I was born close to Belfast in Northern Ireland and despite the backdrop of the ‘troubles’ my brothers and I had a carefree childhood. My father was a dreamer, a landscape painter, a great storyteller and he was the biggest influence on my early life. We had impromptu days off school, regular visits from artist friends, the excitement of exhibition openings and I soon realized that I wanted to have a creative life. After my A-levels I started a degree course at architecture school in England, but dropped out in favour of pursuing my desire to be a painter. Returning home I rented a studio where I painted every day, then I bought my first camera and discovered a love of photography. With a few detours along the way I became a full time assistant to a photographer in London, and then started shooting my own work. After 9 years of London I got married and moved to Dublin, where I still live. I have always believed that if you work hard and give your best then good things happen and my work has been recognised at home and internationally, both in the fine art and advertising realms. I did go back to university eventually and now hold an MFA in Photography from University of Ulster.
Clients include:
Aer Lingus, AIB, Ariel, Aviva, Avonmore, Barnardos, Bank of Ireland, British Heart Foundation, BMW, Bushmills Whiskey, Carslberg, Coca Cola, Denny, DAA, Dublin Bus, Eircom, Electric Ireland, Fáilte Ireland, Gate Theatre, Guinness, Heineken, HSBC, ICG, Irish Examiner, Irish Ferries, Jameson Whiskey, Lidl, National Lottery, Oxfam, Powers Whiskey, Road Safety Authority, Samsung, Simon Community, Smirnoff, Smithwicks, Stena, Sunday Times, Tesco, Today FM, Trócaire, Ulster Bank, University College Dublin, UPC, Vodafone, Volkswagen.
All images © 2020 Simon Burch