Press Release: 1st November 2006

Relay runners, x-ray artwork CUSTOIMAGES

Science Photo Library was founded in 1981 by Michael Marten who was one of the authors of Worlds Within Worlds, a book exploring different ways to observe the universe - from electron micrographs, to images of earthrise taken from the Apollo spacecraft. When Marten started receiving requests for the beautiful images in the book, he had an idea of setting up Science Photo Library. Marten says: "Worlds was the first popular book in Britain to show the new range of scientific imagery that had been developed since the 1950s, and it showed that science images could be exciting, colourful, even artistic: they didn't need to be boring and technical. At that time you couldn't get them from photo agencies, or indeed from any central source, you had to go to individual scientists and doctors who made the pictures."

Over the past 25 years, SPL has built an unrivalled reputation in the field of technical photography and now includes a collection of images covering an extensive range of subjects from medical and health images to beauty shots, from flowers and animals to contemporary human lifestyle, all with comprehensive and clear captions. The SPL collection encompasses more than 250,000 breathtaking images, and is constantly evolving. Over 2000 images are added each month from a broad range of suppliers ranging from acclaimed photographers and illustrators to science and medical specialists.

It has always been the aim of SPL to demonstrate what science does in an accessible way and to develop communications between scientists and the media. Marten says: "Scientific images weren't part of most people's visual vocabulary when SPL started. Nowadays they are used in ads, on newspaper front pages, in pop videos, almost everywhere."