The back story …

From the time I decided to add a blog page to my website, I made a decision to tell the story of my life via my photography journey and the images created at each pinnacle stage.

So much of my life has been entwined with my intense thirst to become the best photographer I possibly could, as fast as I could.

Before I knew it, photography was the compass of my life.

My children and photography are my life. 

And so it begins … my life long love affair with photography, my beloved career and the very core of my identity.

Through a twist of fate, whilst pregnant with my second child, I was gifted my first SLR camera; a Pentax with a sigma lens.

At this point I was a stay at home Mum, 25 years old and married to the love of my life, Mickey.

We had a new born baby boy whom I had nearly died carrying and a 3 year old little girl.

Mickey, a 6 foot 4 civil engineer/surfer, worked in Sydney at the forestry commission and we lived very contently on a tight budget in our brand new home, every day as a Mum was a happy little adventure and when money allowed I could purchase one reel of black and white film, it was such a luxury to buy that reel of film and so exciting to have it processed.

This image above is one of those first reels of film I ever shot and this is Jimi Axl, shot at Scarborough Beach, Perth, Western Australia.

At this fledgling stage of my career, I had no real technical skills to speak of. So much so, I did not realise I could turn off the on camera flash.

I did however have an innate sense of good timing, coupled with a talent to instinctually identify the moments as they past by my lens, allowing me to capturing them with ease. It was a very exciting time, full of discovery.

I took my reels of film to a local pro lab to be developed, the owner took me aside one day and said “Nicole you should become a professional photographer.”

I will never forget that moment. I didn’t feel complimented, I felt confused. I just smiled and said nothing. As I walked my children home, the comment whirled in my brain. My reasoning stated loud and clear, I can’t be a professional photographer, I am a Mother!

Whatever this thing is, people have referred to as talent when they look at the images I produce over the years has been present from the very first reel of film I shot and I am ashamed to say I have given this thing no regard.

I couldn’t see it but I was beyond passionate about my children and those organic, never to be repeated fleeting moments that happened each day as they grew and thrived. For some reason I have always had a knowing that the clock is ticking. An awareness that moments will disappear swiftly.

Now that I look back I see all I took for granted and am so grateful I have each and every image and every memory these photographs spark.