Author: Visit Cranleigh

From the moment I left school, I’ve always enjoyed working. Over the years I’ve had a few factory jobs, but looking back, I found it difficult to conform. At the time, I had no idea that ADHD was the reason why. I just knew that repetitive indoor work wasn’t for me.

From around the age of 12, my brother and I spent many happy hours helping out on a local farm, and I would often lend a hand to my cousin with gardening jobs. Looking back, those were some of the happiest times of my childhood.

I was lucky that my school offered gardening lessons. While most pupils were probably relieved to get back indoors afterwards, I was often sitting in other lessons wishing I was back outside in the garden. My attention span was notoriously short, unless I was doing something I genuinely enjoyed. Gardening seemed to be one of the few things that could hold my full attention for hours.

After leaving the factory environment behind, I found work with a landscape gardener and my love of working outdoors was reignited. It didn’t take long before I decided to set up on my own, and there was no feeling quite like being your own boss. That was more than 35 years ago.

Around the same time, I picked up a camera again and rediscovered another passion. I completed a photography course with a London photographer and quickly became hooked. Wedding photography wasn’t something I had planned on doing, but when someone asked me to photograph their wedding, I agreed. I only charged them for the film and prints.

When they saw the finished photographs, they were delighted. They recommended me to friends, who recommended me to more friends, and before I knew it, my wedding photography business had been born.

I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have built careers around two things I genuinely love doing. These days I combine the two whenever I can, although photography has become more of a hobby than a profession.

One thing that hasn’t changed is that I’m not very good at sitting still. Having to take ten days off recently because of inflamed joints in my back has been a real challenge. Anyone who knows me will know that keeping me still for that long is no easy task.

Still, I’ve managed to get out with the camera when I’ve been able, and here are a few photographs from the past few days.

Many of my photographs begin quite by accident (apart from portraits or weddings of course). I might be driving down a familiar road when something catches the light in a way I’ve never noticed before, or I could be at work and spot a flower or plant quietly standing out amongst its surroundings.

Sometimes the best moments happen when I’m not even looking for them. Sitting indoors, gazing out of the window, watching a sunset fade into evening or the moon rise over the horizon. Those simple, everyday scenes often remind me just how much beauty there is in the ordinary.

Over the years, I’ve realised that photography isn’t always about chasing dramatic landscapes or rare events. More often, it’s about noticing the small moments that make up everyday life and preserving them before they become memories.

Two local gardening jobs completed on Friday. It was great to have a dry day at last. I enjoy working on my own because it gives my ADHD brain free rein — trimming a hedge while simultaneously planning next week’s jobs, remembering something from 15 years ago, wondering what’s for dinner, and solving the world’s problems. Never a dull moment!
The best part was when I asked the client if I could photograph her garden she said, “of course you can, it’s as much your garden as it is mine”

Growing Gardens, Capturing Moments, Navigating ADHD