A University of Nottingham technical specialist has been recognised by one of the UK's most prestigious photography awards, with his work selected for nationwide public display as part of Britain's largest annual photography exhibition.
Steve Galloway, Technical Photographic Specialist in the School of Life Sciences, has had two portraits shortlisted for the Portrait of Britain Vol. 8, a British Journal of Photography award, with one of his portraits to be included in the top 100 winning images selected for display on digital screens in high streets, shopping centres and transport hubs across the country.
Steve's winning portrait depicts Jessica Harrison, a gymnastics teacher from Calverton, photographed in her local gymnasium. The image was created as part of a project documenting people from Steve's local community and everyday life.
Steve's second shortlisted portrait features Sizwe Jones, a musician and model originally from South Africa. and will be featured in the Portrait of Britain Vol. 8 photobook, which will be available next week. Sizwe's portrait was created as part of The Anatome Project, a collaborative initiative involving students and staff from Life Sciences, Anatomy and The School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Originally established to address the lack of diverse representation in surface anatomy teaching materials, The Anatome Project has been developed over the past two years into an extensive image bank used in education and training. The project was initiated by Dr Aisia Lee and Dr Deb Merrick and supported by colleagues in Biological Photography and Imaging, including David McMahon and Steve Galloway. In 2025, the project was recognised with a Lord Dearing Team Award.
Being recognised by the British Journal of Photography for this award is a real career highlight for me. Location-based portraiture is a relatively new area of practice for me, having mainly worked in the studio, so to be recognised on my first submission is incredible. I am already looking out for subjects around the University to photograph for next year's competition.
Although much of his work focuses on scientific communication, Steve's background is in commercial and portrait photography, and his current practice explores the application of photographic and design techniques within science communication.
