Stuart Dryburgh is a prestigious industry name when it comes to talking about Directors of Photography (DOP).

The British born and now New-York based cinematographer migrated with his family to New Zealand in the ’60s and there he lived his childhood and most of his young adult life. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Auckland University.

Dryburgh started off his career as a gaffer, the head electrician on set responsible for the design and execution of the lighting. After 6 years employed as a gaffer, Dryburgh, already acclaimed as a respected and skilled lighting specialist, climbed his way up to cinematography where he has been working from 1985.

His first feature film was The Leading Edge by director Michael Firth in 1987. The beginning of his collaboration with director Jane Campion, that ultimately led to his Academy Award, ASC and BAFTA nominations for The Piano (1993), started off when Dryburgh shot the 3-part TV miniseries An Angel at my Table (1990).

Ever since, Stuart Dryburgh has been creating distinctive looks in films such as The Painted Veil (2006), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013), The Great Wall (2016), Ben is Back (2018) and many others.

Dryburgh's projects also include the pilot for the acclaimed Prohibition-era drama Boardwalk Empire, directed by Martin Scorsese that earned him an Emmy Award nomination for his work.

Stuart Dryburgh has finished shooting Men in Black: International that is currently in post-production.