Writing Articles

Our habit of photographing everything that moved, (and much of what didn’t), when we lived in Africa inspired me afresh years later. As we prepared to move house yet again I rediscovered boxes of forgotten photographs: but what could I do with them all? Write about them, of course, but how?

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I sorted through the neglected boxes and ruthlessly discarded any less than perfect prints of zebra, giraffe, baboons and lion cubs. A plan began…

Within one month, a real live editor was on the phone to me. To me! It was quite difficult to sound cool and professional because I was at the end of the garden, wearing thick gloves, gathering dog poo, when the hands free rang. (Wouldn’t it just!).

The magazine I’d approached liked my G for giraffe and wanted to see more of the proposed ‘Animal Alphabet’. What had I planned for q and x?

On the off chance that Animals & You magazine went for my idea, I had already compiled a list of A-Z, but ‘x’ was a tricky one! I could find the names of animals but not the airfare necessary to take my own photographs of them! With none to match the letter, I borrowed every possible library book, looked on the internet, asked friends who had travelled to exotic places if they had any good animal photographs, especially ‘exes’. (I’ll skip the comments of one, recently divorced, friend).

By now, not only my dining table, but also the dresser, sideboard and whole floor was wall-to-wall photographs, notes about each animal, book references and photo indexes. Still ‘x’ eluded me.

After preparing what I could, x still niggled at me, so, I rang a local small zoo. Bingo! The woman I spoke to, an extremely enthusiastic herpetologist, even knew of a local man who kept xenopus, an unusual type of frog. Back on the ‘phone, I made an appointment to meet the man with the frogs-my elusive ‘x file’.

My first photo-journal commission was sold, FBSR, (First British Serial Rights), only. Since then I have done several more photo features for several different magazines on a range of subjects and even been paid for reprints! It was a challenging, fun project that taught me a lot, and, most important, was enjoyed by the children who read the magazine! D C Thomson were helpful and supportive during the hair raising moments; like when slides came back from the photo lab late and incorrectly formatted, my printer died the day before a deadline, and, when I ran out of sticky labels needed to number and label each photograph. I continue to do special features for Animals & You, and, although we’ve never met, consider the editor to be a friend.

You don’t have to live on a game reserve or be a professional photographer to get good animal subjects. With my new, (but basic), digital camera, I have taken photographs of ducks, hedgehogs, tadpoles, dragonflies, sheep, cows, dogs and cats, landscapes, buildings and people. The more I take the more I learn, and with the digital camera, it’s so easy to delete pictures that aren’t what you’re looking for.

I once took portrait pictures of a Lord during my interview with him, for my own records, and they were used in a glossy magazine along with my copy. Not bad for someone who used to take more photographs of her own foot than anything else at family gatherings!

As with your writing, your photographs should be important to you, and be from an original perspective. If it’s a building you want to photograph, get up early when the light’s good, when there are no pedestrians or traffic. Look at postcards of the subject to assess it, then approach from a different angle, literally. If possible, visit the place at different times of day, in varying weather conditions, take as many photographs as you can, go down on your knees, lay on your front and look up at it, stand on a wall, include a tree, walker, animal or fence in the foreground, anything to make it stand out from the rest! Give it life.

Try to think of the photograph as an extension of your writing. Make it work with, and support, the text. Readers will see the photo before they read the text so grab them with your originality!

Know your camera. Explore your computer picture options in order to get the best from each snapshot.

As for the boxes in the attic: don’t throw old photographs away, they can earn their keep too! Pictures of family groups, landscapes, day-to-day life and the military can be revived with a little inspiration. Family history and nostalgia magazines are included in the comprehensive Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook list, but copyright laws must be respected. I interviewed a lovely gentleman who had served in the Royal Navy, and although he had several of his own photographs, there were many in his collection that ‘belonged’ to the Imperial War Museum. Don’t let that put you off though, staff in the photographic archives are very helpful and will advise on copyright and how to obtain permission, through a licence, to use such photographs. Be diligent!

Still not sure? If you’re anything like I was with cameras, take a photograph of your foot, then write something about it! In Africa there is a saying: the longest journey begins with one footstep.

Photojournalism is rewarding in every sense, and with patience we can all develop our own, unique style to complement our writing. With words and pictures together, we soon see how much progress we’ve made, and that we are able to present an editor with a complete, professional package.