How my family very inadvertently influenced my love for photography, problem solving and what’s in my camera bag (for those who like gadgets).

I’ve always been fascinated with gadgets, as a little girl (we’re steering off a little here but bear with me) my Nana Shuttleworth was a keen home pâtissier, family buffets consisted of coconut macaroons to die for, chocolate gateaux, her famous secret recipe trifle, flapjacks which were goo-ey on the inside, crisp on the outside - and countless other sweet delights as my fading memory recalls, there were most certainly little or no savoury foods on offer, and we (my cousins and I) were in heaven.

What I do remember quite vividly, is the gadgets, my Nana had them all! She was the first person I knew to get a microwave and I was in awe as she proudly demonstrated how you could turn a bowl of pale slop into a beautiful syrup sponge within seconds - and before your very eyes. I was amazed! Her kitchen was filled with allsorts, she had some sort of device for making cappuccinos (before they were really a thing) and even one of those tea making machines in her bedroom that would boil the water ready for her waking up - nothing was impossible.

My Grandad had a Hammond Organ in the corner of the living room, full of buttons and dials, he could play anything you requested, completely by ear, tapping away at the pedals, keys and buttons, drifting into some kind of medoly that consisted of his favourites. I could never understand (as I attended music classes) how he could just make it all up without knowing a single musical note.

My childhood days with my Dad consisted of many trips to the local HiFi store, where we would spend afternoons in the sound rooms experimenting with different combinations of speakers, amplifiers and the latest record, and later, CD players. At home he would take all of his equipment apart, soldering for hours in the garage, altering circuit boards, changing the sound, explaining it would ‘separate’ the instruments. My Dad was a weigh machine engineer all of his career and he loved his job, the challenge of problem solving was his joy, he could fix anything, absolutely anything, he still can!

As a child my parents were never keen on taking photographs, it was just never something that interested them at all, and so it wasn’t on my radar. I was however always a creative child, drawing and making things filled all of my days, wrapped up in an imaginary world. My love of photography came much later, when I went to Staffordshire University to study Graphic Design, that I picked up a ‘proper’ camera for the first time, it was a Pentax MZ-50 (this was way before the digital era) and I was fascinated! Gadgets and creativity all rolled into one! I loved the way you could experiment with manual exposure, and played around with depth of field and shutter speed, creating all kind of weird, and probably not all that wonderful, images. Walking and seeing the streets of ‘the potteries’ in a whole new way, then going back to the dark room to develop the film and create pictures, it was magic! I spent many a happy hour in the dark, figuring things out, problem solving just like my Dad I guess!

And the rest is history as they say… I might tell the next bit of the story another time otherwise this will be far too long and no one will read it apart from my mum - thank you mum (if you have made it this far well done you)…

Fast forward a few years and my first introduction to Fujifilm was another family influence, my cousin, also a photographer, rocked up with this beautiful FujiFilm X100s on Christmas Day, such classic, and now iconic little camera. On seeing the photographs she took I completely fell in love with the rich depth of colour and tone that this little camera could produce, and off I went down my own rabbit hole of fascination and discovery.

I still photograph with Fujifilm today, and if you’re interested in the fine detail and gadgetry as I am, here’s a flat-lay of all the equipment I usually take on a family or event photography shoot. Yes there is a loaf of sourdough in there, after all those years of enjoying my beautiful Nana’s cakes would you believe it, I now have an intolerance to cake and other delights (another problem to solve) so this little loaf is my friendly offering to the table that I can eat, and if i’m coming round for breakfast i’m bringing jam as well!

What’s in my Camera bag (all the gadget details)

• Billingham Hadley Pro Shoulder bag

• Black Rapid Double Breathe Harness

• Peak Design straps

• FujiFilm XT5

• Fujifilm XF 18mm f1.4 R LM WR Lens

• FujiFilm XT4

• Fujifilm XF 56mm f1.2 R WR Lens

• FujiFilm X100vi

• Business cards

• Spare SD cards and batteries

• Manfrotto mini tripod

• Manfrotto Lumimuse LED light

• Notepad

• Sourdough (I can easily live on bread and butter)

• Glass cleaner and cloths

• Some kind of lip balm (All the essentials!)

• Tiny pink cat - I usually find a little stuffed animal in there from my daughter ‘wishing me luck’

Hope you enjoyed my story

I’m passionate about telling thoughtful stories full of warmth and personality. I believe that family is everything and always strive to make real photographs that matter.

If you are interested in learning more please have a look at my documentary approach or get in touch to find out about availability.

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