Time lapse cameraman Tim displays other talent (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Time lapse cameraman Tim displays other talent

TIME lapse camera work, in which plants grow from seed to bloom and insects devour the leaves of a tree, all apparently in seconds, is a specialist area of filming requiring concentration and attention to detail.

To depict such plants and insects on canvas in all their colourful beauty requires similar dedication and patience.

So, it is perhaps little surprise to find one of the country's leading exponents of time lapse plant and wildlife photography, also at home with a paintbrush in his hand.

Tim Shepherd is a man whose work many television viewers have admired over the years, through such awe-inspiring series as Sir David Attenborough's Private Life of Plants - a series on which he worked for two and a half years - and the more recent Life in the Undergrowth.

His work has also featured in Alan Titchmarsh's gardening programmes and he is currently working with the former Gardeners' World presenter on a new series on British wildlife.

"About half of all time lapse you see on telly is mine," says Tim matter-of-factly. There are only two or three people who do plant time lapse with any regularity."

Now Tim, 43, who lives with wife Jeanette in Chipping Norton, where he also has his studio, where many of his amazing "macro filming" images are produced, is about to reveal his other talent - as a wildlife and plant painter - at the town's gallery next month, where he is holding his first solo exhibition.

"I do wildlife subjects and sort of link in with my filming. I tend to paint plants and insects. Some of the images are inspired by things I have filmed in the past. I want to reveal in paint something that people might not have noticed," he says.

Tim, who used to paint at school, but ended up pursuing his interest in biology and studying botany at Oxford, has never had any formal training as an artist.

"After starting work I didn't do much painting but about four or five years ago Jeanette said why don't you have another go. It looked like filming was going to drop off and it seemed like a good idea to have another go at it. I then developed a long term aim of having exhibitions."

His artwork, which sells from between £250 and £850, was shown for the first time at the Gallery @ the Guild in Chipping Campden last year.

He paints in oils, acrylic and chalk and oil pastels, sometimes combining them in a single painting. However, Tim, whose interest in wildlife stills photography led to his being employed by filmmakers Oxford Scientific Films at Long Hanborough from 1984 to 1990.

Tim Shepherd's solo exhibition is at the Gallery at Chipping Norton Theatre from March 28 to April13 10am to 1pm and during performances.