Born in Hull, 1988

My relationship with photography began on a primary school trip to Whitby, when my grandfather lent me a small point-and-shoot camera. It was plastic, limited and far from perfect, but to me it was a device of wonder — a way to hold on to moments and make sense of the world. Years later, while clearing his flat, he gave me that same camera to “carry on with.” By then I had already fallen in love with SLRs and darkroom printing, but I never had the heart to tell him. That little camera was the spark that set everything in motion.

Long before photography was available at my school, I stayed behind each week to learn how to process film and experiment in the darkroom. When I finally took the subject at A-level, I already understood that photography wasn’t just a hobby — it was a language I wanted to speak for the rest of my life.

Over the years, that visual language became more personal than I ever expected. After being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, I found myself documenting not just communities and landscapes, but my own body, my illness, and the changing relationship I had with it. Photography became a way to confront fear, stigma, identity and pain — to take ownership of a story that might otherwise have swallowed me. When I eventually underwent stoma surgery, I continued that process: photographing the journey, the aftermath, the quiet routines, and the complicated mix of fragility, survival, grief and gratitude.

Living with a stoma has reshaped my understanding of resilience, dignity and vulnerability. It has also deepened my commitment to honest documentary work. Whether I am photographing my own body or someone else’s world, I’m drawn to the spaces where people adapt, endure, and rebuild.

My practice now includes long-form personal projects, community-focused documentary work, and education — helping others use photography to tell their own stories with intention and clarity.

Qualifications and experience:

• BA (Hons) Documentary Photography
• MA Photography
• Placement on the Documentary Photography BA at the University of South Wales
• Teacher of A-Level, BTEC and GCSE Photography, Art and Graphics
• Community documentary work, including sheltered housing projects in Duffryn, South Wales, and collaborative work with communities on the Isle of Lewis during a period of population and cultural change
• Ongoing autobiographical work documenting chronic illness, ulcerative colitis, and life with a stoma