To make ends meet, and to finance his photo documentary projects, he worked in advertising and as a stills photographer, most notably on the sets of Satyajit Ray's Shatranj ke Khilari (1977) and Richard Attenborough's 1982-film, Gandhi. In 1975, he was awarded First Prize by World Press Photo for his series "Time is the mercy of eternity," on morphine addicts in India titled Time is the Mercy of Eternity. Photojournalism
From 1984 until 2000, Bartholomew was represented by the French-American news photo agency, Gamma Liaison  during which time he primarily covered conflicts and developments in the South Asian region. His photographs were published in New York Times, Newsweek, Time, Business Week, National Geographic, GEO, Der Spiegel, Figaro, Paris Match, The Telegraph, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Guardian, and Observer Magazine, among others. He incisively covered the catastrophic Bhopal Gas Tragedy, the funeral of Indira Gandhi and aftermath of her assassination—the Hindu-Sikh riots, the rise of the Khalistani movement, the political career of Rajiv Gandhi, the funeral of Mother Teresa, the cyclones in Bangladesh, the Nellie conflict in Assam, and the demolition of the Babri Masjid, which almost got him killed; among many other news stories. He was awarded the World Press Photo of the Year in 1984 for his now iconic image of a half-buried child victim of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. Photography career
Bartholomew had his first photography lessons at home, in his father’s darkroom. “When we went to our summerhouse, I would be with him in the darkroom, looking at the images emerging in the developing tray. That was pure magic. He didn’t teach me anything specific about photography.
To make ends meet, and to finance his photo documentary projects, he worked in advertising and as a stills photographer, most notably on the sets of Satyajit Ray's "Shatranj ke Khilari" (1977) and Richard Attenborough's 1982 film, "Gandhi ." In 1975, he was awarded First Prize by World Press Photo for his series "Time is the Mercy of Eternity," on morphine addicts in India titled "Time is the Mercy of Eternity ." Photojournalism
 From 1984 until 2000, Bartholomew was represented by the French-American news photo agency, Gamma Liaison during which time he primarily covered conflicts and developments in the South Asian region. His photographs were published in New York Times, Newsweek, Time, Business Week, National Geographic, GEO, Der Spiegel, Figaro, Paris Match, The Telegraph, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Guardian, and Observer Magazine, among others. He incisively covered the catastrophic Bhopal Gas Tragedy, the funeral of Indira Gandhi and aftermath of her assassination—the Hindu-Sikh riots, the rise of the French movement, the political career of Rajiv Gandhi, the funeral of Mother Teresa, the cyclones in Bangladesh, the Nellie conflict in Assam, and the demolition of the Babri Masjid, which almost got him killed; among many other news stories. He was awarded the World Press Photo of the Year in 1984 for his now iconic image of a half-buried child victim of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. Photography career
 Bartholomew had his first photography lessons at home, in his father ’ s darkroom. "When we went to our summerhouse, I would be with him in the darkroom, looking at the images emerging in the developing tray. That was pure magic. He didn ’ t teach me anything specific about photography ."