phil penman comes from a tranquil corner in the county of dorset, england. today he works as a freelance street photographer in new york. penman was born in 1977 in briantspuddle a village in dorset with 360 inhabitants and what feels like 30,000 sheep.
he had an interest in the visual arts, photography and darkroom work at an early age. after studying photography at the berkshire college of art and design his first job was at the wokingham times , a local newspaper published in berkshire. penman photographed just about everything , including babies, sheep, and local politicians. at age 21, he received an offer from a photo agency and took charge of their customer microsoft uk. looking after the company meant taking most of the corporate portraits.
phil did not let this tie him down and he left great britain and set out for the united states. new york was his ultimate destination but he made a detour to los angeles, where he worked for a celebrity news agency photographing living legends such as jennifer lopez, bill gates and superman christopher reeve. after six months the agency sent him to new york to establish an office.
during his time in new york, he has covered the biggest entertainment and news stories in america, including the september 11th world trade center terrorist attacks - for which his work won worldwide recognition. penman has spent the past 15 years cycling around the city documenting a broad spectrum of new york life. phil's work has been exhibited at the leica gallery in new york city as well as being featured in leica fotografie international. he currently travels across the world photographing assignments for a diverse range of clients including the best selling magazines people and hello, british newspapers the independent, daily mirror, the sun, daily mail, daily telegraph and the guardian, as well as american publications usa today and new york post.
Phil was recently listed as one of the " 52 most influential street Photographers" alongside the greats Henri Cartier Bresson and Sebastiao Salgado.
New York City
Taking a look at some of the many images I have captured over the 17 years I have been living in this melting pot "
— ME
September 11th
“the following shows two hours in my life after receiving a phone call that the world trade center in new york had been hit by a plane.”
— ME
New Yorkers
" Street Portraits of the people that make up one of the most diverse communities on the Planet ! "
— ME
Legends and Icons
“From business icon Bill Gates to Superman Christopher Reeve. Here is a look at some of the legends and Icons that I have been fortunate enough to photograph "
Paparazzi
“The Life of a celebrity photographer is not always rubbing elbows with the rich and famous behind the velvet rope.
The harsh reality of it is. Freezing your are off for hours on end, getting angry at why you have just wasted 10 hours of your life hiding behind a trash can. You sip on your coffee to keep you calm and hope that the next picture is going to be the one that makes you rich”
— ME
Team Sky
On the road with professional cycling team " Team Sky " in Mallorca.
Contact
studio@philpenman.com
917.496.1644
Press inquiries
Representation
Contour by Getty Images
Sales: +1 800 462-4379
Production: +1 646 613 3639