Maria F

I have always liked looking at artwork and at photographs but never really thought I was a creative person. During school and college I strove for high academic achievement and ignored my creative side. I became interested in doing photography through my aunt. She retired as a teacher and took it up a few years ago in Kerry. She has some amazing landscape and portrait shots and I felt inspired to try it out. I had a lot of fun last summer when I was in Kerry. I did a short (4 day) course in Photography with a local group. We spent one night on the Great Blasket Island and woke before sunrise to take photographs. The light and scenery were stunning. I think taking photographs of people and of nature has made me appreciate the natural beauty surrounding us. It has helped my awareness and made me slow down. One needs to walk slowly to really see what is around. I am always searching for something beautiful/different to photograph and it has made me so grateful for all that I have in life. In the Autumn I love the golden colour’s of the leaves. Every season has its beauty and it is so wonderful to capture that beauty through a lens. I was fortunate to do a course in printing black and white photographs earlier this year and this means I can go to the darkroom to print my own photographs. It is very exciting and satisfying and certainly takes concentration - no room for obsessive food thoughts! I love going to the Botanic Gardens to take photographs of flowers and plants. I have taken part in 2 local exhibitions in Kerry and felt so proud to see my work on display. I have also met some really nice people through this group.
I think photography can be a big help in recovering from eating distress. It certainly brought out my creative side and I would recommend it to anybody else on the journey.

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