November 27, 2025

Nigel Walters BSC FRGS (1941-2025)

It is with sadness that we announce the passing of our friend and colleague, Nigel Walters BSC FRGS.

We pay tribute to him in this obituary written by Phil Méheux BSC -

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Born in Haverfordwest, Wales, Nigel’s interest in photography came via his father’s 8mm camera and being a regular filmgoer from an early age. His uncle and father both worked as newspaper editors in South Wales and his brother became a renowned reporter in Cardiff.

At first, Nigel wanted to be a foreign correspondent, his ambitions growing naturally from his background. His heroes were the journalists Hannen Swaffer and Tom Driberg.

He had access to the darkroom at his father’s newspaper and was became the unofficial school photographer. His English teacher encouraged him to enter his photographs into the local Eisteddfods, where he won several competitions.

He joined BBC Wales in 1963 and trained as an assistant film cameraman, eventually relocating to the BBC’s Ealing Studios and working up through their ranks. A mentor in his early career was fellow BBC film cameraman, Peter Sargent BSC.

During his 30 years as a film cameraman, Nigel worked on over 100 programmes, including filming episodes of Panorama in Vietnam, Israel and Northern Ireland as well as documentaries for Horizon, Arena, 40 Minutes and many BBC drama films and series. Omnibus: The Treble, a biography of the young singer Aled Jones, won a 1985 International Emmy Award and Around the World in 80 Days (with Michael Palin) was nominated for a BAFTA TV Craft Award for Film Cameraman.

He became freelance in 1992, filming the first 15 episodes of Kavanagh QC (1995), as well as films such as Screen Two: Streetlife (1995 d. Karl Francis) and the television series Alive and Kicking (1991 d. Robert Young). He also photographed the groundbreaking Queer as Folk (1999) and the feature film One of the Hollywood Ten (2000 d. Karl Francis) which opened the Seville European Film Festival and then promptly disappeared!

Nigel became a member of the BSC in 1998, and inspired by Alex Thomson BSC, served on the board of governors from 2005-2020. He has been the society’s vice-president under Sue Gibson, John de Borman, Barry Ackroyd and Mike Eley.

Past president, Tony Imi BSC, encouraged him to become president of Imago (International Federation of Cinematographers). During his nine years, they became a global force, culminating in the American Society of Cinematographers finally joining in 2020. He was a member of IMAGO’s Working Conditions and authors rights committee and also helped orchestrate the creation of Screen Craft Rights in co-operation with BECTU, GBCT and the guild of British Film Editors.

Nigel acted as an adviser for the Manaki Brothers Film Festival, where he established and ran the Balkan Conference for cinematographers, working to unite the profession internationally. He spoke German and Swedish and was an honorary member of the Greek, Australian and Irish Societies of Cinematographers and a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, proposed my Sir Michael Palin.

OTHER CREDITS: American Experience, Spender, The Knock, Midsomer Murders, Hotel, William and Mary, Pickles: The Dog Who Won the World Cup, Trial and Retribution

SELECTED AWARDS: BAFTA TV Craft Award Nomination: Around the World in 80 Days (1989)