BBC Weather Watchers is approaching its 10th anniversary, marking nearly a decade of crowdsourced weather photography from across the United Kingdom. Launched in November 2015, the popular weather club has grown to include over 362,000 registered users who regularly submit photographs that are often featured during BBC weather forecasts.
Among the platform's most prolific contributors is a Derbyshire photographer known as 'Villager Jim,' who has been dubbed 'the Banksy of the photographic world' by BBC newsreaders. Over the years, he has submitted hundreds of Weather Watchers photos showcasing the natural beauty of the Peak District, capturing everything from misty mornings in Great Hucklow to pink dawns in the village of Beeley.
'Actually seeing Editor's Pick pop up is great fun,' Villager Jim explained. 'What makes it even more fun is that I have a couple of friends who are also passionate photographers and they post as well. It's a real jibe if you get one on and they don't, so we're having a great laugh doing it. It's just good fun. It's lovely to see recognition and to then see it on the weather and news is great.'
Villager Jim's photography career began unexpectedly when photos of his dog Dilly went viral after being used in a fabricated story claiming she belonged to an American marine who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Though the story was 'totally made up,' as Villager Jim describes it, the incident launched his photography journey. 'It got to the point where I just couldn't do anything about it - it was appearing on hundreds of internet sites,' he said.
Despite the unusual circumstances, Dilly's viral fame created something positive. 'She was a beautiful thing and she actually created my career, she genuinely did. It went bonkers,' Villager Jim recalled. His social media channels now regularly receive warm responses from followers. 'We average at least 1,000 likes on every image but sometimes more, one went to 30,000 likes. It's even more so a sanctuary in my eyes for people to come to and just have nice, good feeling stuff.'
The photographer's passion truly began when he moved from Sheffield to the Derbyshire countryside. 'I only kind of took up photography when I moved to my current home,' he explained. 'I moved from the city of Sheffield to the countryside and have a lovely garden. I woke up, literally the very first morning after we'd moved, and out on my garden was a hare. I actually couldn't believe it.'
That moment sparked his decision to invest in professional camera equipment. 'Then I realized I needed to get one of these cameras where you can swap the lenses so you can have a bigger lens to take a picture of an animal further away,' he said. Despite his wife's skepticism that he would lose interest like he had with other hobbies, photography proved different. 'Fortunately for me, it's one thing in life that I've stuck with and enjoy it just as much now as I did then. That must have been at least 17 or 18 years ago, but I just got so hooked.'
Villager Jim maintains a rigorous daily routine that revolves around capturing the perfect shot. 'I have a very nice routine in the fact that I'm always up and out at least an hour before sunrise,' he explained. The timing varies significantly throughout the year: 'Around the May and June time, your sunrise is at 04:30 so you've got to be up at 03:00 to be able to have a cup of tea and check the day's figures or whatever and then zoom out.'
This dedication means he witnesses nearly every possible sunrise. 'I get to see every single sunrise there is, that you can actually see. Obviously there's lots of days where it's cloudy or raining, so you're never going to see the sunrise, but whenever there's the opportunity, I see every single one. I think that's a really valuable thing, and it's never the same of course. I think that's a joy in itself.'
For aspiring photographers, Villager Jim offers practical advice based on years of experience. His primary tip involves composition: 'The biggest tip of all is to imagine the scene as noughts and crosses, where you have the subject not in the middle one. So if you're taking a picture of a dog or bridge, put it somewhere other than the middle so that there's a bit more depth to the picture. That's the biggest lesson I've ever learned.'
Timing is his second crucial recommendation: 'Second lesson - get up early. All the lovely photos are normally at sunrise or sunset but sunrise, you tend to have a bit more time to get some good shots and the atmosphere.' His portfolio includes captures ranging from misty autumn scenes at Chatsworth to tiny squirrels in Derbyshire's countryside.
As for his mysterious moniker, Villager Jim has no plans to reveal his real identity. 'A wonderful BBC newsreader commented on me and said, "he's the Banksy of the photographer world," and I shall be forever grateful for that strapline,' he said. 'It's kind of fun, it's just slightly different having something mysterious about me. So I've hidden behind it, because I'd much rather my pictures do the talking than me.'
