Hannah Anstee

A couple of months ago, I received an email from Hannah. It felt like a Hebden Bridge Venn diagram had been completed. We were both aware of each other, we share a few friends, so this felt like a bringing together of overlapping circles!

Hannah wanted images for her new website and business. As a life coach and writer, she was moving into business coaching for neurodivergent life coaches.

We met for a cup of tea in a quiet corner of a cafe in town, and talked about the images Hannah wanted.

Going into the shoot, it felt like a mini collaboration. I was excited to create images that reflected Hannah, her warmth and approachability, both creative and grounded.

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“It’s incredibly gratifying to post photos I genuinely admire and feel authentic to who I am.”

— Hannah

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The location Hannah picked was an absolute dream. We could create little mini sets within the mill giving different chapters to the shoot. The stairwell came in handy too!

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“As an introvert, a photo shoot can be intimidating with all the focus centred on you, but I never felt pressured. Instead, I felt like I was in good hands.”

— Hannah

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The mill light was soft and diffused, ideal for that natural feel. It shifted around as we worked, and we worked with the subtle changes to the light and shadows. It always takes me a few shots to just settle into my rythm, starting with the more tried and tested poses. And then the gear shifts into more creative territory where we can experiment with a few lifestyle poses, candid moments, the ones that add personality and warmth to a gallery.

This session was a reminder how much I love portrait photography. Creating the images where people feel seen, where we’re working together to create a selection of photos with longevity and can be used for websites and socail media.

If you or someone you know is looking for fresh portraits, it would be lovely to connect.

Here’s to more sessions that bring together those connections, and a bit of that magic light. Talking about light, I’ll leave the last words to Hannah…

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“Sarah possesses an extraordinary passion and talent for harnessing light and shadow - she’s genuinely a light wizard! The photos she captured far exceeded my expectations, showcasing possibilities I hadn’t imagined.”

— Hannah

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You can find out more about Hannah’s work here, and follow her writings and thoughts on Substack.

Ernest Journal

At the beginning of 2017, as one of my new year's intentions, I said to myself that I wanted to write more. A few more blogs, maybe documenting the change in the seasons in photos and words, and just enjoy it again as I used to when I was younger. I used to love writing song lyrics and tried my hand at a few nature poems when I was in primary school. Mum still has a poem I wrote about a curlew. It's a little faded now as I think it was pinned to the cork board in the old kitchen for a while. Somewhere along the way, I lost all confidence in expressing myself in this way. But when I went on my Scottish road trip last year, I took time out each day to reflect on how I was feeling and what I'd seen. Suzi had bought me a beautiful journal with crisp magnolia pages. I packed a fountain pen too. I don't want to come over all fancy, but I find scribbling in biro sends my handwriting into a spin. Being left-handed, writing with a fountain pen comes with its own challenges, but that's outweighed by my love of the smell of the fresh ink, and the sound of the nib gliding over the paper. After a day on the road, and after I'd eaten dinner and checked into my Air BnB, it became a nightly ritual. I'd always unpack my journal first, and place it on the bedside table. Reading lamp on, I'd relive the past day as those fresh memories were committed to the paper.

When I came back, I wrote a series of blogs about the trip. I was glad to have my journal as a reference point. Last summer, Ernest Journal, a magazine dedicated to slow adventures and craftsmanship (and one of mine & Suzi's favourites), asked me to write a piece about my North Coast 500 travels with accompanying photos. In autumn, I relived the trip again as I wrote an abridged version of my days travelling around the very northern tip of Scotland. This edition of Ernest Journal is out now if you did want to follow my trip. If you're in Hebden Bridge, they're available at both Heart Gallery and Snug. I'm in good company as there are other articles about photographic duo the Kearton brothers, bread making in space, and mapping Antarctic women.

We're going to have some of my Scottish prints on sale from the trip (amongst others) at Hebden Bridge Open Studios. 50% of what we make will be donated to MIND.

The North Coast 500 trip was an absolutely amazing experience for me.  I witnessed the most beautiful landscapes and nature and it gave me the confidence I needed to get back on track with my mental health. If you're interested in doing the route and would like to know more, I'm always up for a chat about it over a cup of tea.

Big Black House Design Company

you're like me, walking into Maxine's workspace is like walking into a sweet shop, it's a feast for the eyes. The orange flames of the forge are glowing, the worn wooden handles of tools are stacked neatly in boxes, and the anvil centrepiece catches the afternoon sun. 

I was taking photos for a feature about Maxine and her work for the Christmas edition of WI Life. She's a blacksmith, based not too far away from Hebden Bridge, she predominately makes garden furniture and sculptures. Watching her work is meditative. The sounds of the forge as the steel rods hit the flames, and then the metallic smell fills the air as Maxine shapes it on the anvil.

If you'd like to see more of Maxine's work, you can look at her website here, she has a few shows coming up this year too and you can check the dates out on her site.

There's a short film here if you'd like to feel the forge and watch Maxine at work!