London based photojournalist Andrew Cowie has been on the PAN map for a few years after we met him at some gallery do. He has been shooting for top agencies including Barcroft, Eyevine, AFP and EPA. Now he is back on our radar with the launch of his editorial photo agency Story Picture Agency. We caught up with him last night for a quick word:
Why did you set up Story?
‘We set up Story Picture Agency as a hub for photojournalists to be able to portray their views on major events and stories in the UK and abroad, not just in photography, but also in sound and video. Our vision is to produce a different angle on news events and features on a multimedia platform. We will cover news stories that have a global appeal, but will mainly focus on features outside of the daily media diary, and that could encompass anything from humanitarian issues, conflict and religion to fashion, technology and science.’
‘Rick [photographer Rick Findler] and I set up Story because we found ourselves covering many of the same events on a yearly basis and felt it was time for a new venture, in-fact it was my sixth consecutive year that I photographed the Parliamentary Pancake race, and this year it did not get any better. So to push our selves and hopefully produce work that is different and creative, we started this agency. ‘
Where are you based?
We are both based in West London
How many photographers are you?
Currently we are a two man team of myself (Andrew Cowie) and Rick Findler
Are you looking for more contributors?
As soon as we have sorted out all the kinks and are happy to say we are fully operational we will look in to bringing more photographers on board, and hopefully, not just from the UK, but abroad as well.
Are you selling stories or looking for assignments?
A mixture of both. We will at first produce our own stories to sell to the Papers and Magazines, but the dream is to one day be relied upon by clients to produce stories for their publications, along with the stories and features we produce off our own backs.
What are you currently shooting?
We are both painfully awaiting the Royal Baby, and also covering the British Elections but have many features lined up. I am currently visiting every tube station in the London and documenting life underground. Rick is in talks of a possible trip to Mogadishu, Somalia for a follow up story to one he did last year with the Somali National Army and their fight against Al-Shabaab.
• Photo editors contact Story here: [email protected]
All the best to Rick and Andrew, PAN will be following their progress: www.StoryPictureAgency.com
Thanks to freelance picture editor Emma Georgiou for her help on this one