True presence is a lost art in our scattered, device-dominated world. After surviving childhood trauma and soul fragmentation, I discovered photography and it became a pathway back to wholeness, teaching me embodied presence through Nature's mirror.

Read more to learn how this creative practice restored my sense of self-sovereignty, showing me I have the power to choose what and who I give my energy to.

It took me over thirty years to realize I was born to be an artist—to share my inner world with the outer world. After years of hiding my sensitivity to survive a volatile childhood, photography became my platform to express deep-rooted emotions locked away for too long. Sometimes our greatest pain becomes our most powerful creative fuel.

I thought starting a photography business would be easy—announce it online and watch workshop bookings follow. Boy, was I wrong. Between my old Ford Fiesta, frugal meals, and jobs that didn't align with who I was becoming, I learned that business is an energy exchange. The question that changed everything: what was I offering the world beyond pretty pictures?

As I walk along the dusty track, I pass by many of the wicked and wild trees that have been decorating this small corner of the Gwydir Forest for a century or more. There are a handful of oaks but the majority of them here are silver birch trees that love these damp upland moorland environments. I’m just a tiny speck of dust beneath most of the trees, and, despite my hair being a little thinner in some places than it once was, one glance at their weathering bark makes me appreciate my youth. The young should respect their elders, so I pause for a moment to think about how little I know, and how much I still have yet to learn from them.

Photos and short stories from some memorable photography trips. An entire years worth of photographs broken down into 7 categories.