Biography
Robert Hollingworth (b. 1980)
Robert is a passionate, energetic, creative and technically-astute DoP and photographer. Living in London and working around the world, Robert has experience shooting under pressure, to deadlines and brief in the UK and remote in-hospitable areas around the globe. With a solid scientific academic background, he loves communicating through the visual medium. Robert shoots for television, giant screen and corporates.
Robert was nominated for a BAFTA for his work on kingdom of Plants 3D with David Attenborough.
Robert is an owner / operator of Nikon DSLRs, sony F3, Ex1, 18ft jib, lights, tracks and sound kit.
Academic
In 2001 Robert gained a 2(i) in Biology from the University of Bath, specialising in developmental neurobiology (Dissertation; Mesoderm formation during late epiboly in Zebrafish).In 2002 he gained a MSc in Business also from Bath with a dissertation on the neuro-psychological aspects of direct marketing (Dissertation; The effect of gender on direct marketing - a cross-disciplinary approach).
During his time at University Robert joined the student newspaper as first a photographer before moving up to Picture Editor. It was there me met Tom Vincent, friend and inspirational photographer. Tom and Robert began shooting increasingly together, bouncing ideas off one another, and critiquing each others work. They were asked if you would like to photograph student events and that was the birth Hollingworth and Vincent Photography, or as it is now known The Ball Photographers.Tom and Rob developed an efficient business model for shooting portraits at events, efficiently processing the images and selling them via an online proofing system. Partnering with one of the best labs in the country, Peak Imaging, The Ball Photographers has grown into a successful niche business renowned for high quality portraiture at prestigious university events.
He worked briefly for a marketing company after leaving university, before increasing numbers of commissions enabled him to move into photography full time. Robert has also worked for more than ten years in lighting and other technical aspects of theatre and live entertainment production in the UK, USA and Australia.
Stills
Robert has always loved taking pictures: even as a very young child, he posed his family for photographs, arranging his grandparents on a stile by their local church in Ackworth near Pontefract for one early shot when he was about 5 years old.
Interest blossomed when his parents gave him a Nikon F50 SLR for his eighteenth birthday. During a gap year between school and university, he travelled and worked in Africa, Australia and New Zealand, constantly taking pictures. Shortly after arriving at university, a friend suggested that he enter one of his gap year photographs in a competition. It won first prize, encouraging Robert to keep pursuing his passion.
Now a highly successful professional photographer, Robert has been lucky enough to travel the world in search of the perfect photograph (he is still looking). Professional highlights include shooting around Nepal on commission with the Gurkha Welfare Trust and the British Army, capturing the incredible spirit of retired Gurkha soldiers, and then barely a year later heading to Antarctica as documentary photographer to an expedition to the South Pole.
The shoot for the GWT in Nepal lead to a superb exhibition of portraits which opened at the Salisbury Arts Festival in 2009 and subsequently was opened at the next venue by Joanna Lumley OBE.
Filming
Increasingly intrigued by moving images and working on filming project as a stills photographer, Robert began experimenting with filming in 2008.Keen to maintain the strong compositions and depth of field, Robert invested in the Sony XDCAM EX1 and a Letus 35mm adapter which allowed complete compatibility with his existing Nikon prime lenses and critically to capture the same feel that the 35mm stills cameras allowed him.
Filming soon took off and Robert began working for a variety of clients around the UK. In early 2009 he was invited to join the Commonwealth Woman’s Antarctic Expedition and went with them to Norway to document their training and to undergo cold weather training with them in the Hardagervidda.Later that year he continued to train with the team in New Zealand and then head with them to Antarctica.
Robert joined the team on Life (BBC1, Producer: Neil Lucas), the BBC’s new landmark natural history series, as camera assistant to the incredible cameraman Tim Shepherd and making-of cameraman.Over the course of 18 months Robert assisted Tim on the time-lapse sequences in the plant programme. This lead to his first broadcast camera credit in December 2009.
Robert has now worked on three major natural history series; Kingdom of Plants 3D (BAFTA Nominated for Cinematography), Galapgos 3D (Sky 3D / IMAX / Atlantic Productions), and Micro Monsters 3D (Sky 3D / IMAX / Atlantic Productions), all presented by Sir David Attenborough. He filmed specialist photography sequences for all series and was lighting cameraman for Micro Monsters. For all series he designed and developed new equipment and techniques for 3D timelapse for studio and location filming.
Further back in 2004, Robert spent four weeks with the Top Gear team (BBC, Series Editor Andy Wilman) on work experience in a general production assistant capacity, including a brief appearance on screen!Gaining invaluable experience across all areas of tv production from office admin, tape logging to location assisting. Robert couldn’t resist picking up his camera though and shot behind the scenes stills while on location, shots which were later bought by BBC Worldwide to advertise the programme.
Robert now has filming experience in various remote locations including New Zealand, Norway, Chile, India and Antarctica at temperatures down to -30 degrees Celsius, in 100 Knot winds and away from power. Being an owner-operator of the tapeless cameras, Robert’s now experience at handling digital media, downloading, duplicating and ensuring data integrity whether the shoot be in the UK at a remote inhospitable corner of the world.
Lighting
Having a passion and working practical knowledge of lighting for over 15 years is a huge benefit when it comes to photography and filming. Lighting is key to great pictures on film and a solid grounding in theatre has given Robert a thorough understanding in the discipline and art of lighting.
From the early days of school, Robert was fascinated by theatre and the technical aspects of the productions. Lighting soon became his passion and he designed the lighting for numerous school productions. On a gap year between school and university Robert then went to Australia to work as Assistant to Lighting Designer Nigel Levings.Over a period of months Robert and Nigel worked on three productions at the Sydney Opera House: Macbeth, Don Carlos and Barrymore. Robert also assisted Nigel later on in London’s West End on The King and I (starring Elaine Paige), and then on Broadway on La Boheme (Director: Baz Luhrmann).
At University Robert continued feeding his love of theatre by lighting many student plays and musicals while simultaneously working freelance for the Theatre Royal Bath as lighting technician.
Robert has done work experience with TV Lighting Director Mark Kenyon on live and recorded programmes gaining invaluable experience in television studio environments lighting for camera, and working in the live studio environment.
Additionally to theatre, Robert provides freelance lighting services to many production companies for festivals, corporate and event functions in the UK and abroad.
Robert is the technical manager touring two shows around the UK and abroad starring Matthew Sharp. Johnny’s Midnight Goggles and Finklestein’s Castle were written for Matthew to showcase his incredible talent as a cellist, actor and bass-baritone. Critically received in the UK, including Edinburgh, the shows have been commissioned to tour India for 2010.
Technical notes (Stills)
Robert shoots predominantly digitally with Nikon SLRs, including the D3, D2x and D200 but also has an F100 and F50. Lenses range from 10.5mm to 200mm and include f/2.8 zooms and fast primes. The majority of the Nepal work was shot on prime lenses for their speed, incredible sharpness and colour integrity. For lighting, he uses either Nikon flashes or Elinchrom strobes when more power is required.
“I started out shooting transparency film, and still love it. However, digital is the future and it now offers staggering quality images with instant feedback and no running cost. Shooting in raw is tantamount to shooting with transparency film but with added flexibility.
The Nikon kit allows me to get the shot I want to without ever holding me back or letting me down. I've taken Nikon cameras across desserts, up volcanoes, down to -30°C in the arctic and floated them down the Zambezi and Orange rivers. They just keep going. Optically, their lenses are unsurpassed and the build of their bodies is bomb-poof.”
For medium format work, Robert shoots a Mamiya RZ67ProII but this wasn't used in Nepal because its weight and lack of flexibility make it less than ideal to take around the Himalayas.
from there to here
OverviewRobert Hollingworth (b. 1980)
Robert is a passionate, energetic, creative and technically-astute DoP and photographer. Living in London and working around the world, Robert has experience shooting under pressure, to deadlines and brief in the UK and remote in-hospitable areas around the globe. With a solid scientific academic background, he loves communicating through the visual medium. Robert shoots for television, giant screen and corporates.
Robert was nominated for a BAFTA for his work on kingdom of Plants 3D with David Attenborough.
Robert is an owner / operator of Nikon DSLRs, sony F3, Ex1, 18ft jib, lights, tracks and sound kit.
Academic
In 2001 Robert gained a 2(i) in Biology from the University of Bath, specialising in developmental neurobiology (Dissertation; Mesoderm formation during late epiboly in Zebrafish).In 2002 he gained a MSc in Business also from Bath with a dissertation on the neuro-psychological aspects of direct marketing (Dissertation; The effect of gender on direct marketing - a cross-disciplinary approach).
During his time at University Robert joined the student newspaper as first a photographer before moving up to Picture Editor. It was there me met Tom Vincent, friend and inspirational photographer. Tom and Robert began shooting increasingly together, bouncing ideas off one another, and critiquing each others work. They were asked if you would like to photograph student events and that was the birth Hollingworth and Vincent Photography, or as it is now known The Ball Photographers.Tom and Rob developed an efficient business model for shooting portraits at events, efficiently processing the images and selling them via an online proofing system. Partnering with one of the best labs in the country, Peak Imaging, The Ball Photographers has grown into a successful niche business renowned for high quality portraiture at prestigious university events.
He worked briefly for a marketing company after leaving university, before increasing numbers of commissions enabled him to move into photography full time. Robert has also worked for more than ten years in lighting and other technical aspects of theatre and live entertainment production in the UK, USA and Australia.
Stills
Robert has always loved taking pictures: even as a very young child, he posed his family for photographs, arranging his grandparents on a stile by their local church in Ackworth near Pontefract for one early shot when he was about 5 years old.
Interest blossomed when his parents gave him a Nikon F50 SLR for his eighteenth birthday. During a gap year between school and university, he travelled and worked in Africa, Australia and New Zealand, constantly taking pictures. Shortly after arriving at university, a friend suggested that he enter one of his gap year photographs in a competition. It won first prize, encouraging Robert to keep pursuing his passion.
Now a highly successful professional photographer, Robert has been lucky enough to travel the world in search of the perfect photograph (he is still looking). Professional highlights include shooting around Nepal on commission with the Gurkha Welfare Trust and the British Army, capturing the incredible spirit of retired Gurkha soldiers, and then barely a year later heading to Antarctica as documentary photographer to an expedition to the South Pole.
The shoot for the GWT in Nepal lead to a superb exhibition of portraits which opened at the Salisbury Arts Festival in 2009 and subsequently was opened at the next venue by Joanna Lumley OBE.
Filming
Increasingly intrigued by moving images and working on filming project as a stills photographer, Robert began experimenting with filming in 2008.Keen to maintain the strong compositions and depth of field, Robert invested in the Sony XDCAM EX1 and a Letus 35mm adapter which allowed complete compatibility with his existing Nikon prime lenses and critically to capture the same feel that the 35mm stills cameras allowed him.
Filming soon took off and Robert began working for a variety of clients around the UK. In early 2009 he was invited to join the Commonwealth Woman’s Antarctic Expedition and went with them to Norway to document their training and to undergo cold weather training with them in the Hardagervidda.Later that year he continued to train with the team in New Zealand and then head with them to Antarctica.
Robert joined the team on Life (BBC1, Producer: Neil Lucas), the BBC’s new landmark natural history series, as camera assistant to the incredible cameraman Tim Shepherd and making-of cameraman.Over the course of 18 months Robert assisted Tim on the time-lapse sequences in the plant programme. This lead to his first broadcast camera credit in December 2009.
Robert has now worked on three major natural history series; Kingdom of Plants 3D (BAFTA Nominated for Cinematography), Galapgos 3D (Sky 3D / IMAX / Atlantic Productions), and Micro Monsters 3D (Sky 3D / IMAX / Atlantic Productions), all presented by Sir David Attenborough. He filmed specialist photography sequences for all series and was lighting cameraman for Micro Monsters. For all series he designed and developed new equipment and techniques for 3D timelapse for studio and location filming.
Further back in 2004, Robert spent four weeks with the Top Gear team (BBC, Series Editor Andy Wilman) on work experience in a general production assistant capacity, including a brief appearance on screen!Gaining invaluable experience across all areas of tv production from office admin, tape logging to location assisting. Robert couldn’t resist picking up his camera though and shot behind the scenes stills while on location, shots which were later bought by BBC Worldwide to advertise the programme.
Robert now has filming experience in various remote locations including New Zealand, Norway, Chile, India and Antarctica at temperatures down to -30 degrees Celsius, in 100 Knot winds and away from power. Being an owner-operator of the tapeless cameras, Robert’s now experience at handling digital media, downloading, duplicating and ensuring data integrity whether the shoot be in the UK at a remote inhospitable corner of the world.
Lighting
Having a passion and working practical knowledge of lighting for over 15 years is a huge benefit when it comes to photography and filming. Lighting is key to great pictures on film and a solid grounding in theatre has given Robert a thorough understanding in the discipline and art of lighting.
From the early days of school, Robert was fascinated by theatre and the technical aspects of the productions. Lighting soon became his passion and he designed the lighting for numerous school productions. On a gap year between school and university Robert then went to Australia to work as Assistant to Lighting Designer Nigel Levings.Over a period of months Robert and Nigel worked on three productions at the Sydney Opera House: Macbeth, Don Carlos and Barrymore. Robert also assisted Nigel later on in London’s West End on The King and I (starring Elaine Paige), and then on Broadway on La Boheme (Director: Baz Luhrmann).
At University Robert continued feeding his love of theatre by lighting many student plays and musicals while simultaneously working freelance for the Theatre Royal Bath as lighting technician.
Robert has done work experience with TV Lighting Director Mark Kenyon on live and recorded programmes gaining invaluable experience in television studio environments lighting for camera, and working in the live studio environment.
Additionally to theatre, Robert provides freelance lighting services to many production companies for festivals, corporate and event functions in the UK and abroad.
Robert is the technical manager touring two shows around the UK and abroad starring Matthew Sharp. Johnny’s Midnight Goggles and Finklestein’s Castle were written for Matthew to showcase his incredible talent as a cellist, actor and bass-baritone. Critically received in the UK, including Edinburgh, the shows have been commissioned to tour India for 2010.
Technical notes (Stills)
Robert shoots predominantly digitally with Nikon SLRs, including the D3, D2x and D200 but also has an F100 and F50. Lenses range from 10.5mm to 200mm and include f/2.8 zooms and fast primes. The majority of the Nepal work was shot on prime lenses for their speed, incredible sharpness and colour integrity. For lighting, he uses either Nikon flashes or Elinchrom strobes when more power is required.
“I started out shooting transparency film, and still love it. However, digital is the future and it now offers staggering quality images with instant feedback and no running cost. Shooting in raw is tantamount to shooting with transparency film but with added flexibility.
The Nikon kit allows me to get the shot I want to without ever holding me back or letting me down. I've taken Nikon cameras across desserts, up volcanoes, down to -30°C in the arctic and floated them down the Zambezi and Orange rivers. They just keep going. Optically, their lenses are unsurpassed and the build of their bodies is bomb-poof.”
For medium format work, Robert shoots a Mamiya RZ67ProII but this wasn't used in Nepal because its weight and lack of flexibility make it less than ideal to take around the Himalayas.
