SheFeatures: Fo Bugler
Name: Fo Bugler
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and EOS R5
Favourite type of photography: Creative abstract and reportage/street
Facebook: @ArtFoTographyDorset
Location: Dorset, UK
How did you get into photography?
I've always loved art and was given a Polaroid camera as a child. The two naturally merged and it just grew from there. Even during a 20+ year teaching career, travelling and raising a family, photography has always been my passion.
Do you have any photographic qualifications or accolades?
I have a few:
BA (Hons) Art & Social Context specialising in Photography and Print Making
6 x City & Guilds Distinctions
Diploma in Wedding Photography
Diploma in New Born Photography
Runner up in the LCE Photographer of the Year
Two images shortlisted in the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2024
What's the first photograph you remember seeing or shooting?
My father was always taking photographs and showing us old family photos in the early 1970s. My maternal great-grandmother also worked for a photographer (which was very rare back then), so Mum had some really old photographs. I think the first photograph I took was of my brother in the back garden as a child with my Polaroid camera.
What do you love about photography?
I can get lost in it. I had a couple of articles published in Amateur Photographer about how photography (both capturing and editing) has been an excellent therapy for my recurring depression, anxiety and RSD (rejection-sensitive dysphoria). I enter into a different, trouble-free world with photography and can shut out other worries.
What do you wish you'd learned about photography earlier?
The technical side of the camera features and editing. I still don't use Photoshop.
Where is your favourite place for photography?
I love travelling, so all the interesting and unique places around the world I visit. I also love going for long country walks in woodlands and nature reserves to lose myself in the moment. Festivals, too, offer some fun and unique opportunities.
Do you have a favourite photographic technique?
I love being experimental and often use photography as a staring point for an artistic creation. ICM (intentional camera movement) and multiple exposures are enjoyable too. My problem is, I don't record what I do in editing as it's an organic process, so can rarely recreate a technique.
Can you briefly outline your approach to image processing?
Firstly, opening the image on my computer and bringing out the shadows or crop if needed. Then opening in an app that allows for more precise dodging or burning, possibly saturating or desaturating, again, if needed and cloning out any unwanted specs or distracting elements. If getting really creative, I do a lot more.
What's your favourite lens?
My 24-105mm because it’s so versatile.
Read our Guide to Camera Lenses, all those terms explained
Do you have a favourite accessory?
A pop-up reflector always comes in handy.
Have you found the perfect camera bag yet?
No. I thought I had, but everything squashes together after a while. I need more solid compartments.
Which photographers have influenced or inspired you, and how or why?
Dorothea Lange, Diane Arbus, Vivian Maier, Annie Leibovitz, and Jo Spence for their capture of real life. Henri Cartier-Bresson for the same reason. But I suppose my biggest creative influence was Man Ray, who turned photographs into pieces of art during the concept stage as well as in post-processing (darkroom) way before it was even considered a thing. For example, The Practical Dreamer, 1922.
Please recommend 2 or 3 female photographers to follow on Instagram.
Helen Cherry (@helenjcherry), Cathy Hattam (@cathy_hattam_photography), Nicky Flint (@sussexstills)
Is there a camera, lens or accessory that you don't have yet but you'd like to buy at some point?
Loads! Where do I begin? Firstly, I need lenses for my new (secondhand) Canon EOS R5. I would also like to get a tethering cable, boom arm, decent lights, folding reflector for head-shots, backdrops and a studio! That's just for starters.
Is there a genre of photography that you love but you haven't tried yet?
Not that I can think of currently - I've tried so many types, I love experimenting.
What's your proudest photographic moment?
I've had many, from my first image sale in 1986 to a month-long photography commission and photographing Noel Edmonds and Mr Blobby when their photographer couldn't make it. But this year, two of my submissions were shortlisted for the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year Award 2024, and I was invited to The Photography Show as I had made runner-up in the Abstract Category for the LCE Photographer of the Year.
If you could have one superpower that could help you with photography, what would it be?
From the song 'I Wish' by Skee-Lo: I wish I was a little bit taller (4' 11 1/2").
Your favourite baked goods are?
How long is a piece of string? From fresh baked bread to ganache and berry-covered chocolate cake.
Please tell us a little about yourself.
I'm a sexagenarian (I love that word), ex-primary school teacher, mother and grandmother. I have had a colourful life, including singing in a band, art exhibitions, being an activist, travelling much of the world and hitchhiking most of Europe, working in a Romanian orphanage, living in communes and riding a motorbike for many years. Currently, I'm turning my photography focus to the food industry, and I have a vegan food photographer page on LinkedIn.
