Rebecca Douglas: Storytelling as a Tool for Change
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In this episode of the SheClicks Women in Photography Podcast, Angela Nicholson talks with photographer and environmental storyteller Rebecca Douglas, whose work is rooted in the wild edges of nature - from windswept cliffs and icy seas to intimate encounters with wildlife. Rebecca brings a refreshing openness to the conversation as she explains how storytelling has always been at the heart of her photography, even if she didn’t recognise it at first.
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Rebecca's path into photography wasn’t straightforward. With a background in geography and marine resource management, she initially worked in recruitment and education before her creative side took over. A lifelong fascination with nature, paired with a growing interest in visual storytelling, eventually pulled her into full-time photography. Starting out shooting weddings, she found herself increasingly drawn to documenting stories that connect people with the planet. Her transition into environmental work grew organically, fuelled by a desire to do more purposeful work.
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Throughout the episode, she shares how storytelling has become a powerful tool in her mission to inspire change — not through grand statements, but by showing quiet moments of beauty, impact and urgency. She talks about working with charities such as Whale Wise, creating exhibitions that reach tens of thousands of people, and why it matters to share our voices, especially as women, to drive change through visual language.
There’s also honest discussion about setting boundaries, managing carbon impact, dealing with rejection, and making brave choices in your work. Whether she’s capturing seabirds tangled in ghost gear or helping ethical brands show up in their own stories, Rebecca’s approach is thoughtful and rooted in deep respect for the natural world.
This is a powerful listen for any woman who wants to tell stories with her camera and create something that matters.
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Episode Transcript
Rebecca Douglas 0:04
Sharing my own story, well, that's all I've got. I only have me to show up in the world with and wanting to empower others to share their story, particularly people that are really focused on nature's messages and messengers, and amplifying those where you can kind of awaken that curiosity in people and really draw people into that story, because it just has such a power of dismantling what we thought we knew and then helping us kind of relearn another thing in that kind of show me, don't tell me way.
Angela Nicholson 0:36
Welcome to the SheClicks Women in Photography Podcast. I'm Angela Nicholson, and I'm the founder of SheClicks, which is a community for female photographers. In these podcasts, I talk with women in the photographic industry to hear about their experiences, what drives them and how they got to where they are now. My guest today is Rebecca Douglas, a visual storyteller and ocean advocate whose work takes us to the wild edges of the earth, sea and sky, with a background in geography and marine resource management. Rebecca blends science and creativity to tell powerful stories through photography, video and words, whether she's documenting seabird colonies on remote islands or snorkelling in icy optic waters, her work inspires awe and deepens our connection to nature. Hello, Rebecca. Thank you for joining me on the SheClicks women in photography podcast today.
Rebecca Douglas 1:19
Hi. How you doing?
Angela Nicholson 1:21
I'm very well, thank you. And you?
Rebecca Douglas 1:22
Yeah, good, thank you. Thank you so much for having me, I'm really excited.
Angela Nicholson 1:25
Oh, you're very welcome. It's a great to have you here. Now. Your background is in geography and marine resources, so what led you along that path originally, and how did you transition into photography?
Rebecca Douglas 1:36
Oh, okay, so I didn't know what I didn't know what I wanted to do at university. Initially, I was going to apply for medicine, and then I finally, kind of landed on physiology, got Chemistry A Level results. I was like, I don't ever want to do chemistry again. And so when I started the physiology degree, it was more chemistry based, rather than biology, which I can understand why. And so I went into a bit of panic about what I was going to do. So switched on to geography, because that's what I enjoyed. Then found myself in those lectures. Then the first couple were like calculating the speed of sand particles across sand dunes, and then, oh God, like the kind of speed of river, river water around meanders. I'm like, No, this wasn't it either. What am I doing? And so I ended up switching, then to human geography, which is, like, that connection between people, place and planet, and like, why and how we are doing what we're doing, and that curiosity, which is something that has always fascinated me. So yeah, so I did that, and I think it was that kind of connection with the outside world. I was in Sheffield, and loved being so close to the Peak District and back in the day of like, you know, kind of 2002 2005 I was at uni. I was one of the only people with a camera. I had a little point and shoot camera. Cameras had always been there for me. My first Saturday job was developing film in a news agent. So I've started out on 35 mil, and I was on like two pounds an hour, kind of working when I was 15 years old in a news agent's. And he was really kind in how he taught me so much about the film process, although it was all on a machine, it was, you know, kind of seeing that all happen. But also I could develop films for 50p, and the company that he franchised for would let you have a free one, a free film, free, that's an interesting one to say, with each roll developed. So even though I paid 50p, I've got a free role. So right, it was quite a safe place to play. And yeah, so that had kind of always just been something there, really. And it was only till I worked in recruitment for nearly five years, moved back down to Kent because I missed the sea, because I stayed in Sheffield after uni, and moving back here, I eventually ended up in a job where I was working in higher education. So I was lecturing employability skills and working on an academic board level, looking at all of the curriculum and how they embed the kind of awareness of employability within their modules, so that, because with the tuition fees increasing, it meant students could have that kind of awareness of what they were doing. But it was very much a nine to five job, whereas recruitment that I'd worked in before was, you know, kind of every waking hour as it worked, because it was very big. Was a very big sales role, so I had time. And kind of, then a few friends asked me to take photos of them. And then there was a craft fair where students, staff, alumni, were sharing skills that they had creatively at Christmas. And so I shared some of my pitches. And out of that, it was 2010 four, four weddings booked, and then subsequently I shot 12 The next year, and then it kind of kept doubling. And so by 2014 I had 48 weddings in 2014 and where I worked full time because we were saving to get our mortgage, I was. 2013 saving to get our mortgage. And so it was then we had to, I had to have that full time job still, because I everything I'd earned up to that point, I was ploughing back into buying more glass and more cameras and that sort of thing and that, you know, all the computer stuff you needed. And so it was then, although there was that extra income, it was very much neutral in terms of the profit because of what I was investing in growing the business. And I went full time at the start of 2010 and set up my limited company then. So had kind of three, thre-and-a-bit years of sort of self employment, and then took the plunge and went full time in 2014, so, erm, that was weddings and family. Yeah, sort of so very much the social work side of things that I was shooting at that point.
Angela Nicholson 5:43
Yeah, that's interesting. So even when you're at school, you had an interest in photography, but you didn't really see it as a as a potential career?,
Rebecca Douglas 5:51
Yeah, so I went to, the 11 plus was in Kent so I passed 11 plus went to grammar school, and, you know, you're kind of reinforced about academia, and you're the best of the best, and you've got this potential to go and do all of this kind of academic stuff as sort of got marched along with that, I guess, construct, yeah, and that at that particular school, it was very academic first, and then, like, the Arty sort of creative stuff was all, like things you did on an extracurricular basis is nice to have. So I'm very musical, and music was the same thing. I never saw that as a subject. That was more of a conscious choice of not wanting to bring that love for music, my creative outlet into something academic, and then maybe taking the passion away from it. And so, yeah, I think it, it all started probably with my granddad, who was an artist, and he could, he painted so well, and I couldn't paint photography, and still can't, but I could. He taught me kind of those fundamental things like rules of thirds and leading lines and horizons and light and shade, so I could see it, but I couldn't interpret it in painting, and then photography started to allow me to express that. I think, yeah.
Angela Nicholson 7:04
Yeah. And it sounds like you really took off quickly once got going.
Rebecca Douglas 7:08
Yeah. I think I was lucky at that point. It was a very different time in social media. And I was also probably, there were less women doing wedding photography at that point. It was still quite a shocking thing that a woman was actually doing photography as a job, which is my mind to think it's only 15 years ago. But I think also a lot had changed at that point, because we got married in 2007 and it was very much on that cusp of people were just starting to move into the digital side of things, but maybe we're still thinking like a film shooter that they had like 24 clicks in a roll, and that's all you've got, whereas I'd come from film into digital and use digital more in a kind of candid documentary way. And so I think I was starting to shoot things differently, and I was fortunate that a lot of the weddings I shopped to start with were really fun, alternative weddings that you might have called them then. I mean, you know, now looking back, it's like a marquee and bunting, but at the time that was so alternative and, you know, different, the people were not, you know, that was it. And so I was lucky with that early portfolio and the people that I attracted, but I think what I've always done throughout my career is just share who I am and hope that the right people find me. And so I think when I look back, that's always just something that's been very true at every stage of the journey. Rather than trying to be what I think I should be, I've just sort of stuck on focusing on myself and trying to not kind of compare sideways too much and just communicate that outwards. So I think that was also something that looking back played in.
Angela Nicholson 8:50
Yeah, that is really interesting. I can I can identify with that as well. I had a similar experience at school. I kind of, I didn't do much photography. I did have cameras, but I never saw it as a potential career. It was just a fun thing I did occasionally. And it wasn't that it was denied me. It was just You were very much particularly pushed towards science and, like you say, academia and studying and getting O levels and a levels and things like that. So yeah, it's interesting, similar, similar sort of development,
Rebecca Douglas 9:17
I know. And I think also, like, schools were so focused on pushing you to university, because that was an outcome that they felt then was a metric that sold them as a school. And so looking at alternative, creative past, post 16, post 18 just were not also private school. It's just a regular, you know, state school, but it sort of prided itself on those outcomes, and therefore you weren't even given information about other opportunities. And I do wonder as well. You know, as women are reflecting on gender, where were we just not shown that those routes were possible for women if we were into creative things? I don't know, because it was such a different time when I was at school, kind of in the. 90s and early noughties, and I think a lot of that has positively changed. I mean, still so much work to do, but a lot has changed, hasn't it?
Angela Nicholson 10:07
Yeah, we're definitely getting there, but more work to be done. Do you still shoot weddings?
Rebecca Douglas 10:13
No, I haven't shot them since 2021 so I'd made the decision in 2019 to limit my weddings, or sort of late 2018 early 2019 to limit 2020, weddings to 20. Because since, like 2016 17, kind of brand, what I now know is branding photography was growing quite sort of organically for me, and so one of my friends who was a wedding florist, wanted to show the value and the input that they put into a bouquet. So we went to Covent Garden Market, and I documented that story in the bouquet being made. And so those, those storytelling elements started to grow. And I think that was mirrored by social media and sort of that storytelling and what businesses need to do to show up. So I could see there was scope for this. And also, around the same time, there was a growth in people moving into my local area, Margate. I live in Ramsgate. And so there's a real kind of creative boom of people coming in, particularly people that run their own businesses. And so I could see, potentially, there might be space for this kind of work. And so I had 20 weddings booked in, 2020, and then we all know what happened next. Yeah, they didn't happen. And so it then became quite an intense moment, because I was limited company, so there wasn't any support in that way. And suddenly, overnight, everything changing was quite wild.
Angela Nicholson 11:43
Yeah. Please excuse this interruption. This podcast is supported by Fujifilm, one of the best known photography bands in the world. Fujifilm's award winning X series and GFX system cameras and lenses are suitable for all types of photographers and videographers, each has been developed utilising experience gain for more than 90 years in the industry, featuring the unique Film Simulation Modes that everybody knows and loves. Okay, let's get back to the show.
How would you say your storytelling has evolved over the years,
Rebecca Douglas 12:23
I think I've realised actually that the arc of storytelling has been there throughout everything that I've done. Because weddings is just a story unfolding, and you're documenting that bespoke story each time you shoot. I feel very much that you know that narrative and the nuances is so different with every group of people, every wedding, every event that you end up shooting. And so it was almost using that blueprint that I'd learned to see, and again, that sort of thing that I referred to a moment ago, of sharing my own story. Well, that's all I've got. I only have me to show up in the world with and wanting to empower others to share their story, particularly people that are really focused on nature's messengers and messengers, and amplifying those where you can kind of awaken that curiosity in people and really draw people into that story, because it just has such a power of dismantling what we thought we knew and then helping us kind of relearn another thing in that kind of show me, don't tell me way. And so I think you can really walk people over a threshold with story. And so I love to work with people who are through their work, making a difference in the world. And so I'm very, very focused on purpose, led impact, led organisations, brands that I work with that are just disrupting, you know, the systems and structures that are ones that are disadvantaging everybody. So,
Angela Nicholson 13:47
Yeah. Do you find it easy to work with? Say, if you're working with a brand and they want you to document something, tell their story, and they've obviously got some guidelines of what they want you to cover, but then maybe some you start to see something else while you're documenting it. Do you manage to you find it easy to keep to the original plan? Or do you find yourself kind of letting it evolve a bit?
Rebecca Douglas 14:11
I think it's a point of dialogue with clients, and different clients look for different things. And I think that there's different guardrails within each project. And so some you know that you're shooting very much to a very strict set of criteria. There was quite a big drone project I worked on where very certain things needed to be in the picture because of what they were looking to show. And put drop pins on to do the pin, the kind of the artwork for the out of home advertising and things. And whereas some people come to me where they know they need photos, but they just trust in me and connect with me, and how I see light and then gently direct people while I'm shooting, that they understand there's like that kind of alchemy in the moment when we're shooting that something unplanned might happen, but it's then how we weave that in. So yeah. And I think it's both. And if I see something, you know, I'd mention it to a client. If it's not their bag, then that's cool, and we crack on with whatever we were we're destined to be shooting.
Angela Nicholson 15:09
Do you have a preference for your way of working, or do you like the variability?
Rebecca Douglas 15:14
I like the variability, and so I always try, even when it's a loose brief, I try and understand maybe the I ask people think about words that they want to sort of share through the work or the energy they want people to feel. And so sometimes that helps when people feel quite overwhelmed by the thought of being seen and in front of the camera, that if we break it into different chunks of time where is kind of, what energy do you want people? How do you want people to feel when they see you and connect with you? And then that starts to help to look at maybe some of the props and styling. And you know how, whether we're going to use, like Big Sky areas or something a little bit more close in, where you've got more of a cocoon kind of feel. So I think it's very loose within that still, but it still has some intention where we've both connected and made sure we're aligned on on the same page. It's very rare I turn up somewhere and they're just like, okay, crack on and shoot for an hour and do what you need to do. So, yeah. So, yeah, everything, everything's quite loosely sometimes defined, I think, is probably, yeah, the loosest it gets.
Angela Nicholson 16:25
You often go to challenging environments, quite remote places. How do you, why are you drawn to those?
Rebecca Douglas 16:32
So I think for me, I that's where I fill my cup and I recharge and I just love the surrender to nature, and that nature's in complete control, and we can have a plan, and we can think about what we might want to do. But you know, if nature's throwing 100 mile an hour, wind, Blizzard, storm at you in Iceland, then you're in a cabin for two days and you're not going anywhere. It's kind of, you know, sometimes that is tense, but other times it's just part of the story that's unfolding. And I think for me, a lot of the the time in that space is where I just get to, like, absolutely immerse in kind of special interests and deeply hyper focus with things that I'm really interested in, and where that just kind of recharges, yeah, my creativity.
Angela Nicholson 17:25
So, are you good at being in the moment and not, you know, say, like you say, if you're locked in a cabin somewhere in Iceland because of the storm going on, but you've only got certain amount of time to shoot what you need to shoot, and you can't do it now. Are you able to let go of that and relax and just sort of live in the moment and appreciate the sound of the wind and that kind of thing. Or do you get stressed?
Rebecca Douglas 17:48
I think if it's my own time, there's a lot more chilled out, like if it's kind of more self directed, and I'm travelling and just hoping to do some things, and I think when it's lining up where you've got more pressures on that time, with client outcomes and people having arrived in a place expecting to achieve something in a certain time, then that can definitely be more difficult. And trying to look at, you know, how we can make the best of the situation we're in, if at all. And so, yeah, I think it's varied, but I think weddings have really set me up to being quite chilled out in that respect. Because, yeah, very much with weddings kind of anything can happen and timelines can just disappear. And you know, it was always the kind of reception that would be the thing that got pressure on for keeping and trying to pull time back, which always, then was pressure on you. And and so, yeah, I think that having been in that environment and done probably 450 weddings, maybe more, over the years, that that just has a kind of, I don't know, a grounding effect in any situation where, yeah, it's, it is what it is.
Angela Nicholson 19:01
Yeah, you're not the first photographer who said to me that weddings have really prepared them for everything that life throws at them when they're holding a camera. It's quite incredible, I think.
Rebecca Douglas 19:11
And you're just, I think you are a master of all when you are a jack of all kind of but master of all the same time with weddings in you know, your kind of, your portraits, your stills, your food photography, your interiors, your details, your still lifes, and so documentary on the fly, like kind of after dark, using flash, available light, not available light, and so it goes on, I think, in terms of then grounding you just to be able to shoot in the moment. I think that's been one of the biggest things that weddings has done. And, yeah, I just think it was an amazing foundation, really.
Angela Nicholson 19:50
Yeah, sounds like it now, when you're planning a shoot in an extreme location, or you're in that extreme location and doing the. Planning of for the next day. How do you find the balance between the potential risk and creativity? And you know, because you can think, oh, it'd be amazing to get this shot, but then you sort of think, Oh, well, but we'll have to crawl along this precipice, and then we'll have to this, this and this, that sounds quite dangerous. How do you find the right balance?
Rebecca Douglas 20:23
So I would never, and this is something that came up quite often with ELO pants, and where people wanted to stand for their photos. And I am very much nature protection first. And we are nature, so that extends to us. And so if it is not possible to get to somewhere, to do something, then I won't shoot it. And and I'm quite clear on that. And so I don't want any harm coming to landscapes or to animals with disturbance and so on. So that has to be the North Star when planning a shooting in those spaces. And so, yeah, in terms of my liability and that sort of thing, I'm very, very strict on that. And then I do think sometimes that it's tricky when things are shared online, and then people aspire to see or do those things, and actually, the realities of actually achieving that are quite wild. And yeah, I wouldn't want anyone or anything coming to any harm as a result of the photos that we're shooting. And I think I'm guided very much by the work I do with whale wise so I'm President of the Board of Trustees, and we use drones to survey humpback whales from above, and we've done research around how the noise of drones can impact on humpback whales, and have guidelines now that we've shared for other drone users that want to try and fly over whales, because they're incredible tools, but I can see when they're not used sensitively, they can be really, really disruptive. And you know, just seen some horror, horrific scenes with nature, where people talk about their rad footage that they've got, and, you know, looking at Icelandic horses running across the landscape, and it's like, well, they don't just do that. So if your drone is following them, that's because your drone disturbed them and made them run, you know. So, yeah, it's those kind of things where I have a very low tolerance level for that. And because we're not bigger than nature, we are part of it. So, yeah.
Angela Nicholson 22:20
Yeah. I'm glad you mentioned that, because a lot of your work is about some sort of, you know, attempt to protect the environment, environmental messaging, wildlife protection, that kind of thing. How did you get into that area?
Rebecca Douglas 22:36
I think that had always been there for me. And and I think this kind of comes into, you know, I'm wired differently. I'm ADHD autistic, and the way I connect in the world is probably very much nature first. And, you know, kind of, that's why I find such incredible calm and connection and recharge when I'm in nature. And so it was something that had always been there for me as a passion, and I think that's where photography started. Was very much being by the coast here in Kent with sunset, chasing and capturing some of the sea birds and things. And then it's just something that's kind of deepened as my my career and journey is unfolded the the whale wise work that I do came about as a friend, or who and our friend, I didn't know her, she followed me and just said, Oh, you like whales and drones and Iceland and the sea. Could you help? Or can I ask you a question? And that's like, kind of, what do you want? Can't you just ask me the question? And that she was just wanting me to share a Crowdfunder that they were trying to raise to get this drone. And then I was just so blown away by the charity, the work they do, the impact it's having, that I offered to donate my time to Bay for a week and tell their story, because at the time, they didn't have imagery that really elevated and shared what they did. So I went in 2022 and and and then subsequently became a trustee in 23 or 24 I can't remember the journey, maybe 24 and then at the start of this year, was asked if I'd like to be president of the board. So it's all voluntary, but it's how I can then take profit and my skill and use it for purpose. And so it's just sort of that thing where I've not been caught, but I've looked at some of those that ethos and how I can kind of weave that within the work that I do to have, yeah, positive impact.
Angela Nicholson 24:30
Do you have any advice for other photographers who might like their work to advocate for the environment?
Rebecca Douglas 24:36
Yeah, I think it's really getting clear on what you're passionate about, because I think the environment is so vast and all of the issues, it's so so multifaceted and complex that I think if you care about one part of it, you will care about all of it, but then you can spread yourself so thinly that then kind of does it then make an impact. If you're trying to do all the different things, where all the different causes are. And so I used to do so many different things, and actually then, since I've my journey with whale wise has grown, because I spend a lot of time now with them, I've taken some of the other things that I was spreading myself thinly with away because of the investment that I making in this way. So I think it's getting clear on what lights you up and where you feel that you want to make a difference in something that's accessible to you, to be able to to invest in that and it feel, then something that you've got that relationship with, whatever it is that you're supporting, so that you can get the best out of each other, ultimately. So I think that's the first thing I'd say, is kind of getting clear on on the what, and trying to just pick one thing if you can.
Angela Nicholson 25:50
So yeah, and it's important to be passionate about it, because you potentially could be doing it for quite a long time. So it needs to be something you can sustain.
Rebecca Douglas 26:00
I think so, and also fully understanding the the work that the the charity is doing, or the the impact organisation that you're linking with, so that then, if you're talking about it, it's something that feels comfortable to you. Because I know sometimes things can be quite complex and feel a little bit kind of detached from what you do. And so I think for me, that's where when I found whale wise and was just in awe of them and the work they do, there was so much overlap with things I was already passionate about and had an interest in knowledge in but also then how I was able to use the skills and experience that I have to support them in ways they didn't have that kind of area covered. So, so I think there's a real big space for finding organisations that need that storytelling support.
Angela Nicholson 26:48
Yeah, great. Well, I think that's a really good time to go to Six from SheClicks. And I've got 10 questions from SheClickers. I'd like you to answer six questions please by picking numbers from one to 10. So if I could have your first number please?
Rebecca Douglas 27:00
Can I go seven? Lucky num, lucky seven.
Angela Nicholson 27:02
Okay, lucky seven. What's the most valuable piece of advice you've received in connection with your work? That question is from Liz.
Rebecca Douglas 27:11
I think one of the things that I carried forward from my recruitment life was that every no brings you closer to a yes, which I know sounds a bit kind of abstract and random, but when you run your own business, you can take quite a lot of objection rejection, and if you've pulled into something and you get a no, that can be really, really hard to process, but it doesn't necessarily reflect on you. It just wasn't the right moment for that exchange, that dialogue, that relationship. And so it's trying to just kind of put that in a box and then kind of move on to the next thing, or pitching to another organisation where that might be your Yes, and it's sometimes you could have so many no's before the yes comes. And so I think that's one thing that's kind of always kept me buoyed up, although the nose are still hard to process. Yeah, I think yeah, that's been something that's yeah, stood me in good stead.
Angela Nicholson 28:11
Great. Okay, thank you. Can I have your second number please? Could you share a memorable experience from one of your trips has left a lasting impression on you, and that's from Anne.
Rebecca Douglas 28:26
Yeah. So I was in Iceland with Whale Wise in last year, in 2024 and we got a call to say from a whale tour guide that the field, we do a lot of our research on a humpback whale had been behaving weirdly. Had taken a dive. Some ghost gear followed shortly after, and then all of the whales that were with it at the time were weird, and then it took them quite a long time to surface. Couple of hours were on by. We'd been speaking with the Icelandic government because we were about three hours away, because we've been doing some research on another fuel park, and they'd said the coast guards had been the whale had been sighted further in the fjord. It wasn't moving, and it was actually dead. So it seemed quite rapid for a whale to die. Because one of the things I do, I remember, no, I can't say this. BDMLR, so British divers, marine life rescue. I'm a marine mammal medic. So I volunteered to go as like, kind of first triage, First Aider to dolphins, whales, seals. I mean, round here was only the seals. I had a bit of a kind of background knowledge, and it was on the surface, and I was just all like, well, if it's sitting on the surface, it's not going under, therefore it might still be breathing, but it's not blowing any water. And how can no binoculars from the shoreline say an animal that's, you know, nearly two kilometres offshore has died? So we made our way around there we were chatting with folk, and got the drone up and headed over. And sure enough, it was still alive. And. And but it wasn't moving because the entanglement had got stuck on something. And so it was in fairly shallow parts of the fjord. So there was maybe 100 metres between the boys the rope, and then it was just around the peduncle, which is just below the sort of double Fluke part of the back of the tail. So we then contacted the government. They were going to send people. Then it was kind of a, oh, we don't know if anyone can get there, because there's now human emergency, because they were sending, like, the search and rescue team. Search and rescue team, but they may not be able to get there till tomorrow. And sometimes whales just die, and we're just like, What do you mean? They just die? Like, this is a humbug whale that's alive, and it looks like quite a simple entanglement. And we've been getting advice from BDMLR, and they'd said they could actually head out to Iceland, because they have a large well disentanglement team that's funded to cover Europe. So we were sort of multi liaising, and I said, well, we'll just keep an eye on the whale. We'll update in every 20 minutes of its it's kind of its status. And then made about two hours in of us observing it, a rib came out the bottom of the fjord, and I could see, I've got a really long lens on and I could see, like, people in like, what looked like search and rescue stuff, and it was and they managed local fishes appeared, and we were liaising with them from the coast. And they managed to, kind of use two small baits around the kind of head of the whale, just to gently coerce it back towards the buoy, to give a bit of slack in the entanglement. And then they had hook and managed to unhook it. And I got video of it taking a dive as its health loop lifted, and you could see that the rope had gone so, yeah, that has been probably one of the most memorable things from a trip that's really just fueled the work that I do.
Angela Nicholson 31:35
Wow, that's amazing. I feel quite emotional just hearing about it, but there were no dry eyes around.
Rebecca Douglas 31:40
Well, I now have a tattoo of this whale's fluke on my arm, and it's called Bird. It's got lovely Seagull silhouette on its fluke, because each of them humpback whales, when they lift that tail, it's like a thumbprint. So they're all individual. So it's my life goal to see that whale once again. And every time I see a whale and it lifts, I'm like, bird, is that you? So, yeah, maybe I'll see it one day again.
Angela Nicholson 32:01
Oh, that'd be lovely. Okay, can I have your third number, please?
Rebecca Douglas 32:05
10.
Angela Nicholson 32:06
Okay, how do you balance the desire to capture and document animals and places in remote locations with the carbon footprint that travelling involves? That question is from Paula.
Rebecca Douglas 32:17
Sure. So it's something that I'm conscious of, because obviously every journey we make is outputting. And so although I might be travelling to do something that has impact, that travel still has impact. So I do my best to offset what i i create through tree planting. And there's also a lovely project in one of the locks sea wilding, where they plant sea grass in Scotland. And what I've tried to do more intentionally is travel for longer when I go somewhere, so that I'm not just popping somewhere for like two days and coming back again. And so I try, if I'm flying to go for a couple of weeks, if I can manage to schedule that in more so, because then that immersive time where I'm in the environment is, you know, there's less flying for that duration of time there. And then look at ways of moving around if I am somewhere that has a lower footprint if possible, when I'm on location, and I've more intentionally, because I used to travel to Iceland quite frequently, particularly I shot like weddings and elopements. That's something I stopped doing because I was just very conscious of couples flying, usually from America, me flying from the UK, and it's all very lovely, but actually, what are we doing? Yeah, and so that was always something I felt quite contentious with. And, you know, kind of on a personal level, I'm child free by choice. I didn't want to have another human and create another carbon creator, or bring some a child into the world as it is now. And so that's a sort of a decision. And then we travel more in the UK than I have done in like since covid very much is kind of although I do go abroad, still, a lot of my travel is within the UK, and I'm very passionate about exploring the wild edges of the UK and seeing what's here, and sharing those stories where there isn't flying involved. And so I think that's kind of where I'm at with with it. It's not perfect, but it's kind of like a I try.
Angela Nicholson 34:36
Yeah.
Rebecca Douglas 34:37
So yeah,
Angela Nicholson 34:38
Fair enough. Okay, thank you. Could I have your fourth number, please?
Rebecca Douglas 34:42
Five. Let's go in the middle.
Angela Nicholson 34:43
Number five, you've said that your mission is to ignite collective curiosity and awe, Spark awakening action, and we'll rewild our connection to nature. Are you seeing any sign of that happening? That question is from Marie-Ange.
Rebecca Douglas 34:58
Yes. So this year's been quite a big year in terms of unexpected things happening, where I've been able to amplify stories in ways I never thought possible. So last year, one of my images placed in the ocean photography of the Year awards, and I was on my way to snorkel with diving gannets in Shetland, and we were going around the cliffs, and there was this harrowing image or scene unfolding of a gannet that got entangled on ghost fishing gear, and you look at its nests all covered it had died, and managed to capture that moment. And I entered that into I've never entered competitions before and but I wanted to use that as a vehicle to amplify its story. So with that placing second, that really did help to amplify organic story and raise that awareness. Because as an image, the story is complete, you just do see it for, for what the horrors that it holds. And then that led to me being approached by one of the National Trust properties in Kent and Scotney castle to ask if I'd like to put an exhibition together. And so I wrote the idea of islandness, because it the ancient castle that it's in is on an island. We're an island nation. So I just thought, I love this layering of islands and how we're like a constellation of islands as people on these islands as well. So it kind of brought that connection between people, place and planet together. And I said, yeah, it would have strong environmental message throughout the the exhibition. And then I absolutely cacked myself, because, what have I done? Because I've got this one image, nothing else I should have shot is, is iconic or, you know, just that kind of that story in an image, and then bang, there it is. So I'm sort of like, what am I going to do? And then went through this app, because I've never done an exhibition like that before, and all of those things that you kind of go through, it was such a process, but it made me look at all of my images I've ever shot with a completely different lens to start to see those threads. And I got them curious, and then found kind of the stories that sparked that curiosity that all the moments. And then, you know, some of the images I shot underwater initially, when I was shooting them, I'm like, Oh, cool. It's a jellyfish, or it's an urchin, or there's these things. And I gradually, then started to see a story around how the climate crisis is impacting each of those individual species. And so I was able to then put narratives together with micro collections of images and start to see all of those thread together. And then looking at images of birds and the kind of critically endangered red and yellow list that we have, or amber list. And and I built one called lifelines, one of the collections that had a real playful thing with a garden parasol, that very kind of National Trust, and all these things hanging with multiple colours, and you've had info and facts about each bird. And so it suddenly took on legs in my mind, and I found my way through that. So I ended up with 10 collections within the exhibition, 117 images and 51,000 people is just closed on the 17th of October. 51,000 people saw that exhibition this summer. So I think that, for me, is something beyond anything I could have ever imagined possible. And has been probably the biggest way that I've been able to share those environmental messages in that way, as well as just chatting to people locally, like when I go out and shoot the jellyfish at the local tidal pool, people you're the jellyfish lady, or like, what's that camera? And just kind of having those conversations with kids and buckets and spades and just sparking that or in them day to day as well. So I think it can happen in fleeting moments or wildly, like unthinkable, big moments that occur, like that exhibition.
Angela Nicholson 38:45
Yeah, oh, that's fabulous. I do remember that image because it's very powerful. It's one that stays with you, I think when you when you see it, and like you say, you know, you look at something, and you can, you can, you can see the story. You know what it what the message is, and you makes you think about things. So, yeah, well done on that. Can have your penultimate number please.
Rebecca Douglas 39:08
Oh, where do we go? Let's go number one.
Angela Nicholson 39:10
Number one. If you could only visit one place, where would it be? Somewhere you know and love, or somewhere that's new to you? That question is from Sarah.
Rebecca Douglas 39:21
I think it would be somewhere I know and love, because even within those places you think you know them and they have a way of catching you off guard and finding you in those moments of curiosity and awe. I think Had you asked me a few years ago, pre covid, it would have been Iceland top of the list. But I'm also so deeply in love with Scotland. And yeah, I think I would actually find it hard if I had to say one place forever. So for example, that I'd have to go to again and again. I guess ice. PIP it, because I do love the brutality of the cold and the snow makes you more likely to get there, although Scotland does get its fair dose. But yeah, I think that deep winter, I love it. So yeah,
Angela Nicholson 40:12
I love the colour palette of Iceland as well, those muted tones, the greys, the blues. I find it really beautiful.
Rebecca Douglas 40:18
It's the that sunset, just after sunset on a clear, crisp day of snow, white out. I mean, you get that kind of grad when you go sort of that pink to blue. And I just wish I could stay in that light for the rest of that one thing, that moment for the rest of my life.
Angela Nicholson 40:34
Yeah. Okay, press pause then. Can I have your last number please?
Rebecca Douglas 40:41
Let's go nine.
Angela Nicholson 40:42
Number nine, do you recommend entering photographic competitions? And if so, do you have any tips for success? However you may measure that that's from Sue.
Rebecca Douglas 40:51
So I think competitions is one that I've always grappled with, because throughout my career, there's always competitions for various things that you're doing. But I always question, on a philosophical level, what does award winning mean? And I've never during the wedding career, I never had awards or never entered awards, and very much focused on who I was, and as long as I found my people and they wanted me, then that was all I needed to do. And I think moving more into this sort of nature, environmental Wildlife Area, and where that's becoming a bigger part of my work, the only award I entered was the ocean photography. And so I think that because that was more about the impact of the image and amplifying that story. And I think this is maybe where male and female photographers differ. And I wouldn't say that's all like kind of masculine and feminine energy, rather than gendering it, because I don't feel I need the ego of being the best or the award winning, because I don't believe there is like the best or the top for something, because we're all in our own lanes, doing things differently. And you know who, who gives those set of criteria and then says that that's that's it, that's the kind of peak. So I think, because I'm very much about community, collaboration and so on, I I haven't ever kind of been been drawn to those things, but I see sometimes you have to play the game as well, and so, you know, kind of entering those things to get the visibility and to be seen is something I really grapple with. So I don't have any hints and tips on how to win things, because I've only ever done one, and it went well. But I think that was in the power of the story, in the image. And so, yeah, but I guess it just depends as well what you're using it for, and if you want it as feedback. I don't know some areas where it does really matter, in terms of having the awards and that kind of it's part of the process, depending on the genre. And yeah, it is insane. Maybe that's just because I came through weddings and was like, Well, I'm I'm getting my bookings every year, so I don't need awards to do that, because my my reward is when clients love their images. So yeah, that's kind of where I'm at. I just err.
Angela Nicholson 43:17
I think also your answer is partly about say, if your image of the gannet hadn't won, but it'd been shortlisted, it would still have been seen, and it would have still have raised the profile of that story, and you may still have got an exhibition with 51,000 people seeing it and getting the message. So it kind of depends on your purpose as well, doesn't it? You know, you might see something and think it's not about winning. It's about seeing this message amplified.
Rebecca Douglas 43:44
Yeah, and I think that's the thing, is that I, I wouldn't ever want to be introduced as an award winning photographer, because I think that's the least interesting thing about the work I do and the work we do, and say, but like, and it is that kind of the whole thing with the sharing of that was to amplify its story, and then the layering on that was then it got more visibility. It got picked up by the National Trust, and then it had more visibility again, because it was exhibited in that space, in a place that people may never have come across that image. And so it's sometimes those squiggly things that link to other things, and just finding the right awards, I guess, that support the journey that you're on is probably the most important thing, rather than just, I guess, follow it back to working in recruitment, like it's about doing sales calls. You can spray and pray and make loads of calls, but if you're not speaking to decision makers, or you're not making calls to the right people, why are you investing your time in doing it, kind of thing. So, so, yeah, I think that's probably an important thing to always kind of critique when you're looking at entering something
Angela Nicholson 44:56
Okay, well, thank you for answering those questions. Rebecca, and it's been really wonderful chatting with you.
Rebecca Douglas 45:03
Oh, it's been a pleasure. And thanks for questions, some of the reasons
Angela Nicholson 45:03
That's great. Thanks very much then, bye, bye.
Rebecca Douglas 45:03
Thank you, bye.
Angela Nicholson 45:04
Thanks for listening to this episode of the SheClicks Women in Photography Podcast. I hope you enjoyed it. Special thanks to everyone who sent in a question. You'll find links to Rebecca's website and social media channels in the show notes. I'll be back with another episode soon, so please subscribe to the show on your favourite podcast platform and tell all your friends and followers about it, you'll also find SheClicks on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube if you search for sheclicksnet. So until next time, enjoy your photography.
