Now we are 10!
It’s hard to believe that 10 years have passed since I left the world of Financial Services and set off on my own as a freelance photographer. It feels like just 10 minutes and yet so much has happened!
Until 2010 I had been working in corporate pensions and slowly going crazy as I had always wanted to create rather than sell. I have always practiced photography and painting in my spare time, but hadn't really considered it as a career until I had a couple of quite nasty accidents in the 2000s and realised that life is just too short to be stuck in an unfulfilling job. So I studied and practiced until I felt confident enough to go it alone and was lucky enough to take the plunge in the spring of 2010. Since then it has taken a lot of hard work to build up a healthy photography business and I have never felt able to rest easy, I never take work for granted, and always appreciate every job and every client.
Some location highlights from the last decade include shooting in Munich, Venice and Austria, not to mention two conferences in Hawaii! I absolutely loved working with the National Trust when they opened the property at Nuffield Place - I got to photograph every single object in the house over the winter while it was closed to visitors, and it was just fascinating - if you’re in the area I would highly recommend it as a day out (when it reopens after the quarantine!)
Photography is still my absolute passion in life and I’m so grateful for all of the amazing opportunities it’s given me over the last 10 years. I have met some really lovely people and made lots of new friends, travelled to interesting places and challenged myself constantly. At times it’s been hard and exhausting but always so rewarding - every day is different and I’m learning new things all the time.
Now of course we are faced with the huge challenge of Covid-19 and work and life feel less secure than ever. I've been using our enforced downtime to rebuild my website (which I hadn't had time to update for ages as I was so busy in the last year!) and take a look at my branding and social media. Having started the business at the height of the last recession I'm feeling reasonably confident about the future but of course nothing is guaranteed and it looks as though the road to recovery after the worst of the virus has passed is going to be a tough slog uphill. I hope that you and your friends and families are all safe and well and that we’ll all come out the other side stronger than ever.
So here’s to the next 10 years, I’ll raise a socially distanced glass to you all!
Big hugs and cheers
