This is my third collaboration with Isabelle, carrying on our series of five photoshoots about mental health and what it means to us personally. Mental health often affects people unnoticed, and that is the theme we want to bring forward.
Being dyslexic, I have wrestled with the hurdles language and communication bring. Quick comprehension and ready conversation can be hard, which sometimes leaves me feeling ineffective and frustrated. Photography has given me a way to express myself and has earned support from colleagues and mentors. You can read more about that on my about page.
Over time, Isabelle and I have talked often about mental health and found a lot of shared ground. The aim of this series is to show the positive ways we face and manage it.
We used to find calm in forest walks, a quiet and healing thing that helps clear the mind. We are lucky to live somewhere with beautiful surroundings and an easy escape into nature.
For this shoot we moved to Southwold Beach in Suffolk, wanting to catch the quiet of an evening stroll along the shore. The sunset was not quite as dramatic as we had hoped, yet the shoot gave us images we genuinely value.
Our walks at Southwold have been therapeutic, a chance to reset our thoughts. I am looking forward to our fourth photoshoot of this project with Isabelle in the coming year. Thank you for taking an interest in the work. Photography has let me express myself and feel acknowledged, and I am grateful to keep exploring mental health with Isabelle, and to show that no one is alone in their struggles.