Photography Afriel: black and white

December Portraits: Maria

As we wind down towards Christmas, I really wanted to make a commitment to just organise things and take some portraits for no reason at all than just for fun. So my next few posts will focus on just that - meeting up with friends and shooting! 
 
Maria and I have been well overdue a catchup since we last met, and a little morning shoot in my new home was the perfect way to do it. Over mince pies and coffee, we talked at length about photography, cats, life, and everything else. 
 
Maria is such an inspiration to me. She has achieved so many things (a PHD, a fascinating TEDx talk and successful photography business to name a few!) and the whole day just left me feeling so inspired and motivated to push myself and my business further than ever before. Hearing about other peoples' lives, inspirations and passions has always been a great love of mine, and being able to do this every day through portraiture makes me so happy I could burst. 
 
<img src="http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w541/dismantlerepair_storage3/web__J4B9622_zps1dda3e6f.jpg" width="690" /><img src="http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w541/dismantlerepair_storage3/web__J4B9583_zps1a333c4b.jpg" width="690" /><img src="http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w541/dismantlerepair_storage3/web__J4B9614_zpsb7e2ce09.jpg" width="690" />

As we wind down towards Christmas, I really wanted to make a commitment to just organise things and take some portraits for no reason at all...

Tim Andrews

3:43 AM

"Over The Hill" is a photographic project by Tim Andrews, in which he has collaborated with and modelled for over 300 photographers since his diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease in 2005. I was photographer number 310. This shoot nearly didn't happen. Tim originally contacted me back in the first half of 2013, and as I'd just taken my business full time I felt I didn't have the time to commit to personal work. I told him how honoured I was that he had asked me to be involved in his project, but that sadly I would have to give the opportunity a pass. Life went on, my work carried on and I never seemed to find the time to shoot personal work at all, contrary to what I believed would be the case (!) And in June this year, he got in touch again. My first thought was that I couldn't possibly fit it in, but it suddenly hit me that I needed to make time for personal work. And I am so glad I did. There are no words to describe how exhausting (yet wonderful) it is to be totally, completely consumed by a love for something and to make it your life's work. As Rosie Hardy said in her brilliant TEDx talk (to paraphrase), after turning your passion into work and spending all your time working for clients, eventually you turn to your initial love for the medium, and dive headfirst into your personal work to reset yourself, inspire yourself again and start afresh. Meeting Tim and photographing him did exactly this for me. I love my job, and I put my entire heart and soul into each and every client job I take on, but meeting and working with Tim reminded me why I love it. Truly connecting with somebody through portraiture and capturing them for who they really are. I stood on the beach and looked out over the sea as Tim looked through the photos on my camera, and felt a pure, overwhelming joy. I had found myself, and was ready to face the world again. Thank you, Tim. 
<img src="http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w541/dismantlerepair_storage3/web__J4B3524_zpse7414251.jpg" width="690" /> 
<img src="http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w541/dismantlerepair_storage3/web__J4B3559_zps4d1b97f9.jpg" width="343" /> <img src="http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w541/dismantlerepair_storage3/web__J4B3487_zps0fbedda9.jpg" width="343" /> 
<img src="http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w541/dismantlerepair_storage3/web__J4B3597_zps2614fa8a.jpg" width="690" /> 
<img src="http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w541/dismantlerepair_storage3/web__J4B3611_zps282f407a.jpg" width="690" />

black and white brighton over the hill parkinson's disease parkinson's disease portrait PERSONAL WORK portrait tim andrews Tim Andrews

"Over The Hill" is a photographic project by Tim Andrews, in which he has collaborated with and modelled for over 300 photographer...

Allowing

2:35 PM

<img src="http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w541/dismantlerepair_storage3/_J4B5048_zpsf9d0a4ac.jpg" width="690" /><img src="http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/w541/dismantlerepair_storage3/_J4B5011-Edit_zps58ab2ac1.jpg" width="690" /> 
 
I have to be honest - these photos nearly didn't see the light of 
day. Despite liking the result, I felt so bound to my style of 
self-portraiture: the dead flowers, the vintage dresses, the standing in
 fields, that I felt that these didn't deserve to be shown if they 
didn't add to my cohesive portfolio of self-portraits. 
 
So I closed down Lightroom and walked away from my computer. They'd just stay there. 
 
A
 few hours later it hit me - as somebody whose entire being is defined 
by their photography, maybe a big part of loving and respecting myself 
is embracing these bursts of inspiration and letting them take me in 
whatever direction my work wants to go. To let my personal work evolve 
naturally, without constraint, worry or pressure.

black and white freckles freelance Allowing

I have to be honest - these photos nearly didn't see the light of day. Despite liking the result, I felt so bound to my style of se...