Best Photographer in Sussex - Finalist!

Well how exciting is this!?  Even if I don't win, being one of the top five photographers in Sussex is such a massive achievement!  I've spent the last year working so hard to get my photography business off the ground.  While I do love saving teeth (I'm also a dentist in case you didn't already know), photography is my real passion and to win this award would be simply amazing!

It's a numbers game at this point so I'm asking everyone for their vote, we only have a week and the results are announced next Thursday.  I thought I should try to write a post showing my best work and listing all of the reasons why I think I deserve to win (this is hard to do, singing my own praises doesn't come naturally but, well, I'd like to win so here goes...)  If you think I deserve to win, please vote for Bexphoto here: 

https://sussex.muddystilettos.co.uk/vote/photographer

P.S. This also goes for why you should book me to be your photographer too!  ;) 

I LOVE my job.  Photographing families is such a privilege and providing them with meaningful, heartfelt photos of their lives, seeing the emotions that evokes when they see their galleries, it's why I do this.  Photos mean so much to me and I love being able to give people that gift of the fleeting moment which lasts forever.

I'm a Mum, I understand the important little things, I like to document everything, details in particular.  I work around my twins, part time in my "day job" and then fitting in Bexphoto work when I can.  It's a difficult juggle but so worth it and my own kids will have the most amazing photo books of these young years to look back on as we have plenty of fun while I practice my skills on them!

I'm constantly trying new techniques and taking part in projects to keep improving my skills.  I love playing with slow shutter, prisms and other ideas to get different, creative effects on my images and my projects are so much fun and often get me some industry recognition which is a fantastic confidence boost!

I'm a sucker for sun flare!  I've worked hard to master light and was rewarded with excellent comments about my use of light and got top marks for that category when I applied to  the internationally recognised Click Pro.

I've now had three images accepted for publication on the Vogue Italia website, not an easy feat!  It's such a badge of honour having their logo on my work.

I've been published in two international photography magazines as well as Elle Decoraton and Grazia magazines.

I've been featured in various international blogs with interviews and "Best of" features.

  

I am always looking for ways to help my local community, I'm currently running a project donating my time and talent to give local businesses a professional image to use for their online social media and/or websites while also raising funds and awareness for Young Minds charity.

I've also collaborated and worked with businesses who needed fresh new images for their websites and social media.

I donate a family session worth £349 each year to a fellow sufferer of post-natal depression.  I've also talked openly about my own experiences and want to help share stories to break down the taboos and to support people who are going through some terrible times.  Even (or especially) in these sessions, I capture the real raw moments as well as the joy and find people really resonate with these galleries.

I'm starting to teach other photographers, from beginner up to professional with mentoring and courses.  I'm also going to be teaching at a big new conference for women photographers in Manchester in 2020, Phlock Live.  I was thrilled when they approached me among just five talented UK photographers to be their first speakers as they set up the new event.

You can read other client testimonials here.

I'm all about the colour!  It's not just my brand and my love in photography but I live it.  It's all over my home and my wardrobe, I am an authentic colour lover, rainbows especially!

I also enjoy other types of photography for fun, getting out exploring in nature or even underwater!

As part of my local community, I work as a volunteer writing for both Uckfield Matters Magazine and Uckfield FM where I'm also on air once a month championing all things local and family related.  I'm a member of a local WI where I've also helped raise funds for charity as part of the committee and ran a baking club for a while before I needed more time to focus on my photography business. 

I'm also on a waiting list to train to fix tongue ties in newborns as part of my work in dentistry, having experienced this problem myself when feeding my twins and finding there's a real difficulty in getting access to treatment swiftly.

I teach at a local autistic school, Step by Step, working with the children using my skills and knowledge as a dentist to help de-sensitise them so they find it easier to visit their own dentists.  This experience is so rewarding as well as teaching me more about the challenges of working with children with special needs which in turn is helping me learn skills I can apply with my photography business and I welcome clients who may wish to have family photos taken but worry about potential issues.

It's not easy doing all this with twins in tow, a part-time job and my volunteer positions and everything that has to go on behind the scenes but I love it all!

So, if you made it this far through my list of achievements detailing my passion and talent, I'd be ever so grateful if you can now go that one step further and vote for Bexphoto  to win Best Photographer.  It would make my day!  Thank you :D

And if you're still not sure, Stanley thinks you should vote for me too!...

(I didn't take this image, Stanley's mummy Hannah sent it to me, she's a lovely colleague and friend!)

https://sussex.muddystilettos.co.uk/vote/photographer

Duddleswell Tearooms - review

During the Easter holidays we had some lovely play dates planned, one of which was a walk at Duddleswell on the Ashdown Forest followed by cake at Duddleswell Tearooms.  I can highly recommend both!

The Ivy, Tunbridge Wells - review

I was so excited to go for brunch at The Ivy in Tunbridge Wells, the photos I'd seen of inside looked beautiful and I am loving a bit of art deco style at the moment (keep an eye out for our living room re-decoration to see just how much)!

Nik booked brunch as a surprise for us as whenever we thought to go there before we struggled to get a table as we left it too late to book.  This time, we woke up and he told me we were going there that morning for brunch!  So exciting and such a lovely surprise :)

Dishoom - review

I'd been wanting to eat at Dishoom for a long time, Nik had been a few times with his parents and I was so jealous, I've heard great things!

Kitcho Sushi - review

This review is long overdue but I had to write it as we had a lovely meal at Kitcho for Mother's Day in Greenwich.  We hadn't booked anything in advance so were lucky to get a table with two hours' notice.  I'm so glad we did as it was a wonderful little find!

My perfect bouquet - rainbow flowers!

Although I do always love the flowers Nik picks out for me, this year, I really wanted to create my own rainbow bouquet!  I love flowers, learning names of the ones I love and arranging them.  I sometimes think in another life I would have loved being a florist!  Maybe one day, maybe when I retire I could get a job in a pretty little flower shop.  Anyway, for now, I make do with being creative with my own flowers and this year I went to both of Uckfield's lovely florists, The Flower Shop and Miss Bloomsbury.  It helps that they're just a few doors apart on the High Street so I was able to pick and choose my stems from each to create my perfect colourful arrangement which looks beautiful on our new bar cart in the dining room!

Oast Farm shop - picnic

Nik had a day off last week to do some admin work from home so we all ventured down to our local cafe, forgetting that it's closed on Tuesdays, oops!  Luckily Judith was in the shop and happily made us a cup of tea and coffee when we bought some things from the shop to have an impromptu picnic outside.

Monkey Business in Lewes - soft play review

I'd only been to Monkey Madness once before, soft plays can get pretty expensive when you have two kids to pay for plus an adult entry, then inevitable snacks, drinks, etc as you can't bring your own in.  Luckily, when a friend suggested it on a recent blustery day, they had a deal on so it was only £9 for me and the twins to get in.  The last time we went they were only one so it was a very different experience now they're four and can properly climb and go off and have fun on their own in the giant climbing frames!  Plus it was a term-time Tuesday so it wasn't too busy and there were no big kids charging around to be fearful of.

We stayed there all morning and for a while after lunch too.  Kalyan has been asking to go back to "hotplay" ever since so we'll have to check when their next deal is on.

Sunday Roast review at the Abergavenny Arms near Lewes

Not to be confused with the one in Tunbridge Wells!  (Yep, we started driving in the wrong direction before a slightly heated discussion and a quick phone call to check before a swift turnaround!)

We met friends at the Abergavenny Arms near Lewes recently (not to be confused with the one in Frant where Nik started driving to, in the opposite direction), and had a lovely afternoon.  They're dog and child friendly so it was perfect for us and our friends with their fur baby.  The pub is traditional style with a lovely beer garden out the back.  It was a bit cold and windy the day we went so we sat inside where it was nice and cosy.