This is where it all begins...
So I guess this is it, you have found me! Now the proud owner of my own little corner of the internet. I am Bertie, owner of Bertie Hammond photography and welcome to my very first blog post. I am so excited to be starting my journey in photography and hopefully you reading this will be coming along for the ride! We have got this far, right?
So first things first, my name is Bertie and a photographer from a small coastal town in Essex where I live with my husband, Gareth and our two children - not forgetting my two fury, tail wagging friends! Over the last decade, I have worked within the care sector and the NHS, whilst I still love my role - the burnout is real. Life can seem chaotic when you only work night shifts and are fueled by coffee! When time allows, I love being outdoors and adventurous, whether its climbing, paintball, camping or out on the paddle board. Huge foodie, theater lover and absolute wanderlust are some of my favorite things - and if you are new around here and didn't already know - I like to capture all my favorite things to scroll back through whenever the days seem long and gloomy. Lets face it, life isn't always the way it is portrayed on social media, we all have off days where we just want to get back into bed and hide under the duvet with a good book and snacks. (Or is this just me!?) To be totally honest, I am such a big kid I would properly build myself a fort and see how long I could get away with it.
My reason...
In 2022 - my husband suffered a stroke. This truly rocked our lives and put everything in perspective. Imagine being 30 years old and having to relearn how to coordinate a spoon?! Memories of the life we had built, self achievements and memories we had made - gone or muddled into a foggy abyss. As a family, we has to figure out a whole new dynamic and make some changes. We learned to slow down and focus on the things that mattered to us the most. Each other. This was a difficult time for us, and our children, who I can only applaud for their kind hearts and patience as Gareth had to try hard to find his words to communicate in the first little while, ongoing crippling fatigue, memory problems or lapses in balance. It was sometimes difficult to even imagine life before. Being an engineer, Gareth spent hours practicing his fine motor skill building Lego and problem solving games with our son. Whilst our then six year old daughter would now read to him so he could focus on following along.
Pulling together, we took to the thousands of snaps I had collected over the last decade to rebuild fragments of his memories - places we had visited, our wedding, cheeky smiles when the children were covered in chocolate or their first time on a bike. All those moments that you unknowingly treasure and take for granted until they are not there. Piece by piece, with a lot of determination and youth on his side he has now made a fantastic recovery with his stroke rehabilitation, followed by an operation to fix a hole in his heart that he never knew existed! The cause of the stroke itself! It was one of the toughest thing we have ever overcome, For me, seeing a person you love in such a vulnerable place and I will never even begin to know what those first few months were like for him,
During this time, it made us realise that nothing is guaranteed, or promised. For us, things needed to change. We slowed down, making the most of the rare lazy weekends, starting to make more time for the things that brought us joy or sparked creativity.
This is when I picked up a camera.
After years identifying myself as 'Mum', this was something just for me. To find a little outlet of happiness and pursue something that I had enjoyed since I was small, once patiently waiting for the squirrels to invade the bird feeders in my grandmothers garden with my very first camera. Now it was my dog that became the subject of interest. When everyone was at school or work - I would be snapping away as he followed me around the house - luckily he didn't seem to mind the attention! As my confidence grew, my camera started to make more appearances, on days out with the kids, camping trips, dog walks, family gatherings. Finding the beauty in the smallest of things, a knowing glance or corner of someones mouth creasing as they where holding in a giggle, to the simple gesture of a loving hand of reassurance on the base of their back. I, possibly more so than others, understood the weight of these memories.
Not only was I now able to capture the important occasions in our lives, to freeze time, forever to be kept safe in our family album, but I was able to find the importance of the smallest of details that once made that single second come alive. The significant ingredient that gives that feeling in my gut and warmth in my heart. I could be transported back to that moment again and again, all from one picture.
When speaking with my kids one day, my son asked if I was doing the job that I had always wanted to do. No. When he asked why, I made the excuse that I had to be an adult and pay my bills, look after them and that was enough for me, 'But you love taking photos'. Yup. I do, but I would have no idea how to make that happen. I will never forget his puzzled face - 'But you always tell us we can do whatever we want, even if seems impossible. If you want it, you will make it happen'. Damn. One of those moments where parenting comes to bite you in the butt. But he was right...
Here we are...
So... after a big push from my husband, and a shove in the right direction from my very talented social media marketing strategist sister-in-law @_socialsoph Bertie Hammond Photography has been birthed! To help others romanticize their lives, find the importance in the little things, and want to document all the quiet moments as well as the triumphs. I am here, and ready to help capture all these special moments. To give you photos where you feel like the best version of yourself, empowered. Ready to face all the grey days ahead, to help your small business to grow, document memories for you to hold on too when you need them the most. I am here to shout from the roof tops how important it is to love yourself as you are right now - and just be in the damn picture!
If you have got this far, thank you! Follow along on my business page on Facebook at Bertie Hammond Photography. If you want to reach out - please do on @bertiehammondphotography on Instagram. Want to work me me? Drop me an email at bertiehammondphotography@gmail.com
'Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light' - Albus Dumbledore
