Simon Niblett, professional photographer, cameraman and director of photography

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Simon Niblett

Simon Niblett, professional photographer, cameraman and director of photography

Having lived and worked in more than 150 countries around the world, photographer Simon Niblett rates the Dartmouth area as the best place to live.

He said: ‘When walking the dog along the cliffs on a nice day I would easily pick here over anywhere!’

Forty-nine year old Simon has been a professional photographer, cameraman and director of photography for 30 years.

During that time he has scaled numerous mountains; entered war and disaster zones; been on tour with Robbie Williams and Take That, filmed penguins in the Antarctic and countless other exciting sounding projects.

Images from his career adorn his workshop walls, many celebrating the strength and endurance of the human spirit.

Whilst working for UNICEF, Simon went into Haiti following the catastrophic 2010 earthquake.

He said, ‘It never ceases to amaze me how quickly people adapt to their situation. When we got to Haiti the place was in ruin but people had already set up houses and were on it straight away. It’s amazing how people adapt and take life in their stride.

‘It’s the natural thing to do. I’ve seen it all over the world – in super poor places and war zones too.’

One mission took him to war torn Bosnia to shoot a film ‘City Under Siege’, in a place cut off by surrounding battles.

‘We went with three mercenaries and got shot at trying to get there. It took us all summer to get into the city and when we finally arrived, instead of finding people dying of starvation as expected, they were thriving as they’d created a great secret supply route for food! It became a non-film - we should have made the film about us trying to get there instead!’

Another highlight for Simon was filming the ‘honey hunters’ in the remote Himalayas, for National Geographic magazine.

He said,‘These guys were great – hanging off cliffs 400 feet in the air to collect this amazing, slightly hallucinogenic honey. At the time it took us two weeks hiking to get there. However, now they’ve built a road to get tourists in and the hunters are leaving the village. I need to get back and do an update I think.’

Simon’s job is not without its obvious dangers. Whilst filming ‘Earth Flight’ for the BBC - a programme on migrating birds in the mountains of southern France – he had a crash in a micro light plane, sustaining a punctured lung and broken ribs.

Uninterested in academia and yearning to travel, Simon left school after A levels. He funded his trips through various jobs including as a nightclub pianist in New Zealand, cattle station worker in Australia, trawler man in the sub Antarctic and expedition photographer with Operation Raleigh.

‘I always knew that I wanted to travel, be creative, technical and reasonably well paid. I’m so pleased that I have been able to do this through a career in photography.’

Simon’s passion for photography and the technical kit that accompanies this, began in childhood.

He said, ‘I used to buy cameras – like the old box brownies – from local fetes with my pocket money. I was a bit obsessed really and spent all my money on them. I would hide them from my parents so they didn’t complain about me buying yet another one! I still collect kit and have to have the latest gadget. My wife Sally says it’s like a disease – I’m a compulsive upgrader!’

Simon broke into his career in photography after returning to his West Midlands home at 19. He was accepted onto a trainee film cameraman scheme at the then Central Television studios, securing the post with his impressive portfolio of travelling photos.

After two years he got his assistant cameraman’s ‘ticket’ and went on to a job filming the Formula One circuit: ‘A steady income and a great start, where I built up many contacts.’

From this Simon fell into sports photography and film – including two Olympics at Barcelona and Alberville. He impressed The US television network ESPN with his ability to ski downhill carrying a camera and thus filmed plenty of skiing action for their channel. Simon is still a very keen skier – a passion he shares with his wife Sally, who he met at the Alpine ski resort Val d’Isere.

For many years Simon was based in London, where he had a studio in Battersea. His career strengthened and he had many interesting jobs, including working for the commercial production company who created the infamous Tango drinks ads.

Ten years ago, with his wife Sally and four children, he decided to move out of London and head to New Zealand. After having second thoughts they headed to Dartmouth instead.

‘We had friends at the Gunfield Hotel in Dartmouth and had always loved it down here so decided to give it a whirl. We bought the Sunday Times ‘House of the Week’ in Dartmouth and started living the dream!’

The family moved out to Blackawton to a ‘fixer upper’ four years ago – now a stunning place with workshop and outdoor pool, which Simon installed himself.

His career has always meant long spells away from home and for many years Simon has spent around 30 weeks a year out of the country on TV and film contracts.

He has been on world tours with the band Take That and former member Robbie Williams, to create feature length documentaries and aerial stadium footage.

Despite their fame and lead singer Gary Barlow’s appearances as a judge on ITV’s X Factor, Simon’s children are hilariously nonplussed with his Take That friends! Their mum Sally explained that they would be far more impressed with their dad photographing the Totnesian singer Ben Howard instead.

Simon’s love of the technical side of photography is evident in his passion for ‘drones’ – propeller driven craft that can hold cameras for cinema quality aerial shots.

These drones save money on pricey helicopter flights and, by focussing on developing these in his workshop, Simon plans to spend more time at home with his family and less time out on location. He is presently working on one with 12 propellers, and a waterproof and super wind resistant one too.

I caught up with this extremely busy guy just before he was off to the US for a shoot with Chanel in the ‘crazy world of fashion’. This world didn’t seem to fit in with the outdoorsy rugged life he usually leads and he finished our interview laughing that, when they meet him, the fashionistas often ‘look at me and think I’m either hugely bourgeois or homeless!’ •

interview by Kate Cotton

First Published July 2013 By The Dart