Robert Nowell has been a professional photographer for over two decades. His love for photography began as a hobby in high school and soon became his passion in life. He attended Fanshawe College and graduated from Communication Arts with his degree in photography. His first job upon graduation was working in a museum in Niagara-on-the-Lake, copying and restoring photographs of United Empire Loyalist families in the archives. In 1983, he and a partner opened Image Photographics, a studio in downtown St. Catharines where Robert began a successful career providing images for advertising agencies, while at the same time, building a loyal portrait and wedding clientele. Robert bought his partner’s share in the studio in 1987 and went solo. Robert has worked from three different downtown studio locations over the years and now is enjoying working at home in the charming Yates heritage district in downtown St. Catharines where he resides with his wife, Heather and their four children.

Aside from his highly successful photography business, Robert also found time to teach photography at Niagara College for ten years, as well as numerous private workshops and seminars from his own studio. He has served as a director for the Hamilton-Niagara branch of the Professional Photographers of Ontario and in the last ten years has been affiliated with the Professional Photographers of the State of New York and the Professional Photographers of Canada.

Robert Nowell’s talents have been called upon by corporate clients such as ; Casino Niagara, Lincoln Graphics, American Express, Coca Cola, Proctor & Gamble, Ontario Wine Council, The Plaza International Hotel (Toronto), Bella Pasta Foods, Stoney Ridge Wines, U.S. Energy, State Farm Life Insurance Co., to name just a few. His work has appeared in Time magazine and on billboards, bus shelters, brochures, magazine covers, CD covers and countless other media.

Incredibly with a full schedule of commercial work, Robert is still passionate about his wedding photography. “It’s the best part of being a photographer”, he quips, “who else gets to be in on the happiest day of peoples lives on a regular basis?” Robert especially enjoys the documentary style of wedding photojournalism. It is in this particular genre of wedding photography that Robert stands out from his competition, “you have to get the shots quickly and quietly while people are unaware they’re being photographed.” One of Robert’s clients put it this way, “as our dream day progressed, Robert was there snapping away…so we were told! He is so sensitive to his positioning that we hardly knew he was there.” He chooses to personally book himself between thirty to thirtyfive weddings per year and refers all other enquiries to his associate photographers.

When Robert is not looking through a lens, he enjoys reading, traveling and music. Robert is also working on an exhibit titled ‘My Emerald Isle’, from images taken on his trip to Ireland in 2000.