Interview with Anne Gray from The Heather Trust
Can you tell us about yourself and what inspired you to live and work in the Scottish Borders?
I am the Director of The Heather Trust which is a small charity operating across Great Britain that promotes good practice in moorland management. I’m lucky to be able to work from home. Apart from a spell of about 9 years in Edinburgh in my late teens and 20s, I’ve always lived in the Borders and can’t imagine being anywhere else.
Which part of your job do you feel most passionate about?
Promoting land management practices that allow people to make a living and that are also good for nature, carbon storage, and water management is really important to me. The challenge to do better for the environment is vitally important and something everyone needs to embrace. I hope I’m doing something to help.
What tips would you give to someone starting out in your industry?
You need a solid grounding in environmental science and policy, but you also need to spend time with farmers, gamekeepers, and everyone else that makes a living from the land. Their experience and perspective is worth listening to.
Who do you admire most in the world and why?
I admire people who keep going for their goals no matter what gets thrown their way. Some people just seem to be made of very strong stuff. Most recently the young motor racing driver Billy Monger who lost his legs in a horrific crash and is making a comeback to pursue his dream of becoming an F1 champion seems to personify that. His whole attitude to recovery has blown me away.
Do you have a favourite quote that you turn to for inspiration?
Theodore Roosevelt said: “A nation that destroys its soils, destroys itself” and there is nothing surer I’m afraid. Soil, water, and climate are our life support system and we really will hit the buffers if we don’t get a better handle on keeping them in good health.
What is the biggest challenge you face in running a charity?
Maintaining funding to let us do what we do is a constant challenge.
What does a typical workday look like for you?
I’m not sure any day is typical. Some days I’m in my office at home all day catching up on paperwork, reading the latest science or policy document, or producing a Heather Trust response to the latest government position. Some days I am out at meetings and others I spend the whole day outside with a moor owner or manager. The variety is great!
How will you use your headshots and how do you feel they will benefit your business?
They will be used on our website, in our annual report and to illustrate articles I write for other magazines and publications. People seem to remember images better than words, so if you want people to take notice of what you write, good accompanying images seem to be the thing that will make your words memorable. I hope so anyway.
What are your future plans?
For now, to keep doing what I am doing and ensure The Heather Trust goes from strength to strength.
Corporate, Clean, White Head Shots for Vrio Europe
Vrio Europe is a business transport solution company with a UK office here in Berwick. Vrio staff in other countries had already been to a photographer for their headshots so my brief was to match that corporate ‘high key’ white background style so that Michelle and Jack matched in seamlessly with the rest of the team on their website and they didn’t have to travel to Spain for their photographs!
Interview with Kathy Tiernan, Author
Can you tell us about yourself and what inspired you to live and work in Northumberland?
I’ve always been fascinated by history. I grew up in Northumberland with the past on my doorstep – a fourteenth-century tower next to our house! My favourite book as a kid was ‘Sword of Northumbria’ by Philip Woodruff. It’s long out of print, but his stories of medieval Northumbria fired my imagination. Now, so many years later, I’ve moved back to Northumberland and am writing my own stories about its history. Although I’ve spent a lot of my working life in the south I feel I’ve come back home.
Which part of your job do you enjoy most?
When I’m in the zone and completely absorbed in what I’m writing about.
What tips would you give to someone starting out as a writer?
It’s important to learn your trade, but even more to write about things that really engage you.
What is the best feedback you have ever had?
When I was twelve my English teacher gave me top marks for a story called ‘The Storm’. Underneath it, she wrote, ‘I wonder if you will become a writer one day?’
Who do you admire most in the world and why?
I love Thomas Hardy. For me, he is a great writer about the English countryside and about the rural communities of his time.
Do you have a favourite quote that you turn to for inspiration?
“Show don’t tell.” It gets drummed into your head on creative writing courses till you’re sick of it, but it is the single piece of advice I return to most often.
What is the biggest challenge you face as an author?
There are two challenges for an author. One is to have the stamina to complete a novel, with all the revisions and rewritings involved. The second is to convince a publisher that you have produced a masterpiece that the world is waiting for.
How will you use your headshots and how do you feel they will benefit your business?
One of the headshots will be used on the dust cover of my forthcoming novel, ‘Cuthbert; The Making of a Saint’, to be published by Sacristy Press. I’m also planning to use the photos to create my author website.
What does a typical workday look like for you?
I write in the mornings, with a break for coffee. Depending on what else I have on, I sometimes work for another hour or two in the early evening. I try not to think about writing later in the day or else my mind is still plotting at 2am!
Thank you, Kathy, I'm really looking forward to your book coming out. I must say we had an eventful shoot, from the thick fog on the wild and windy causeway of Lindisfarne, to the sun beating down on us inland while we walked uphill to St Cuthbert's Cave, then on the way down you saved me from stepping on an adder snake! Such a fun and memorable day! Good luck with the book launch,
Sarah
Eat Sleep Ride: Business Gateway, Scottish Borders
I was asked to provide a range of business profile shots of Eat Sleep Ride for Business Gateway to use across various media in print and online.
Eat Sleep Ride is a social enterprise run by Danielle McKinnon who takes in problem horses for backing, schooling, and retraining.
Business Gateway helped Danielle secure grant funding from Social Investment Scotland which will help her to continue to provide educational, therapeutic and community engagement initiatives that are free or affordable to disadvantaged children, families, and individuals from a largely rural community.
Interview with Vicki Owen, Psychotherapist and Counsellor
Can you tell us about yourself and what inspired you to work in Northumberland?
I'm a psychotherapist and counsellor working in private practice in Wooler. I've recently moved to Northumberland from Nottingham, having visited here on holiday for many years. I love being outdoors walking and cycling and Northumberland is perfect because you can easily reach both wild hills and beautiful coastlines.
Which part of your job do you feel most passionate about?
I am hugely privileged to do my job. It takes courage to decide to come for therapy and it takes effort and persistence to stay and do the work. I have such admiration for the work my clients do with me and it's wonderful to see them start to feel more whole, connected and alive as a result.
What tips would you give to someone starting out in your industry?
Do the best training you can afford, have personal therapy, and do as much CPD as you can. If you carry on learning and developing, you will be able to offer to help a wider range of the difficulties that clients bring to therapy.
Who do you admire most in the world and why?
In the therapy world, Alice Miller was a tireless advocate for abused and neglected children, and the adults they grew in to. She died a few years ago but she has left inspiring books. More currently, Bessel van der Kolk is driving forward advancements in effective therapy for people who have been traumatised by painful experiences. One of his quotes I like is:
“Being able to feel safe with other people is probably he single most important aspect of mental health; safe connections are fundamental to meaningful and satisfying lives.”
How will you use your headshots or how do you feel they have benefited your business?
My headshots go on my website and on the professional registers I'm a member of (UKCP and BACP). They give people a chance to get a sense of me by seeing what I look like before deciding whether to meet me in person.
What are your future plans?
To continue offering therapy in beautiful Wooler! I'm planning to run some groups and workshops too. Individual therapy is expensive so I'd like to offer more affordable options for people. I have ideas about topics for workshops such as relaxation and mindfulness, listening and communication skills, and I'd like to run groups for women affected by sexual violence.
Headshots: John Casken, Composer
I spent a lovely morning with John in the stunning Harthope Valley (Northumberland National Park) shooting some head shots and details to include on his new website. www.johncasken.com
Before I went to meet John I spent some time listening to his work, 'Apollinaire's Bird', this was during the school run I must add, it definitely made the children go at a different pace with getting ready!
Finding out about someones work and getting to know a bit more about their personality before a session always helps with how I choose to represent them in their photographs. Talking with someone about their work can also inspire ideas on things to include/backgrounds to use/poses/props so a pre shoot consultation is always helpful if there is time.
“ I found you very easy to get on with, totally understanding of what I was looking for, and had a very good eye for composition and texture. I found the whole experience stress-free, and was very pleased with the results.”
Shooting for an article in Essex University's student magazine Nick Elwood
Nick had been asked to take part in an article for Essex uni’s Alumni magazine, but going all the way to Essex for photographs was not practical for him…
So I was asked to take some similar photographs to what was taken of the other person in the article. Nick arrived on his bike and even played me a tune on his flute!
Interview with Jen Doherty, Publisher and Celebrant
Can you tell us what a typical workday looks like for you?
It varies. If I'm researching a book, I'll be puttering about in the place I'm thinking of writing about. I'll be buying postcards, talking to people, gazing at things, and listening in the cafes; I love this stage of things.
If I'm meant to be writing, I will probably be up to date with housework, clothes all laundered, visits to distant friends in the diary… Eventually, writing will begin…
If I'm at the point where a book is going to press, there is a lot of checking and dashing about to make sure it all looks right.
Most of the time, life is somewhere in between.
Which part of your job do you feel most passionate about?
In writing, it's about giving children representation of the place they live in. I love it when someone recognises their street or the beach where they play.
I also very much enjoy offering young illustrators a chance to work on a book.
What tips would you give to someone starting out in your industry?
Muse on it. Get some information. Make sure it won't sink you if it goes wrong. Then do it, if it feels remotely right.
What is the best feedback you have ever had from a client?
I've had some lovely letters from young readers, and it's been great to see some of the books used in schools.
Who do you admire most in the world and why?
No singular person, but I have huge admiration for the people who maintain good cheer in the midst of difficulty. Not simply surface cheeriness, but the kind of quiet joy that comes from engaging deeply with whatever they are doing. When my mother was in a nursing home in her final months, there was one helper who so obviously relished her work, and cherished the patients, that it was like standing in a light just being in the room where she was working.
Do you have a favourite quote that you turn to for inspiration?
"Everything serves."
It took me a while to sense the truth in that (and when I think about some of the suffering the in the world, I sometimes question it), but over the years, I've found it to be pretty much true.
What are your future plans for Serafina Press?
More books. More places, but probably still in a small, gradual way. We're taking a break from launching anything this year, but the next book, set in Mull, is written and is in the works. Gillian Stewart - the same young illustrator who worked on The Unicorn of Holy Island - is already creating the images.
Maltings Theatre Board Like You’ve Never Seen Them Before!
These pictures of Northumberland theatre trustees go to show that board meetings don’t have to be boring!
Walking over the cobbles along the tranquil Tweed to the Quayside is my treasured morning ritual. It allows me to clear those thoughts and plan the day ahead. I had the board of the Maltings Theatre coming in for a photo shoot that evening and I felt in need of a flash of inspiration to help decide what exactly I was going to do when they arrived.
I couldn’t help it but the word ‘board’ was not filling me with enthusiasm or creativity. I also had the feeling that the people coming in may not be too keen on getting their pictures taken.
The Maltings is a creative and theatrical place so I wanted to take some photos that captured the essence of how it both inspires and entertains.
Ros Lamont, Maltings Head of External Affairs, booked the headshot sessions and loved the idea of an alternative shoot but had concerns about not all of the board members being up for such radical photographs. I assured her that I would do my best to enthuse them and start the session with a traditional portrait of each member to put the subjects’ minds at rest.
I decided to put the theatre board’s acting skills to the test. They had all come prepared for a traditional corporate studio headshot with lovely ironed shirts and combed hair, but that is not what I had in mind.
It took a bit of time to explain what my ideas were but surprisingly nobody was too phased! We had a complete riot and there were blood-curdling screams and roars coming from my little studio - I wonder what the neighbours thought? Some of the subjects needed a little help or coaxing with getting the expressions out so I was asking questions and telling them stories and scenarios. This technique can be very helpful in photography. You have to show some emotions to evoke them from your subject at times.
So that was my evening of turning a potentially dull photo shoot into a really fun and impactful art project. I’d love to know your thoughts; feel free to comment below!
Written by Sarah
Interview with Bea Davenport, Traditionally Published Writer
Can you tell us about yourself?
I'm a traditionally-published writer. My two crime novels, In Too Deep and This Little Piggy, are published by Legend Press. I also write for children: The Serpent House is published by Curious Fox and My Cousin Faustina by ReadZone Books.
I'm originally from Tyneside, but for many years I covered the Northumberland area as a reporter for BBC North. I fell in love with Berwick and came to live in Spittal in 2001. It's been a lovely place to bring up my children.
The house always felt like a great place to write. It has the stone heads of Robert Burns and Walter Scott on the front porch to inspire me! And in fact, in the 1940s, a popular romance writer called Anne Hepple also lived here.
What does a typical workday look like for you?
Three days a week, I teach journalism at the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham, Surrey, so those days are very full-on. Working with students, lecturing, and doing practical activities in print and broadcast media. I'm also programme leader in Creative Writing for the Open College of the Arts, so when I am at home, I tutor writers via distance learning. And sometimes - not as often as I'd like - I get time to do my own writing. I don't have a set time to write but I tend to work better in the afternoons and evenings.
Which part of your job do you feel most passionate about?
All of it! Genuinely! I love teaching and I find working with new writers very inspiring. And the times when I do my own writing are very precious indeed. I am very lucky to be working with words every day.
What tips would you give to someone starting out in your industry?
Do it because you want to write, not because you like the idea of 'being a writer'. Do it because you love storytelling and the craft of finding the best way to do it. And be prepared to be persistent.
What is the best feedback you have ever had from a client?
I've had lots of 'best teacher ever' and 'best course ever', which is wonderful to hear! I just love to know that people have got something positive out of it.
Who do you admire most in the world and why?
As a journalist, I'm very cautious about having heroes, as so many of them turn out to have feet of clay. But if pressed, I admire Shami Chakrabarti, the recent director of Liberty. And then there are a raft of women writers and the suffragettes, who paved the way for all of us to do what we are doing.
What are your plans for the future?
I've just finished a contemporary novel for teenagers and I'm working on editing it with the help of an agent, which is a very exciting process. When the edits are done, it goes out on submission to find a publisher so fingers crossed! I'm also hoping to complete another crime novel this year too, time permitting!
Where can people follow you online?
On twitter @BeaDavenport1
Interview with Iain Lowson, Freelance Star Wars and Video Games Writer
Interview with Iain Lowson, Freelance Star Wars and Video Games Writer
Can you tell us about yourself and what inspired you to set up your business in Berwick?
I'm a freelance writer and have been for 20 years as of this month (Jan. 2016). I write a lot of official Star Wars magazines and do a bit of work now and then in video games.
I set up in Berwick nine years ago because I had a job in Newcastle. Living in a nice house with a garden in Berwick seemed better than living in a shoe box under a bridge in Newcastle. The transport links mean I don't have any problems getting to London, Edinburgh, or anywhere else. The facilities are fab, the people are great, the scenery is beautiful, and there are lots of cafés. Perfect!
So what does a typical workday look like for you?
Once the kids are off to school, I spend a little time on admin, household chores and things like that. I tend to settle down to serious procrastination around 10am. I get most of my constructive work done in the afternoons. Unless there's a deadline approaching; then there's lots of screaming and Irn-Bru.
Which part of your job do you feel most passionate about?
Having fun with what I do and making sure that translates to what the audience sit down to read and being as accurate as possible. Star Wars fans really know their stuff, and I don't want to disappoint them.
What tips would you give to someone starting out in your industry?
Read more than you write. You'll be a better writer that way. Oh, and don't work for free. The only thing exposure gets you is arrested… and frostbite.
What is the best feedback you have ever had from a client?
I've had great feedback over the years from the folks at Lucasfilm, which always means a lot. Now, name-dropping alert! An editor I worked with years ago gave material I wrote about Count Dooku to Christopher Lee to read, as he'd never been told much about the character. Apparently, he found it very helpful. I've never stopped smiling about that one.
Who do you admire most in the world and why?
I admire anyone who takes a chance on making their dreams come true. So long as they're nice dreams. You have to admire that kind of dedication.
Do you have a favourite quote that you turn to for inspiration?
"Get off my lawn!" from the old man at the top of the street where I lived as a kid. Do you know, I got off that lawn and I've never looked back since.
What are your future plans?
Lots more Star Wars writing. It's a hugely exciting time to be involved with the license, and I'm privileged to do what I do for a living. I'd like to do some more of my own stuff too, non-Star Wars.
Why did you commission the headshots?
Now and then I get asked for a picture for a profile or author interview or other such things. I figured it would be nice to be able to send something that didn't look like a hairy potato. Also, my lovely Mum really hates my beard and 'tache so, being the loving son I am, I had to get them immortalised in a picture I could give her for Christmas.
Susie at Rejuvinating Solutions, Quayside, Berwick upon Tweed
An interior and headshot session for Rejuvinating Solutions recently, I worked with Susie to make sure her branding colours came through in her headshot and the salon interior shots. These photographs will be used to show what is now available for professional skin care in Berwick on her website and social media.
Carter's Family Butchers and Holiday Home in Bamburgh, Northumberland
Last week I went out to Bamburgh to photograph Carter's. The Carter family have been the village butchers for over 100 years and have built up a great reputation by providing a personal service and top quality produce. Each time I'm in Bamburgh I make sure I pick up a couple of scotch pies, totally yummy!
I love the fact that all their meat comes from local farms holding the certificate of Farm Assurance. Their cattle lambs are grass fed and they obtain the meat from their prime cured bacon, hams and sausage from free range pork. In addition R Carter & Son makes a variety of pies, black and white puddings and they also roast and boil their own meats.
I had to go out to the Bamburgh shop really early in the morning to avoid the queues! Seriously, this is a popular village shop, with locals and holiday makers alike. Sue and Mike were really kind to me and made me a coffee and bacon sarnie which was utterly delish! After photographing the shop I went up to their holiday accommodation and took some interior shots for brochures and website marketing. The pictures from the shop are to be used in a new website designed by Northern Lab in Berwick.
Carter's is the home of the 'Bamburgh Banger' and has even been endorsed by Rick Stein as a Food Hero. It's easy to see why Carters is so popular, as someone famous once said (who's name escapes me) 'You get the business you deserve'.
Website Content for Hutton Stone
This week I spent 3 days at Hutton Stone Co. documenting their operations and systems to give clients a broader sense of the size and extent of what goes on.
Products I photographed include paving, walling, rockery, and masonry. Services I shot included bespoke carving, sawing, and delivery. Cutting-edge heavy machinery and the stringent health and safety at Hutton Stone featured heavily too.
Below there are a couple of examples of the stone samples on a plain white background with colour matching for e-commerce and brochure purposes. I also shot some key staff members to bring across the craftsmanship and welcoming personality of the company; I also feel that it's quite nice to see who you are dealing with over the web!
The website will be getting a fresh new look in the near future, keep a lookout for www.huttonstone.co.uk.
Written by Sarah
Should you use a Logo as your Profile Image?
Should you use a Logo as your Profile Image?
Guest Blog by Helen Barlow, Ethical Graphic Designer
From a designer who loves designing logos, you'd probably think I'd say "Yes", but I love designing brands even more. Your profile image, like your logo, is simply one element of your brand in its entirety.
Like all elements of your brand, it needs to work for you. We like to think of social media graphics as a tool in your brand tool kit, which also contains, at a minimum: your brand promise, mission statement, colour scheme, typography/photography style, brand language, and graphic devices.
Therefore this tiny little square is part of a much bigger picture and needs to be thought about in terms of your business, marketing and brand strategies. It would be wrong to assume it should be a logo or a headshot without thinking about how you can make that free advertising space useful for you. If you had to pay fifty bucks for that ad space you'd think more about what you wanted it to communicate.
Use your brand as a tool, a visual salesperson when you're not there. You'll save a lot of time and be able to fall in love with the things you like doing in your business on a day-to-day basis.
So when it comes to profile images, how can you use them as a tool? Well, the obvious answer is if you have your headshot on social media then those awkward networking events become a lot less awkward. People you've been tweeting on the run-up to it know what you look like, so no more fumbled first interactions!
Seriously though, people buy from people. Think of your brand as a person and design a logo with that in mind. Give it its own voice and story and your customers will be able to resonate with it on an emotional level.
As the digital landscape grows, consumers are becoming increasingly concerned with trust. If they can't see the person behind your brand, how can you expect them to engage?
A headshot is the perfect way to start building that personality behind your brand (and no Sarah didn't pay me to say this.) I can speak from experience. In 2013 when we changed the One Line profile images to my face rather than our logo the engagement and follower levels jumped right up within moments.
For businesses who are trying to reach a wider audience and make themselves more visible and recognisable online, a headshot will resonate far better with people who don't know you than a brand logo that they've never heard of. It's a great way to build your profile.
You could even do both at the same time. We did this with The Little Fair Trade Shop's social media graphics. Sabeena was well recognised online and had built a great following using a headshot. Working with us on a rebrand she wanted to push the brand identity a bit more. This was all part of a bigger strategy because the logo was about to be the single visual used on the packaging; we needed to connect her packaging with what people also saw online without losing the personal touch. So that company mug does come in handy after all.
Of course, if your logo is everything about your brand, then yes, use it as your profile image. If you're Nike or FedEx we're probably not going to want to see a photo of your CEO but actually, a shot of real-life people on your team would be quite interesting and it lets us know you're not a team of robots. Don't forget you have that huge banner behind your profile image to use as free advertising space. So if your strategy dictates that you have your logo in the square, then have a team shot in the banner. If it's a headshot in the square then use your logo in the banner. Think about combinations of photography and logo or key messages that will work hard for what you're trying to achieve with your digital marketing.
Like, follow, connect and check out my website at http://www.onelinestudio.co.uk/