For Carolyn Kimber, a hobby flowered into the beginnings of a photographic career after she first met master photographer John Coxon in 2011. And it was enough to motivate her to complete her photographic studies at the Hunter Regional School of Photography in 2012 and pass her final exams with flying colours.
From the start, she was immersed in the local photography scene, whether it was hunting down props or assisting other photographers. “I often found myself watching Photoshop tutorials on my iPad late into the night,” she adds.
Primarily a portrait photographer, her inspiration doesn’t just come from people and she says that an interesting prop or an unusual location could almost as easily be the starting point for a portrait. Her most successful image, of a homeless man, for example, was inspired by a simple bowerbird nest.
In 2013, she put her photography skills to test by entering her first competition and was duly surprised to receive both a Gold with Distinction and a Silver at the AIPP National Awards. “I am determined this year is to prove to myself that this was not a one-off, and produce bigger and better things,” she says.
Ultimately, she aspires to become a master of photography like the Novocastrians that first inspired her to take up photography professionally. She has already opened her first studio in Charlestown in the Hunter Valley, focusing on portraits. But in the meantime, she enjoys sharing her photography with people around her. “There truly is no greater joy for me than capturing a moment that people will cherish forever,” she says.