Meet Edinburgh Photographer Armands
I often get asked where I’m from and why I chose to make Edinburgh my home.
As a baby, I was a real rascal — full of beans all the time! I often got into trouble and never really learned from my mistakes. :)
A few fun facts:
– I was the fastest corridor runner at school and even received an official diploma from the school director for achieving this masterful goal! (Now looking back at this, I could say I have minor ADHD) At that time, nobody really knew what that was.
– The only two subjects I was great at were art and sports.
– I believed in Santa for a long time — until I started recognising the voice under the beard. :)
– Apparently, up to the age of around seven, my favourite toy was a matchbox. I don’t think I was the easiest child for my parents…
Check out that cool haircut in the images above and to the right — that’s my own work of art! Mum came home to find me standing in front of the mirror, “fixing” my haircut with a pair of scissors. :)
I was born in Latvia and raised in a farming family. If you don’t know where Latvia is, here’s a hint for you:
From a very early age, I was taught to work hard and that if I wanted something, I had to earn it myself.
Before I was allowed to watch TV or go out to play, I had a long “to-do” list of chores to complete on the farm.
However, I’ve come to really appreciate my upbringing and truly love what I do. It made me an extremely hard worker — someone who’s not afraid to roll up his sleeves and get things done.
I always loved fishing and being out in nature. Fishing taught me to be very patient — and now that patience comes in very handy during my newborn photo sessions! :)
Teen years.
Had a few crazy teen years. Was and still I am into music. Had a few DJ years too. Enjoyed college years for sure :)
When people ask me why I left Latvia, I honestly can’t give them an answer. I had a solid job, and just before I left Latvia, I had a very lucrative offer on the table to progress my career, but all I can say is that there was simply something inside me urging me to find out what life would be like abroad.
A few years later, I had the opportunity to spend some time living in Sweden; so I did, and actually really enjoyed it. After a year or so, I returned to Latvia and realised that I still wanted to explore more. This time, I decided to head to the UK. First, I went to London, where I felt completely overwhelmed by city life. It was all a bit too much for me.
My move to Edinburgh.
I moved to Scotland and completely fell in love with Edinburgh. Bought my first point-and-shoot camera, and I was hooked.
I loved the more laid-back pace of the city and the fact that you could leave town and reach the hills or countryside within just a few minutes.
What helped me a lot was my positive attitude and outlook on life, which made it easy to make lots of friends here.
Later, these friends played a huge role in helping me achieve my dream of becoming a photographer. Many of them gave me that final nudge I needed:
“Go on, you can do it!” they told me.
And so, I ended up studying at Edinburgh College, where I gained my BA in Professional Photography.
Love and family.
I also met my beautiful wife here in Edinburgh. 7 years later, we got married, and now have a wonderful family.
I really love being a dad and having a great time with family. Sometimes it gets a bit tiring, running around and chasing them here and there, but those moments spent with my family are truly priceless.
Meanwhile, my photography business is nice and steady, and I’m proud of what I have achieved so far.
From the very beginning, my goal was to support my family through my passion, and with hard work and focus, I’ve been able to turn that dream into reality.
That said, I do wish I had a bit more time for my little guilty pleasures.
I love fishing and hiking, as well as tea and good cake — although the latter is starting to affect my figure a bit! :)
Perhaps I need to focus more on the hiking and less on the cakes…
I have spent long long hours on the banks of this river thinking about a million different things. This view has huge sentimental value for me, and probably one of the my favourite places to be. It’s so peaceful and quiet, and I’m surrounded by only the sounds of nature.
Hopefully, this gives you some insight into me and the type of person I am. Next time, I will continue about how it all started with photography and particularly with newborns.
Thank you for coming along and taking the time to read through all this.
Armands
