You may have heard of the man, but rest assured, you have come across his history-making, iconic images in your life. Bjork’s haunting album sleeve, Kanye West’s release, Kate Moss a la David Bowie. Nick Knight’s relentless pursuit of perfection in his work is the stuff of legends in the fashion photography industry. Needless to say, when we had a chance to host the man and his small team at Dunskey, we fell out of our chairs. 

What can we possibly say about a photographer who is a world above photography? Indeed, words that have been used to describe him in the most prestigious publications include, “visionary architect,” “transformative,” “photographic engineering,” “leading the next generation of image makers.” So we won’t attempt to scratch out our feeble thoughts about his groundbreaking images, but rather, add here a few tiny details from our time with him.

Nick’s time at Dunskey was spent mostly outdoors, even in a howling gale. We scrambled along the cragged coastline, where he and his team took painstakingly composed photographs of the landscape. Truly, it was by far the most thoughtful and considered way we have ever seen anyone do ANYTHING at all. Early mornings and evenings were bookended by quick jaunts into the Dunskey woodlands, which he would regularly slink off to do, no matter the inclement weather. 

We spent long dinners around the fire together with Nick, the team and Charlotte Knight, his effervescent wife and partner. Regardless of their stature, Nick and Charlotte were unbelievably kind, thoughtful and down to earth. Charlotte asked attentively about our immigration story, and Nick paid close attention to sketches in our Black Lives Matter series. We were awestruck not so much by their incredible careers and impacts, but by their open-mindedness and compassion. Most of all, they inspired us to constantly learn, to remain humble in a world that contains infinite images yet to be captured.