I have my sister to thank for a love of photography. I used to hate having my picture taken – I don’t know whether that is because I have better self esteem now than I used to (and lets face it, teenagers hate having their photos taken, unless they’re of the Myspace/Facebook generation). Photography is something that makes me feel like I’m paying attention to the world around me – looking at the detail, capturing moments to keep forever, to pass on to other people one day. They also help me with remembering things when I want to write about them – I can try to remember how I felt that day, what we did, what the weather was like, what I was thinking about. Some photos become so precious – old family photos of people who are not here any longer. Even photos of people I never really met, like my Dad’s Mum, my Grandma.
I don’t know a lot about the technical aspects of photography. Maybe one day I’ll do a short course or read a few books to educate myself. What I do know is what my sister teaches me, and also what I’ve learnt from instinct, trying to take a good photo. I do believe that when people take photos, sometimes a bit of their personality and feelings end up in the photo, especially if they are spontaneous ones. My sisters photos are somehow happy and alive, detailed and present in the moment. I love black and white photos and sepia photos – but most digital cameras don’t have those options in their settings, so usually I have to use a photo editor, like Picnik (which is good and has a lot of effects) or Fotoflexer. Picnik seems to be the easiest to use though, and I like the effects they have, like ‘Lomo-ish’ or ‘Holga-ish’.
Anyway, I’ll leave you with some of my edited (and unedited photos…):
Cats and Chocolate 
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