Nicholas Hughes was born in Liverpool (GB) in 1963.  Although beginning to make photographs in his youth, it was not until completing a formal photographic education through a Master of Arts degree at the London College of Communication in 2002, preceded by a first class Bachelor of Arts degree in 1998 that he realised his vocation as a photographic artist.

Hughes became interested in environmentalism at an early age and seeing how the natural world suffered at the expense of corporate profit led him into fundraising for an environmental pressure group. Increasing awareness of the fragility and preciousness of nature drew him to the landscape.

His work has gained increasing international recognition through recent selection as the featured artist in a solo show at the Photographers’ Gallery in London (2007) and as an exhibitor at "Earth" The Houston Biennial Fotofest in 2006 as well as in "Landscape," the 5th International Photo Festival in Seoul (South Korea) 2005. His work is included in the Victoria and Albert Museum and was a part of  "The Histories of Photography" exhibition in London from 2009–10. His work has also been seen at the world’s major photographic art fairs in Los Angeles, New York and Paris.

The work seemingly dependent upon a transient lifestyle alludes to universal Romantic themes, allied to an environmental sensibility.  Each seeks to illustrate the frail residue of the contemporary wilderness through reduced visions of the sublime within localised nature. Examination is given to the space between the world that people inhabit and that which nature still claims as its own. In particular the Edge and In Darkness Visible series seek to re-explore the human sense of wonderment before nature.

Hughes is a UK based artist who works mainly within his immediate location whether that be - central London, Cornwall, the British coastline, Switzerland or Germany. His work has been featured in numerous publications, including Next Level, Hotshoe International, The Photographer and the British Journal of Photography, and is held in a variety of photographic collections worldwide including public selections at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Gana Art Center.