Tim Mannakee
At the age of 15 my parents moved to Hong Kong, and from that day my passion for both travel and photography was born. After completing a degree in film, TV, photography and performing arts at York St. Johns University, I travelled for 2 years and shot over 30 000 Kodachrome transparencies. On my return to the UK I worked for a London based travel company for 2 years, and in 1992 my wife Gilly and I moved to France.Over the last 30 years I have visited over 50 countries in every continent except Antarctica.
My first years here in France were taken up with renovating our beautiful property, starting our holiday rental business, and in 1999 we ran our first photographic holiday. Since then I have guided tours in France, Italy, Africa and Asia. I always visit potential tour locations before putting a programme together- usually accompanied by Gilly and sometimes our children.
My work has been published in newspapers,magazines, books and other media around the world. Clients include Sundays Times Travel magazine, Michelin guides, Conde Nast, The Telegraph, France Magazine, Country Life and many others. My principal photo agency is 4 Corners Images based in London and Sime, Italy. I have also published a photography book, “Images de Curemonte”, to showcase this beautiful region of France.
I was named as a Finalist in Travel Photographer of the Year 2013 in 2 categories: Black & White single image and Vanishing Tribes Portfolio.
Equipment: In the pre-digital age, I used a Hasselblad 500CM with lenses from 50mm to 250mm. I occasionally feel nostalgic and miss the amazing image quality when viewed through the loop. However, convenience and improved technology has won me over and I now work exclusively with a Canon1DX, a 5d mk3 and lenses as follows: 17mm TSE F4, 24-70mm F4, 70-200mm F2.8, 100mm IS Macro, Gitzo Mountaineer tripod, Manfrotto 410 & panoramic head and Lees filters complete the kit bag.
