2022 in Pictures…and some words too
What a year that was! We had the highest of highs (still can't believe we reached 40 degrees in London!) and the lowest of lows - still can't believe the only people I could find to photograph playing in snow was my own son and his friend! It's been a play-filled, lockdown-free year of reconnecting, re-visiting and renewing old passions and adventures that feel like they have been on hold for far too long.
It wouldn't be a year for me if the glorious Assemble Play didn't feature and I was lucky enough to work with them twice this year AND have a very exciting meeting with one of the key instigators at Assemble itself. They've got a new, much needed, site close to Grenfell Tower which I can't wait to visit in 2023 and of course Penny runs her regular play session at Mudchute every Saturday come rain or shine.
Make Do Play have gone from strength to strength this year and I had a blast photographing one of their summer sessions for North London Parenting Magazine - who were also kind enough to select one of my Autumn Play Session shoots for their cover page back in September!
This year I also managed to spend some time at Elderflower Fields festival photographing the huge range of activities they have on site there. It's basically the bid sister to Into the Trees so a larger site, more live music and a bit warmer as it's held in May as opposed to September! This year I have my eyes set on Starry Skies which is making a long awaited come back since pre-pandemic times!
One of personal highlights this year was shooting Woodland Tribe at the Tate - you can read more about this on my blog but being in a position to take part in this, let alone document it was truly humbling - I don't think I'll ever forget the moment they raised the banner reading “Power to Children''.
Playshoots are always a joy and this year took me to Elephant Springs in the heat of summer and back to my beloved Queens Wood for Autumn. This year however we had one fantastic rainy day and I was so grateful to the family who'd booked that they jumped right on into it - splashing around, making little boats out of leaves and trying to plug up the never ending flow of water pouring down the hillside. Truly these are some of my favourite photos I've ever taken just capturing kids at play in an environment they feel safe and comfortable exploring.
So to close out the year I'm off on my first ever world-schooling trip with my son and sixteen other families to Athens, Greece. This is something I've wanted to explore since my son was a toddler and of course my camera is packed safely away ready to document a very different daily life. Feel free to follow my personal insta for more immediate updates!
Thank you again to all the amazing parents, children, organisations and play advocates that I had the pleasure of working with this year, can't wait to see you all again in 2023,
HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!
