This was my decade - what are your memories?

Ten years ago, I couldn’t have - in my wildest dreams - imagined what was to befall me. It really was a decade of the most extreme highs and lows that could be written into the plot of any film, let alone real life.

I’m not one to hide the hard parts of my life, or post a picture perfect fallacy on social media. I am what you see – a heart on my sleeve kind of girl – and I believe that serves me well in life and in work.

That being said, seeing the reality of life can sometimes be too much for people, and I respect that, but I’ve always believed by being open and honest about the good and the bad, I am helping myself and others who are going through similar experiences.

In 2010 I got engaged and married the love of my life 6 months later. My husband has continued to be my best friend, absolute rock, an incredible father, and a protector and provider for our family (in a very modern, non-stone-age sense).

We went on a 7-month honeymoon in 2010-11. Travelling around the world on a budget (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, Fiji, Australia, Bali, Malasia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and China – gosh it was exhausting). Sharing hostal rooms with 6 or 8 other people, sleeping on night buses, and enjoying the kiwi-experience with young adults who were the antithesis of a married couple – and had the absolute time of our lives.

In 2011 we bought our first house and fell pregnant with our first child.

This was also the year I became a “real photographer” and photographed my first wedding

My husband often used to joke that I had a check list for “life” and whenever some life event happened, he would say to me “tick”. He said “tick a lot in 2011. It was a great year.

In 2012 our fist son was born. That must have been one of the most incredible and scary moments of my life. Through everything he has brought us love and joy. I still scroll through the album of photos from that first year with all the milestones, from our professional photos still mounted on the wall, to first time he smiled, rolled, ate, sat, swam, crawled, cruised… The development of a young baby is like nothing you could imagine before becoming a parent.

I’m honestly stuck for what happened in 2013? I think we just settled into family life, spent time with our son and local friends from Hertford and Ware.

2014 is the year that my life was split into the before and after. I was ecstatic when I fell pregnant with our second son, and 6 months later my entire world was torn apart when he died during premature labour. 5 years on, I surprise myself that I tend to function as a normal human being on a day to day basis, because back then, for the first few years, I was broken… not a bit sad or depressed, but a broken person and I will never ever get over the loss of our second born son.

2015 was pretty much a blur – alongside me somehow functioning through the fog, our living son experienced the most horrendous year at pre-school and nursery, resulting in him being referred to a paediatrician and the childhood development clinic for autism assessment… Anyone who has been through this process knows that it is slow, long and drawn out.

During all of this, I fell pregnant 3 more times, losing 2 pregnancies to miscarriage, and having weekly scans and visits to hospital in London to help me keep the 3rd. For some reason, we thought it would be sensible to throw buying a new house and moving into the process - 2015 was a stressful year.

2016 I gave birth to our 3rd son at 32 weeks – he was only 3lb 4 oz, and I spent the whole of February in the NICU and SCBU with him, and the next several months having him almost permanently attached to my body in a wrap. Ironically, I met 4 of my favourite people in the NICU and have loved spending the last 4 years watching our tiny babies grow into strong healthy children – wow what a blessing. My eldest son received his Autism diagnosis and moved schools, which finally relieved so much stress.

2017 and 18 – just work and family – things were finally starting to turn around and go well again – just normal life (all I ever wanted) – and then, bam!

2019 I found out I am BRCA2+ which is a genetic variant that puts my risk of certain types of cancer at an incredibly increased risk (around 75% for breast cancer) and suddenly I’ve been thrust back into surgeries and quite significant life choices… I’m now on a waiting list to have my “currently” healthy breasts removed – and you can bet I’m facing it head on and you’ll be seeing a photographic project around breast cancer in the near future.

I had my 15 faces of baby loss project printed in 2 local papers, including the front page of the Bishops Stortford Indy. I even managed to turn a very personal creative photography project on baby loss into a viral blog that has been posted, re-posted, written about in several countries and different languages, and am looking forward to seeing some of my photos published in book by a Canadian author in the coming year.

In life, I have lost and made friends during my ups and downs. In work, I have managed to build an incredible business that I love. I have photographed many families who have been through some of the same experiences I have. In fact, while my openness and honesty may be off-putting for some, I am so pleased that others have come to me because I understand and can relate and empathise.

I would love to hear about your decade… and wish everyone reading and every one of my customers a very special year and decade ahead with health, love and happiness… I will be celebrating my 40th birthday, and having surgery – wish me luck xxx

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12 Day Christmas Giveaway - Day 4

by Joanne Lewis • 4 December 2020

A picture of Santa and me...

12 Day Christmas Giveaway - Day 3

by Joanne Lewis • 3 December 2020

... Buy one, Get one Free*

12 Day Christmas Giveaway - Day 2

by Joanne Lewis • 2 December 2020

... a second print using the same photo for free*

12 Day Christmas Giveaway - Day 1

by Joanne Lewis • 1 December 2020

... a mounted print of a photo she's created for me*

Unbelievable Photography deals Black Friday 2020

by Joanne Lewis • 26 November 2020

I couldn't let Black Friday 2020 go by without some amazing deals for my wonderful and valued customers... I've missed you all so much this year, but have loved the few shoots I was able to squeeze in between lockdowns and Home Education. With all the optimism I can muster for next year (I am naturally a pretty positive person) I am offering some spectacular deals on vouchers for my Hertford Studio and outdoor or on-location sessions next year (packages may be given as gifts, but please confirm preferred locations around Hertfordshire and some parts of London, Cambridgeshire and Essex with me before booking).