Dr. Paul Lowe
Dr. Paul Lowe was Professor of Conflict, Peace and the Image and the Course Leader of the Masters program in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at the London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London, UK. He was also a regular course leader for The VII Foundation's educational programs.
Paul was an award-winning contributing photographer to The VII Foundation who has been published in Time, Newsweek, Life, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Observer, and The Independent, amongst others. He has covered breaking news the world over, including the fall of the Berlin Wall, Nelson Mandela’s release, famine in Africa, the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, and the destruction of Grozny. His book, Bosnians, documenting ten years of the war and post-war situation in Bosnia, was published in 2005 by Saqi Books.
In addition to the practice of photography, Paul’s research interests focused on the photojournalism of conflict, and he was the author of the following books:
- Behind the Camera: Creative Techniques of 100 Great Photographers (Prestel, 2016)
- Photography Masterclass: Creative Techniques of 100 Great Photographers (Thames & Hudson, 2016)
- 1001 Photographs You Must See In Your Lifetime (Rizzoli International Publications, 2017)
- A Chronology of Photography: A Cultural Timeline from Camera Obscura to Instagram (Thames and Hudson, 2018)
- Understanding Photojournalism, with Jennifer Good (Bloomsbury, 2020)
- Photography Rules: Essential Dos and Don'ts from Great Photographers (Quarto Publishing, 2020)
- Reporting the Siege of Sarajevo, with Kenneth Morrison (Bloomsbury Academic, 2021)
- Photography, Bearing Witness and the Yugoslav Wars, 1988–2021: Testimonies of Light (Routledge, 2022)
Paul combined his photographic and academic life with a commitment to endurance sports. As with his other work, Paul excelled and was a noted endurance runner, triathlete, and accomplished cyclist. He rode challenging sportives, like the 300km Dragon Devil event in Wales, and frequently took his friends and colleagues on spins out of Sarajevo. Most notably in cycling, he represented Great Britain in the 2021 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships.
As a trail runner, Paul completed one of that sport’s bucket-list challenges in 2022, the South Downs Way 100-mile ultramarathon, earning the coveted finisher's belt buckle. Runners who finish in under 24 hours are awarded a special buckle – Paul’s time was 23h 12mins and 10 seconds. As a marathon runner, he was constantly improving. Less than a month before his passing, Paul set a PB of 1h 28mins 52 seconds in the September 2024 Sarajevo half marathon.
In both cycling and running, Paul often placed in the top ten or twenty competitors and was regularly on the podium in his age group. As was his wont, Paul passed on his experience and mentored others, having qualified as a coach.
