Sarah Howard

I first became interested in photography through my father, himself an accomplished amateur photographer, who gave me my first camera and encouraged me to develop my creative talent. My interest however really developed whilst travelling in 2004. Exploring different countries and cultures was a fabulous experience and one which I sought to capture on camera.

With a love of the great outdoors and a definite travel bug, it was a natural progression that I would pursue a career in travel but as my passion for photography grew I found the direction of my path also changed. Landscape photography became something of an addiction as I found the eye of the camera allowed me to view my surroundings in greater depth and attach more meaning to them.

So, as for what photography means to me.... it is a continuous voyage of discovery and has changed my life. Photography has opened my eyes and made me really ‘see’ what is around me. I look at my surroundings completely differently now as a photographer – the way the light falls on a subject, the formation of the clouds, the lie of the land, the changing of the seasons, it has in a sense awakened me. It’s as if my vision has somehow become more fine tuned, and with a greater appreciation of the landscape I have also developed a greater connection.

In a competitive world where photographers often struggle to have their work considered as ‘art’, I have remained determined to promote photography as a very valid creative and expressive art form. For me good photography is not just a matter of pressing the shutter. Much planning and preparation is involved in the making of a successful image and there is no doubt that a creative eye and a great deal of foresight is needed to be able to bring life to a subject, be that a still life, or a landscape. In the creation of my images I therefore endeavour to allow the onlooker to move from being a mere observer to a scene and to enter more into the heart of the image, to stand in my shoes so to speak. I love the idea of transporting someone in an instant, be it to the hills of Tuscany, or to a field of poppies.

We can all learn from each other so in July 2009 wishing to pass my enthusiasm and knowledge on I set up up ‘Image Seen’ through which I now offer one to one and small group landscape photography workshops all over the UK.

September 2009 saw the publication of my first book; ‘ A year in the life of Westonbirt’, a photographic celebration of the National Arboretum in Gloucestershire, which is now in its second edition.

Photography is my passion, I am lost without my camera.