After more than 19,000 shoots that have seen him travel the equivalent of 30 times around the world, Simon Williams celebrates 25 years in business this July.
The then 28-year-old Simon resigned from his job as senior photographer when he bravely stepped out on his own and set up Crest Photography in 1995. Fast forward a quarter of a century and Simons portfolio of work includes HM The Queen, HRH The Prince of Wales and North East royalty such as Sting, Cheryl and Ant & Dec as well as prime ministers, sportsmen and women and just about every senior figure in the North East business community.
Simon also has special memories shooting for Sir Bobby Robson during his final public appearance. Putting his camera down for a moment, Simon reflected on the first 24 years of Crest Photography: “Its been an adventure with so many highlights. When I left school I never thought Id end up on stage with Sting or being given a free run of Sir Richard Bransons London office and boardroom, never mind doing a private shoot with Prince Charles in a field in Northumberland or being his mothers host camera.”
If there is such a thing as a normal day in Simons life? It can start with a shoot in Inverness, moving onto a London shoot then back home to his base in Northumberland, ahead of another early start on Teesside before heading into Durham, Gateshead and Newcastle photographing accountants, lawyers, engineers, power stations, bakers or excavators the following day! With just the occasional weekend off, Simon sees his routine as being more of a lifestyle than a job. In 2020, Simon had his busiest ever start to a year covering 8,000 miles across the UK with shoots from The Houses of Parliament in Westminster up to the Scottish Parliament. Simons diary was already looking busy for the full year and then came lockdown and as for most in business, things changed overnight.
“Most people I spoke to in the business community were in a mild panic and theres no denying the first two weeks were tough and very frightening for both the business and health wise,” explained Simon.
“And then completely out of the blue, in circumstances none of us would want, came a brief for a project I will never forget.”
John McCabe, managing director of Fusion PR Creative takes up the story: “Ive known Simon for even longer than his 25 years running Crest Photography and in all of this time, Ive considered him a first choice, go-to photographer. So in April, when Fusion was appointed to provide strategic communications support to the new Nightingale Hospital North East, I had no hesitation asking Simon to commit to a shoot on the site every other day over a five or six week period. We needed a comprehensive library of shots, not only for media purposes but to provide a historic record of this extraordinary project. Simon was there on day one when he photographed a shell of a building and he was there to cover the virtual opening when we unveiled a 460 bed hospital. His outstanding work will be looked at for years to come.”
Simon had worked on many major infrastructure projects down the years but Nightingale Hospital North East it truly unique: “Ive never seen anything like it,” he said. “The teamwork and dedication shown by the NHS, Contractors and Army was truly inspirational and Im really proud to have been involved.”Life and work is now slowly returning to something like normal and clients have pointed out that socially distant photography has always been my thing as I never shoot people close together and have alway spaced them out as part of my creative process.
“This isnt how Id anticipated my 25th year in business but I wish all of my client and contacts, so many of whom are now good friends, all the very best and Im looking forward to seeing them all through the lens again soon.”
From all of us at Northern Insight, congratulations to Simon on reaching such a fantastic milestone in business.
Heres to the next 25 years!
