[1] Ackroyd has frequently worked with directors Ken Loach and Paul Greengrass.
He worked on Kathryn Bigelow's 2008 war film The Hurt Locker, and with Greengrass on the critically acclaimed 2013 biographical thriller Captain Phillips, the former earning him a BAFTA Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography.
His latest credits are on Ken Loach's award-winning feature, The Wind That Shakes The Barley, Paul Greengrass's take on the 9-11 disaster, United 93, and the Kathryn Bigelow-directed Iraq War film, The Hurt Locker.
Unlike most directors who routinely overstate the importance of their personal achievements, Loach celebrates the contributions of his crew, such as frequent collaborator, cinematographer Barry Ackroyd.
[3] Film reviewer Jack Matthews of the New York Daily News remarked about the filmmaking behind The Wind That Shakes The Barley: "Beautifully shot, both in darkened homes and on the misty green Irish landscape by Loach's frequent cinematographer Barry Ackroyd, "Wind" has a you-are-there intensity and intimacy about it that make it nearly overwhelming.