Photography is another art form I have always felt completely natural with. Years ago I turned my back on being an artist when I had my family and life caught up with me, meaning that the practicalities of life had to take charge. The one thing that always stayed with me however, was photography.

The first piece of advice my father gave me when my daughter was born, was always take pictures of her because if you don’t, those moments will be lost. At first I eagerly followed his advice simply because I enjoyed the art but after years of watching her grow up, exactly what he was referring to became evident. It’s amazing how time flies by without realising it. It’s only when we look back that we see how the people in our pictures have changed and moved on with their lives. It’s this fascination with capturing a moment in time that can be revisited over and over that draws me to photography, besides the art form it takes and the fact that I am a true creative regardless.

 I was recently asked, as an amateur photographer, to take the photographs at the christening of my close friends’ children. Here are a few of the pictures I turned into art pieces. I call them the Sienna Collection. The boy on the beach is my son when he was a child. It was taken by his grandmother and is one of my favourites. I love the mystique of the moment captured of him with his grandmother’s dog. I often ask what was going through his mind at that moment. They are random pieces that don’t relate to my writing, but are simply standalone pieces of art that give me great pleasure. 

Living in a village near Haworth, does have it’s influences, even if it’s hard to admit. Haworth produced some of the most influential writers of our time, the Bronte Sisters. That said, I didn’t become a writer just because I live in a place local to their place of birth. I was simply born that way. There is something special about the place though.

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Ironically, the first book I ever wrote was when I was at primary school. I found it the other day and couldn’t believe that I had actually managed to patch together a story line. I wrote it as a school project after visiting the Bronte Parsonage and then forgot about it. I was tasked with writing a book like the sisters used to write. They wrote tiny books, so my teacher asked the class to do the same. It’s still intact, cover by wallpaper and full of tiny illustrations. That was back in the days when I had my heart set on being an artist, rather than a writer. So perhaps that was the humble beginning to my writing career. My writing journey didn’t actually start until I was 38, but writing was always there in the background.

I am lucky enough to live just outside the hustle and bustle of the place that draws visitors from across the globe. We receive a lot of tourists from places like China and America, all looking for a little snippet of history. It’s not a large place, it’s just the main street and surrounding villages and moors, but its charm is magnetic. The local residents hold annual events, celebrating the past. The pictures I took below, are of the 1940′s weekend event where the whole main street is taken back in time. If you ever do turn up to one of these events however, I do suggest that you dress appropriately and get into the spirit of the event, unlike myself who didn’t read the circular and stumbled into the event by accident. It didn’t really matter, because a good time was had by all, but I know that it would have just finished the night off nicely.

I thought it would be nice to talk to you about Haworth, because it is a huge influence on me, after all I named my main character after the place. The street that has been frozen in time, its cobbled road and the rugged landscape that surrounds it are my stomping ground. No matter how far away I move in future, Haworth will always stay with me.

Please feel free to take a look at my photos and tell a friend about them. I would love to know what you think, so let me know, leave me a reply. Thank you for taking the time out to read my page and remember I came from humble beginnings. Why not have a go at putting pen to paper yourself today? Allow me to introduce Haworth, the birth place of the Bronte sisters.