for a longer interview. After agreeing and setting up a time & date, I held an interview discussing his career & work, which can be found in podcast format below:

One of my biggest takeaway from the interview was definitely how Lee went to Confetti Institute in Nottingham, when talking about it I was quite intrigued, so it is definitely a University I am going to look into.