Roger Coulam was born in Lincolnshire in 1965, but wound his way to the North East of England after an education in Yorkshire and then in Newcastle Upon Tyne, where he studied as an Environmental Scientist.
A self taught photographer, he began to make pictures in the 1990's, on numerous trips to North West Scotland.
He has always been fascinated by the energies and the extremes of nature, and in 2000 he visited the USA to photograph lightning and to chase storms and tornadoes. This journey led to him becoming part of a Storm Chasing Team in the States for eight years, and establishing a reputation as a severe weather photographer, with his pictures becoming widely published worldwide. He has made several appearances on television, and on numerous radio programmes, whilst his portfolio has featured widely in national newspapers and in the photographic press.
Roger turned professional in 2003, after developing his practice by supplying a wide range of clients with high quality pictures for editorial and stock use, through commissions and his own picture library.
Since 2008 he has increasingly concentrated on diverse personal projects and on print sales, towards which he adopts an uncompromising attitude to quality control. Recent bodies of work have involved camera-less, alternative photographic processes, and the use of found objects as negatives. He also practices photo-polymer printmaking, and traditional film based and darkroom work.
He lives and works in Sunderland in Tyne & Wear, England.