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Geoff Simpson: Capturing the essence of nature

Are Geoff Simpson’s photographs landscapes with a twist? Or are they simple, elegant portraits of animals in their native surroundings? No matter how you define his images, you have to call them intriguing. Simpson has been named one of the top photographers in the United Kingdom. He is renowned for wildlife photography that presents its subjects within the context of their natural environments. His work has graced numerous magazine covers, including Bird Life, Natural World and BBC’s Wildlife Magazine and will soon be on display in the Bailiffgate Museum in North Numberland, England. “My goal is to inspire people with the beauty and spirit of my chosen subjects,” explains Simpson. “I try to capture the essence of each creature.”

My goal is to inspire people with the beauty and spirit of my chosen subjects. I try to capture the essence of each creature.

Simpson specializes in the native wildlife of his Northern England home where he lives on the edge of the Peak District National Park. Simpson says he’s got enough subjects here to last several lifetimes and has photographed insects, reptiles, a plethora of four-legged creatures and birds of all varieties. His portrait of a red grouse atop a rocky outcropping in front of a field of crimson grass showcases both the beauty of the bird and the park. It was the winning image in the 2005 International Wildbird Photographer of the Year competition for the “Best Birds in Britain” category.

“I want to do justice to each subject and highlight where they live,” he says. “To do this, I take out the clutter and simply present the relationship between the two elements. You don’t need 1,000 words to tell a story. A few sentences will do.”

This straightforward approach to photography is reflected in his equally uncomplicated approach to digital asset management (DAM). Simpson has recently adopted iView MediaPro as his DAM software of choice.

It was a simple choice, really. I am a photographer and want to spend time taking pictures not stuck behind a desk moonlighting as an IT professional.

“It was a simple choice, really,” he says. “I am a photographer and want to spend time taking pictures not stuck behind a desk moonlighting as an IT professional.”

MediaPro, he explains, allows him to do just that. He first tried the software during a stretch of bad weather, which gave him the time to work with and understand the product.

Just as he eliminates the clutter from his images, MediaPro allows him to streamline his post-production efforts. Living so close to Peak Park, Simpson can head out whenever the light is right. After a morning spent capturing wildlife (shooting in both digital and RAW formats to insure the best possible reproductions), he often returns to the office with 300-400 image files and immediately backs them up on one of seven hard drives. He then burns two DVDs. One he keeps as a “security back-up” and the other he uses to select and edit his top photos from the outing.

“That’s when I turn to MediaPro,” he explains. “I index my photos, labeling each with the subject captured and the date of capture. I don’t use the batch processing feature as I’m very rigorous in editing 300 photos down to just a dozen or so usable ones. I actually move through my images individually, removing the rejects until I have only a handful of saleable images remaining.”

After this process he applies metadata, including captions and keywords. He then opens PhotoShop CS2 from MediaPro where he performs a number of essential tasks, including enhancing the saturation and contrast and cloning out any dust specs before saving as a TIFF, the file format he uses for distribution. Then it’s back to MediaPro with the finished product where he marks each print with a different color flag to track distribution of the final images.

“Green-flagged prints go to the BBC. Red ones head out to the National Trust Library, yellow to Alamy Images and so on,” he says, highlighting just two of the many agencies that distribute his photographs for use in broadcast magazines, books and as prints in many different locations.

Simpson’s images are so popular that he receives daily requests for them. “Once I receive an e-mail or phone request for an image, I use MediaPro to locate the image and produce various selections for perusal. If the editor is working to a deadline -- which inevitably they all do -- they can make quick selections or request a further selection. I normally burn the required TIFF images on to DVD and ship out immediately,” he explains.

Simpson uses colored labels to track his images as they sell and documents which are his most requested. “MediaPro allows me to locate my images instantly, and, working in the editorial marketplace this is imperative, especially when you have 120,000 images to work with.”

He credits MediaPro with keeping him organized and providing him with free time so he can do what he does best – photographing wildlife at its most basic.

MediaPro has unquestionably given me more time to be out in the field shooting new images which is, after all, the crux of my work. Prior to using MediaPro, I would spend far more time in front of my computer and not enough time out in the field.

“MediaPro has unquestionably given me more time to be out in the field shooting new images which is, after all, the crux of my work,” he enthuses. “Prior to using MediaPro, I would spend far more time in front of my computer and not enough time out in the field.”

Simpson summarizes, “With MediaPro I can keep the digital asset management portion of the job as simple as the elements of my photos.”