About Me

Photography as a profession is a new area for me within the Arts.  I have a background in Three Dimensional Design which I earned a degree in from University in Manchester.  Since then I have worked as a freelance artist in many mediums.  Furniture and upholstery design, craft objects of both man-made and natural materials, jewellery metal work, painting, drawing and artwork designs for music albums.  My biggest source of enjoyment in the arts has been making abstract sculptures using a chainsaw and large yet controlled fires.  (hazelvint.co.uk)

Within my complex and varied personal experiences with art, photography has been constantly present as a source of step-by-step evaluation of my pieces.  In addition, I have always possessed an innate attraction to the camera and photography of all sorts.  I found my emergence into professional photography to be a natural progression of my artistic development.  As I continue to delve deeper into the world of professional photography, I find that my passion for it is continuously blossoming.

I moved to Africa October 2011 as a volunteer working on art projects with a number of different NGO’s.  The scope of my work includes: distributing and redesigning bicycles for carrying water containers or ambulance stretchers, “Taka Taka To Pesa” – using rubbish to create beautiful crafts to sell for money and an extension of this using Nile Perch fish leather to create bags, flip flop designs, wallets, tablet covers, amongst many other things.

Travel is a major inspiration for all of my art and one of my biggest passions in life, having experienced Northern America, Latin America, some South Pacific Islands, parts of Northern Africa, Eastern and Southern Africa, Australia, India, Nepal, Europe and South East Asia.  This integration of my passions has manifested itself in many ways – creating a beautiful drawing of pygmy children, coming up with new designs to make day-to-day living in Africa easier, and increasing viewers’ knowledge of beautiful cultures and landscapes from across the world, in recent years mostly in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Doing a photography internship with Africa Media in Mossel Bay, South Africa, opened my eyes to the opportunities and intimate experiences that normal travel does not provide.  An example of this is when I was given the chance to play with and photograph two young cheetahs with no fence between us.

The words “I am a photographer” seem to open up a new world of openness and trust of many people I meet, that otherwise would not exist.  It allows a deeper insight into the lives, traditions, history, wildlife and geographic areas that I encounter.  I believe the quote, “a picture can speak a thousand words” is a universal truth, however I also believe that sometimes the addition of words and context to a photograph can also create a greater understanding of an image, place, or culture that you are viewing.  This is one of the many reasons that I found supplementing my photographs with a travel blog is imperative to breaking down the boundaries between my work and its audience.

If you are interested in any of the things you see on this website or on my artist website (hazelvint.co.uk) please contact me.

Email: hazelvint@hotmail.com

Facebook page: Hazel Vint Photography

Phone: +254 708288378