I'm a photographer, film-maker, writer and researcher with an extensive background in humanities and social science. I've lived here and there - Kent, Guernsey, London, Cornwall, Coventry - and Guadalajara. I lived in Devon for almost two decades and have recently moved into a wonky house in Bristol with my daughter, Ruby.
My photography has appeared in The Guardian and one of my films closed the launch of the Pebblebed Heaths as a National Nature Reserve. Walks of Life, my first film, was commissioned by Exeter Phoenix and premiered at Two Short Nights 2018. Strands, my third, premiered at the Association for Study of Literature and Environment conference in 2019 as did Clouties in 2022.
I hold an MA in Film and TV from University of Bristol, a PG Dip in Photography from Falmouth University, and will complete a PhD in Film at University of Bristol in 2027, where I also teach. I've presented my research far and wide, including at an anniversary symposium for The Wicker Man. In 2024, I was visiting research fellow at Stavanger University, Norway. I've been published in Gothic Studies, and have chapters on folk horror slated for publication by University of Wales Press, Routledge and Bloomsbury.
I've worked for Devon Wildlife Trust, making short films about Exeter's Valley Parks. I supported a public consultation on developing a former golf course, the public response to ash dieback, the tenth anniversary of their schools programme and their pioneering beaver project. As a volunteer and filmmaker, I've supported Pebblebed Heaths Conservation Trust in understanding how people connect with this new National Nature Reserve through photography.
Photo © Louise Kear, 2022.