Biography

Stuart Forster is a Sunderland-based freelance photographer and features writer.

From 2004 until 2008 he was based in Bangalore, India, from where he travelled regularly to explore the cities and regions of India and Asia. With strong interests in people, local cultures, history, places and cuisines, Stuart has written for a number of magazines including Discover India, National Geographic Kids and Open Skies (the inflight magazine of Emirates Airlines) in addition to contributing to glossy travel guides on the Indian states of Kerala and Karnataka.

His images have also been published in books such as Indien - Eine Bildreise and China - Eine Bildreise, both published by National Geographic in 2009, and The Seventy Wonders of China (Thames and Hudson, 2007).

Though Stuart tends to concentrate on travel and feature photography, he also enjoys interacting with people at events and news photography. One of his images, from a Tibetan demonstration in Delhi in March 2008, was selected for the National Union of Journalists' Photography Matters exhibition, a collection of 50 news images from 2007 and 2008.

A small selection of Stuart's work can be seen on his website.


Statement

"I grew up in the north-east of England and started visiting Northumberland as a boy. For that I have my parents to thank; they made an effort to ensure that I grew up with an awareness of our region's heritage and attractions. Consequently, I've many fond memories of the county from that time. I still enjoy walking along Hadrian's Wall, visits to historic locations such as Hexham Abbey and Holy Island, and strolling on the county's stunningly beautiful, though sometimes windswept, beaches.

I think that Northumberland can still be categorised as one of England's hidden gems, in the sense that it often gets overlooked by many foreign tourists and, despite decent rail links with both London and Edinburgh, probably doesn't get as many domestic visitors as it deserves. I passionately believe that the county's landscape and coastline is among the most beautiful in our country. And thanks to the days when the Scots and the English used to dispute the border, and reivers raided cattle either side of it, Northumberland has some fantastic castles and market towns rich in character."