January

Self-portrait

I'm not a particularly willing subject when it comes to photos and am far more comfortable behind the lens, but a big part of this project is pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I tried a few different ideas that didn't really work before using the window in my office space. I like using silhouettes on duller days where you can still capture some detail. I played around with black and white but decided I liked this in colour best. A dreary Manchester day, with the view from my desk of the terraced rooftops. It seemed a fitting place to start.

grow

My word for the year ahead! At 5'1" this unfortunately isn't physically possible, but when I chose my word for 2024 I meant it in every conceivable way! I've had this beauty of an orchid for around 10 years now - she's older than my eldest Frank and has dutifully bloomed with no attention other than the occasional splash of water when I've remembered. My aim is to be more intentional in my own growth. Nurture the areas of my life that I've perhaps neglected a bit over the past few years whilst negotiating some hard years of loss and IVF and then joyful but all-consuming baby & toddler years. I of course want my business to grow, but I'm also relishing the opportunities that my business brings me; meeting inspirational people, learning about others, being creative in different ways.

look up

When I woke up to snow one day early in Jan I decided that once I'd had a snowball fight with the kids and done drop off I'd grab my camera and go to the park. Without this project there is absolutely no way I would've done this. It felt indulgent but it was half an hour that gave me a lot. Much of my photography is very fast-paced, requires a lot of quick-thinking and running around. This was a very calm and perhaps more considered approach. It was a beautiful, peaceful and still morning and I loved looking at the soft, shimmering snow glistening in the light. I also did a fair bit of 'looking up' - but this image was my favourite.

delicate

I had a few ideas for this prompt, but when I saw some dewy cobwebs hanging from my washing line I had a go at some snaps. This one was my pick, mainly because I liked the upside down reflection of my house in the water droplet.

february

macro

This Asparagus fern was really pretty neglected and sad (yep there's a theme here with my plant care, but I'm trying to get better!) until my mate Harvey told me to put it in my bathroom and mist it everyday. The misting has rarely happened but I'm happy to report it's seemingly feeling a lot happier. I try not to move it as the tiny spikes fall off but I popped it outside for it's own little photoshoot.

movement

We had a lovely visit to RHS Bridgewater - the daffodils were out in full force, the magnolias were gorgeous and the blossom was starting to bloom. Being quite behind in my project I asked Frank to help me tick this one off with some star jumps. He's getting to a stage where he doesn't always let me take pics, but I managed this one before he declared 'no more'. While at RHS I decided to get a membership so can now take a family along. The next few months will be stunning so if you fancy a stroll round the gardens, an adventure in the play area, a wander round the fairy garden and a picnic while I take some photos of your gang then give me a shout.

rule of thirds

I made a little rule for myself with this project that I wouldn't use any of my family photography work, so this is a bit of a cheat as I took it while on a shoot with Martina, Anthony & Dominik at The Glass House in Wythenshawe Park. It's such a lush place full of incredible plants and cacti. The Rule of Thirds is one of the fundamental photography guidelines. It's imagining a 9-space grid through the viewfinder and where the lines of the grid intersect, placing your subject, either at the intersect point (power points) or along the lines. Here the stem lies along the left-hand line. I use this technique in a lot of my photos, but as I have done here with my own project law, rules are meant to be broken!

reflection

This prompt was alluding me so I decided on an impromptu self-portrait session. It wasn't until I was editing the images I noticed that there were 3 reflections. It reminded me of all the different versions of myself: daughter, wife, mother, sister, aunt, cook, cleaner, carer, taxi: me.

Notes to self from this session: clean better!

march

nostalgia

This chopping board was my nan's. I spent a lot of time with her when I was younger - cooking, baking, crafting, sewing, talking. When she died, my family asked me if there was anything I'd like of hers and I didn't have to think about it: her bread board. I'm a sentimental person and I find objects a way of connecting to people I love. It's important to me because she used it everyday and it's something I now use everyday. It takes me back to times sitting in her kitchen cooking on her old gas ringed hob (the burn culprit). She wasn't a bread baker (neither am I this is all the work of my trusty bread machine), her staples were bacon butties, hot pot with home made pastry, rice pudding. She told me a story of how a man made the board for her from an off cut of wood. It's probably near enough 80 years old, and to me it's priceless.

look down

This prompt caused me a lot of bother as I had a few ideas that didn't work out as I'd imagined. But when I took this in the Glasshouse at Wythenshawe Park I decided it was a good match for the brief. It evokes another childhood memory of one of my favourite things to do with my dad: choosing new koi for his pond. In Japanese culture they are a symbol of luck, prosperity and perseverance in the face of adversity.

pattern

Another image from the gorgeous Glasshouse at Wythenshawe Park. I find pattern in nature so mesmerising. Ferns are an absolute favourite of mine - and one of Lucy's I've just discovered!

hands

This image was taken at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. It's a Buddha sculpture created by Niki de Saint Phalle (2000). It's colourful mosaic pattern really attracted me and reminded me of some of Gaudi's work. Indeed, on reading the description I discovered her visit to Park Guell inspired the creation of her own sculpture park in Tuscany 'The Tarot Garden'. The description also talks of her iconic Nana figures; 'colourful, voluptuous celebrations of the female form.' They were born from her 'struggles with the entrapments of her roles as daughter, mother and wife...These goddess-like creatures continued to be a key mode of expression for Saint Phalle throughout her life, and echoed modern feminism's efforts to reconsider and revalue the woman's body.' This sculpture was definitely my favourite and reading about the artist who created it made me love it more. You can find more about her and look at her Nana sculptures here.

close up

Frank obliged by being a model again-I'm taking this opportunity while I can! There's a patch of slatted light that appears in the late afternoon in his room so I asked him to sit in it while I took a close up portrait.

april

mirror

Whilst on a family weekend away in Derbyshire my intrepid mother-in-law Carole, who is approaching a very special birthday next year, announced one of her bucket list experiences was to ride on the back of a motorbike. So she donned my sister-in-law's leathers and got on the back of my brother-in-law's bike to ride pillion round the Peak District hills. Here's a 'mirror' reflection of my sister-in-law Alex securing her helmet. An inspirational reminder to keep chasing experiences and dreams.

negative space

The idea of negative space is for the subject of the image to only fill a small area of the frame. I love this little triangle of light that appears in my bedroom on a sunny day. As good an excuse as any to sit in the light.

spring

This lavender was so vibrant and gorgeous and the bees were happily flocking to it. A great opportunity to play around with my semi-macro lens. Bright blooms and bees has to be the epitome of Spring.

colour

Our neighbour's little girl and June's best pal Deedee turned 3! Here she is in her bright coat bringing colour and joy to all of our lives. The girls are only 4 months apart and have known each other since they were born. It's so beautiful seeing their relationship - dancing around in their pants, splashing in the paddling pool, arguing over toys, hiding under the table eating snacks.

One of Deedee's middle names is Dandelion and was the inspiration for this photo to mark her birthday. Last weekend I was out celebrating one of my pal's 40th's who I've known since 2. It's a truly special thing to have 'old friends' in your life and I hope Deedee and June will be dancing the night away when they're 40 too!

May

Just a little note here to explain the theme for this month. The prompts I had were: joy, details, opposites and water, but I wasn't finding the ideas to represent these and while focusing in on water I decided to change the group of prompts to the 4 elements: water, earth, fire & air. During May we went up to Cumbria twice; first for my father-in-laws 80th birthday celebrations and then for a half term visit to stay with my sister-in-law. It seemed like a perfect setting for this theme so my project this month has become a little ode to Cumbria, the beautiful Lake District.

I love the drive in and as I begin to be surrounded by the mountains I feel instantly more relaxed. It's a place that means a lot to me for many reasons. I've been going there since I was tiny with my family, aunt, uncle and cousins, balancing on my dad shoulders during walks when my little legs were too tired. Later, visits with my mum and step-dad, with them tying the knot in Gretna Green and then taking me and my older brother on their honeymoon there (this act really does show what an amazing guy my step-dad was and how he always wanted his version of our family unit to be from the beginning). My husband grew up there and we also went on to marry there, finding out after we booked the venue (we were living in Thailand at the time so relied on parents and my sister-in-law to visit it!) that his grandfather used to deliver eggs to the house from his family's farm in the village. It was very much an informal DIY wedding with everyone mucking in, to the point that 2 of our friends actually 'married' us (having done the legals just with witnesses the day before). We had a homemade cake, bunting and the ushers and bridesmaids served the food. We also had our honeymoon there. Now, it's a place to visit and explore with our own kids. Being very much city dwellers, I love the freedom and space they can experience there. And having family to visit makes it all the more special.

Air

During the weekend we celebrated my father-in-law's birthday we all visited Muncaster Castle which was round the corner from were we were staying. It was such a brilliant day out and I can't recommend it enough - get there early as there's so much to do! We were particularly lucky to have a stunningly gorgeous sunny day. The grounds are huge and there are loads of lovely themed walks. There's the castle itself which we didn't actually see as our 2 year old June declared 'I want to go out - it doesn't look interesting.' as soon as we entered. There's also a play area, lovely cafe and a Weapons Hall where you can try axe throwing, archery, crossbow, or our kid's pick - jousting and sword skills - they all had a blast. They also have a hawk and owl centre and twice a day they do flying displays. It was such a highlight - the various owls ranged from cute and fluffy to elegant and majestic. This image is of Mulberry the Barn Owl, who is mesmerising to watch. It's not a perfect image, but I'm no wildlife photographer and these birds are fast! My personal favourite was probably Peach, a Southern White-Faced Owl who is such a cutie, see below. The birds of prey display later in the day was utterly breath-taking and although I did take some images it was better viewed without being behind the lens. The bird handlers were all so knowledgeable, enthusiastic and obviously adored the birds. We all loved the weekend so much we've already re-booked for another big birthday around the same time next year this time for my sister-in-law, and without a doubt we'll be back at Muncaster. I'm popping some extra images below of Peach, who was supposed to fly straight out at the end of her display but stopped for a break on the bench in front of me, and also Mowgli, the Bald eagle.

earth

Taken on an early evening stroll with Rich & June I think this is a wheat field (I had to google the difference between wheat and barley and I think it's wheat!) Golden hour is such a beautiful time of day and being able to wander straight from the house into this was so grounding. We saw a hare, admired the view, danced on each other's shadows, enjoyed the gentle sun on our skin and felt the connection with Earth.

fire

On one of the nights we had a fire pit. Cheese, wine, chats and a fire to watch are a pretty good combination in my opinion. I admittedly took a lot of photos of it, but like this one as I can see a dragon's face on the left (anyone else?!) and enjoyed the sparks.

water

Water is the essence of Cumbria with beautiful lakes, rivers, waterfalls and the sea on the west coast. We took a very wet walk to Aira Force and I snapped this at the main viewpoint. I did it hand held but slowed the shutter to get the flow of the water. Water is my own element and it always calms me; I particularly love the sounds water makes and very much enjoy a sea scape backdrop to falling asleep.

June

nature

All the photos in this June edition were taken on a trip to Northumberland with my in-laws as part of my father-in-law's 80th birthday celebrations. A boat trip to the Farne Islands was a real highlight. There were quite a few serious wildlife photographers with absolutely huge lenses and if I'm honest mine weren't fully up to the job (and I'm no wildlife photographer!) but I enjoyed taking a few snaps. These penguin-like guillemots were fun to watch.

small

We were also really lucky that we happened to visit at the best time of year to see the puffins! These little birds are so cute and are a firm favourite in our family because of the kids TV series Puffin Rock. It's such a gorgeous series and the wonderful Irish voices of Oona and her little brother Baba definitely win for a bit of calm time. We also rediscovered Puffin Peter which is a lovely book gifted to Frank by his grandma and grandpa 'Peter' when he was a toddler and is now enjoyed by June.

joy

I've just realised that I've not actually featured my 2 (nearly 3 year old!) June in this personal project until now. So it's fitting that at the half way mark of the project, and the month of June here she is! She has brought so much to our lives, but especially joy. After years of loss and secondary infertility I can look back and see that in many ways I'd lost joy in my life. It was such an all-consuming time and affected everything else in my life; my relationship with my husband, my family, my friends, work, my photography and creativity. I felt completely stuck for a long time and I'm a changed person because of it.

Being pregnant after loss is so very different and it wasn't until the 20 week scan that I started to believe, hope and let joy creep back in. And since then June has been such a sunshine and source of pure joy in our lives.

Gratitude

I'm very grateful for these little guys in my life, and I love watching them and their relationship grow 💛

texture

Slimy, slippery, seaweed. Actually a pretty important part of the ecosystem acting like trees do, releasing oxygen as they grow.

And a source of one of Frank's favourite jokes: Why was the sand wet? Because the sea weed. Sorry, not sorry.

July

out of the window

A double rainbow (the second one is just about visible) I just managed to catch from the window of my work room. Always a welcome view to jazz up the rooftops.

street

I met up with a few photographer pals in town to take some 'street photography'. My usual work relies on being quick when capturing families and super quick kids, but this was so different in pace and I found it really hard! It's quite a different perspective and it requires slowing down and waiting for moments to happen. In all honesty I wasn't really happy with most of my shots, but I liked this final image I created in camera using double exposure; a graffitied wall overlaid with an interesting plant. I'm definitely going to have to give street photography some practice!

summer

Nothing says 'Summer' like strawberries, meringues and cream! This image was taken from a camping trip the first weekend of the school summer holidays with some close friends. This is the second year we've done this trip and have loved it so much we've booked ahead for next year. We went to a pick your own farm and came back to the camp laden with berries. These are the hands of one of the couples, Ome & Nic preparing them and dishing them up for us all.

friendship

Taken from the same camping trip this is some of the girls cartwheeling in the late sun. One of the reasons this trip is so lovely is how the kids all (generally!) get along so well. Some of these pals I've known since I was 4 so to see all the kids hanging out is pretty special. The campsite is also fab as it gives the kids loads of freedom to roam and play. Just a pretty idyllic way to kick off the summer! But in the interest of keeping it real I've got to admit we've been really lucky with the weather the times we've gone (rain would not be so fun) and there's also been major tick paranoia after one of the kids got bitten...so...almost perfect.

august

bird's eye view

I took this shot from the balcony of our apartment while on holiday in Spain. Frank's been learning to swim for the past couple of years and now got to the point of being pretty confident in the water. It's something he really struggled with at first and now loves; something I now do the 'mum' thing of reminding him how practice pays off. He used a snorkel for the first time and loved searching for fish in the sea.

framed

Wandering the streets of somewhere new looking for interesting shapes and beautiful light is something my husband Rich and I love to do. Having someone who shares this love for seeing the world in patterns, light and different angles is pretty magical. Since kids it's been punctuated by demands for snacks, water, to be carried etc. but they of course form a huge part of our subject matter, although considering I spent a huge amount of time with them over the summer they actually feature pretty infrequently here!

architecture

Villajoysa, the nearest town to where we stayed on holiday. The streets were lined with beautiful colourfully painted houses and apartments. The rustic vibe and dubious wiring reminded me of the Saigon streets where we lived what seems like a lifetime ago.

shadows

The back streets had so many interesting street signs, patterned tiles, and colourful decorations for an upcoming festival; they were a joy to discover and capture. This is one of my favourites to represent the prompt 'shadows'.

happy?

For June's birthday last year we went to the Sunflower Farm and it was really fun. Trying to re-capture it this year was not as fun! There was no apparent reason; the weather was actually better but for whatever reason we were all in a weird mood and it just wasn't as great. The parenting fail of trying to re-create a joyous memory! The feigned smile of this weathered sunflower seemed to capture the 'happy' vibe.

september

October

november

december