Be you.

“What the soul wants, what it hungers for, what it is spending time on this earth to achieve, is a fully conscious, bodily experience of the Present.” - Philip Shepherd

I would like to share my mentor Philip Shepherd's work with you

I am lucky enough to be undertaking his teacher training at the moment

https://philipshepherd.com/

 

The modern woman on her wedding day

“Be you”

— Alli Oughtred- Hello May ad- 2014

This was my first branding in Hello May, way back when I started

I wrote BeYOU and shared some pictures I had taken at friends weddings. Moments that seemed special as they arose out of the intimacy of the moment. They weren't necesarily 'wedding images"

I loved being involved

More people started to invite me to weddings, parties, celebrations…

I went along, on the day I had no expectations, or no formula, the feminine energy became my muse, free and wild, we worked together, liberating ourselves from the pressure to present ourselves in any particular way. Me as the photographer, and them as the subject. We discovered this together. My greatest teachers became my dear friends

Many adventures later .. from Cenrtal Park, to Thomas Jefferson’s house, to private islands, to Paris…

I love the travel, but more so I love the humans, it’s the intimacy of the invitation.

I can only capture how beautiful I think you are, navigating this crazy world, just trying to find a certain feeling.. an aura

I developed a shorthand...  a wholeness, a realness. As much with myself as with you

People can ask brides to do some pretty strange things on their wedding day, understandable sometimes if they haven’t attended a modern wedding, but if I sense you are uncomfortable, I will step in and re-align the energy. Sometimes I just laugh and everyone follows.

Be YOU

I fell more and more in love with women

People loved the pictures of themselves and their loved ones loving them

I don't need to direct 

My work .. turns out it's called 'reportage'

Feels like documenting 'what is'..holding space

My best friend is doing her PhD thesis on holding space .. when I am not holding a camera, this is where my attention flows

Thank you for listening

 

 

 

 

IN ETERNAL PRAISE OF STEVIE NICKS

If we haven't drunk too much together and I forcibly made you watch this video, are we even friends?

THIRTY QUESTIONS FOR ALLI

How would you sum up what you do in a sentence?
I am stardust zooming through space that sometimes takes photos

What did you want to be when you were growing up?
A garden designer and a florist

How do you waste time, when your schedule is clear?
I walk around barefoot

What did you do on your last day off?
I sat on my balcony listening to Philip Shepherd

What’s your greatest ambition?
To be at more sound checks 

Do you have any phobias?
Big birds, reptiles

Who do you most admire?

Children

What would you most like to change about the world?
You can’t change the world, but I would like everyone to be more excited about feeling their stuff, including the scary emotions

What would you most like to change about yourself?
My over analytical mind can be a pain, but it is getting quieter

Have you ever pretended to be someone else in the mirror?
Stevie Nicks

If you could do anything without fear of repercussion, what would you do?
Truth serum in the water maybe

Describe yourself in three words…
enthusiastic, kind, adaptable, curious

Favourite song?
ATM- this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbqMT9SIzK0

Favourite colour?
Blue

The perfect night out?
In

Having said that, on the dancefloor if the musics good

The funniest person you know?
My dog Hobson was the funniest creature I’ve ever known 

One thing you can’t live without?

Hobson :(

But here I am, so, maybe... introspection

Obviously the correct answer is 'breath' but thats a cliche maybe

Favourite thing to eat?
Plants

Least favourite thing to eat?
Piggies

What was your first job?
Washing the neighbours cars

The best advice you’ve ever been given?
You are the universe

Why are you a photographer?
Because it’s something I’m good at, it’s something I love to do and it helps the world to be more beautiful.

Who or what inspires you?
Anything nick cave says or does is pretty amazing

What drives your creativity?

I live in a very powerful creative environment. There are so many wonderfully clever people that inspire me. I am learning and trying to spend more time with these people in person

Who do you consider to be the true creatives in the world?
People that are investing in their own emotional intelligence, and then trying to make good art. I think all women are creative, our bodies are geared for creation every month. I do think Kanye and Rick Rubin are all kinds of amazing, they are my modern day Howard Roark's 

Who’s the most loving person you know?
Patricia Piccinini