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 ............

_I think I can safely say I have never seen a sunrise more stunning. I was staying in Svolvaer, the capital of the Lofoten Islands, at Anne Gerd’s bed and breakfast, basically her home where she rents out a couple of rooms.  She woke me up early to tell me to grab my camera and get out quickly.  So I did. And I was in awe.  I was in the Arctic overlooking one of the most beautiful, unusual towns I had ever seen as the sun came up over the peaks of the mountain range. Looking at this photo again, whilst sitting in my flat in London, makes me want to go back again! But oh to have been so lucky to have seen it just once.

_Before my last trip to Lofoten I was lucky enough to be given a Lee Big Stopper as a present.  I had always wanted to do some long exposures so was very excited about owning such a piece of kit. This was my first attempt, maybe it was beginner’s luck, but I am extremely pleased with the result and have done nothing in post on this except for taking out a small post in the bottom corner.

To take this photograph I had to stand on the side of the fjord with a howling Arctic wind - I did use a tripod and my body as a windshield but am actually amazed that it didn’t come out as one big blur!

_In February I was lucky enough to go back up to Arctic Norway back to the Lofoten Islands and also a little further north near Tromso.  My aim was to see the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) as I had missed them on my last trip.  Of course, being a natural phenomenon, there is never a guarantee that you will get lucky, but I did.  Six times!

Here’s the science bit: The auroras, both surrounding the north magnetic pole (aurora borealis) and south magnetic pole (aurora australis) occur when highly charged electrons from the solar wind interact with elements in the earth’s atmosphere. Solar winds stream away from the sun at speeds of about 1 million miles per hour. When they reach the earth, some 40 hours after leaving the sun, they follow the lines of magnetic force generated by the earth’s core and flow through the magnetosphere, a teardrop-shaped area of highly charged electrical and magnetic fields. As the electrons enter the earth’s upper atmosphere, they will encounter atoms of oxygen and nitrogen at altitudes from 20 to 200 miles above the earth’s surface. The color of the aurora depends on which atom is struck, and the altitude of the meeting.
Green - oxygen, up to 150 miles in altitude, Red - oxygen, above 150 miles in altitude, Blue - nitrogen, up to 60 miles in altitude, Purple/violet - nitrogen, above 60 miles in altitude

The first time I saw the Lights I was a bit disappointed, they just looked like a milky cloud that you couldn’t really detect with the eye although the camera did pick it up a bit.  I guess that was just warming me up for the main event!  It’s difficult to explain the feeling you get when you view such a spectacular display.  The above photo was taken on Valentine’s Night by a fjord about an hour from Tromso.  The whole event lasted about 2 hours and it seemed to creep all over the open sky, everywhere you looked there was something amazing to see!

Once you’ve seen them you get a little addicted.  I spent 4 nights sitting in a car for about 6 or 7 hours each night just waiting and hoping that they would come out again after seeing the above but, sadly, not even a sniff.  Knowing, though, that we are heading towards solar maximum, I can almost guarantee I shall be there again next winter sitting in a car in the middle of the night and just praying.

_I have just returned from my fantastic trip into the Arctic region. 

My journey by train took me through Copenhagen, Stockholm, the mining town of Kiruna in North Sweden (near the famous Ice Hotel) and finally into Norway and the stunning Lofoten Islands.

I really enjoyed my time on the Islands, the scenery is breathtakingly stunning and around every corner was a new photograph opportunity. I wish I could have stayed longer but hope to return again, maybe next time for the Midnight Sun.

_I am very excited about my first solo exhibition showing a selection of photographs from my trip to the Lofoten Islands in April.

The exhibition is on between Wednesday 9th December 2009 and Sunday 3rd January 2010 at The Greyhound Public House,
49 Becklow Road, London  W12 9ER (open evenings only from 5pm). www.thegreyhoundw12.co.uk

Do pop in if you are in the area.

I have also published a book to accompany the exhibition entitled “Lofoten - A Photographic Journey through the Islands”.

_Between 11th December 2009 and 10th January 2010, I am one of twelve photographers who has been invited to display at the opening exhibition of a new gallery in Ticehurst, East Sussex called ArtLoco.

www.artloco.co.uk

_ I have just finished my book “Lofoten A Photographic Journey through the Islands”.  It’s a taster of some of the stunning scenery and places I encountered on my trip around the Lofoten Islands in Arctic Norway in April.

You can preview/order it through this link - http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/916265