WOOHOO!!!!!!

Now this may seem like a fairly small thing, but it's hugely important to me and you'll see why...

Every month I read my favourite magazine in the whole world, Black & White Photography. Not only is it an excellent specialist publication, but one of the finest of any type of photographic magazines. It is always superbly presented and well-written and is great for anyone from beginners to life-long, professional photographers.

Ok, advert over. Why am I so excited? Well, this morning I recieved a pre-released version of this month's magazine - with my 'letter-of-the-month' in it, accompanied by one of my very first still life shots!I knew it was happening as I'd already been told by GMC Publications' editor, Elizabeth Roberts and I was sent a copy of a lovely book for my troubles! It was still a wonderful surprise in the post, though!

I will scan and post the page here, in the meantime, here is a copy of my email as it appears:

LETTER OF THE MONTH - Creative Shot in the Arm

As a huge fan of monochrome photography I have been an avid reader of your magazine for over two years now and every month I am inspired; howeverMarch's issue was especially welcome!
Due to a recurring long-term mental health problem my creativity hit a dry spell and my inability to get out and about much meant my photography became quite restricted. After reading about Andrew Sanderson's still lifes, however, I was motivated to have a go and have included the two best results. I was very pleased with them - especially as I planned, shot and post-processed both images in one afternoon! It's a whole new genre for me and one I intend to persue!
Thank you for the monthly creative 'shots in the arm' - I have just bought my copy of May's issue and have already read it cover to cover and am planning my first close-up nature shots (Assignment) and Lee Frost/Sense of Place-inspired coastal scene - we'll see how it goes!
Emma Newson by email

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Liz has also expressed an interest in publishing the whole set when it's finished, too!

#Doing the happy dance!#

So...I'm finally starting a blog. To be honest, I'm not sure who I'm writing this for. Me? Friends? God? My therapist? The fellow blogger who happens to pass by and stop? Who knows? I don't and I don't think it really matters to be honest. What counts is that I'm finally getting all this stuff out of my head and 'on to paper,' as t'were.

A good place to start might be a bit about myself. I won't go into too much detail at this stage. I mean, I don't know you and you don't know me and I can be a bit full-on, life-history-wise. Tip: Never ask me how I am unless you really, really want to know, because I will tell you. In detail, if necessary!

So...a quick summing up
At time of typing...34-yr-old, married, mostly-stay-at-home mum; blonde; pt-time cafe assistant; semi-pro actor and photographer with a long history of mental illness and a very serious addiction to milk chocolate. My pet hates are rudeness and spitting. My phobias are spiders and hypodermic needles. The most important things in my life are my husband and our 3-year-old son, my Christian faith, my parents and my friends. I enjoy photography and am currently exploring ways to both use it as a tool to praise God and share my faith AND trying to make it pay. Not easy!

That's probably enough for now. We'll get to know each other better as we go along and if you hang around here a bit you'll find out a lot, lot more, I'm sure. I have (like most people) a few secrets and skeletons on my closet, many foibles and much weirdness about me and when I open up, I really open up! The medication has a lot to answer for, too...

Welcome to Wonderland - stick around for the ride!

God bless,
Emma