Having spent 10 years at a Jesuit boarding school in the North of England, he set off on his own to traverse the length of Tibet on foot. The journey lasted a year and upon his return his unique visual diary, featuring revealing images of a previously inac- cessible Tibet, was published to wide international acclaim.

In early 1994 he and his Dutch wife Ashkaine produced Literary Portraits of China, a 40 month project that took them to all the hidden corners of the newly opening People’s Republic. Upon its completion the images were exhibited in the People’s Palace on Tiananmen Square, Beijing, and then followed by a successful worldwide tour.

From 1997 onwards, Jimmy Nelson began to successfully undertake commercial advertising assignments for many of the world’s leading brands whilst creating a family based in Amsterdam the Netherlands. At the same time he started accumulating images of remote and unique cultures photographed with a traditional 50-year-old plate camera and awards followed.

International exhibitions and acclaim created the subsequent momentum and enthusiasm for the initiation of „Before they Pass Away“ in 2010.

After visiting 35 chosen Indigenous communities, part 1 was published to International acclaim at the beginning of 2014 Jimmy Nelson is exhibiting at International Museums,shows his work at the world`s leading Photographic Art Galleries, speaking at international conferences and is at the moment setting up the Jimmy Nelson Foundation.