Photography Workshops & Walks

I am pleased to announce new dates in January, February and early March 2020 for our popular photography workshops.

From our ‘learn the basic’ courses to our 1/2 day’s in Leeds and Malham, to the late night course in Leeds and the full day on the Yorkshire Coast – we have something to suit everyone.

We even offer 1-2-1 courses tailored to you.

We have something to suit everyone.

For further information and for details on how to book, please visit landscape photography walks 

Facing mental health

Facing mental health

I am currently undertaking a project which is very personal to me – it’s about mental health.

So many times, we get told that mental health doesn’t have a face.

I believe the opposite is true, mental health DOES have a face and I really want to show the face of mental health (i.e I want to photograph people who have – or have had mental health issues in the past).

Let’s not hide away anymore.

Luckily, we have started talking and sharing our stories – it’s a start, but it’s simply not enough. 

We need to get our faces out there, only by showing our faces in public can we get people to stop, look and think.

A photograph or image is said to be worth a thousand words – let’s hope it can be.

I’m hoping to get enough faces to be able to exhibit and tour and to show the public the real face of mental health.

Maybe, just maybe we can continue to show that there is no shame in mental health, only courage to be able to show and admit it.

Ok, so this is where you come in – starting initially in Yorkshire, I would like to photograph YOU, well your face to be precise. Mine will be the first picture taken.

All photographs will be taken with as near as the same conditions as possible with a plain background, one light and pretty much only your face/portrait in the shot.

These will be put on a website and ultimately printed out and exhibited.

You will need to be comfortable that your face may be seen by quite a few people in public and as such I would need to ask you to sign a “model release” that you are okay for your picture to be used in public. 

Also under your picture, will be your christian name and location (i.e Darren, Leeds)

So please think before you agree to volunteer – it’s a big commitment. 

I am not taking these shots as though they were “model shots” – I want the real you, thats the whole purpose.

If it is something you may be interested in, please either let me know on here or PM me on here. 

Alternatively you can email me at darrensandersonphotography@gmail.com.

The website will be shortly up and running under the name of www.facingmentalhealth.co.uk

Mental health – a personal journey

Apologies for the long delay – I will be back shortly about a personal project on mental health which I hope will travel and exhibit.

In the meantime, below is a copy of a speech I undertook last year to a group of people at Leeds city library and how it affected my journey into photography. 

Most of it you will be aware of, so if it sounds familiar – sorry.

“Firstly, thank you for coming along today to this inaugural men’s mental health event, thanks to all the other speakers, singers, entertainers and stall holders. Thank you to Leeds city museum for allowing us to hold the event here and above all, thanks to Lisa Bourne for organising this event and starting the ball rolling.

My name is Darren Sanderson and I am a professional photographer based in Rawdon and athough I specialise in landscape photography, I shoot headshots, events, portraits, weddings and everything in between.

I also run photography walks and workshops around the local area.

Some people think depression is trivial and not a genuine health condition. They’re wrong – it is a real illness with real symptoms. It is an illness just like any other, though because you cant see it and you cant put a plaster on it, nobody wants to talk about it, people are still embarrassed by it and that is something in this day and age that has to change.

Depression isn’t a sign of weakness or something you can “snap out of” by “pulling yourself together”.

We need to move away from that frankly ridiculous statement.

We need to get men talking, we all need to talk.

Photography is my passion, my life, my business and ultimately it turned my life around and without it (and the love and support of my family and friends) I very much doubt I would be here talking to you today.

Im not here to tell you what to do and how you can beat depression, I’m here to tell you my story.

Hopefully it will resonate with you and help you to open up and talk and get the help you need.

I have only recently been very open about Depression, my ‘invisible illness’ and the need to talk, it wasn’t always that way :

I think I knew something wasn’t quite right a few years ago, but like most, I just put it down to life, getting older and normal day to day stress. I didn’t talk to anybody about how I felt “everybody has their own problems, I won’t burden them”.

Anyway, I must be ok, everybody thinks i’m confident so I don’t really have any problems, do I ?. Like most who suffer with a mental illness, I am a damn good actor and can put on a front when required.

In the early 2000’s, I started suffering from an unknown stomach ailment, which resulted in spending countless hours in waiting rooms, having barium meals and colonoscopies to determine the problem. This diagnosis (Diverticulitis) took nearly 10 years. At that time Asthma and Diabetes were also diagnosed.

Surely this must be the reason why so many horrible thoughts were entering my head and why I felt hopeless, helpless, useless ?.

Nope.

Nothing had changed, what was wrong with me, why do I feel like I do ?

The sensible thing was to talk to somebody, my GP, anybody. Like most who suffer, I decided to do the manly thing and do nothing, let things fester inside and carry on feeling miserable. I didn’t want to bother anybody. We all have our own problems- sounds familiar doesn’t it ?

Things eventually came to a head when I couldn’t go into work and I was ill with one thing or another. I couldn’t put a finger on why. I got on with the people there, so nothing made sense. I was sat in disciplinary meetings, with 2 managers sat making notes and treating you like a child, without once trying to find out what was really wrong with me. At the time, when I needed the help most, ridiculous pressure was put on me, my doctors were contacted behind my back, threats were made against my position and I was made to feel like a pariah among my peers. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t the easiest to get along with at that time, but I had gone from been happy go lucky to completely insular. That was the time when I needed to talk off the record, but there was no one to turn to. Any talking would have to be with 2 managers and one of them making constant notes. The easiest thing in the world was for them to force me out and move on. Like the majority of companies, I don’t feel they were very well trained to deal with mental illness and depression in particular. I believe that there is a lot more that companies can do to help, there is surely a moral obligation to look after their employees and stop putting undue pressure on them with a tick box exercise. Look at the underlying problems.

At this time, I was forced into a corner, a place where I didn’t want to be, where I had no choice but to visit my GP. I didn’t look her in the eye (I didn’t look anybody in the eye at that time). A dam burst and everything came pouring out, I eventually looked up, she didn’t judge me, she listened, she talked to me over a long period of time, she referred me to specialists. From that point I saw my GP regular to talk (every 2 weeks), she cared, she wasn’t just doing her job and just going through the motions.

Once that initial conversation is done, it’s out there, you are not on your own, you can talk about it without fear. My head no longer felt it was about to burst.

I realised that it doesn’t make you weak if you talk about depression, it makes you stronger.

I likened my depression (and still do) to being stuck in a well where I just couldn’t climb out. On good days I would make good progress climbing up the well, on the bad days, I would slip down to the bottom once again. Now I’m at the point where I feel I have one leg over the side of the well on dry ground !

At last, the photography bit…

At the beginning of consultations with my doctor, she told me to get outside, don’t stay in and stare at four walls. “get fresh air, take a camera, just get outside”.

A lightbulb went off in my head.

I picked up a camera and went outside, just the back garden to start with, then the local park and then the local area. Hours flew by as I immersed myself in photography and read and learnt as much as I could about the weather, light, composition and everything that went with it.

One day, I spent six hours laying down in the mud waiting for a shot (I didn’t get the shot by the way), I spoke to my wife and said I wanted to do this for the rest of my life.

I have been doing this for 4 – 5 years now and been self-employed for 3 – 4 years. After many long and sleepless nights, I made the decision with my wife and family, that I couldn’t return to my previous employers.

I couldn’t put my family (or myself) under the pressure they had to endure for a long period of time. Life is too short to put yourself in a position which has ultimately led to you being ill. It makes no sense to do that to your self and those around you.

So, I resigned (the most liberating feeling I have had in my working life) and felt a huge weight lift. I had already set up a website and wanted to see if it was something I could do and make a living of.

Regardless of what a few people thought, I did not officially go into business until I had served my one month notice.

To me, Photography isn’t a job in the real sense of the word, its my way of life, something that gave me back my life and my health

Even though initially I classed myself as a landscape photographer, I realised that I had to take the next step and force myself to meet new people. This really moved my life forward and I have since gained the confidence to have exhibitions, stand in front of a group of people talking and to start taking people on workshops.

I love what I do and feel very lucky that I have a small modicum of talent with which has enabled to be happy and relaxed.

Talent isn’t the important event in my story, its the fact that I can get outside and each day I can see an improvement in what I do and who I am

The one thing which gives me enormous pleasure, is for somebody to purchase my work (be it a print, a card, a calendar or trust me enough to photograph their event or their family) .

No amount of money can give you that feeling of excitement (like a child at Christmas) when somebody appreciates your work. I go back 2/3 years and think how badly I was suffering at that time, but in a relatively short period of time, the confidence has come back and I truly believe that if I can beat this illness anyone can.

So how does photography help me and how can it help you ?

Photography slows you down and gives you time to think, it helps you concentrate. It gives you a chance to express your feelings and thoughts at that moment in time.

It can give you a feeling of purpose, that you are at one with nature and that you are not in the house alone staring at 4 walls thinking the worst. It really helped me to get out of the house, to get outside, to think and to just breathe fresh air. It gave me something else to think about and gave me a purpose.

Photography isn’t for everyone and it wont work for everybody, its not a magic pill.

Though, it might help you, just give it a try. If nothing else, it gets you outside and gets you into the fresh air. I cant pretend it will be easy and the first step could simply be you putting on your boots and getting to the door and opening it – its a small start, but a very important one.

If you want to get out and try photography but would prefer some company, you could try a photography workshop. I run these on a regular basis and they range from a basic taster session up to a bespoke 1-1 session. They are always based outside in the fresh air. I will be around for the rest of the day, so come and have a chat if you want further information or if you just want to talk.

Alternatively, join a local photography club. Leeds photography club are here today if you want to go chat to them and find out what they do.

While I still have occasional bouts of depression, they don’t normally last long and are now no longer debilitating and I know that the bad days don’t last as long. Don’t get me wrong, you are not “cured”, you just learn to deal with things on a different level, in a different way.

It all started to turn around for me when I opened up and talked to my GP. So please, talk to someone, anyone who will listen to you. It’s not as bad as you think and is so much better for you and your family.

A BBC television documentary which recently aired mind overmarathon,was very moving and humbling and I urge you to watch itif you get a chance.

Why, If so many of us are suffering, why don’t we talk, why do we hold things in and suffer in silence ?

You are NOT alone (I thought I was, but I really wasn’t)

There is no shame in talking about this illness, the only shame is that we don’t talk about it.

Only by working together can we defeat depression.

If there is just one thing you take from today, please talk and listen to one another – its the most important thing you can do. It costs nothing, just your time.

You too could save a life.

I cant think of anything more important.

Thanks for listening”.

darren sanderson photography

Jacob, Lucy (P&B) madness, brokeback & breakdowns

What do you get if you cross these two lovely people

 

 

 

 

 

With a photographer ?

(this one below, for example)

and a week long community festival  ?

 

A couple of broken hard drives and 150+ hours later, you get this (it’s not a pleasant sight !)

Sorry for the delay between posts, but I have been a little busy.  It has been manic for the last month, the first ten days of which were spent documenting Codswallop’s Tales Told festival 2017.

This is a series of events run by a young couple, Jacob and Lucy Phillips (both just 22 years of age !). Lucy doesn’t look 22, Jacob … well … anyway, moving on.

I was delighted to be asked to photograph and document the first ever Tales Told event back in 2016 and I was equally as pleased to be involved this time around. It really is an honour to be in at the beginning of this great new community venture with such a fantastic bunch of people.

It takes an incredible amount of work by all concerned, with a large number of volunteers and friends and family working hard in the background to bring the numerous events to life.

I’m not going into much detail about the events as there is much more information to be had on the Codswallop link above. (Codswallop is the brainchild of Jacob, and Lucy).

What these guys do for the local community is incredible.

Very simply, they bring communities together. Communities, which over time, fracture and splinter while everyone gets on with their own lives – we all get on with our lives and a few years down the line, you don’t see your friends (or just as importantly, make new ones).

Life is busy, but are we really all that busy that we can’t  actually LIVE life ?

Surely we can spare a few hours to remember what life is/should be about. Life should not just be to make it through each day, desperately trying to get to the weekend.

To really live life to the full, you need to share your time with family, with strangers, with friends. The relatively short time we have on this little planet should not all be about working and how big your bank balance is by the time you retire.

Where am I going with this ?

Well, if a couple of my friends just starting out in their lives together, can bring so much fun, laughter and enjoyment to complete strangers, then why can’t the rest of us ?

The good news is that after watching all the ‘madness’ unfold over the last 10 days or so, something is happening, there is a real sense of togetherness and of a community returning to life.

Get involved, be part of the community. It doesn’t matter about your religion, your race, your sexuality or if you are young or old, we are all one and the same.

Love, warmth, friendship, respect, togetherness, honesty, laughter, smiles, fun are just a few words to describe what (the madness in) Jacob and Lucy’s minds are bringing to others.

As part of the festival, I ran a couple of workshops and yet again, met some new friends and had a really enjoyable time, showing people just a small part of the area we live in. Plus, I also had the chance to share my passion of photography.

More about the workshops in a future blog.

Put your phones down and engage in a large scale tug of war – so much more fun !

As for the title of this blog, for Jacob, Lucy, madness and breakdowns – see above. Lucy (B) does an incredible amount of work behind the scenes and is a director of Codswallop – she is mad as a box of frogs (and a lovely person) so she fits in nicely.

Brokeback ?

(I give you Mr Matthew Gill in a relaxed pose)

 

Jacob and Lucy, you did this, you made it happen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photography in the community

Anybody want to talk politics ?

No, me neither.

After a heartbreaking 3 weeks (where terrorists try to divide us and ultimately fail), I’d much rather talk about community and where I believe photography fits in and can help.

Most people see photography as an individualistic hobby or career, where we prefer the company of ourselves to others. Whilst thats also partly true, thats really not the whole story.

When I started off down this particular path, it appealed to me as I could be on my own with my own thoughts, not caring about the passing of time. All I wanted to do was spend time watching the world go by, photographing it and not really wanting to be part of it.

Whilst I love landscape photography and it really is my passion and a huge part of my life, I realised after quite a while that you need to be with and around other people (I’m not including family in any of this, as they are there for you, whatever the circumstances).

One of the biggest turning points in my career and life, was when Jennifer from Aireborough Voice contacted me to say she had liked one of my pictures and would I like to help the group. Somebody outside my family and friends had liked a picture I had taken, a real confidence boost (especially with the battle with depression that was still on-going in my head).

Jennifer is a wonderful person, who I have all the time in the world for. She gave me the confidence I had been severely lacking and that maybe (just maybe) this career path would work.

She opened my eyes to Aireborough and it’s people, my people, my friends.

So where does community come in to this ?

Aireborough is a beautiful place, in a wonderful part of the world.

However, the real beauty is the people that live here and that make the place special and make it what it is. The community spirit really brings the place together.

I initially thought that photographing the area was enough. It didn’t take long to realise that we needed more than just ‘pretty’ pictures of the area. The idea was then to start photographing the people and the community. We needed to capture the character of Aireborough.

Talking to people (something I found very hard to do), really does explain (to me) what the area means to them, why is it special and ultimately why do they choose to live and die here.

As an example, I wasn’t aware that taking a photograph of the Elephant Trees, would provide such talk, such memories. It’s just a bunch of trees I thought ?.  How wrong could I be.

People get engaged there, people have their ashes scattered there and it’s a sign of ‘home’ for a lot of people.

I have met some fantastic and very passionate people. Above all, the one thing that screams out at you is ‘community’. The selfless act of wanting to help one another makes you incredibly proud and really makes you think.

We now have a well attended and well respected Remembrance Parade service each year. Where once numbers of attendees had dwindled to a handful, now there is hardly a space for people to stand – it’s now getting back into the local papers.

There I met real heroes, George (a young 90 year old) and Ernest (102 ?) through to Elsie Turner, the unsung hero of the Guiseley branch of the British Legion.

George and Ernest (pin ups in my Aireborough calendar) served their community over the years and are fantastic people. Please talk to and listen to what they have to say. Buy them a pint and sit and chat with them – you will learn something.

Helping ‘glue’ all this together is the fantastic David Pickett (and his wonderful team and family). He is (an honorary Yorkshireman) who gets the place and is a beacon of hope and good in the community.

The Guiseley street party is growing year on year and is another fantastic community event (the amount of work by the volunteers in the background is quite incredible).

Jacob and Lucy Phillips (of Codswallop, previously JP Productions), fantastic people (with a fantastic family working hard in the background) who through their love of dance, music and art are helping create a vibrant addition to the Aireborough calendar with the Tales Told festivals, celebrating all that is good about Aireborough.

This is to name just a few people I have met and I have come to love and respect. It is impossible to thank you all by name, but I appreciate each and everyone one of you for what you do for community.

Where do I fit in this picture ?

Very simply, I (and many others) document Aireborough for the community and for future generations to look back on and fondly remember.

It gets people talking, it reminds people that the most important thing is to get out, have fun and just be yourselves. Meet new people, we have a lot in common.

I am very proud and honoured to photograph the Parades, the British Legion, the local events. I love the reaction people have to my photographs.

Now more than ever, communities need, no MUST come together. it’s time we stopped living apart and start living together – regardless of colour, religion, age etc, we all have one thing in common. We are all part of one race, the human race.

Whilst I appreciate, the world isn’t always like that, wouldn’t it be nice for us all to be children again, where we play together, we grow and learn together and we don’t see colours or different languages, we see friends and new experiences.

It’s strange, but I thought I was a landscape photographer and that was it.  The people of Aireborough convinced me that there is more to photographythan that. There is a need to document the area.

I love photographing people (young and old) and it’s a real pleasure for somebody to ask me (and trust me) to document their event (community or family).

Recent thanks to Brian and Pauline for asking me to document their recent Golden Wedding (only finding out later that this was pretty much the only time the whole family can get together).

Stop taking selfies, turn your camera around and photograph the community. It’s a lot easier and I guarantee that more fun and laughter is  created through photographing others.

It doesn’t matter if the photograph is lit correctly, in focus or is badly composed – what matters is that the moment is documented and captured in time.

I do have the best job in the world – photographing beautiful landscapes and community.

Thank you all,

Till next time.

Depression & the positive impact of Photography on my life

Photography is my passion, my life, my business and ultimately it turned my life around and without it (and the love of my family and friends) would I be here today ?

Before I go any further, I would like to thank a young friend of mine and a true inspiration, Emma.

My story :

I have only recently been very open about Depression, my ‘invisible illness’ and the need to talk, it wasn’t always that way :

I think I knew something wasn’t quite right quite a few years ago, but like most, I just put it down to life, getting older and normal day to day stress. I didn’t talk to anybody about how I felt “everybody has their own problems, I won’t burden them”.

Anyway, I must be ok, everybody thinks i’m confident so I don’t really have any problems, do I ?.  Like most who suffer with a mental illness, I am a damn good actor and can put on a front when required.

In the early 2000’s, I started suffering from an unknown stomach ailment, which resulted in spending countless hours in waiting rooms, having barium meals and colonoscopies to determine the problem. This diagnosis (Diverticulitis) took nearly 10 years. At that time Asthma and Diabetes were also diagnosed.

Surely this must be the reason why so many horrible thoughts were entering my head and why I felt hopeless, helpless, useless ?.

Nope.

Nothing had changed, what was wrong with me, why do I feel like I do ?.

The sensible thing was to talk to somebody, my GP, anybody.  Like most who suffer, I decided to do nothing and carry on feeling miserable. I didn’t want to bother anybody.

Things came to a head with my then employers, first direct, who were putting undue pressure on me (though to be fair, some of it was deserved) and I believed were trying to force me out. Like a lot of companies, I don’t feel they were very well trained to deal with mental illness.

At this time, I was forced into a corner, a place where I didn’t want to be, where I had no choice but to visit my GP. I didn’t look her in the eye (I didn’t look anybody in the eye at that time). A dam burst and everything came pouring out, I eventually looked up, she didn’t judge me, she listened, she talked to me over a long period of time, she referred me to specialists. From that point I saw my GP regular to talk (every 2 weeks), she cared, she wasn’t just doing her job.

Once that initial conversation is done, it’s out there, you are not on your own, you can talk about it without fear. My head no longer felt it was about to burst.

It’s an illness like any other, though it’s one that that you can’t put a plaster on.

I liken my depression to being stuck in a well where I just couldn’t climb out. On good days I would make good progress up the inside of the well, on the bad days, I would slip down again. Now I’m at the point where I have one leg over the side of the well on dry ground !

If you got to this point, thanks for staying with me

At last, the photography bit.

At the beginning of consultations with my doctor, she told me to get outside, don’t stare at four walls. “get fresh air, take a camera, just get outside”.

A lightbulb went off in my head.

I picked up a camera and went outside, the back garden to start with, then the local park and then the local area. Hours flew by as I immersed myself in photography and read and learnt as much as I could about the weather, light, composition and everything that went with it.

One day, I spent six hours laying down in the mud waiting for a shot (I didn’t get the shot by the way), I spoke to my wife and said I wanted to do this for the rest of my life.

I have been doing this for 3 – 4 years now and been self-employed for 2 years. After many long and sleepless nights, I made the decision with my wife, that I couldn’t return to my previous employers.

I couldn’t put my family (or myself) under the pressure they had to endure for a long period of time. Life is too short to put yourself in a position which has ultimately led to you been ill. It makes no sense to do that to your self and those around you.

So, I resigned (the most liberating feeling I have had in my working life) and felt a huge weight lift. I had already set up a website and wanted to see if it was something I could do and make a living of. Regardless of what a few people thought, I did not officially go into business until I had served my one month notice.

I won’t lie, starting up on your own is not easy, it takes an immense amount of work (very little of it actually involving taking photographs) to start to make a living from it. It can be a very lonely profession, but I have my health and life back and I do like my own company.

Photography isn’t a job in the real sense of the word, its my way of life.

Even though initially I classed myself as a landscape photographer, I realised that I had to take the next step and force myself to meet new people. This really moved my life forward and I have since gained the confidence to have exhibitions, stand in front of a group of people and talk and to start taking photography workshops.

I love what I do and feel very lucky that I have a small modicum of talent with which has enabled to be happy and relaxed.

The one thing which gives me enormous pleasure, is for somebody to purchase my work (be it a print, a card, a calendar or trust me enough to photograph their event or their family) .

No amount of money can give you that feeling of excitement (like a child at Christmas) when somebody appreciates your work. I go back 2/3 years and think I was suffering badly at that time, but in a relatively short period of time, the confidence has come back and I truly believe that if I can beat this illness anyone can.

While I still have occasional bouts of depression, they don’t normally last long and are now no longer debilitating.

Don’t get me wrong, you are not “cured”, you just learn to deal with things on a different level, in a different way. I still get the occasional bad day – thats life, move on and move forward.

It all started to turn around for me when I opened up and talked to my GP. So please, talk to someone, anyone who will listen to you. It’s not as bad as you think and is so much better for you and your family.

A BBC television documentary which recently aired mind over marathon, was very moving and humbling and I urge you to watch it if you get a chance.

Why, If so many of us are suffering, why don’t we talk, why do we hold things in and suffer in silence ?

You are NOT alone (I thought I was, but I really wasn’t)

There is no shame in talking about this illness, the only shame is that we don’t talk about it.

Apologies for this very long first blog, but if it helps just one person open up and talk, then it will all have been worthwhile.

samaritans,

sane – mental health

darren sanderson photography