“I try to keep in shape, but I don’t worry what people think”
“The papers will be picking on someone else tomorrow…”
These quotes could have been taken from the recent Rooney v Vardy court case, but are actually from a 2006 interview with Coleen (then McLoughlin) for UK CosmoGirl with accompanying photography by me.
After shooting the cover I was given five minutes to create a completely different look for the inside pages. Thankfully Coleen loved the dress the stylist had chosen, and although it was too big for her tiny frame she seized the moment, gathered the ruffles and stole the show. Allowing me just enough time to shoot a couple of rolls of film before she dashed to her next appointment.
Thank you Coleen. This still remains one of my favourite celebrity portrait sittings.
To see more portrait photography by me please click here.
This picture is part of a fashion editorial I shot on Wimbledon Common last spring. I grew up near the Common and still walk my dog there most mornings. Throughout the summer I watched the drought change lush greenery into a parched dry landscape and the pond to a small watering hole, as 2022 turned into the hottest year on record.
This year is predicted to be even hotter and Extinction Rebellion are joining with other organisations, movements and individuals in The Big One A super-sized peaceful protest (no glue or padlocks) demanding our government act now in tackling the climate emergency.
Meanwhile here is the rest of the fashion story. Ironically we used Photoshop to change the lush greenery to look more like the last days of summer. I don’t know if there are any fish in Rushmere pond. Ours was from Waitrose.
talent – Chloe Webb, fashion director – Amanda Marcantonio assisted by Corin Ripley, hair & makeup artist – Sally Kvalheim, digital operator – Julie Stewart, photo assistant – Sujata Setia, producer – Karina Dial at Hearst, with thanks to Angela Evans-Hill from the Wimbledon Ranger’s office.
Happy new year everyone. Many thanks again for your continued support, and to all the talented and generous teams I had the good fortune to work with throughout 2022.
I wish you all a happy, healthy and inspiring new year.
Love Wendy x
Here is a snapshot of last year’s highlights as chosen by Instagram’s #bestnine Click links for stories and team credits.
Artist Jemima Brown recently published Peace Camp, a new book showcasing her unique and fascinating figurines, and to mark the 40th Anniversary of the Women’s Peace Camp at Greenham Common.
Her mixed media sculptures have extraordinary life-like features and expressions. They sit atop vintage Thermos flasks and Campingaz lamps, dressed in individually crafted hand knits and protest t-shirts emblazoned with tiny CND badges.
Last year I documented the Greenham Womenanniversary march – 110 miles from Cardiff to Greenham Common. This is me at the end of day #8. I think there are definitely some similarities with Jemima Brown’s sleeping figurines!
Unfortunately our right to peaceful protest is still under threat as our Government tries to force through another bill, this despite the fact that the public and the House of Lords rejected their last attempts. To stop the bill, please take a look at the Greenpeace petition here.
The Power of Women charity uses creativity to champion equality and diversity of women and girls, culminating in their annual arts festival to celebrate International Women’s Day. The art auction and exhibition has been created to help raise funds to support POW‘s charitable work, notably the continuing issue of violence against women.
“Artists featured in this auction include internationally renowned artists, students and recent graduates, and people who create for their own enjoyment including young people. Everyone can create art!“
The 40 artworks up for auction can be viewed online here, or in person at the Hotel Michele exhibition space in Margate. Bidding opens online from next Wednesday 16th November.
Always a pleasure working with the fabulous Lisa Snowdon. #Masterchef Winner #Menopause Ambassador #CoverGirl! Check out Lisa’s Get Lifted podcast here
“The fast fashion, I think there’s some brands who are too fast and it’s not good for the planet, because it wastes like a lot of product and material. We need a more slow fashion. The Grey Dress – was really nice, I like the Grey Dress, was very pretty, and I styled it in my own way.”Sabrina Da Silva represented by Models1
The Story of the Grey Dress is an ongoing project exploring our relationship with clothing. This little charity shop find worn again, and again, proving longevity in our purchasing choice matters. But who made this dress? Who made the fabric? And at what cost to the planet?
If you would like to get involved in this project, or think you would like to be photographed in the Grey Dress, please message me via the contact page on my site : https://www.wendycarrig.co.uk
All the winners from the 18th Julia Margaret Cameron awards are featured in this month’s Fotonostrum magazine.
I was absolutely delighted to have my work chosen and be announced as the winner in three categories.
Huge thanks again to the judges for making their selections, and also to the talented team involved in the fashion image, and to Kate Morrissey and her son for their generosity of time whilst I created the documentary image.
If you were unable to attend the Awards party this is another great opportunity to see the work in real life. Or as an art director friend once said to me at a previous Awards event “…I’ve just seen the exhibition and was surprised at how much better the pictures looked in print than on my screen.” Now there’s a novel idea… ; )
I’m very pleased to have these two images included in the show :
t-shirt by Katharine Hamnett for CHOOSE LOVE supporting refugees and displaced people globallyPeace and Love t-shirt by Bella Freud for WAR CHILD “We will never give up on children living through conflict”Save the Rainforest by Vivienne Westwood for Cool Earth Protecting endangered rainforest to combat global warming, protect ecosystems and providing employment for local people.NO WAR t-shirt by CND the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Working to peacefully rid the world of nuclear weaponsLOVE by Katharine Hamnett
Many thanks to them and this talented and generous team :
Style : Wendy Rigg Hair Artist : Jo McKenna Makeup Artist : Firyal Arneil Digital Operator : Julie Stewart Photo Assistant : Sophie Phillips Behind-the-Scenes photography : Hadas Eldar Location : with special thanks to Sarah Hogan for hosting our photoshoot at her High Trees Modern House, and Julia Kennedy for publishing this story in her No-Reply magazine. Photography by me, Wendy Carrig
Recently our government tried to take away our right to protest, but thousands of people and the House of Lords stood up to them and won! Did you know our government is now trying to introduce another bill!
If you value your right to protest please sign this Greenpeace petition calling on the Home Secretary to “…drop proposals in the Public Order Bill that have already been rejected by the people and Parliament, and to put an end to all attempts to suppress the fundamental right to protest.”
With massive thanks to this top team : fashion model Chloe Webb, fashion director Amanda Marcantonio, fashion assistant Corin Ripley, makeup artist Sally Kvalheim, digital operator Julie Stewart, lighting assistant Sujata Setia, producer Karina Diall at Hearst magazines, and Angela Evans-Hill at the Wimbledon Common Ranger’s Office. With special thanks to Sujata Setia for all the wonderful behind-the-scenes photography.
SUMMER STARTS HERE! fashion photography by Wendy Carrig
This Thursday 30th June I will be giving a career talk to graduating photography students as part of the Starting Out conference at The Old Truman Brewery, London.
I will be talking about my career as a student photographer documenting the Peace Camp at Greenham Common, the benefits of working as an assistant photographer, and my work and current practice as a freelance photographer.
The conference is hosted by AOP X Free Range and as well as talks there are portfolio reviews (I will be reviewing portfolios on Saturday morning), and an opportunity to see all the graduate shows including the finalists and winners of the AOP Student Awards.
Starting Out continues until Sunday 3rd July 2022 and is FREE! You just need to register here to attend.
The Creative Life is a unique coaching platform for freelance creatives founded by Sheryl Garratt, previous editor of The Face and The Observer magazines.
Do you have a tip, tool, talk, book or other resource to share with us? Something you go back to again and again, or wouldn’t be without in your creative life.
BOOKS – I love a pocketbook crammed with info that you can just pick up and read a random page to get a quick inspo fix. My current three are :
Think Like an Artist by Will Gompertz – genius tips gleaned from genius creatives.
For a longer read I will go to Annie Leibovitz‘s excellent At Work.
TALK – This inspiring interview with photographer Stephen Shore X David Campany, recorded in 2019 at PhotoLondon, describes Shore’s photographic practice taking us on a journey of his photographic life through choice of cameras and film.
TOOL – Pen & paper. For creating mind maps – paper has to be at least A3 for my large handwriting. I also complete the morning pages exercise from Julia Cameron‘s The Artist’s Way. Both processes help me brainstorm ideas and problem solve.
TIP – Wear a jacket with four front pockets and keep the same four essential items, keys, phone, money etc. in each pocket. This is a good check list for leaving home, especially at short notice!
We all need a support network. What’s the most valuable group, forum or organisation you belong to.
I am proud to be a founding member of f22 – women photographers at the Association of Photographers. The group was formed in 2019 as a reaction to the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements that swept through the film industry, when we realised that the photographic industry also has historic gender imbalance and discrimination. Our aim is to increase the visibility of women photographers and encourage best practice at all levels from student to accreditation. We hold talks, workshops, group exhibitions, and next year we will be launching an international Photography competition for female identifying photographers.
Who or what inspires you?
People never cease to inspire. Their personal style and own unique story, and the unexpected way they can react to a situation. I love the element of surprise that a new face, or space, presents and how this can be explored to greater depths by the most important and inspiring element of all, light.
What’s the biggest challenge in your creative life, right now?
Over the past eighteen months maintaining visibility has been a challenge. With difficulties of meeting in real life there has been more demand for posting to online platforms so we don’t just ‘disappear’. I personally love Instagram, and I think it is a genius tool especially for visuals, but it is easy to become a slave to the swipe. As a photographer I really want people to appreciate my work in real life. I want them to hold my portfolio in their hands, to feel the quality of the paper that my work is printed on, and to appreciate the beauty of handcrafted prints on a gallery wall. To that end I have started creating and sending out postcards of my photography in the hope that viewers may linger longer. It feels there is definitely a place aside from screens for this type of tactile marketing.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out as a freelance photographer – or indeed as a creative of any kind?
Practice your practice. Whatever it is you do, do it as often as you can. For photographers make sure you are shooting something everyday, even if it’s on your phone. Look at your work over a period of time and you will start to make connections and create stories and see your style, your unique way of storytelling come to the fore. I have an ongoing project that I started in lockdown. I was desperate to create yet didn’t feel comfortable about taking my SLR onto the streets and so I started shooting on an old iPhone. I rediscovered a more simplistic way of creating and I like the naive quality of the images. The disciplines I learnt from this process have already begun feeding into my professional practice.
So learn your trade, be really good at what you do, but push creative boundaries and always challenge yourself. Tick the required box then go that one step further to get a different result. You may be surprised at what you can achieve. There is always more!
This Q&A interview with Sheryl Garratt was featured on The Creative Life last November 2021.
Click here to find out more about The Creative Life.
I am delighted to discover that I have also won both the Documentary and Landscape categories in this years Julia Margaret Cameron awards! Again, my complete and sincere thanks to the JMC judging panelfor selecting my work, which I hope will help to highlight some of the issues illustrated below :
WINNER DOCUMENTARY SINGLE :
This is Kate Morrissey who received a custodial sentence as a result of her heroin addiction. She is now an NHS manager, and leads campaigns to bring about reform of the criminal justice system. See her moving and inspiring TED talk “Do we truly believe in rehabilitation?”
WINNER LANDSCAPE SERIES :
‘More Wallander than Broadchurch, this small seaside hamlet sits between vast wastelands and the Channel. A singular ribbon of mid-century houses, with strange street furniture and incongruous planting, standing in exposed isolation at the Edge of England’. A series from my project Urban Palms.
HONORABLE MENTION DOCUMENTARY SERIES :
These images were taken last year on the road from Cardiff to Greenham Common. I documented a reenactment of the nine day 110 mile protest march that started the Greenham Women’s Peace Camp – the largest female-led protest since suffrage. To find out more about this initiative please take a look at the work by activist group Greenham Women Everywhere, or check out my previous blog post on this event here.
Massive congratulations to all the other winners and finalists in this year’s JMC awards.
I have just been announced as a winner in the 18th Julia Margaret Cameron awards. This is hugely exciting and I am very grateful to the judging panel.
WENDY CARRIG | WINNER | ADVERTISING & FASHION | SINGLE
The JMC awards, an international photography competition for women photographers, take their name from one of the most important and innovative photographers of the 19th century Julia Margaret Cameron recognising her pioneering contribution to photography.
With the recent demise of the ‘traditional’ glossy magazine, I am grateful for independent publications like RakesProgress, and photography awards such as the JMC, as important spaces for photographers and other creatives to showcase personal projects.
Many thanks again for taking the time to look and read.
Big thanks to party hostess Manon Molenaar at Models1. Florals & ruffles styled for GH by fashion directorAmanda Marcantonio, assisted by Corin Ripley. Afternoon tea and party games were styled by interior stylistMichelle Lester. Perfect party makeup & hair by Ian McIntosh at Arlington Talent. Many thanks also to my Photo assistant Julie Stewart, and digital operator Mr.Mark Griffiths. We photographed at beautiful Stonewall Park through JJ Locations, and our shoot was produced by Karina Dial at Hearst.
I am extremely honored to have this project selected by the judges – Jennie Ricketts trustee at Autograph Gallery and the Martin Parr Foundation, and Isabelle Von Ribbentrop the Executive Director of the Prix Pictet.
The Greenham Women’s Peace Camp was the largest female-led protest since suffrage, and led to the international ban of Cruise missiles. But this extraordinary event has largely been written out of history. Last year the activist group Greenham Women Everywhere recreated the protest march from Cardiff to Newbury [that started the Peace Camp] to once again highlight the achievements of these remarkable women.
It was an honor to walk alongside and document this new protest march from Cardiff to Greenham Common. Below is a series of 15 selected works, from this extensive project, that have been shortlisted for the 37th Association of Photographers(AOP)Awards.
Walking for 110 miles over nine days, the pain of polluted roads and thunderous traffic was accompanied by camaraderie and song.
Original Greenham Women shared inspiring, and sometimes terrifying stories, of their time spent at the peace camp, with a new generation of impassioned activists.
Their aim, to highlight the urgent crises of the climate emergency, nuclear weapons escalation, daily violence against women, extreme hunger, and social inequality, could not be more timely.
Having my work chosen for this category, in a genre I am not generally known for, really means a lot to me. I hope that my photography will help highlight the important work initiated by Greenham Women Everywhere.
Many thanks again to the creative teams : Art Director – Jo Bell, Styling – Sophie Kenningham, Hair & Makeup – Helen Walsh and Dina Catchpole, Models Dayane Gomes and Kate Orr, and special thanks Perfect Bound Magazine.
Many thanks to The Times for featuring one of my images from the Greenham Women 110 mile protest march.
Bringing together original Greenham Women with a new generation of activists. “Walking in the footsteps of our foremothers to highlight the multi crises of the climate emergency, nuclear weapons escalation, extreme hunger, social inequality, daily violence against women, and more.”
A series of this work has been chosen as a finalist in the 37th AOP photography awards.
Wendy Carrig 