Last year when I was putting together my FAQ’s I asked several friends for some input. Well, in addition to asking photography and photo session related questions it was also suggested that people might like to know more about ME! Me? Really?  And it makes sense really, that people might want to know who I am so they can decide if they’ll feel comfortable with me weidling a big camera in their face…. so here goes… a little more about me – interspersed with some photos of me doing my photo thing!!

What’s your favourite ice cream? Anything chocolatey, or caramelly!

Your Daughters have really cool names – how did you choose them? We just named them after our 2 favourite curry houses!!! Just kidding! No really, both are real little international souls, and me being a bit of an earth mother we wanted names which reflected these different areas of our lives. (They’re actually Saffron and Indigo though we call them Saffy and Indy most of the time). Thank you for thinking they’re cool though – we think so too!! 

What’s your favourite place to travel? Ooooooh, tough one – I LOVE, love China – it’s a country that’s under my skin and I never tire of travelling there, but from a photography perspective it has to be India – the colours and the people and the culture and the food and the history – it’s like spacedust cracking on your senses – a photographic dream!

How did you get into photography? I think it began with passing my photography badge while in the Brownies!! I had a camera from a very early age (one of my earliest memories is of the trauma of losing my toy camera aged 4 when we moved house!). My Dad was also a keen sketcher and I remember sitting beside him on the cliffs of Cornwall as a 6 year old learning the principles of perspective using long pieces of grass, and how to draw a compelling scene. My Mum is also very creative so we were always doing crafty things at home. As I grew up I studied art, then left it by the wayside to take up a career in engineering.

I travelled a lot in my early 20’s which reignighted my passion for photography, but I think the final “lightbulb” moment was when a friend gave me a gorgeous coffee table book of photos of India and said she’d known she had to buy it for me as soon as she saw it because it was the “Kirsty style of photos” – that I took photos in a style that was noticeable to someone other than me was a revelation (especially given it was way back in the days of film and I only had a point and shoot!)

I began to do more stuff with my travel photography which then grew into an interest in people photography. I studied photography part time – and here I am now, years on, lucky enough to combine my two favourite types of photography! (and those engineering jobs are a distant memory!)

 Why did you work in Engineering? And why don’t you do that anymore? Hmmm, well I actually worked as an Environmental Consultant within the engineering industry – and I loved it – most of the time. I spent a lot of time working in developing countries (China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka) and after a while, as with a lot of jobs, I lost some of my passion for it. I freelanced for a while (doing photography on the side) and then had children so took a step back. I am still undoubtedly passionate about the state of the environment, I just act on it in a different arena now!

And this one got this (scroll right to the bottom of the post)

I love your blog – but whose blogs do you love? I do blog stalk some photographers, but the main things in my google reader are blogs about every day life. I read

Treehugger religiously to keep up to date on a whole range of environmental issues

What the duck comic strips – a duck photographer – very humourous!

Ecouterre – all about sustainable / eco friendly fashion – brilliant

Experiencing the Emirates – I find it odd that I learn more about life in UAE from a Kiwi expat in Fujeirah but it’s an eyeopening resource on keeping up to date on life here.

Chinese pod – I speak semi OK mandarin Chinese and these little podcast tutorials help me to keep my language skills at a “reasonable” level.

Motherland – blog of a Mum trying to find the right balances in life

Photojojo – quirky photo products – I don’t often buy, but fun to look at!

Shutter Sisters – an inspirational blog of photographs and writings by a collective of amazing creative women

Simplemom and the creative mama

The lonely planet Community blog – I love to read about travels and could easily spend all day reading travel blogs – and much as I don’t like to create too much waste I do subscribe in the real world to the Lonely Planet travel magazine – which I devour each month when it arrives in my mailbox!

I also read some Green Parenting blogs – they help keep me on the right track!!

As far as photography blogs go, well it doesn’t always pay to be comparing yourself to others – I’ve evolved my style of photography over the years and it’s constantly evolving – I do however, read plenty of blogs on the business side of photography, cos business efficiency and not spending half my life balancing my books and all that back office stuff that is an area I seriously need to work on!!!!

Where did you get your super cute camera straps from?  Hubby bought them for me a birthday / Christmas presents – I think they were from www.trendycamerastraps.com

What’s your favourite food? Hmmm, I think I mentioned in a recent post that I love India because they totally get vegetarianism – and being a long, long time veggie I think Indian food (especially chaat) tops the list – closely followed by Mexican (esp margaritas – yes that’s a drink but it has fruit in it!!) and Thai – red curries every time!

And if there’s anything else you want to know about me then pop on over to my formspring page  and feel free to ask away!

Until next time, Kirsty x