I was asked by DulwichOnview to write an article about my exhibition.  It was the first article I had written and I found it a bit difficult to get started at first but then luckily it began to flow, hope you like it.

I hadn’t been on holiday for 5 years, not because I didn’t have the time but due to developing a huge fear of flying. It was easier just to stay at home. Moaning about it at work one day my PA suggested I go away, when I mentioned my flying troubles he just casually replied “So what, go by train”.

One month later I was heading to Turkey, where I used to live, by train, well by 8 trains to be precise, a 3 month journey that took me through Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria and finally into Turkey, a journey that reignited an earlier passion of mine; photography.

Since that trip in 2007 I have travelled with my camera, by train or car to Italy, Sicily, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Andalusia and more recently to Arctic Norway and Northern Morocco.

Photographs on display at The Palmerston from Arctic Norway and Northern Morocco are a result of 5 taxis, 2 flights (I found the shortest flight I could take!), 2 car hires, 2 overnight trains, 5 ferries and 7 trains.

This was my second trip to the Arctic. With the hope of viewing the Northern Lights my first mission failed. Perseverance paid off (that and sitting in cars for 7 hours a night) and on my second trip I was greeted with six wonderful nights of the most beautiful, awe-inspiring displays. If you ever get the chance, it’s something I can highly recommend! But wrap up, unsurprisingly it gets very cold in the Arctic, especially at 3am!

Morocco had been on my ‘must see’ list for many years. I wasn’t sure how I’d fair as a solo female traveller, so this time around I decided just to dip my toe in and visit a couple of places, Fez and Chefchaouen. If I liked it enough, there would always be another time where I could venture further.

Chefchaouen is a beautiful town in the heart of the Rif Mountains in North Morocco. The medina is an exceptionally photogenic and rewarding place to explore with its’ intricate Andalucían influence, arches, arcades and porches, and narrow cobbled alleys that twist through rows of bright blue-washed houses.

I wandered around those alleyways thinking to myself how well I was coping, how easy it was, it wasn’t that busy at all, I was definitely fine in Morocco. Then I got dropped off outside the gates of the Medina in Fez and that’s when I knew I had been kidding myself.

Stepping into the Fez medina is like stepping back in time. It is an assault on the senses, a warren of more than 9,000 lanes, alleyways and dead-end streets alongside covered bazaars fit to bursting with aromatic food stands, craft workshops, mosques and an endless parade of people, men riding mules, donkeys heavily laden with goods and porters with carts to jump out of the way of.

To be honest it terrified me and I spent the first afternoon hiding away in my Riad. One week later, having traipsed the streets, met the locals, tasted the food and, thanks to my amazing guide, seen a lot of Fez that the tourists just don’t get to see, I was totally in love with this city.

The vast emptiness of Arctic Norway and the hustle and bustle of Morocco couldn’t be further apart from each other, yet I am totally drawn to them both and I know that they are going to be places that I shall keep returning to.

I was very excited when The Palmerston said they would like to show some of my work. I love what I do, photography has made me more aware of my surroundings and has enabled me to view the world and the people in it in a different way, so it’s great when I get the chance to share that with others.

Prepping for an exhibition takes time; the hardest part is deciding which photos to show. I print and frame all my work myself, so after finalising a body of work, I then print the photographs, mount them in a black core cream matte board and frame them in a handmade black stained and waxed Obeche wood moulding. It all takes time but when I see them hanging up in the wonderful rooms at The Palmerston it makes all those ferry, train and taxi journeys worthwhile.

The exhibition runs until Tuesday 27 March at The Palmerston, 91 Lordship Lane, East Dulwich, London, SE22 8EP.

I am sure I am not the only one thinking it, but where did 2011 go?! I can't believe we are into 2012 already! Sitting here today I thought I'd take some time to reflect back on the year and make some photography resolutions for 2012.

It really has been quite an amazing year photography wise, starting with a trip back up to Arctic Norway for 3 weeks.  I had been there 2 years ago in search of the Northern Lights, and like many people came back a bit disappointed as I didn't see it once in the whole 3 weeks I was there.  Things were a lot different this time, I was lucky for it to appear on 6 nights of my trip, it really is hard to explain the feeling of when you see it, something that I will never ever forget.  Here is a photo of the first time I saw it.

In May I decided it was time to concentrate on getting my work out there.  My main job was keeping me rather too occupied so I decided to get a social media company to help me out and what a great idea that was. Holly and Jan (http://hollyandjan.co.uk/), specialists in social media for creatives, have been brilliant in getting me started - I now have a facebook page for my photography, a blog, am on twitter and have become a member of various photography groups on LinkedIn. 

I also joined The Postal Photographic Club (http://www.postalphotoclub.org.uk/) which consists of groups of members who circulate darkroom prints, digital prints (maximum size 7”x5”), or projected images by post in the the UK for everyone else within the group to comment on. I belong to C1 group and I love it.  In August I found out I had come first in their Projected Image Annual competition with this photo, I even won a Salver!

In September I participated in the New Artist Fair's (www.newartistfair.com) first fair in East London, it was great to get my work out there for the public to see and I even won the public vote for 'Best Artist' which gave me a chance to exhibit in the Finalist's Fair in November, such a great experience. 

October was a busy month, I exhibited some work from my Trees Collection at Colorida Art Gallery in Lisbon (www.colorida.pt) and I went to Morocco for the first time.  I had wanted to visit Morocco for years but was a little concerned about going on my own.  I decided to just get on with it and am so glad I did, I was only there for 12 days but oh how I loved it, what an amazing country and what fabulous people.  Here is one of my favourites from Fez.

In November I took part in the 'Something Blue' exhibition at Cultivate Gallery (http://www.cultivatevynerstreet.com/) in East London.  Here is one of the pieces I had in the exhibition.

The year ended with two very exciting things. Firstly the Society of Authors used this photo for the front and back cover of their quarterly members magazine, it was so great to see my work published!

and I got shortlisted in the National Geographic Traveller Photo Competition 2012.  Who knows what will happen with that but what a great way to end an amazing year!

So what to do in 2012?  Well Morocco is definitely on the cards for April/May time, I want to go back to Chefchaouen and Fez but also venture further afield to Marrakech, Essaouira and then into the desert.  I need to concentrate more on the social media and marketing side so need to get more organised on that front.  I have two exhibitions already booked in, one at The Palmerston Bar & Dining Room (www.thepalmerston.net/) in February/March and a four month exhibition from May to September in Mayfair, so already it's a great start to the year!

Finances permitting I'd like to do a LOT more travelling and visit some of my 'Wish List' places, but more importantly I want to 'man up' a bit and get over my fear of flying.  Travelling everywhere from London by train (even to Morocco, Turkey and the Arctic!) is a fantastic experience but if only I could get on a plane then the world really could be my oyster ............

_Fez is an amazing city, a place I only just touched the surface of. Whilst walking around the Medina in Chefchaouen I thought I was in the real Morocco, turns out that was a ‘soft’ option compared to Fez! The taxi driver dropped me off at Bab Guissa, the gate nearest to my accommodation and from there I was thrown into the throngs of the Medina. It was like stepping back in time. It was only a five minute walk to my house, but in that time I must have come across more than 20 donkeys and mules and countless porters moving things around in carts. There are no cars in the Medina, so the only way of transporting anything is either by porter, mule or donkey. It was fascinating to watch them go about their daily life although I must admit, at first, a bit daunting. Having come from the laid back quietness of Chefchaouen I wasn’t prepared for this!

But by the second day I was absolutely smitten. Yes the streets are a little dirty and crowded, yes at a moment’s notice you have to jump out of the way so as not to be hit by a cart or a mule, but the people were incredible and the atmosphere magic and I am so glad I chose Fez as one of the first places to visit in Morocco. I put my amazing experience down to the fact that I had a fantastic guide. Without him I am certain I would not have seen or experienced so much – I wouldn’t have met the man who for 8 hours a day throws sawdust into a fire in sweltering heat to keep the local Hamam going, or the three families that live together in one house with their 18 children still drawing water from their well in their courtyard, or the local baker who bakes everybody’s bread in the neighbourhood, the man who sharpens everyone’s knives or the men who come in from the country to sell their chickens at market. I could go on but you get the gist, I met a lot of people and this was only due to Hamido, my guide (Hamido – Tel 00 212 66 174 2464). He was born in the Medina over 50 years ago and knew it like the back of his hand. Without him I would have been totally lost.

When booking him I had been specific that I was coming to take photographs and I was not interested in shopping. Of course that was before I had arrived in Fez – I was told it was the world capital of Handicraft and I can see why, so many talented craftsmen making such wonderful things. Of course I succumbed, who wouldn’t? So much so that I had to actually throw things out of my suitcase to make room for my return journey!

Did I pay more for my purchases to account for the guide’s commission? Sure, but I paid what I was comfortable with and as I said, without my guide I wouldn’t have seen half of the Fez that I saw, so for me it was totally worth it.

The Medina was busy and it was hard for me to photograph, I completely gave up on using the Manual mode - by the time I had my camera to my face the person I had wanted to photograph was long gone and the streets filled with new people rushing around, there was no hanging around. It really was a challenge but I think (well hope) I have come back with some wonderful photos for my exhibition in November.

I stayed in a lovely house in the Medina, highly recommended – www.dar47.com – a 5 bedroomed dar with live in housekeeper (who was an amazing cook!). It was lovely having breakfast on the roof terrace every day overlooking the sprawling Medina and was a great peaceful retreat to come home to after the busyness of the day.

We walked for hours every day for 6 days and I really felt that I had covered quite a lot of the 9400 streets of the Medina. When I asked Hamido how many streets he thought we had walked he replied “oh about 300 maximum”. Ah, well seems I shall have to return another time to delve in a bit further…..

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Chefchaouen is quite mesmerising.  Every corner I go around I find another photo opportunity, it is taking me ages to actually get anywhere, especially if you include getting lost every 5 minutes in the Medina.  It’s actually quite a small Medina so it’s fine but god knows how I will survive when I get to Fez and it’s 6000 streets!

Everyone here seems very friendly and it’s quite a chilled town.  I really have wanted to take photos of the old men in their Djellabas - they look amazing and have such character in their faces.  I have asked a few for permission and they have said no.  I remember reading somewhere that some don’t like having their photograph taken because they believe the camera steals the person’s soul.  I am not sure if this is the reason at all but wouldn’t, out of respect, even consider taking a photo of someone that didn’t want me to.  So for now whilst I am in Chefchaouen I shall just stick to taking pictures of the beautiful blue doors and walls!