New Year, New Me!

What a title! I don’t think I’ve ever said that before, but 2025 has started with a bang, and I am on a mission!

I am currently participating in a three month self-development programme called EXPANSION. It’s run by WORK SHOW GROW which is an online art school, spear-headed by Natasha Caruana. The programme is aimed at artists/ photographers who want to get to the core of a particular project or practice and to take that work to the next level. I would never describe myself as a shirker, but taking the time to get under the skin of how I work, what I want for my practice and applying sustainable methods to build it is really hard work! I would urge anyone who has ambition to keep pushing yourself, as through the pain comes insights, and hopefully a breakthrough. I have already learned a lot, but I have the feeling that there is much more work to be done!

Regular readers will recall me saying that I had come up with a new name for my long-term project, which had the working title of 4 x 4 x 4. The project has moved on massively since my first outings, and the new title All Things Considered speaks directly to much of my thinking around the work, and it’s intention. Shooting in a square format was deliberate, as I find square images require the viewer to confront what they are seeing head-on. The images are gentle and honest, collectively presenting a picture of our society through our day-to-day interactions and sightings. My hope for the work is that people will stop to look, and to consider the world around them more.

Recently I have spent considerable time with the work, editing and re-editing from a mass of images, and testing out different configurations. I have made some tentative steps around how to get this work published as a book, though I still have to work out who to approach, and how. This will be my next quest.

A summery late afternoon scene from Brockwell Park, part of All Things Considered

I have started to put together some mock-up books, and I will be taking one of these to a couple of Book and Zine fairs in March. I will also take along a new zine that’s currently in the making, as well as some existing merchandise! Please come and say hello if you happen to be in Cambridge on 1st March or near Brixton on the 23rd, Further details are below.

Photofusion & LIP present

Sunday 23rd March 1 - 5pm
London Independent Photography and Photofusion will jointly host a Book, Zines and Prints Fair 

Photofusion 
2 Beehive Place
Brixton, London
SW9 7QR

I would love to hear what you’ve achieved in the first two months of this year! If you’re a photographer with a project on the cusp of pushing it forwards then look no further than the EXPANSION programme. More info can be found here

Also, don’t forget that I am back to freelancing and would love to find some new clients in the charity sector. I am especially looking for Campaign work, or longer-term commissions that can help tell a story. If you know of anyone working in these fields please get in touch, or direct them to my website.

Wishing you love, luck and resilience for the year ahead!

Amanda x

P.S I still attend the Crouch End LIP group meetings fairly regularly despite not living nearby anymore. The group is made up of a great bunch of people, and their annual exhibition is coming up soon! Please find the flyer above. I’ll be there for the Private View if you are around.

Back to Freelance Photography!

As the sun sets on another chapter, It’s time for a change!

You may have seen my video on Instagram, which was filmed whilst I was in Greece in May. I spent three weeks on a self-styled working holiday with the intention of strategising and getting on top of a raft of admin. I was reminded how time-consuming making thorough changes (back-end/ SEO) to a website is, so you will see that my homepage has changed, but there is lots more to be done!

My plan was to spend three weeks in Greece, and come back to go straight into freelancing as I had handed in my notice for the job I have been doing (Frame Designer and framing logistics expert!) for the past three and a half years. I negotiated helping my Boss out, so ended up working for the majority of June, but now I am back in the freelance market and ready to roll! It took no time at all to wonder how on earth I kept up any creative practice whilst working full-time!

Photo from ‘one hour on Hydra’.

I am finding the key to making this freer model of working work, is to be disciplined without getting annoyed when things don’t pan out, to be realistic about what is achievable in any day, and to remind myself that this is the way I was born to operate! One of the things I will be working on more determinedly is to translate project 4 x 4 x 4 into a book. 4x4x4 has always been the working title of this project, and for those who have read previous blogs about the project and my anecdotes whilst out shooting, you will know that the name derives from the framework I set myself to give the project structure: I travelled in four directions, at four distances, by four modes of transport. This title doesn’t offer any indication of my thoughts and ideas for and around the project, so I am really pleased to say that whilst in Greece I finally decided what the name of the project will be once made into a book, and believe me I have been racking my brain for some time! Readers here will be the first to know, but I am not ready to share that title just yet! I am really looking forward to bringing this to life, and will be looking for a journalist or journalistic writer to do the introduction, so if you have any recommendations please let me know.

Hide & Seek

This summer, as well as settling in to a new work rhythm I will be doing a lot of running! I’ve become good friends with another ambitious female, and we are going to run a marathon in August, which is just practice for a very silly run we intend to complete in September - it will see us run around 96 miles over three days. No doubt you will hear more about this next month!

For now I have a couple of dates for your diary:

Saturday 10th August 12- 7.30pm, Thamesmead Festival

I am part of the Festival Production Group, and here’s an extract from our Press Release:

Featuring a host of talent from Thamesmead, South London and beyond, the community-powered festival will see Park Stage performances by MOBO-winning conscious rapper Still Shadey, award-winning funk and soul outfit Groove 101, Black Wolf Blues, local favourites Old Boy Blues Band and MC Redrum; The shady environs of the Unplugged Stage will host intimate spoken word and acoustic sets from the likes of Brit School graduate Gönül and singer-songwriter Sam Winston. A short walk away through the trees, the Southmere Stage will be the place to see a rich range of dance styles from streetdance by locally-based Dynamix to Bollywood Vibes and Capoeira Muzenz. KELE LE ROC & TERRI WALKER will headline the Park Stage.

Produced by partners Serious, the festival is programmed by The Festival Production Group (FPG) a dedicated group of 14 local residents who, in response to an unprecedented number of requests to perform, convened a listening session and a Eurovision-style scoring system to select the line-up. 

As well as live performance there will be plenty of stalls, art installations, the annual Dog Show and this year a sensory tent, offering a calmer environment for those who find festivals a bit too much.

I applied to create an art installation for the festival, and I am pleased to say that I secured the funding, and I am busy pulling it together. The piece is call Ever Present, and here is a video of an early test. No spoilers I’m afraid!

Saturday September 21st, Open Studios

Lakeside Open Studios will again coincide with the Open Houses festival. Last year we had several visitors coming to view the place where the cult TV series Misfits was filmed. Last year I also held my solo show Getting To Know You, but this year I will be in my studio to share my work with you and answer any questions.

Many thanks, and happy summer days to you!

Amanda x