Con Curtis grew up on a tough council estate in the inner city of Leeds in Yorkshire, born to Irish immigrant parents and brought up in a strong, warm and nurturing family environment with two brothers and one sister. He has had a keen interest in photography, travel, mountaineering and outdoor pursuits since his late teens, also partaking in variety of sports over the years including rugby, triathlons, running, mountain marathons and fell races (he did have a brief period of amateur boxing, with a 50% success rate; won his first fight, knocked out in the second, retired aged 19!) After leaving the construction industry in 1989, he spent time travelling globally, lived in New Zealand and Scotland, worked at a summer camp in the USA teaching outdoor activities, then completed two seasons working in Antarctica for the British Antarctic Survey.

Following this he returned to the UK and began a vocational career with Family Services, working as a case manager for many years, specializing in the rehabilitation of young offenders and supporting families in crisis; he has a First-class Honours degree in Youth Justice. Throughout this period, he has always tried to undertake as much photography and outdoor activities as possible in his spare time. He also spent four years with the Parachute Regiment Reserves.

In 2015, towards the end of a three-week hospital stay following emergency treatment for a gangrenous ruptured appendix, he decided to leave his employment and embark on a full-time career as a photographer and writer. His debut non-fiction book ‘Working at the End of the World: An Antarctic Diary’, will be published in the late autumn of 2017. He lives in Yorkshire with his fiancée Sarah and Labrador Mac, plays guitar in the covers band 'Sundogs', is a keen skier and cyclist, and travels into the mountains whenever he can; he has been fortunate to visit every continent on his journey.

From the man himself, in regards to his photography:

"My interest in photography began in my late teens and it soon became apparent that landscape is my favourite genre of photography - it combines my passion for the outdoors (particularly spending time in the mountains) with the joy of capturing a moment on film. Natural environments have always resonated with myself more than towns or cities... Being in the mountains is something of a spiritual and uplifting experience, as these are special places mostly untouched or untainted by human development. Capturing the beauty of the amazing landscapes we have all around us seemed to me an automatic reflex, a visual narrative of my journeys perhaps, with each mountain, forest, lake and valley having their own unique story to tell. Nature is something for all of us to enjoy, from the incredible colours radiating from a sunrise or sunset, to the drama of snow clad mountain peaks or shafts of sunlight beaming through a misty forest. These are free gifts from nature that one can never tire of. Using a camera to immortalise these moments is something I cherish dearly."