Why I Do What I Do

When I look back at what has shaped me as a person, I realise that I have always had a compulsion for deeper knowledge of Self. Through meditation and my connections to the world I feel really drawn to empower and inspire others.

I was brought up in Scotland under segregation without really realising it until I was taken out of it. The close knit community I lived in made me feel safe and content however the underlying them and us mentality was not really present in my awareness.

Learning how we are all the same no matter what religion we practise or are born into helped me find compassion for others at a young age. I see only people now.

This is why I love doing what I do. For me being a photographer allows for self expression, creativity, continual exploration, coming up with new ideas and an opportunity to work with some amazing people., and to discover who they are behind any distinguishing factors.

It's also meditative and inspiring. I see potential images everywhere I go which gives me new ideas for the images I want to capture and create from.

I'm very interested in people. I love to know what makes anyone tick, what made them do what they do, what their values are and to get a sense of the excitement of who they are. This gives me a real sense of knowing them. A lot of my work is geared around some very difficult challenges and I love to empower self expression.

My personal project of empowering women who survived cancer to enable them to express what femininity means to them in the aftermath was incredible. The outlook, the mindset and the celebrations of life that I experienced through them was a true gift. It didn't matter where they came from, what nationality they were or which God they pray to. They were united in the journey they took together - separately.

For me it's not just about taking photo's. If I can get to really know someones spirt through my work and create something unique to them then I feel like I've succeeded. It's all very personal and takes courage to explore. It like to think of my work as soulful and with heart.

I love the abstract as it allows for self expression without it being obvious what it is but once the story is added them a deeper connection can be made. Sometimes you can feel drawn to a piece of art or something else, and don't really know why, but once we hear the story behind it you can start to make sense why it was calling to you.

It's a joy to celebrate the spirit of someone rather than what they look like. I'm not a fan of work that is very literal, I prefer my images to be more abstract and to invoke a curiosity, a feeling or something is moved in them. It is grounded in my meditation practice and so it is an authentic expression of me.

Photography can be a fantastic medium for documenting and creating experiences, and a way that you can express to the world anything about yourself that you want. The possibilities are endless and I love being part of that. Using abstract photo art as my medium I feel that I can really be me.