When I left university I was a lost girl with no plans. I’d spent four years studying agricultural property and the only thing I knew was that it wasn’t going to be something I pursued. I ran away and spent the summer in South Africa, and I guess that was one of those impulse decisions that changed the course of my life. I didn’t know it at the time but looking back that first solo trip was the start of everything.

For two years I lived between SA and the UK. I established my own leather goods brand, Harper Supply Co and I was working in retail to pay for plane tickets and leather supplies. Through Harper Supply Co I learnt the importance of social media and photography in creating a brand.  To this day I am passionate about working with and buying from start ups, I love learning the story and inspiration behind different products and designs and seeing people create something from the heart.

When I was living in SA I would spend almost every evening at the beach, back then I had no idea how to use my camera but I would insist on driving my little death trap of a car to the mountains or to the ocean to take photos. I knew those coastal roads like the back of hand, I would drive too fast with my arm out out the window and the same CD playing every damn time. It was silly and repetitive but I was on top of the world.

That feeling hasn’t gone away for me, I’m never happier than when I am travelling. Being on the road is the reason I fell in love with photography, so landscapes and travel will always be an important part of my work. Those simple nights were everything to me, but back then I never once considered that I could make a living from what I was doing.

I returned to the UK and at first it was jarring; I missed the ocean and the sunsets and it felt like I had nothing to take photos of here. A couple of months in I packed my car and set off to see parts of the UK that I’d never been to before. The Scottish Highlands, Skye and The Jurassic Coast, to name just a few, these places changed my view of home and I realised how much I had been missing out on.

I spent a while learning how to use my camera, and when enquiries started to come in for work I had to make a decision between the brand and taking photos. I learnt so much from Harper Supply Co and I’d love to return to it one day, but for now my focus is solely on photography.

So far my work has given me the opportunity to travel and to fall in love with countries I never thought I would visit. I get to meet and work with incredible people and I feel very fortunate to be spending my days doing what I love.