Becky Demmen-Sewell of Time To Be Photography is the new Key Partner for Folk Features! Here, the photography for wellbeing advocate explains why it was a simple decision to make – and what readers can look forward to each month
Can you remind readers who you are and what you do?
I am Becky and I run Time To Be Photography. I help businesses rooted in their communities tell their stories through meaningful imagery. My main joy in my work is ensuring that people that need photos get ones that really reflect them and what they do. There is nothing better than someone getting in contact after a session and telling me they had a great time and that the image feels like them.
I help small business owners learn how to take their own images because I am passionate about teaching others the joy of photography, and I recognise that a photographer isn’t in the budget of every small business. I truly believe that everyone can have a go at photography and get some wonderful results.
I am also a creative facilitator, developing workshops, events, and experiences that delve into writing, photography, and expression, promoting mindful observation and slow creativity
We last featured you in September last year – how has everything been for you since then? Are you still busy creating meaningful images with community-rooted businesses?
Oh my gosh. I feel as though so much has changed, but the core of what I do has stayed consistent. I do still create meaningful images with community-rooted businesses. But I have done a lot more of the photography support sessions than I thought I would and not just with businesses but with other people that would love to give it a go but learn better in a one-to-one setting. I have worked with some of the most incredible businesses this county has to offer, and I have worked with some of them quite a few times over the last year or so and have seen how they have grown or changed themselves, it’s so fun to be part of the small business community. I feel like I have also grown and improved a lot as a photographer!
I have been lucky enough to be rewarded a Developing Your Creative Practice grant from Arts Council England. That is focused on both building my skills as a photographer and building my artistic practice outside of my work with clients. It has been so amazing to have time and space to explore what this could look like, and I am so excited to see how it continues to change alongside my business. I am currently working toward my first exhibition.
Thank you for coming forward as the new Key Partner for Folk Features! What shaped your decision?
For me it was such a simple decision. I am always looking for chances to join different communities and since chatting to you last time I have found Folk Features to be a really lovely and useful resource for getting information, learning about what is going on, but also just have something nice to read. I like that it has lots of different contributors all bringing something unique and it’s nice to have a cosy corner of the internet to retreat to! I am super happy to be contributing to that. Also, I am so happy at the idea of having a bit of time in the diary each month to write and this gives me the opportunity to do that.
What can readers expect from your columns each month? What sort of things are you hoping to share?
I am going to be sharing what photography has taught me that month. This could be something that my mindful photographic approach has helped me to notice, a photo walk I went on that bought me to a new location, or perhaps even what being a photographer has taught me about business. I am going to treat myself to a new notebook and just start noting down things as I go through the month and then shaping it. Photography is how I see and connect with the world around me. It’s such a rich art form and alongside it being my work, it’s also a hobby. It has taught me so much about noticing, being present and inviting the beauty of the world. I am excited to share my hobby with everyone and all it can do!
Where can people find out more about what you do – and are there any upcoming events you would like to mention?
I have an Instagram and a website and they are the best ways to keep up to date with everything I am doing and the services I offer.
I have a Mindful Photography workshop at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse in June. It is part of a series of seasonal workshops I am hosting there as an extension of an artistic residency I am doing there across a year. You can find out more on my website or head to eventbrite.co.uk to book.
Visit Time To Be and Seasonal Mindful Photography Workshops. Follow @timetobephotography) on Instagram.
Featured image of Becky Demmen-Sewell by Motherfolk Photography.
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