ALTHOUGH Guyana gained its independence decades ago, many of its colonial infrastructure remains intact and British Tourism Photographer, Ian Brierley, plans to use his knowledge of digital mapping and 3D to preserve these aspects of the county’s rich history.

Brierley, who is originally from Yorkshire, England, began travelling back and forth from his hometown to Guyana and other parts in the Caribbean in 1994.

“I’ve been coming here for so many years, so Guyana is like my second home, I know Georgetown very well, I know all the streets, I know all the routes… Times have changed from the first time I came here and saw how the colonial history of Georgetown was quite prevalent. It’s still there but its slowly disappearing,” Brierley said in an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle.

Reminiscing on his earlier memories of Guyana, he said, “There are a lot of concrete buildings and big cars on these tiny roadways now as opposed to the old British cars, like the Oxford, Austin Cambridge that were here in the earlies.”

While he is known for his work as an international traveller and tourism photographer, Brierley has recently upgraded his portfolio, adding digital mapping and 3D photography to his talents. And he intends to use these to create a collection of historic places in Guyana.

“It’s to capture many of the historical buildings and many of the colonial buildings that are slowly disappearing by scanning them in 3D in creating what is called a digital twin in a real world space,” he said.

He added, “It would be nice to scan a place like the St. George’s Cathedral and present that as a digital twin and other historic buildings such as the Castellani House, the Red House and City Hall when it’s redone.”

Brierley already started some work in Guyana, scanning some of the newer infrastructures, one being the Movie Towne Mall, at Liliendaal, Georgetown.

He uses his trustee 360-degree camera, laser technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to map buildings and create virtual tours.

“As a photographer, I’ve always looked to see what’s the latest gears and when 360 (degree) cameras came out I jumped straight on board with that and I started doing 360 photography.”

Describing himself as an adventurer, he said Guyana’s terrain provides him with a natural habitat to fuel and unleash his creative nature side. And he says Guyana is quite a tourist attraction, with its happy people and colourful culture.

Notably too, he related that he works in the business and real estate community in the United Kingdom (UK) but somehow, he always finds himself being drawn to the Caribbean, especially Guyana.

In fact, he emphasised that during the winter months, he traverses the Caribbean coast and a stop in Guyana is always a must.

His work has taken him to Africa, Europe, USA, the Middle East, and around the Caribbean; but he has certainly taken a liking to Guyana’s compellingly alluring beauty.
“I have visited many places around the globe, but I am certainly smitten by Guyana.”

The talented photographer attended the Percival Whitley College of Arts in Halifax, Yorkshire, England, where he did a two-year foundation course in art design. He developed on that foundation to become the celebrated photographer he is today.

Upon acquiring his degree in photography, Brierley ventured into the field of tourism in the late 1990s, working with the British Airways doing in-flight magazines.
Brierley said that he is open to sharing his knowledge and talents with any photographer who is willing to learn.