James Melia | Photographer based in Yorkshire

My Journey So Far…

It seems to have been there all along – maybe I didn’t notice it at first, but even from a young age photography has definitely had a presence in my life.
The last four years have pulled all the strings together for me, so previous to this you may be wondering what I was doing.

I worked for a time on various film sets in Vancouver, Canada. It was a time of creative inspiration, big names and endless fun. In between features I was working onboard the cruise ships, sailing to places I would never have gone to otherwise. It opened the door to the big world of endless places to see and the beauty held by each one.
One my third and final cruise job, I met my fiancé. She is from South Africa, a place I had heard good and bad things about, but nothing prepared me for the immense splendour of this country. I was hooked. And the beauty that it presented was the firm beginning of my photographic journey.

It began with Fashion photography and it has since always been a source of inspiration for me.
There are no limits, no boundaries to the effects and the looks you can create.
Yet regardless of who or what the subject may be there will always be a story told. It is held, suspended, as that moment freezes. I love the way a solitary image can hold so much depth while evoking various emotions to each individual who sees it.

I love working with people, especially capturing the individual story of a couple on their wedding day. It is their day to start as two and finish as one, with the detailed planning and the exciting build up. It is an honour to be there to witness all the volatile emotions and to capture them.