My journey into photography
I had always had an interest in photography, I loved the art of taking photos and capturing beauty and emotions. It had always been an outlet for me to express myself as I was never particularly musical or arty but I loved to take photos and write.
For a few years, I forgot about this. I graduated from High School in 2011, I went on to study my Bachelor of Education (Primary) and graduated from La Trobe University at the end of 2016. I wanted a new adventure and was willing to go anyway so in January of 2017, I moved to Townsville, North Queensland from Geelong, Victoria to begin my teaching career. I had a rough first few months here knowing no one and in a new job that I was finding really tough.
I ended up resigning from that job and was preparing to move back home to Victoria. 2 days later, I received a job offer at another school where I still work today nearly 6 years later. I love my job and enjoy seeing the difference we are able to make in our students lives. It still gives me a chance to be creative in my lessons.
In October of 2017, I bought my first house and met my now husband, He proposed in July of 2019 and we booked out wedding in for 12 months later on the 22nd of August 2020.
I went about planning my wedding and had all of my vendors lined up ready and booked by the end of 2019. Then COVID hit in March of 2020, Our venue closed indefinitely so we had to postpone our wedding. We rescheduled our big day to August of 2021 but we eloped in our backyard on our original wedding date because my now husband was going away for work for 5 months.
Fast forward to the beginning of August 2021, I was having a really tough time in the lead up to my wedding, I was very unhappy, overwhelmed and stressed in my job, I was split up from my family and didnt know if I was going to be able to have my parents and sister at my wedding and just one thing after another kept happening.
I took some time off and went to see a counsellor and she asked me a question that I did not expect that I wouldn't have answer for.
She asked me "what is something that I do just for me?" I could not answer her but this question kept weighing upon my mind over the next few weeks.
We ended up going ahead with the wedding, My mum made it just in time but my Dad, Sister and most of our interstate family could not attend in person.
I had a week off work after the wedding and it was just what I needed to reset and recharge after what had been a busy and stressful time. We took my mum up to a waterfall and I took my DSLR with us and took some photos. It ended up breaking that day but I had really enjoyed taking photos of our adventure that day that I decided I'd buy myself a new camera with my part of the wedding money.
I really never looked back from this, I threw myself into learning as much as I could about photography and how to shoot manual, I'm sure the dog got sick of me taking her photo by the end! I went to a meet up of a local photography group where we took photos of each other and I realised how much I enjoyed taking photos of people. This was when I decided to really make a go of this photography thing and see where it could lead me.
This was the start of something amazing for me, It was like a fog had been lifter and I was happier, less stressed at work (even though the workload was immense) and enjoying myself more. I was getting out and experiencing new places and people and just felt happier in myself.
Photography isn't just a hobby for me, it truly changed my life and I use this as inspiration to channel my passion into provide my clients with the most authentic and natural shooting experience and to provide them with images that showcase their connections with their loved ones.
Ash x
INFO:
Engagement & Wedding
PHOTO CREDIT: Josephine Carter Photography
Family photos: Vicki Miller Photography
Maternity: Shot By Steph took the photos and I edited them
Fresh 48: Taken and Edited by Me
Newborn: Ash from Fiddle and Fox Photography & Kacey Maree Photography
