Welcome Spring

On the last day of the month, I have finally logged on to my blog for the first time in weeks and weeks. Where on earth did April disappear to? How did I not blog for an entire month? I know the answers really but I’m sad I have neglected this space for so long, so here I am. I’m just going to waffle a little… so that at least I have said “welcome Spring” and written something this month. I waffled previously about lacking inspiration and feeling too much pressure here, and it seems it’s happened to me again, but in a bloggy writery way rather than a photography way. So I’m taking my own advise, and just writing something. After all I have a whole heap to write about!

April was a busy month, and a time in my life when the scales seemed to tip a little. I felt like I was teetering on the edge, not quite sure whether I wanted to plop back into the comfort zone of mostly being a Mum, running my framing business and steadily building up my photography business. Exciting opportunities kept arising, things that I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams a year ago. With the support and encouragement of my husband I found the guts to accept, and I leapt with abandon right out of my comfort zone into the unknown. After I’d run through everything in my head a thousand different ways, I couldn’t really think of a good enough reasons not to say yes.

My three boys by the sea in Portugal

After a wonderful and much needed family holiday in Portugal, the kids and I packed our bags and set off again on our huge adventure, flying to Cypress and then boarding a cruise ship for seven days at sea. We sailed around the Aegean Sea, stopping at Crete, Athens, Mykonos, Turkey and Rhodes. I am going to write more about this trip another day, because the memories are precious and the images from these beautiful locations are something I wish to preserve here.

While we were away Spring took a hold and England bloomed, I couldn’t believe the difference on our return! That flush of fresh green was already spreading across the fields and through the hedgerows. The front gardens where I live are awash with blossom, magnolia, camellias, and tulips. The oil seed rape is already out in places, and the bluebells are very close. I’m very excited to head to the the woods soon to capture this special time.

Spring abundance – magnolia and white cherry blossom

I was lucky to get to stay at the Town Hall Hotel this month too, an Art Deco gem in the East London borough of Bethnal Green. I also was thrilled to invited to participate in a photography and styling weekend in Rye, East Sussex with Kiehls, alongside some incredibly talented photographers. We had a blast and faffed our hearts out. Never have I seen so many beautiful surfaces, so much light and every prop you could ever dream of.

The iconic corner room lamps in the Town Hall Hotel

April has been an exciting, invigorating, inspiring month. One thing I can say is to grow as a photographer it is important to be out of your comfort zone. It’s always easier to work on a familiar surface in familiar light with familiar objects, but to be thrown into a new situation whether it be foreign locations or simply a different set up for styling, is great practise. I always feel I come away a little more confident about tackling the unknown and better at looking for the spaces that will fit my aesthetic.

The cottage in East Sussex – the Kiehls styling weekend

May – I’m excited about a month filled with Spring blossom, bluebells, lilacs… and maybe new challenges and adventures await. I know I will have a little more faith in myself now as a photographer, and a Mum, that I can tackle new opportunities and work (and live) out of my comfort zone a little. What can I say, April – you were epic. A time of growth indeed.

Hannah x