One of Mark Chilvers’ photographs, taken in Accra, Ghana, where the poor area of Bukom is the heartbeat of Ghanian boxing and has produced several world-class fighters
Born in a Nottingham borstal (his grandfather was the governor) and educated by nuns in North Wales (in a convent school, not a nunnery), Mark Chilvers started his career as a professional photographer at The Independent in 1998, specialising in news features, portraits and adventure travel. Next Tuesday, March 10, Chilvers will be sharing tales of his experiences at the monthly meeting of the Croydon Photography Forum.
There, Chilvers (pictured right) will tell of his time as a freelance photographer undertaking commissions for, among others, The Guardian, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Stern and Time magazine.
His career has seen him travel extensively on assignment visiting all seven continents as well as Antarctica and the North Pole.
Chilvers has an MA in Documentary Photography, and also teaches photography to community groups and young people in South London.
He has recently worked with a leading smartphone company and shot several assignments exclusively on his phone camera.
Chilvers raced across all 50 of the United States, collating 50 faces
One of Chilvers’s projects was “50 Faces From 50 States”, which saw him embark on an epic road trip around all 50 of the United States in just 30 days. Starting in Hawaii on New Year’s Eve, Mark raced to mainland America looking for stories, characters and adventure, as part of a PR assignment sponsored by American Airlines.
By the time he reached Dallas on January 31, he had managed to shoot an eclectic mix of Americans.
“This is just one of the many projects that Mark will be sharing with us on Tuesday as we meet for an exciting conversation with one of the UK’s most talented working photographers,” said Lee Townsend, the founder and organiser of the Croydon Photography Forum.
Chilvers’ work has taken him to the four corners of the world, including 700ft up a cliff in Estes Park, Colorado
The Croydon Photography Forum meets from 6.45pm on March 10 at the CVA Resource Centre, London Road, CR0 2TB.
Booking is essential. Click here to do so. There is no charge to attend the Croydon Photography, but donations towards the costs associated with running the forum each month are very welcome.
There will also be an opportunity to purchase a raffle ticket in support of the Forum and this week’s prize is a signed and mounted print by Lenses of Croydon member.
On April 14, street photographer Darren Lehane will be the next guest speaker at the Croydon Photography Forum.
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