This October/November, Nick Elliott brings his work home for a one-night-only special live event in Peterborough. 50 Years Behind the Lens: A Night In With Nick Elliott & David Lowndes is a one-off celebration of photography, music, and storytelling, marking five decades spent behind the camera. Joined by respected press photographer David Lowndes, Nick will share iconic rock images alongside personal stories from a lifetime photographing legendary artists, stages, and moments that shaped his career. The evening offers an intimate, in-person experience of conversation, projected images, and reflection — a unique event that will happen once, and only once.
Some of the collection that could be on show.
50 Years Behind the Lens: A Night In With Nick Elliott & David Lowndes A one-night celebration of photography, music, and storytelling in Peterborough
A Night In With Nick Elliott is a special live event celebrating the careers of two remarkable photographers whose work spans five decades.
World-renowned rock art photographer Nick Elliott and respected press photographer David Lowndes will come together for an intimate evening of storytelling, conversation, Q&A, and projected images, sharing personal experiences from lives spent behind the camera.
What is the event?
This is a live, in-person storytelling and photography evening, where Nick and David will guide audiences through some of their most powerful images and the stories behind them — from world-famous rock stages to everyday life in Peterborough.
The evening will conclude with an exhibition of Nick Elliott’s iconic rock photography, with selected works also available through his published books. The exhibition will include images from his UK tour collection, alongside a dozen photographs from Nick Elliott’s rockumentary of David’s final year — his fiftieth year — as a press photographer at the Peterborough Telegraph, revealing a deeply personal portrait of the man behind the lens.
Where and when will it be held?
The event will take place at the Peterborough Conservative Club in October/November 2026 (final date to be confirmed).
Why is Nick doing this?
After more than 30 years photographing over 300 legendary artists, Nick wants to bring his work home, celebrate a lifetime in photography, and share these stories directly with the local community.
This event is about celebrating photography as storytelling, honouring two very different but equally important photographic careers, and creating a memorable cultural evening for Peterborough — while also celebrating David’s final year as a press photographer at the Telegraph.
Your support helps cover venue costs, exhibition production, and event materials, ensuring the evening can be properly presented and accessible to all.
About Nick Elliott
Nick Elliott is internationally recognised as one of the world’s leading rock art photographers. Over more than three decades, he has photographed over 300 iconic artists, including Motörhead, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, The Rolling Stones, Iron Maiden, Debbie Harry, Robert Plant, and The Who.
His work has appeared on album covers and in publications such as Classic Rock, Kerrang!, and Sound. He was appointed official rock photographer for Planet Rock Radio and London’s O2 Arena for over eleven years, and his photography has featured in major books and exhibitions, including the acclaimed Size Matters exhibition at Cholmondeley Castle.
About David Lowndes
David Lowndes enjoyed a distinguished career as a press photographer at the Peterborough Telegraph, where he documented decades of life in the city. From breaking news to intimate portraits, his photography captured the people, places, and stories that shaped the local community.
What supporters will receive
Anyone who contributes to this GoFundMe campaign will receive: • Free entry to the event • A complimentary printed programme • Their name featured on all event publicity and acknowledgements
Why your support matters
This is a rare opportunity to experience and celebrate two extraordinary photographic legacies — one capturing the raw energy of global rock music, the other preserving the everyday stories of Peterborough.
By supporting this event, you are helping to create a unique cultural night that honours photography, music, journalism, and community.
Some of the collection from the fine art book with Dave Lowndes “50 Years On the Job”
Over Christmas, Nick Elliott was staying at Orton Hall Hotel in Peterborough, expecting a quiet festive break. Instead, he received a gift that would stay with him long after the season ended: a lifelike oil portrait by artist Cilla Marseglia, so striking in its realism and depth that it brought him to tears. For Nick, it was one of the most memorable Christmas presents he has ever received.
The portrait’s origins go back several years, when Nick reconnected with Cilla and her husband, Cenz, during the filming of his documentary The Story So Far. Returning to the place where he grew up after more than 30 years, he was reunited with his former neighbours. Both feature in the documentary, marking a reunion steeped in memory and shared history — a reunion that became the foundation for the portrait.
Nick Pictured with the Artist Cilla Marseglia at Orion Hall Peterborough.
Nick had no idea that artist Cilla Marseglia was a portraitist of such skill. Using a photograph of Nick taken by Cenz, she began work on the painting with patience and care, capturing not only his likeness but the subtle truths of his character. The finished work reflects the quiet intensity of a life spent observing the world, the depth of experience, and the essence of the man behind the camera.
When Nick finally saw the portrait, he was overwhelmed. As Shakespeare wrote in Twelfth Night:
“I can no other answer make but thanks, / And thanks, and ever thanks.”
The painting is not merely a depiction; it is a meditation on presence, memory, and time. Each brushstroke conveys detail and nuance that photographs alone cannot capture. It is a gift that asks nothing but offers everything: a reminder of how art can illuminate the familiar in new ways, revealing the life lived within a face and the stories it carries.
In giving this portrait, artist Cilla Marseglia offered more than a painting — she offered a moment of reflection, a reunion made tangible, and a work that lingers, quietly insistently, in both memory and imagination. For Nick, it is a gift to treasure forever, a testament to the power of art to move, to reveal, and to endure.
I think it’s one of the most emotional and meaningful presence I’ve ever received in my entire life. The worker has gone into it and the scale of Cilla is just totally showstopping.
The celebrated world renowned rock art photographer Nick Elliot has returned from a triumphant month in Italy that has seen his dark, conceptual art embraced by critics and audiences alike.
Nick’s journey began in the heart of Rome, where he unveiled a major solo exhibition at the Medina Gallery, a space known for championing cutting-edge contemporary art. The show drew packed crowds, its brooding themes and dramatic compositions offering a stark contrast to the classical serenity of the city outside.
The success of the exhibition was immediate. Nick was invited back by the gallery and offered a year-long residency, during which his work will be displayed alongside a retrospective marking five decades of his career behind the lens. The retrospective will trace his evolution from celebrated rock photographer — capturing some of music’s most iconic artists— to a creator of haunting, introspective Dark Art.
His creative momentum continues to build. Nick’s latest series has been accepted at the Venice Art Fair and the Majorica Art Fair, two of Europe’s most prestigious showcases for contemporary art.
A particularly memorable moment of his Italian sojourn came at Castello Ruspola, medieval fortress in northern Lazio. Within its candlelit stone halls, Nick presented an intimate exhibition that left audiences enthralled. The setting — a place where centuries of history hang in the air — proved a perfect complement to his evocative imagery.
“Showing my work in such an atmospheric space was unforgettable,” Nick said after the event “Italy has a deep respect for art and emotion — it felt like my photographs had found a natural home.”
Nick’s return to the UK marks only a pause; plans are already in motion for his return to Rome later in 2026, to continue his collaboration with Medina Gallery and further explore Italy’s art scene.
After half a century of photographing the raw energy of rock and the shadows beneath human experience, Nick Elliott’s Italian chapter has reaffirmed his status as one of Britain’s most distinctive visual storytellers — an artist unafraid to expose both darkness and beauty in equal measure.
I will be back in 2026! With some totally new pieces had a whole new experience to enjoy when you come to a Nick Elliott Rock Art Photographer fine art exhibition.
The project 50 years on the job a fine art coffee table book by Nick Elliott Rock Art Photographer has been picked up by one of the Nationals. http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk took the story up late last week, and here it is!
Photographer postpones planned retirement after 50 years with paper
A photographer has postponed his planned retirement after celebrating half a century working for a regional newspaper.
David Lowndes has stated his intention to “stay on” at the Peterborough Telegraph, where he began his career as a photographic assistant and trainee photographer in September 1973.
David, pictured, revealed last year that he originally planned to retire in September 2023.
He has served as the paper’s sole photographer, on a freelance basis, since 2014.
Speaking to HTFP, he said: “I am staying on at the newspaper, maybe – if they will have me – for a couple of more years while I am fit enough.
“I started at the Peterborough Evening Telegraph in September 1973 as a photographic assistant/trainee photographer. There were seven photogs using medium format cameras and hand-processed black and white negs and prints.
“We obviously served through the best time in the industry – the seventies and eighties before new technology and mobile phones with cameras appeared.
“Years later the newspaper went ‘morning edition’ and then weekly and by 2014 the photographic department was disbanded, leaving me as the sole photographer for the paper.
“It has been a privilege to document half a century of history in Peterborough, I have enjoyed it immensely and met many people – which is why it is so difficult to hang up my camera.
“A project coming up, with the help of Rock Art photographer Nick Elliott, is to produce a pictorial book to celebrate my 50 years.
“It should be completed by the end of the year which will be followed by several exhibitions, talks and book signings to highlight Nick’s images of me and my work.”
Weather wise it’s not been the best in the UK recently, but for me it’s been extremely productive. I’ve spent most of the summer in between working on other projects and commissions, producing a collection of fine art images that I hope to be touring next year in 2024.
This is a collection that’s been hanging around in my consciousness and imagination for sometime.I’ve never actually started to make a reality..
The Real Side Of Nick Elliott.
The series of Gallery and touring events planned for a six month period next year will feature totally new work and another side to my creativity.
50 Years On The Job! new fine art book By Nick Elliott Rock Art Photographer.
Double page spend in the Peterborough Telegraph
The project was featured in a double page spread written by Peterborough Telegraph’s reporter Carly Roberts only a few days after my PR team wrote the story on social media
The first of a brand new series of podcasts with special guests talking about special subjects and of course a lot of laughs and giggles along the way.
This week Nick is joined my radio Presenter and long time friend Chris Moore, where he talks about poetry and the 50th anniversary of the release of Nick’s favourite album of all time, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.
Nick and the elliottstudios team have been working flat out to prepare for a very special exhibition showcasing some of Nick’s most outstanding fine art images. The exhibition will include narrative from Nick, and filmed by elliottblithefilms. It will be predominantly designed for broadcasting across the USA via Nicks USA Representative to selective galleries. However the finished video can be viewed in the U.K. at a later date.
Nick signing some of the exhibition pieces.
The exhibition will be recorded at an undisclosed location at the end of the month. It will display a large amount of Nick’s fine Art images, including some that have been carefully chosen from his unseen archive.
“ This is a really special exhibition experience. It allows the elliottstudios to showcase my work in a very unique way that will be kicking”. ( Nick Elliott)
As previously stated Nick’s U.K. fan base and fine art collectors, need not worry about missing out, as they will have the opportunity to see the exhibition at a slightly later date.
Slán go fóill, as they say in Ireland translates into the endearing phrase, ‘Goodbye, stay safe and see you very soon’, which is exactly what Nick and the elliottstudios team are planning for.
After a wrap was called for the very successful commissioned Irish Tour, shooting Simon Collins and his album collaborator, Kelly Nordstrom for album artwork and promo material, it’s now time for the team to head home and back into the studio where all the hard work starts.
Nick at work
Nick now has hours of editing and post producing over three hundred images taken on the Irish Tour. Each image can take up to an hour to post produce and bring it to the uniquely high, photographic fine art quality that is associated with Nick’s creations.
Nick with Simon Collins and Kelly Nordstrom, on location In Ireland
Prior to his departure, Nick and Simon discussed further collaborations, which will see Nick and the team travelling back to Ireland in the late Spring, Summer and Autumn, for further commissioned shoots for Simon’s next three albums. Simon is also keen for Nick to document an upcoming project between himself and his father, Phil Collins (lead singer and drummer for Genesis) which will take place in Phil’s hometown of Geneva, Switzerland.
Discussing shots and angles
“It’s been an amazing experience to work with two such talented musical geniuses and professionals. I’m looking forward to seeing the guys again and creating some more face melting art with them.” Nick Elliott.
All in a days work
Andy Blithe, who accompanied Nick to Ireland, took the opportunity to add more film footage to his documentary, ‘The story So Far’, chronicling the life of Nick due for release at selected cinemas and TV later this year.
As Nick’s Irish Tour draws to a successful close, it was time for a little down time to relax and enjoy the local surroundings with some of its charming characters.
Nick has been on a commissioned shoot on location in Kerry Ireland for several days. The purpose of the shoot was to supply album artwork and promo material for Simon Collins new album, out for an Autumn release in the U.K. Simon, Genesis drummer and son to Phil Collins, has been collaborating with Kelly Nordstrom, acclaimed Canadian guitarist, to produce a progressive rock album from Collins Irish studios.
Nick Elliott, Kelly Nordstrom and Simon Collins on location at Mulgrave Barracks, Ireland
Nick, has travelled to the Emerald Isle to capture some atmospheric fine art images of the duo at several prominent locations around The Republic Of Ireland. Accompanied by Andy Blithe, who is continuing Nick’s documentary of his life story, ‘The Story So Far’ and also documenting the Irish Tour, which has been hailed a resounding success by all participants.
Andy Blithe, Simon Collins, Kelly Nordstrom, Carlo (tour driver/Manager), and Nick Elliott
The last day of the tour was an opportunity for everyone to to enjoy some relaxation after several hectic days shooting.
Simon Collins was keen to take Nick and the team to the local pub for some traditional Irish cuisine and beverages. Attracting the locals attention, it gave everyone the opportunity to swap some stories and even Nick swapped T- Shirts with an enthusiastic fan who recognised our world renowned photographer and Simon Collins.
Swapping stories and T-Shirts
Discussion’s are now taking place for a return trip for further commissioned shoots regarding Simon’s future albums that he is now working on.
Simon Collins and Nick Elliott making plans for future collaborations
Mulgrave Barrack, (Killarney National Park, County Kerry, Ireland) is Nick’s shoot location with the talented musicians Simon Collins and Kelly Nordstrom.
Mulgrave Barracks is an impressive site, and curiously has the appearance of an ancient castle ruin. The historical truth is in fact that the Mulgrave Barracks was a home built for the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) in the nineteenth century. Now left in ruins it has become the ideal location shoot for Nick to produce some of his unique fine art.
Mulgrave Barracks location shoot
Rain has not dampened the spirits of anyone on the shoot, only added to the atmospheric photographic art that Nick is creating. The shoot is expected to stretch into the night, so it’s a busy day for all concerned.
The activity around the Barracks has already attracted some onlookers, and fans of Simon Collins, (Genesis drummer and son of Phil Collins) and Kelly Nordstrom (Canadian Rock Guitarist).
Nick setting up the gear, on location
The finished images will be used as album artwork and promo material for Simon and Kelly’s new album which will be out for release in Autumn in the U.K.
Keep connected with nickelliott.info for updates on Nick’s Irish Tour and shooting progress.
Nick is proving to be a big hit at Rock Photographers Collective (RPC), the reputable clothing company under the directorship of its founder David Trew.
Nick has previously supplied thirty unseen images for the exclusive use by RPC on their extensive clothing range and merchandise. These unseen images are proving to be extremely popular as Nick’s sales within RPC continue to rise.
RPC is an established rock art clothing company supplying quality hoodies, T-Shirts, rock art memorabilia and fine art prints using images from a select illustrious group of rock photographers, including Andy Cotterill, Tony Mottram, Angela Williams, Mick Hutson and our very own Nick Elliott.
For an opportunity to bag yourself an exclusive rock image by Nick and to check out the amazing clothing range, head over to rockphotographerscollective.co.uk for some retail therapy.
Happy Shopping
“It’s just wonderful that the sales at RPC are going so well, I believe that it’s a reflection of the quality of the clothing range and merchandise. Thank you David for including me in such a reputable company.” Nick Elliott rock art photographer.
nick elliott rock art photographer official
