It’s because of my dad that I’m a photographer – the career that found me in an unusual twist of events. I remember my dad taking photos of where we grew up in Malta, capturing all of the coloured doors and cobbled streets, taking his camera in tow everywhere we went.
When he died a few years ago he left me his camera, his prized possession. It was so intimidating yet so intimate – the thing that connected me most to the parent I had lost. It sat in the box for such a long time, I was scared to use it, even to lift it – it was such a big part of who he was.
He left me some money when he passed away and I used that to buy myself a modern camera – spending time in nature with my camera in my hand felt like a way to connect to him, to find solace and connection in the click of a button. I felt closer to him expressing my emotions visually and with my Canon in hand I worked through my grief.
Photography for me is about memories and emotion, intimacy and connection, a camera can preserve a smile, it can press pause on a moment, it is all we have left as a memory of love.
I believe in less kit and more connection, less props and more presence. I don’t want to spend my days styling a picture and perfecting the details, I would rather witness the real and remember what was. I’ve never wanted to churn weddings out, and it’s this reason that I only book ten weddings each year. I want to keep it personal and meaningful and never lose the passion.
I’m a hopeless romantic deep down, it’s the Maltese in me. As well as a photographer I’m a mother to my little boy Noah and a partner to Chris, a good friend of mine who one day became so much more than that. He has taught me the biggest lesson of all…that love develops.
I live in a characterful cottage, my soulful space to be creative and I love it, all rustic beams and exposed brickwork, it’s quirky and charming and a little of all the things I love put together, higgledy piggledy and rough around the edges – far from pristine and a little imperfect – a lot like love. Connection has its twists and bends, it’s fire and stone, it has all of the DIY that comes with history but all of the cosy and characterful authenticity that comes with heart. This is what I love – character, connection – real couples and raw emotion.
When I finally found the courage to hold my father’s camera in my hands, it became clear that photography to me is not about fine art, it is always about heart.
l-imħabba hija dak kollu li jgħodd
{Love is all that matters}
