eDUCATION

It all started when…

JOHN BURBIDGE

Was born in Hampstead, Camden Borough, North London, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

He completed 7 GCSEs / Level 2 achieving a 96% GPA across all subjects . John chose to study Art and Design, Photography and Media Studies at A-Level and an IT & Communication at both level 2 & 3 at college. Then went on to complete a BA (Hons) in Photography for Fashion and Advertising and a (Masters Level 7) Post Graduate Certificate in Education at Russell Group University.

During university John's work caught the attention of multiple renowned photographers. Winning a photography competition for “ Most Creative Photo” to assist on a series of photoshoots for top 10 international photographer Nick Knight's Fashion Revolution 2009 LIVE exhibition at Somerset House, London. 

Taught by Jason Evans previous Photo Editor of I-D magazine and named as one of the 100 most important people in British Fashion by SHOWstudio.com and is also widely exhibited in a fine art context in galleries such as the TATE. John was an assisting photographer from 2009-2011 assisting on projects for luxury brands such as, Stella McCartney, Armani, and publications such as, I-D Magazine, Vanity Fair and British Journal of Photography, while in university.

In 2011 John was awarded a £1000 extra curricular grant out of thousands of applicants as this grant was open to any level or course. This grant funded working abroad with noted fine art photographer Nicolas Prior Head of Photography at NYU, which supported his application by praising the documentary series ‘Childhood’, which focused on deconstructing the idealised representations of children and childhood in a broader context, with a specific focus on the traditional ‘family photo album’.

From 2011-2012 John secured a competitive place as a Gallery Assistant for Wales’ leading photography gallery Turner House Ffotogallery.

In Sep 2012 John won an MTV UK nationally televised competition for MTV BRAND NEW for 2013| Winning the Photography category and photographed the MTV BRAND NEW MUSIC Winners including artists Labyrinth and Jessie Ware for held and also attended and photographed Vogue’s Fashion Night Out at Emporio Armani, which sponsored.

John went on to gain independent recognition by winning photography awards, gaining multiple internships at Bauer Media and carrying out professional photography work with many blue-chip companies including BBC and MTV and has went on to be commissioned and published internationally, working as a freelance commercial photographer.

In 2013 John set up his own photography business. In 2014 John was headhunted as the UK’s marketing consultant for the re-marketing of SONY’s 4D Focus technology, and was hired as freelance marketing consultant for Text Appeal LTD.

John completed (Kings Trust) Princes Trust - Business Enterprise programme in 2015. A one year long business mentorship programme.

In 2015 John was selected among a handful full of start up businesses personally by billionaire Andy Rubin CEO of Pentland Brands Group from over 150 young entrepreneurs to learn Global Brand Building, Marketing at Pentland Brands HQ, London. During this time John completed an NVQ level2 practical business course focusing on business planning, the fundamentals of running a sole trader or LTD business and tax law at The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Head Office in London. John also completed a course in SEO & SEO Strategy taught by Danny Richmond a leader in this field whose agency handle SEO for the clients, such as BBC, JOHN LEWIS and Marks and Spencer and also owns a leading training school in London .

In 2016 John began working with 1883 Magazine and was offered the opportunity to be a contributor to the magazine planning various projects with a long list of brands, music groups and talent agencies for example Burberry, Universal Music Group and CBS.

In 2017 John chose to work in the education sector at Cardiff and Vale College the largest Further Education provider in Wales and one of the largest in the UK as a creative subject lecturer, while continuing to develop his professional practice. Completing a Level 7 FE - PGCE at Cardiff University. John taught A-level visual art subjects including Art and Design, Photography, Media studies and Graphic design, as well as one GCSE photography class.

In 2017 John spent 2 years abroad in Mainland China initially to travel South Asia, while teaching. He taught Kindergarten & Primary level ESL and taught and then taught American curriculum middle school ages 11-13 teaching Math, Science and Geography.

In 2019 with a decade of experience working with magazines and brands, John started his own online/print magazine X-Raymagazine.com garnering the support of previous clients and influential friends, while also gaining new support before launching. X-Ray founded in June 2019 with the support of Universal Music, Sony Music, Live Nation, Elite and The Photographer’s Gallery London to name just a few. John continued to grow X-Ray Magazine, while working at the BBC and the magazine continues to expand its roster of collaborators worldwide.

John is a “Platinum Level” Canon professional and is Adobe certified in Photoshop and has a working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite programs, as well as many other qualifications relating to the creative industries and education sectors.

PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

 MTV: BRAND NEW for 2013 | Photographer Category Winner | 2012

 UWN: EXTRA CURRICULAR PROJECT GRANT | NICOLAS PRIOR £1000 | 2011 

 NICK KNIGHT FASHION REVOLUTION | 1st Place Winner | 2009 

TEACHING AWARDS - OFSTED OUTSTANDING - 1 of 4 Student Teachers to achieve this out of over 50. Cardiff University/Cardiff and Vale College

EXHIBITIONS

CHAPTER ARTS CENTRE | LENS BASED MEDIA WALES EXHIBITION | GROUP EXHIBITION | FUNDED BY ARTS COUNCIL WALES 2008

EMPTY SHOP PROJECT | GROUP EXHIBITION | FUNDED BY NEWPORT CITY COUNCIL | 2010

UNIVERSITY OF WALES, NEWPORT | GRADUATE EXHIBITION | THE ATRIUM, NEWPORT | 2012