KATIE

The following awe-inspiring words were written by Katie Scott, who's portraits I captured last summer. 

'Nowadays we are taught that self love and confidence no matter what your insecurities may be is the key to living happily and healthily. Whilst this is something I wholeheartedly agree with, I think sometimes this message can pile on more pressure than intended. It is very difficult to suddenly 'love your body' when you are still facing a world of prejudices and conflicting health messages and pressures. I think what is more important for people who are struggling with self confidence is self acceptance. It is far more important to see your body for how it is, and to allow yourself first to just be. Acknowledge your insecurities but don't let them hold you back. Make sure you still do all the things you want to do. I'm not there yet, but this is probably the first step towards true confidence and comfort within oneself. And acceptance doesn't necessarily mean resignation, change is ok, but you have to make sure you are changing for the right reasons.'

 'As women we are socialised to view our natural bodies as inadequate. The natural state of being for a woman is never enough; beauty is seen as perfection and perfection is unobtainable. No matter how hard you try to conform to culturally imposed beauty standards, your body will never be deemed perfect, and these constructed ideals are changing constantly so that women in some shape or form are always excluded from being 'beautiful', no one can consistently be categorised as perfect. Because of this it is so difficult for women to be able to see themselves as beautiful in their natural state. It is one of the hardest things for women to learn, but also one of the most important.

Dreaming Of Snow

I awake to a blissful winter wonderland. The streets are coated in a blanket of glittering crystals and the busy roads deserted, plunging the neighbourhood into a deep, dreamy cone of delicious silence. I sit, eyes heavy with sleep, and gaze out into the garden as the soft light of dawn seeps through the trees and kisses the shivering ground. 

I grab my camera, hook my beautiful little beagle onto a lead and head out into the glowing white air. The cold wind slices passed us. Snow balances atop tiny leaves that sway in the treetops, and every so often a gentle breeze blows a tiny flurry down onto my shoulders. 

We pause by a frosted lake in the centre of the park. The winter sun sits amongst the white clouds and casts long, lazy shadows across the ice. A single swan with feathers white as snow, wonders calmly across the frozen surface, wings glowing with pale sunlight. It feels as though we've stepped out into a dreamscape. Like an altered, snow laden reality. It's magic.

My dog, spooked by children racing downhill on toboggans, makes a break for the exit. All at once it's time to return home. I kick snow off the tops of my boots and pull my hat, embroidered with little red and yellow flowers, from my wind swept head. The warmth of the house envelops us, and we sink down into the sofa to watch the white landscape begin to melt.

Until next time. 

The Sun Meets The Sea

Sunlight streams over the hill top, flooding our eyes with a deep, blinding gold. We drive through the country lanes to Durdle Door, racing the sun before it disappears beyond the blue horizon. 

We park next to a row of white caravans. I grab my camera and skip down the steep, grassy hill as the sun fades from yellow to bright orange. It throws streaks of light up into the sky, and casts a perfect stripe of gold across the ocean. I come to rest by a fence post with a perfect view of the bay. The sun sinks toward the water. Its light glitters through the gap in Durdle Door’s rocky archway as I sit on the grass, the noise of my camera shutter echoing down to the sea.  

A family of three joins me, and we watch the sky in silence. Occasionally they whisper of the sun’s beauty to one another, and the wind carries the soft tones of their voices across the cove. 

Finally, the circle of gold retreats beneath the horizon and the air is pale. I turn on my heel and head up to the car, only to greet the full moon rising in a purple sky. 

Gold turns to silver, and day turns to night.