I am on a journey. It’s a journey I have been on for over 60 years since I was born in England to a couple of university students. They were science and maths students, so it’s not all that surprising that my initial steps were in the world of numbers and facts.
After a long corporate career, I have reached a point in my journey where I have developed a new passion – capturing stories that are written on people’s faces through photography. I have been reasonably systematic in developing the skills I need to build my body of work so I have done some really great courses and taken on paying work to fund this expensive habit.
I am no longer young. Whenever I see myself in the mirror, I notice the impact of my life – the scars from motorcycle accidents, the grey hair from motherhood, the creases around my eyes and mouth from failing to look after my skin in the way that the cosmetic companies demand and spending years in the sun and on the golf course. I have accepted these changes to my appearance and notice them daily in the faces and bodies of my friends and family.
I gain joy from capturing these qualities in the portraits of older people. I sometimes shoot photos of youthful beauties (as well as my beautiful granddaughter), but producing striking photos of a moment for a friend in their later years lost in thought is my dream - telling the stories of the people I photograph, showing us who they truly are.
I think that older people – and by that I mean even older than me – have far more interesting stories to tell in their faces and bodies. Life teaches us lessons all the time – sometimes we learn, sometimes not, but if I look hard enough I can see their impact – and hopefully reflect some of it in the portraits I take and share with my partners in this part of my journey – the people whose portraits I create.
My new venture is now well on its way. I have been taking photos all my life, but only now have I achieved the focus and time to take it to the next stage and develop a real body of work in portrait photography. I need money to pay for this, though, so tell all your friends that as they enter the later stages of their lives, a sensitive, truthful and evocative portrait is just what they need to help them communicate their history and dreams to their friends and families.