Photography
I use photography throughout all of my work, both as and end in itself and as a means of documenting and communicating the discoveries that take place during projects.
Although I work in so many different media on projects with groups, it’s photography that is one of my greatest loves. I’m frequently wondering woodland at dawn or up a hill at sunset and I have a series of places that I return to again and again to watch them change as the light moves throughout the year. I love watching the natural world as it changes through the seasons, I’m endlessly fascinated by the patterns, colours and textures in nature. I love to watch and photograph wild creatures in their natural habitat – and will happily spend hours huddled in a hide or hidden away to watch and experience this. I almost never use a flash because I love natural light so much and adore the way it illuminates and uncovers things. I love to look at tiny details in nature and use a macro lens a lot. I also frequently use a telephoto lens in looking at wildlife and landscapes. It’s mostly UK flora and fauna that I photograph and I’m endlessly inspired by watching and looking at these, there is so much to be discovered in the UK. I have though spent much time with my camera in different parts of Scandinavia which is a very inspiring landscape. I’m frequently commissioned as a photographer on projects and images I’ve taken have been used in several publications, in many exhibitions and on a series of permanent display boards in several schools and public places. I love to photograph people exploring landscapes and nature – and am endlessly inspired by the children I work with as they discover the magic in a snail’s shell or the patterns in a tree trunk. I’m really passionate about documenting the adventures and discoveries that take place during projects. I’m very influenced by the pedagogical documentation undertaken in Reggio and in projects I spend a lot of time observing and recording children’s learning and creative explorations. I think it’s the watching and looking closely at things that excites me so much about photography. I’m not striving to photograph things that are especially rare, but I do strive to slow down and watch and look and maybe share moments with “everyday” nature that don’t come often. It can be a kind of meditation spending hours sat watching the light change and waiting to see what will happen – and that watching and waiting is more important than the photographs really. |
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