Life in Design

Life in Design

The bright light flashed quickly on and then off again as I blinked and then withdrew my smile; giving my blushed cheeks a rest before the next flash would occur. My Father would instruct me to say ‘chocolate biscuits' in an enthusiastic manner; hoping to capture the perfect photograph. He would alter settings; experimenting with different switches and ridiculously sized lenses. ‘Turn to the right just a little', ‘Look in the other direction...and back again', these are all phrases he would announce just before he pushed his finger onto the button and took the photograph.

I sit back today in my dorm bed and flick through old photo albums and re-live almost every moment that camera flashed and captured special, significant moments of my life. Capturing a laugh, a smile or may be even a cry, but what was a certainty was that every single one of those photographs told a story. When I look at the picture of my Mum, Dad, Sister and I at the beach I re-live the moment. Our hair blowing furiously in the wind, hoods up and coats fastened, yet we all had huge glowing smiles going from cheek to cheek. Looking back makes me miss them so much and reminisce our special times.

When I was younger I would very rarely see my Father without his camera, a lot of the time my Mother would get worried and think that he cared more for his camera than he did for any of us, yet we all knew that wasn't the truth. Whether it was school sports day or a family birthday the camera would always make an appearance and if it didn't we knew something must have been wrong. Photography has always been a part of my life, ever since I was born. There are pictures of the first time my Mother held me in her arms as a child and pictures of me and my friends taken moments ago.

My Father actually owns his own photographic company, ‘Fillingham Photographic' so photography is his life. I walk from one side of my house to another and enter a whole new world. He works from home in his own photographic studio. Downstairs, are all of his computers, various printers, processors and the darkroom. Upstairs, flashy cameras, big lights, various backgrounds and furniture. Its an exciting environment to be in and has allowed me to explore. I remember my Father teaching me how to use Photoshop, endless talks about shutter speeds, exposures, etc. which I have always found difficult to understand and still do today despite his great teaching.

Even though its not photography I am majoring in here at the academy, I still share this passion for it with my Father. It has brought us so much closer together and has allowed me to be surrounded by creativity my entire life. I would find myself mingling with others who shared this artistic flare and would offer my opinions to others when they came back to my Father asking for advice on a photograph