I don’t really see the point in writing a blog if I can’t be honest about who I am and what I believe in. I may as well start with Christmas seeing as it is nearly upon us. I don’t really like Christmas and I know that has the potential to sound totally awful, it isn’t the religious aspect, infact that’s the only bit I do like, but the commercialisation and money that is spent. I heard on the radio that £86 million will be spent on unwanted, (and not needed), Christmas presents this year, almost a billion pounds spent on potential landfill and tat, so not only are we wasting much needed money in a recession, but we’re damaging the environment by producing all these products that nobody really wants, not to mention the cringing around the Christmas tree when Aunt Mabel gives you another ornament of a cat that you will have to find a suitable place for. Please don’t get me started on Christmas cards! How many trees are cut down to produce them and I wonder what the carbon footprint sending them must be?

I have 2 adorable children, and my eldest daughter will be appearing in a nativity play this weekend at The Shetland Pony Club and the proceeds from the event will be given to the Army Benelovent fund. What I love about this is the fact that people are coming together to celebrate the real meaning of Christmas and are doing something as a community to give something back to a much needed cause.

That aside, my children will have a lovely Christmas this year as we will be spending it with family, they will also receive dozens of gifts, some that will be treasured I’m sure and some that will be undoubtedly be discarded. One year I will have the guts to stand up to what I believe in and suggest we have a no card, no present celebration and just give the gifts to the kids, the rest of the money that would have been spent can be given to a charity, Just think what that £86 million could do….

photos to follow shortly

I’ve always had the motivation to take lots of photographs, even before the time I ever considered going professional. Even as a much younger person I realised that if you didn’t capture moments, then they would be lost forever and we wouldn’t have anything to remind us of that time, the people, the landscape, the perms…!

I do hope that my own children will be grateful when they are older to have so many images of themselves to look back on, and not only images of themselves but those of their friends and family too.

Even when you find yourself caught up in the moment, remember your camera and take some photos.  An advert by Kodak which I must have watched more than a dozen times explains this much more beautifully than I ever could, you might need a hanky though…

Some may think that working as a freelance photographer is a lonely pursuit as so much of what we do, we do on our own, and don’t have an office to travel to with collegues to sit next to, and  certainly when I worked in an office one of the best things about my day was the inevitable banter, comaraderie, and all those evenings out having drinks with work mates, many of whom became great friends. Now that I am a mother to two and wife to one, it suits me to work in the way I do, I can choose my hours, and be at home where I am needed but far from feeling isolated in actual fact I have a great network of photography friends whom I gain inspiration from, bounce ideas off, and can chat to whenever I need to. It’s a sign of our times, but a very good one in this case as many of my ‘virtual’ friends have now become real life friends and I met up with two of them at the weekend and had a fabulous time.  I don’t have any photos of the very talented & gorgeous Liz , she totally reminds me of Victoria Beckham every time I see her but she didn’t do any posing for the camera that day, so these shots are of the very beautiful Lyanne Wylde who is also an awesome photographer and her photography always amazes me, her photostream is definitely worth a look. (You can buy prints from her too if you spot something you love).

So here is to cocktail fuelled girly days out, and some lovely shots of Ly, (taken inbetween drinks…)

Carnaby Street retro Christmas decs:

The very gorgeous Ly, (spot the uber cool crimping)