Since her father ignited her interest in photography with the gift of a camera as a young girl, Anna-Mair has always felt most comfortable with a camera in her hands. Taking pictures passionately of whatever scenery and people she came across.
During her gap year, a colleague suggested taking up photography professionally. This idea took hold and she began a two-year course in Advertising and Commercial Photography at college in London. The course gave Anna-Mair a good technical grounding on the subject and led her to begin working with a local social and wedding photographer for several years until giving birth to her son.
Although she was a full-time mother, Anna-Mair fed her passion for photography and travel in what spare time she had. In 2001 Anna-Mair and her Son returned to Australia where she had spent 10 years as a child. The family settled in Perth where Anna-Mair began working at a 9-5 position in which she would continue to serve for the next few years. Although a passionate photographer in her free time, supporting the family with a regular income was more important at the time.
In 2004 Anna-Mair drove with friends to Darwin via the Kimberley. It was while photographing in God’s awesome creation that she had this yearning reignited the return to working in photography.
By 2006 Anna-Mair had resigned from her day job to attend Ken Duncan’s Northern Exposure course held in Hamilton Island, Queensland. This course helped bring Anna-Mair’s work to a new level and on her returned she launched Anna-Mair Francis Creative Photography.
In January 2007 the business was officially off the ground with the success of her first solo exhibition ‘Maiden Voyage’ (see an extract from the review of this exhibition below).
There have been other fine art photographic exhibitions since then plus she has been working in other fields of the business such as commercial and social photography. Anna-Mair also hosts a regular photographic meet up and courses in Perth. Discovering that she could impart her knowledge to other people successfully has now led to a new direction, taking people on photographic tours and the business is now evolving into Capture the Light Photographic Tours.
Maiden Voyage Review, Jan 2007:
“Her travel photographs are showing great talent in composition and grabbing interesting imagery. Some landscapes have dream like quality by playing with reflections and shadows. The whole show is held together by close up shots of foliage, trees, stones and objects, stringing the different locations together in one circle. This ability to conceptualize is one of her impressive forte. The images are showing her sensitivity and ability to relate to nature.
This is rare opportunity to see a high quality and very interesting first solo show by Anna-Mair Francis.” Judy Rogers – Blend[r] Gallery, Joondalup. Published in JCAA Newsletter 2007