OCA preloader logo
Lorentz Gullachsen - The Open College of the Arts

To find out more details about the transfer to The Open University see A New Chapter for OCA.

Lorentz Gullachsen

Born in the 50s in West Bromwich, with a Norwegian Great Grandfather, it was my turn to get the family name – Lorentz. In the 60s I saw ‘BLOW UP’ an Antonioni film that convinced me that photography was going to be my career. In the 70s I graduated from Birmingham School of Photography with a diploma, a folio and a driving ambition to be a successful photographer. The 80s were terrible for fashion, but for me they were the start of a great career as an Advertising Location photographer. In the 90s I had representation in London, Paris and New York, and since then I have continued to shoot in many genres including automotive, lifestyle, fashion, portraits and landscapes for advertising, editorial and stock.

I have been very lucky to have received a few gongs along the way, including the Association of Photographers Gold, a few pencils from D&AD and a string of selections in awards across the world. The commercial world was where I made my living, but I was always producing my own personal projects, often on the back of international assignments.

I have had a number of solo exhibitions and have been in many group shows throughout the world. In 2005 I exhibited ‘Movers & Shakers – faces of a changing city’ at Symphony Hall, where over 60,000 people viewed the collection of 100 portraits. I have work held in Birmingham Central Library Photographic Archive as well as the National Portrait Gallery and many private collections.

Photography has been my enduring passion, and it was always something I wanted to teach as it has given me so much and it can be a wonderfully positive medium. In 2007 I started as a visiting lecturer at Gloucester University, delivering the advertising photography module. In 2008-10, I returned to study at Birmingham City University (BIAD) for my MA in Visual Communication (photography as a persuasive medium). I am currently a visiting lecturer at Hereford College of Art, as well as delivering seminars and workshops at a variety of venues and coaching professional photographers in the UK and abroad. I continue to work on commissions and I am always working on personal projects.

I’m honored to be in such illustrious company as the tutors at OCA, I hope that my experience and enthusiasm for photography will inspire, inform and motive my students.

lorentz gullachsen