Abbie’s picture perfect career ambitions
A spur of the moment photography assignment has provided career inspiration for a student and charity volunteer. Teenager, Abbie Cockburn was marshalling at Mary Stevens Hospice’s recent Neon Night Run when she was called on to photograph some of the fundraiser activities.
The opportunity has encouraged the Stourbridge College student to start her own photography enterprise and continue supporting the charity.
“I’ve set up my own social media accounts for my photography and I’m taking shots at the hospice’s future events including their Santa Jog in December,” said the 16-year-old from Stourbridge. “I got so much praise for the photos I took at the Neon Night Run that it’s given me the confidence to put my work out there and see what happens.”
Abbie’s love of photography is something she owes to her grandad who passed on his 20-year old camera to her.
“The camera still works, although it’s too precious to me to use now,” said Abbie who is on a business course at the college. “My grandad’s pleased that I’m supporting the hospice in this way. It’s something we’ve always done as a family. They took care of my other grandad before he passed away in 2013.”
She continued: “I photograph all kinds of things at the moment, although I enjoy being at gigs and getting shots of bands performing. I like the idea of being professional photographer but of course I need to get lots of experience first and get better at what I do.
“Hopefully I can build up a really good portfolio over the next year or so.”
Dan Malin, Mary Stevens Hospice spokesperson, said: “It’s no secret that we are always in need of as many extra pairs of hands as we can find at our events and so we were grateful to Abbie when she offered to marshal our Neon Night Run.
“Once we found out she had an interest in photography, it seemed the perfect opportunity to offer her the chance to express that passion. The photos she captured for us were fantastic – a real testament to both the talent and commitment she clearly has for photography.
“We couldn’t be more grateful that she’s going to be photographing our Santa Jog for us in December. We look forward to working with her again and supporting her with her future career in any way that we can.”
The Mary Stevens Hospice Santa Jog takes place next Sunday (9 December) at Mary Stevens Park.
ENDS