Photography on the road

As I write this, I am parked up with a sea view. Coffee in hand, seagulls flying overhead. Last night, I fell asleep to the sounds of the ocean lapping against the shore. It’s the simple things that led me down this pathway. The joy of appreciating the little moments. Being able to navigate this life alongside my photography business is an incredible place to be. I never really saw it coming. I juggled my photography (first as a hobby – then a growing business) alongside a corporate day job for as long as I remember. Then at the start of 2022, myself and my wife made the decision to leave our jobs and our rented house for a life on the road. We got ourselves a Hymer Motorhome and began to navigate a new life in June that year. This was one of not only stripping life back to the bare essentials of what we needed, but looking at how I could now embrace my photography in a different way. Not only can we travel and document as we go, but as a business, I can say yes to more things. But yes to the right things. The things that fuel my passion for photography.

So here we are over 2 years later, living in a very different way to our past lives. We’ve barely scrapped the surface of travel in the UK! I’ve found the more we move around the more I need to stick to the coast. The pull of the sea is a big part of my life and my photography. It’s where my passion and inspiration really comes from. Creatively my juices are always flowing from one thing to the next and this has really helped me in an area of my ‘work life’ working with brands on lifestyle images. It’s an area I’d been working on over the last few years and it’s really become a huge part of my income. It’s even taken me outside of the UK, funding a trip to Turkey where I shot for 3 brands! (We left the van back at home for that one!) I’ve been working with some fantastic brands whose values really align with mine, and some I’ve built an incredible relationship with. Don’t get me wrong though, it hasn’t been easy. It’s been a time of learning more ‘business’ type skills, sending out countless emails, coming up with ideas to pitch to make me stand out from everyone else trying to create content online and social media.

Landscapes and seascapes may have always been where my passion lies but I’ve been very lucky to secure work covering a multitude of genres. As mentioned above, brand work has been incredible, but I’ve also shot weddings, events like festivals, portraits and I also have been privileged to run several workshops, getting to share my passions with other photographers. I’ve also spent the last 2 years being an ambassador for Fujifilm and this has led me to work alongside them in a very big way, representing them at events and shows. Its put me on stages, getting the opportunity to talk about my work. (Seems surreal for someone who used to have a fear of public speaking!) Its also sent me up to the Scottish highlands getting content for the X-T5 launch, which was just an amazing experience!

As I touched upon, another big part of what I do is workshops. I take people out into the landscape to help them develop their photography, from starting out and getting out of auto, to more experienced photographers and helping them push their craft even further. This has also led to the launch of my online underwater photography workshop. This began with a FREE webinar where I talk about my 5 favourite photos taken out in the water so anyone can give this a watch, anytime! Then leading onto my full workshop – which I’m incredibly proud of! ‘Under the Sea – Getting Started in Underwater Photography’ covers pretty much everything I’ve learnt over the last few years shooting out in the water – all covered in roughly just over 90 minutes! From what kit you need and how to look after it, to different approaches in the water, settings I use and tips around composition and creativity. This is now available online on the Fuji Academy platform, priced at just £99 and can be downloaded and watched at your leisure. It’s an absolute joy to share my passions with others and be able to help other photographers where I can. Community is really important to me and it feels like building this around photography makes perfect sense for me! I’m looking forward to extending this overseas from next year – so watch this space!

Work aside, being able to photograph the places, landscapes and the moments we experience is truly an incredible thing. Its helping me develop my portfolio and push my creative boundaries. My photography has come a long way since first picking up a camera all those years ago!

This time has been incredibly varied and life feels very exciting right now. Being on the road has helped me explore my photography even further and given me the confidence to push boundaries. When I have a quiet month, it can be easy for worry to set in, but I just remind myself how far I’ve come and it makes me excited for what’s still to come. More has happened in my life over this time than the past 10 years! So what’s next? Where will life take us? Where will my photography journey go next? I have so much in the pipeline, but also I’m open to new connections and experiences, so part of that I just don’t know – and that’s the most exciting part!

UNDER THE SEA – Getting Started in Underwater Photography
fujiacademy.co/emily-endean