International Photography Awards 2020 The Voice Finalist

It took me 4 attempts to pass my driving license. I almost passed first time because we were stuck in a traffic jam for the most part, but then I kept failing - down to nerves and confidence. So when I passed eventually, it was this feeling of disbelief. Like I wasn't meant to be on the road. That's how I'm feeling right now...

The Voice Collection is a truly inspiring collection of imagery, taken by incredibly talented female photographers across the world. I had categorised it as an unattainable goal - much like my driving test. I’ve entered a few times unsuccessfully, wondering what I had been missing…

But this year, out of 40,000 entries, my entry has been selected so sit alongside these amazing images in Voice Image Collection by Click Magazine. It will be exhibited amongst the other finalists in March 2020 in Atlanta.

We were just hanging out at our airbnb whilst on holiday. I love telling stories with my images, and I loved how this window framed of all of us doing our own things in this tiny swimming pool. I took it purely for my own enjoyment and threw it in as a curveball to the competition, but I didn’t for one second think that it would actually be a winner.

I guess sometimes we all need to take a leap of faith…

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Click on the image to see the rest of the Finalists of this inspiring collection.
My image is in the Storytelling Category.

London - a refreshing change

Photography for me is not just a job. It’s a passion, and one that I can’t seem to switch off. I’m constantly thinking about my surroundings and the light . Different angles, composition and stories to tell. And I’m glad that I brought my camera with me last weekend.

My sister is currently working on one of the tallest buildings in London - second tallest only to the Shard. 278m high, with a 360 degree view, 62 floors, and a lift that travels 8 metres per second.

We were excited to see where she worked and had the privilege to visit at the weekend. I loved the juxtaposition of old and new buildings, and the dizzying heights of the surrounding sky scrapers. The girls got to see the sights of London in miniature - they ‘signed’ some floor tiles, my sister photobombed her own photo, and when the early evening light came in, they literally had to usher me out!

It was one of those things where there is so much to see that you can’t quite take it all in. That is the beauty of photography, it allows you can soak in and appreciate what you’ve just experienced.

Celebrating the journey to motherhood... Maternity Photoshoot at home

Lily’s first baby arrived before she could have any maternity photos taken, so we scheduled her maternity session for her second baby a little early.

She asked if we could have them taken outdoors, and whilst I do have a soft spot for a flower field, there was something that I wanted to preserve about her experience. I suggested that perhaps we could take them at home and capture her bump in a relaxed way, so that we could really take the time to capture the beauty of her bump and this moment in time.

The reason I mention this is to say that everybody's journey is different. And one location does not necessarily fit all people. I'm so glad that Lily trusted me with this and am excited to share a few of her images with you here. It was an honour to capture this beautiful motherhood journey and to celebrate how strong and amazing our bodies are. I will leave you with Lily's words once she received her gallery:

"I feel at my most beautiful and powerful when pregnant, my body is doing what it was made for It makes me feel super body confident, and now I've finally managed to capture that, thanks to Chui!"