I love Maya Angelou. If you haven’t read any of her books, she is well worth the read. I love this quote of hers because it really is so true. Think of the most amazing people you know. The reason you remember them is because of how they made you feel. I have amazing people in my life. Many of those people have been with me on a long journey of living a life that has been full of adventures. As someone expressed to me recently, I have lived a life filled with some beautiful summers but equally some very bleak winters. I find myself in a more stable setting of springtime now.

I accidentally became a photographer. My third child was diagnosed with Autism when he was three years old. It was a very dark time filled with much grief and confusion. As a way to manage that grief I started to photograph the lines that he would make out of almost anything all throughout the house. I hated seeing them. I felt like they were a constant reminder that things were different in our house now. So I photographed them. I used an old camera that we had lying around the house and really it went from there and so Beyond the Spectrum was created.

I did always love photography. I have been the keeper of photographic memories for the people in my world my whole life. I remember getting a little box brownie for Christmas when film was the only thing we knew and if you didn’t get it right it became an expensive hobby to replace film and get dodgy photos printed. My ability however, has been a surprise. I’ve had articles printed in the Australian Women’s Day, I’ve won acclaim at the Queensland Arts Centre, I have won awards at the Australian Institute of Professional Photography and been printed in America for a beautiful Fine Art image I created of my sister. I have also won online recognition with the Child Photography Competitions that consist of the most amazing photographers from around the world.

Out of all of this, I just love to create. I love to see the light and how it reflects in movement with colour and when you bring that together it really is delightful. Imagine going to work everyday and just loving what you do, that in itself is something that we can only create for ourselves and sometimes it takes a long journey to get there. I don’t believe that we “finally arrive” anywhere on our life journeys because we are continually learning and experiencing life. Life is organic. So I continue to learn, continue to breathe slowly all the while enjoying the feeling of the lived experience of springtime. See you soon, T xx