The Journey So Far… part 1

I thought it would be a good idea to give you some background information on me. To give you a little idea on where I am coming from and who I am. So here is a brief look at my journey with photography and how I have come to be writing this blog.

1973 – 1990.

I was born on the Wirral in the North West of England (UK) in 1973 and I am the eldest of 2 children. If your not sure where the Wirral is (and not many people are), then have you ever heard of Liverpool, and the song ‘Ferry Across The Mersey’, well you may have wondered where you were ferrying from in the song! The answer is the Wirral.

I was a 70’s child and yes I had some very dodgy haircuts and clothes. Which have strangely come back into fashion!

Childhood

I wasn’t the typical girl, I didn’t want to learn to dance and I wasn’t into horses etc.. I was a bit of a tomboy, I liked making things and learning how they worked, I loved gadgets. I remember from an early age being interested in cameras and taking photographs. A lot of my family were ‘into’ photography and I have a feeling I nagged them to death to have a go. But cameras were expensive back then so I didn’t get a go. I did end up with an old hand me down 35 mm camera that was the simplest thing you have ever seen, with absolutely no settings and a flash cube! Showing my age now!

I clearly remember being taught how to take a photograph, looking through the view finder, aiming and pressing the button without moving the camera or the picture would be blurred. I used to concentrate really hard with every photo I took to make sure I wasn’t moving the camera. I did really well and my pictures turned out well. I was made up. It was nice to be good at something that I wanted to do, rather than being dragged to my sisters dance classes in the hope I may want a turn. So I took to it well and had several different cameras while I was young. I just loved taking photographs, experimenting and thinking of what pictures I could take. Then the thrill of seeing if it had worked, or not.

So What Career Did I Pick?

My favourite subject in school was art and design. When I got to the sixth form I had a chance to take photography as part of my art and design course, so I jumped at it. I loved it. It included learning about the darkroom, developing film and using everything from enlargers through to cameras, and projects for photographs that we later used in graphic design. That was my favourite ever part of school and I was sad that I couldn’t have taken it as a singular subject. It was my hobby but when it came to career time, I didn’t want to make it a contender for a career.

At the time there was fierce competition for graphic designers and photographers. It was the 80’s and as a women it was really hard, to make it you had to be really good. I didn’t have the conviction or determination needed at the time to make it in those fields. But that has come with time and experience of working life, in different industries and with different people. I have had a lot of experiences which has shaped me and let my photography grow with me, which comes with maturity. A harder route to take finding out slowly and by yourself, but I didn’t have the confidence or back up to do it straight off. A very interesting learning curve though.

So in summary sadly when it came time to leave school I didn’t follow what I really wanted to do for a career. Instead I took a job as a trainee dental nurse? I suppose if you count all the X-rays I have developed over 10 years as a dental nurse, as a job in photography then I did!

Look out for part 2…

Thanks

Mandy

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