It's Never Too Late to Learn
Linda Meaton is currently in her first year as a BA student in the British Academy of Photography. She is generating fascinating composite images using image editing software and her newfound photography skills.
Linda is 75 years old.
But academia is not new to Linda. Before enrolling in the academy, she spent many years lecturing students in colleges and universities, teaching CAD and visualisation courses. While photography may not have been on her life plan, it is almost as though she was destined to take this path. In 2014 Linda retired from teaching but perhaps through her teaching, she had been inadvertently, nurturing her own creative self.
www.lindameaton.co.uk
There is arguably, an urge within artistic people, an inescapable compulsion to find an avenue through which to express their creative voice. Some discover their path when they are children and see a clear road ahead, others find it later in life where they can bring all their life’s experience and wisdom to their work. One thing that seems clear though, is that once that creative voice inside you speaks up, there is no denying its existence. Perhaps Linda never considered becoming a photographer, specifically, but the fact that she spent her professional life teaching visual expression is no accident.
It was soon after Linda’s well-earned retirement cruise that she spotted a camera for sale in a local shop window. “Although I still have no idea why, other than it was a bargain”, she bought it.
Linda says that “little did I know, I was taking my first steps on a long and fruitful journey”.
To the more philosophical observer, it was as though the camera had called to her, but to the more rational thinker, it seems like an obvious next step.
Linda ponders on whether her visual approach to expression and to her work, may have been a result of her dyslexia. Many creative minds have dyslexia and find where written word or letters fail them, visual communication offers great solace. She has observed how some of the most notable names in photography such as Ansel Adams, David Bailey, and Don McCullin were dyslexic and perhaps she has “seen the world through a lens all my life and never realised it”.
Accessibility and Flexibility
Like many people who return to study, there are generally responsibilities, life choices and basic everyday commitments that can present challenges when choosing the right course of action. When Linda had made the choice and decided to pursue an education in photography, she began browsing online. There are many options out there but because the British Academy of Photography offers so much accessibility, flexibility and indeed accreditation, the Academy was an obvious choice for Linda.
Challenges and surprises
When embarking on a new field, there are always going to be surprises and unexpected demands, but what can at first seem daunting, often winds up being the most interesting element of the learning journey. Linda has been enjoying the research aspect of learning and while the writing work entails grappling with Linda’s dyslexia, she has found support through Grammarly online. In fact, all of the coursework is accessed online, which initially surprised her but now she finds it’s very useful.
Linda is one of many students at the academy who have found themselves drawn to a new chapter in their creative life. She is interested in sports photography, events, portraits, and with enough time, plans to explore some studio work.
Through the lens of an artist
They say that if you stay curious, you will stay young and Linda is a clear embodiment of this adage. But age is also just a number. A 25-year-old can have an indifferent mind, and a 95-year-old can possess the inquisitiveness of a toddler. But age aside, it is the artist within who will always find a way to step into the light. Linda spent her professional life teaching others, now it’s her turn to shine, to find her own lens and to show the world what she sees.
