The Boy at the Bus Stop

The first time I saw Ruben was over Christmas. It was after dark at a bus stop. He was walking alongside his dad, Andy, who asked him if he wanted to walk home or wait for the bus. Ruben replied with a short but sweet "bus". When the bus came we all boarded and four blocks down the road Ruben and Andy reached their destination.

Last week I was let down by my models who failed to show up - but you know what they say - when one door closes, another one opens. Went down to the North Inch and lo and behold! I found "The boy at the bus stop"!

Fun facts about Ruben:

He is 4 years old and lives in Perth (Scotland not Australia)
The triangular sticker on his t-shirt was a reward for doing a good job at school
He likes rolling in the sand
He also likes getting his picture taken
At the tender age of 8 and a half months he gave his first steps!!

His mom, Peggy, describes him as an unusually happy child which is evident when you meet him!

He loves to sing and will often sing to himself when he wakes up

Dancing also takes up a lot of his time and he especially loves to do ballet twirls

He is currently obsessed with all things Disney - princesses and fairies - no boy toys for him he says!

Because Andy always moves Ruben's toys around while he is sleeping, Ruben truly believes his toys come alive at night!

He is nicknamed the Haitian Highlander because he is half Haitian and half Scottish!!

The Girls who Fooled the World

I remember when I was about 11 picking up a paperback - The World's Greatest Mysteries. There I stumbled upon one of the most inspirational stories about two young girls and how they managed to fool so many people for many years including Conan Doyle, the author of Sherlock Holmes. The Cottingley Fairies captured my imagination! Never believing that it was real, just being stunned by the art of creating those images.

Harold Snelling, a photography expert, said that "the two negatives are entirely genuine, unfaked photographs with no trace whatsoever of studio work involving card or paper models". He did not go so far as to say that the photographs showed fairies, stating only that "these are straight forward photographs of whatever was in front of the camera at the time."

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand." -Albert Einstein

Carefree Mia

Talking to her friend, Mia says: "In a couple of years time I'll be four and I'm going to have a butterfly birthday cake." Aware of me she sometimes glances over and offers a smile but for the most part she is focused on serious playtime. What a pleasure to work with!

Sentimental

I remember looking at this photograph time and time again and never getting bored of it. Fascinated with it because of the idea of someone taking a picture of someone else taking a picture - I always wondered what the other one looked like? Who was in it? Where is it now? And who ever owned two cameras at one time? Did it belong to a friend? Is the boy only pretending? Or is he really taking a picture too?

The boy is my dad and the car in the background was my granddad's much loved Packard. We're assuming that it was taken in Bloemfontein in the early 1950's with my granddad being the photographer.

John Daubney

I've put my watermark on it to protect our "family heirloom".

When I googled "Pictures of people taking pictures" I came across a song by Jack Johnson:

Pictures of People taking Pictures

Pictures of people taking
Pictures of people taking
Pictures of people taking pictures

I pictured us at the end of time
Holding up a camera to our eyes
I took a picture of you took a picture of me
In the background of the picture
Was water running to the sea

So I pictured us standing there
Staying away from time
Watching it like a river
As it slowly washes by

And now
Pictures of people taking
Pictures of people taking
Pictures of people taking pictures
And now
Pictures of people taking
Pictures of people taking
Pictures of people taking pictures

The feed back loop
Is closing is so tight
Surrounding ourselves
With satellites

So I pictured us standing there
Staying away from time
Watching it like a river
As it slowly washes by

And now
Pictures of people taking
Pictures of people taking
Pictures of people taking pictures
I pictured us at the end of time
Taking pictures of nothing

The Travelling Gnome Prank!

I watched the movie Amelie with my aunt while she was studying French. Not being a fan of subtitled movies I was reluctant to watch but sat down nevertheless. Somewhere at the start of the movie Amelie sticks her hand into a barrel of dried beans and I'm sold! Watching it I can feel my own hand going into the beans and the massaging sensation that goes with it.

Gillian Gamble, an illustrator and photographer based in St Andrews, requested submissions of pictures celebrating tea - in order to raise awareness for Tea People. My inspiration came from the movie Amelie and the Travelling Gnome Prank!

Tea People is an exciting social enterprise, founded to support the primary educational needs of the children of tea workers across the Darjeeling region.

Their aim is to support social and educational projects in underprivileged rural areas through the sale of high quality and environmentally friendly teas.

They believe that, with a little effort, creativity and innovation, tea can become a powerful medium for social change.

A revolution is brewing.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

My husband has a hobby. Fly-fishing. He does this at every opportunity. The house is littered with fly-fishing rods... reels... lines.... and flies. I've almost stepped on a fly (that was attached to a HOOK!!)

Orange River, South Africa, 2010

A week before we came to the UK in 2009 my husband realised that I was as passionate about photography as he was about fishing. He bought me my camera, with an extra lens and tripod. I could never thank him enough. It has bought me so much joy that I will need to get an external hard drive as my laptop has run out of space. My camera is my most prized possession and I rarely leave the house without it.

Emotional Influence

I have a passion for people. Nothing speaks to me more than a person in a picture. Any race, ethnic origin, religion, age or gender - National Geographic's Afghan Girl springs to mind. (Please click on the link - the read is sooo worth it!)

I was sitting alone on a beach in South Africa after a lovely day with my family. When a woman walked past me. She was carrying avocado pears that she had been selling. The thoughts that went through my mind as she passed were, where is she going, has she sold enough avos, how many mouths does she have to feed, will she be safe tonight, will she be warm and how does she manage to do this day in day out? I stole this picture of her.

KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa 2010

Whenever I look at the picture I always feel the same way I felt that day while taking it, then resting the camera on my lap, and watching her disappear over the rocks.

A Wee Riot!

The recent success of  My First Studio Shoot sky rocketed me to fame! I was hounded by gorgeous people from all over The Globe, Scotland, my Facebook page, to take their pictures. Okay, it was only two and I had to do a lot of convincing but hey, Jak Doig and Pam Horseburgh came along and absolutely brought their A-game.

My First Studio Shoot

I came across Denise Hanvey's status on Facebook and asked her if she would let me take her picture.

She came over, dolled herself up, and proceeded to pose in the tiny make-shift studio (spare room / laundry room) with a creased sheet and a hole in the wall.

Four hours and more than a hundred photos later Denise was developing a spasm in her neck and I was sure that I had "The One". My model went off on her merry way and I uploaded the pics.

I'd hardly completed this when I received a call from Denise - in tears and barely able to speak. My skin grew with goosebumps. I was hooked.