Esme Allen

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

After completing my Media degree and NCTJ diploma in photojournalism, I started my 17 year career as an award winning photojournalist at the Portsmouth News. I was the first female staff photographer on what was then, the largest selling evening newspaper in the south of England. I moved to Scotland in 2001 to work for the Edinburgh Evening News, Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday. Here I honed my skills as a photojournalist, working on various news stories and PR campaigns. I've also worked on the picture desk, running a busy diary and sourcing photographs. Whilst working as a staff photographer I found stories that enabled me to travel overseas to write and take photographs exploring the work of various NGOs in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. The photographs of the Marsh Arabs I took whilst travelling to the Mesopotamian Marshes of Iraq with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh for Scotland on Sunday were shortlisted for major photography awards: The Travel Photographer of the Year competition and The Independent/Wanderlust Travel Photographer of the Year awards. The photographs have been exhibited nationally and internationally. I was recently a winner in the prestigious Environmental Photographer of the Year competition 2015. The awards attracted 10,000 entries from over 60 countries. The winners were announced at the Royal Geographical Society in London where I was presented with the Forestry Commission Exhibition Award. Forty of my photographs are now being shown in a solo exhibition at Grizedale Forest in the Lake District before touring other venues. My photographs taken in Liberia were also shortlisted in the Hamdan International Photography competition. My love of travel, photography and writing has meant that I have produced travel features for numerous newspapers. I also makes short videos for the web.

Architecture
Arts
Breaking news
Corporate
Editorial
Entertainment
Environment
Events
Food
Interior
Interview
Landscape
Portrait
Reporting
Video capture