With a little over a month to go until the great and the good of Photography descend upon the hallowed ground of the NEC in Birmingham for the annual Photography Show, here’s a little reminder of who you can see on the Super Stage this year

Frans Lanting

For more than 4 decades, Frans Lanting has documented the natural world to promote understanding about the earth through images that convey a passion for nature and a sense of wonder about our living planet. Join Lanting as he shares his work as an ongoing dialogue with nature, and explains how that discourse has been influenced by developments in science and technology, art and literature, and by his own experiences across all seven continents. This talk is based around Lanting’s recent Dialogues with Nature exhibition, a major retrospective showcasing images from 5 of his signature projects produced over a period of 40 years.

Nadav Kander

From fine art exhibitions to international magazines, Nadav Kander’s globally renowned work spans both portraiture and landscape shoots. His huge back-catalogue of photographs, many of which are housed in public collections, include portraits such as the iconic TIME magazine covers featuring Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump, and his images are always about the ‘human condition’. This interview, led by curator Bill Ewing, offers an opportunity to get insight into Nadav’s unique career and approach.

Louis ColeLouis Cole has a huge social media community around his adventures as ‘Fun For Louis’, with over 1.4m followers on Instagram and even more on his YouTube channel. More recently, he has founded Live The Adventure – an online collective of other travel influencers. During his session, Louis will explore the part photography plays building a social media community, describing his journey to becoming a social media influencer, and giving insight into how all of the elements work together; as well as examining overall why social media can be so important for photographers.

Jill Furmanovsky

What’s it like to photograph some of the biggest names in rock music? From hanging around outside Abbey Road studios to catch a glimpse of the Fab Four, to photographing the likes of Blondie, Oasis, Amy Winehouse and Led Zeppelin, Jill’s career has seen her capture some of the most legendary artists of the last 40 years; and she is still shooting! Jill will share how her career started and developed, the stories behind her iconic images, backstage anecdotes and insight into the sorts of kit she likes to use; a real rock and roll story.

Clive Arrowsmith

Clive Arrowsmith’s body of work is extensive – spanning fashion, advertising, music and celebrity portraits, including Paul McCartney, Prince Charles, De Beers and Yves Saint Laurent. Clive will describe the path he takes to produce photographs that draw in the viewer; how he subtly directs his portrait subjects and choreographs his models on fashion shoots. Every detail is accounted for – their facial expressions, hand gestures and all features of the body’s movement until Clive achieves the image he sets out to capture. This talk is sure to be fun and fast-paced, with numerous behind the scenes tales of his celebrity adventures.

David Alan Harvey

Highly sought-after mentor and teacher, Magnum photographer, founder of Burn Magazine and champion of emerging photographers David Alan Harvey began taking photographs at the age of 11. Since then he has shot numerous essays for National Geographic magazine and covered social and cultural issues across the globe. Passionate about encouraging people to explore and push past their personal obstacles, challenge themselves and put feeling into their images, during this talk, David will get you thinking in a whole new way about your approach to photography and finding your voice.

Alex Webb

Best known for his colourful street photography, Alex Webb is intrigued by the complexity of the world – something that reflects in the many layers of his work. First joining Magnum Photos as an associate member in 1976, Alex started out in black and white. Documenting the intensity of life on the street in places such as Mexico and Haiti prompted a move to colour, to express the colour he saw embedded in the those cultures. Discussing his work and the spontaneous, often subconscious way he uses his camera, join Alex for an exploration of how photographs can capture the richness and texture of the environment around us. 

Albert Watson

A chance to hear from one of the most prolific, versatile and sought-after photographers of our time. Join Albert Watson as he talks us through his career, from 1970 to date, and his unparalleled body of work, ranging from art to fashion to commercial photography. Albert’s varied, powerful images and stunning hand-made prints are featured in galleries and museums the world over. Beauty shots of Kate Moss, still-life photos of Tutankhamen artefacts, portraits of Alfred Hitchcock and Steve Jobs to name but a few; this talk will explore Albert’s unique visual language, the stories behind the images, and is sure to be a memorable experience.

Julia Fullerton-Batton

Join Julia Fullerton-Batten as she shares her approach to enthralling fine-art photography and how it has developed over the last decade. Discussing several of her projects, Julia will delve further into her latest two – 2015’s Feral Children and 2016’s The Act, both of which deal with highly controversial subject matter. How does Julia go about choosing her subjects and what’s involved with putting each project together? ‘The Act’ is now published in book form and will be available at the show.

This year, the Super Stage again features some of the greatest minds in photography, renowned for their stunning, revolutionary and thought provoking images across the world. This year’s Super Stage speakers will share details surrounding their careers, the challenges they face and some of their most famous images. Places are limited so book now to avoid missing your place.

Tickets are £10 per session [you will need to purchase your entry passes first, if you haven’t already done so].