Indie Spotlight: Tina (Briarah)

Each month, we’ll highlight one indie photographer whose body of work deserves special recognition. Please enjoy their photography here, and make it a point to enjoy the rest of their work on their website.

This month we’re featuring Tina (Briarah), from Albany,Australia.  We were especially drawn to Tina’s beautiful landscape and flower pictures.  Her vision is as varied as the continent she calls home.  You can check out some of her beautiful wildflower pictures here.

Tina is 41 years old, and until about 18 months ago, she was just one of those crazy relatives that always had a camera. Having no pictures of herself or her siblings growing up, she was determined not to let her daughters’, nieces’ and nephews’ milestones go undocumented.  She never gave any thought about things such as composition, lighting or “rule of thirds”.  She would just point and shoot, hoping for at least a passable picture that would capture that special moment in time. Her photographs were always adequate and acceptable to share with family and friends.

Then she had one of those life changing moments that made her see everything differently. She was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.  Life seemed pretty bleak and she was feeling quite miserable. While driving to work one morning, she was having distracted from her own little pity party by this amazing golden light shining through a tree.

Tina doesn’t have a style of photography as such, simply shooting what she sees, but she admits to having a passion for Western Australian wildflowers. Totally self taught, she would say getting off ‘auto’ mode and reading her camera’s manual was the best thing she could have done. But the most important thing she learned, was that even the most average of people can achieve the most extraordinary things.  All you have to do is believe in yourself!

The photo that started it all: