Magistra in Film, Theatre and Media Studies and Russian (MA equivalent), University of Vienna; FRGS FLS

Alongside Julia’s own photography - and film: one woman film crew for 3 months across 10 African countries; ice fishing in -30 degrees Canada, and more - this energetic now somewhat settled “modern nomad” trains and inspires young photographers in Wildlife, Plant and Macro photography; using nature to guide us how to compose pictures, how plants guide us (like insects) into flowers, using nature’s visual cues.

Her current key interests include:

• Timelapses of seed and plant growth, movement and more.

• Bushcameras to record animal activity.

• Night skies, including Comet Neowise in 2020 which comes round again in 6800 years, Northern lights off the West Cornish coast and the International Space Station passing in front of the Milky Way.

• Sound recordings: birds, wind, sea, insects, worms, underwater.

The marathon filming trip in Africa showed her tenacious, agile and creative capabilities. Living off a truck and spending signficant time camping posed a number of challenges for her, from shooting passing scenery on bumpy roads to dust, backups and battery charging. Her filming and photography ranged from documenting people, wildlife, culture and customs, to adrenaline activities (some of which she undertook herself! Skydiving, Victoria gorge swing, paragliding, helicopters, balloons, microlighting – best moment was elephants crossing the runway as she came in to land, and seeing a mountain gorilla baby and mum up close!), and she used additional equipment such as bush cameras and underwater sound recording to widen the scope of her footage.

Her photography initially became second nature as she documented living in a village school in rural India, teaching Art and English, and travelling across the country. Her skill at picking up languages has given her access to people and their wide-ranging cultures, from learning to fish in frozen lakes of the Siberian winter to studying Kiswahili grammar in the heat of Kenya & Tanzania. She has produced images for editorial use, appearing in magazines, on CD covers, in encyclopaedias and at exhibitions.

Working in a design agency as photographer and accounts manager she photographed for and assisted in the production of prospectuses and annual reports for schools such as Wycombe Abbey, Woldingham, Francis Holland and City of London. Teaching is a key part of her life wherever she calls home, inspiring adults and children in photography and languages, art, music as welll as an awareness and care for the world, people and wildlife around us. She has successfully facilitated the use of photography as a means to healing on workshops for people affected by trauma.

Julia is partner, managing director and a host of other roles at The Mango Lab, a photography, media and creative hub based in Central London and West Cornwall.

Alongside her fascination of plants and their behaviour (soil and nutrients included), she uses her musical background to experiment with sound recording of wildlife, including underwater, the sounds of whales and fish and worms (really!), as well as the daily ambient sounds around us. Click here to watch Upon Water the film she co-produced at the Kendal Mountain Film Festival. Her 10-country African exploits and Canadian ice fishing documentary can be seen here.

She is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and serves on the London Regional Committee (previously known as the Younger Members’ Committee) and has hosted the online virtual “Map Room” (bar) post-lecture discussions as well as Microlectures to audiences of up to 400.

Always the people person she loves to meet new people and share her knowledge and experiences.

Contact for photography, creative media training, event talks, networking at julia@juliamasseystewart.com.