My passion for photography was first sparked during a time that I was receiving treatment for my mental health due to a negative experience at high school and trying to cope as best as I could. I presumed that my mental health would prevent me from going to university as it would always hold me back. In some ways, it has, in other ways, like my newfound passion, it has motivated and challenged me. When I left the hospital, the community psychiatric nurse suggested I learn new skills. Photography was one of them, so off I went to explore with my camera. At first, I could not understand how to change the shutter speed and the aperture, but after researching and hours spent practicing, I soon started to love being able to use a camera and show other people my view of the world and help me be more resilient.
During my Access to HE course, I have gained skills and confidence in my abilities through studying photography, film, and graphics where I am improving my skills using Photoshop and Lightroom. Alongside other digital applications related to film and graphics. I am gaining contextual knowledge of historical and contemporary photography, advertising and colour theory. This has led to practical analogue photographic processes and using colour theory to develop my photography. As this is a broad-based course, I have also been gaining skills in Lino Printing, which I applied in the darkroom, and hope to use screen printing and the laser cutter with my photography. Previous to the Access course, I studied an AS in Photography, I learnt how to use my creative skills within a personal project based on my passions of LGBTQ+ rights, more specifically transgender rights and how they are not fully understood by the cisgender heterosexual community. This required me to develop motivational, independence and problem-solving skills. Alongside learning about different creative processes this included typography, camera skills and darkroom. During this time, I volunteered to be a student representative where I would voice my peers' concerns about college improvements. This helped my confidence in building friendships across other courses on the campus, enabling me to trust people more easily again. I had a tough time at secondary school, I aimed to obtain all grade 6’s and 7’s. However, due to bullying issues and bereavement, I produced grades that I feel did not represent what I might otherwise have achieved. This experience then motivated me to take a year out of my studies to concentrate on myself, which led me to take part in the Prince’s Trust Team Programme. This course is based on improving your communication, teamwork, and interpersonal skills. During my time there, I volunteered in a support group for young people suffering from mental health issues and drug abuse. This gave me the transferrable skills to be able to develop my listening skills, to allow me to learn more about photography and working with others. My aim is to study Photography at university to learn further practical, industry, and contextual skills to make me a confident photographer. I hope to then study a PGCE to become a photography teacher. I want to be able to use my negative experiences at school and turn them into good for other students, where I will listen to all their concerns, worries and feelings, without them feeling like they cannot talk to anyone about it. I want to be that teacher that stands out in their minds when they are adults, the one teacher that made a difference in their lives. The one teacher that listened to them and helped them to become a better person in the future. Going to university will give me the opportunity to develop on my current technological skills within the field of photography and allow myself to become a widely recognised photographer which will then go on to influence future students with my own passion for the subject.
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