Twenty-four-year-old Kieran Dodds envisaged himself as a wildlife warden when he began his degree in zoology at the University of Aberdeen.
But after a spell as editor of The Gaudie and some freelance work at Aberdeen Journals, his long held passion for photography took over.
Kieran couldn’t have made a better decision to change his choice of career, as he was recently named Diageo Young Photographer of the Year just three years after becoming a press photographer.
Now his award winning work can be seen at a fascinating exhibition opening to the public tomorrow (Friday, Sept 23) at the University’s Marischal Museum.
More than 30 captivating images will be on display. These include spectacular shots of sporting action; buskers on the Paris metro; townships, squatter communities and great white sharks in South Africa; portraits taken when Kieran documented the evangelist, the Reverend Billy Graham, on his final crusade in New York, as well as quirky and amusing pictures taken closer to home.
Many of the photos featured in the exhibition were taken by Kieran for the Evening Times in Glasgow, where he has worked as a staff photographer for the last two years.
He said: “When I used to pick up a paper I never understood the difficulties of press work. I want people to take time to appreciate the process behind the photograph. It’s is a thinking process and rarely do photos appear fully formed, it takes time and persistence, the exhibition will hopefully let people see that.”
Just before he graduated from the University of Aberdeen in 2002, Kieran spent a couple of weeks with the photographers at the Press and Journal which helped convince him where his future lay.
Soon after, he did a short stint at Scotland on Sunday – writing about the Edinburgh Festival, before returning to Aberdeen to work as a photographer with Northscot press agency. He then joined the Evening Times.
The exhibition at the Marischal Museum runs until December and will be Kieran’s third. The display will be launched tonight at special reception for invited guests.
Kieran said: “I hope people who come to see it will get an insight into what press photographers do and give people appreciation of how we can see something extraordinary and amusing in the day to day of work.”
Neil Curtis, Senior Curator at Marsichal Museum, said: "I am delighted that we are able to display this collection of photographs by an Aberdeen graduate in Marischal Museum which displays objects collected by many other graduates.
“Kieran's photographs are very deserving of the award and are both perceptive and witty."
Dr Martyn Gorman, Head of Zoology, at the University added: We were greatly pleased to hear of Kieran's major success.
“An eye for detail, and for the unusual, are important skills for any zoologist and we are delighted that Kieran has managed to transfer them so successfully to the world of press photography.”