I began my relationship with photography as an eighteen-year-old, fresh-faced school leaver, in 1990. I landed a job as a graphics department junior with a company who built displays and exhibitions; my role was to create artwork for the graphic elements, and I also developed B&W prints. I hung out with the guys who processed E6 and C41 and dreamed of having my own dark room. I bought a Pentax K1000 and spent many hours shooting what I thought would be interesting scenes. However, the results never matched my expectations. Fast forward ten years, and I started working for one of Edinburgh’s best design agencies, and I bought my first Nikon dSLR. Surrounded by a more creative environment, and free from the restrictions of 24 or 36 images per roll of film, my skills began to form. My sister started a family, and gave me new subjects to document. I began to capture emotion and personality, warts-and-all. Meanwhile, professionally, I developed strong retouching and image-manipulation skills. Fast forward from there, and I have continuously worked on personal projects, the most beneficial being the use of a blog-style website, whereby you simply post one image a day, every day. This nudged me outside of my comfort zone and taught me to see the unusual or overlooked, in everyday objects. I would like to build on this and develop a stronger foundation on which to grow further. I aim to gain confidence and develop a personal style, as well as challenge myself.
Caroline's Learning Log 