Teddington Nub News aims to be supportive to EVERY element of the community from business and shops to people and charities and clubs and sports organisations.

Everyone is finding it tough at the moment and is desperate to get back to normal.

We are profiling some of these local businesses and groups regularly over coming weeks in a feature called UP CLOSE IN TEDDINGTON in the hope that we can be a supportive springboard for their full return to business as usual.

This week we talk to EMMA DURNFORD of Emma Durnford Photography, Teddington, who shares some of her favourite images and the secrets of her eye-catching work.

During an in-depth Q and A session she also talks of her love of living in Teddington.

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There are many strands to your work, tell us a little bit about how you started out and what first triggered your interest in photography?

My degree was in Graphic Design many years ago which included photography and over the years since then I have always enjoyed taking photographs. However, it was when I left the Home Office in 2008 after fifteen years in the Civil Service, that I returned seriously to photography.

I obtained both my Licentiate from the Royal Photographic Society (LRPS) and my creditation from the Photography Alliance of Great Britain (CPAGB) really as proof to myself and others that I had the skill and ability to work professionally in this area.

We are so lucky to live in this area of Greater London - or Middlesex as I still insist on addressing my letters! I realised in the early days that Teddington and the Borough did not have a range of quality photographic greeting cards. In 2011 I produced my first twelve greeting cards and supported by The Card Collection that used to be in Teddington High Street, I starting to sell them.

It quickly became apparent that there was a definite market for them and people still give me ideas of places to visit for new cards - please keep it up.

Over the years I have increased my range to fifty including sixteen of central London locations and a further eighteen local Christmas cards. I then expanded my work to photographing for websites and more recently family photography.

Photography is one of those particular sectors where technology has made massive advances, can you remember your first camera, what type it was and what sort of photos you took then?

My first camera was actually my Mum's camera! She rather permanently 'loaned' me her Kodak Brownie. It was very much a 'point and press' camera but gave me my first thrill of seeing images that I had taken in print. Photography is so instant now and less and less people will remember the wait, often one or two weeks whilst the 24 or 36 exposure films were sent away to be developed and the prints sent back again!

When I was younger I liked to take landscapes and architecture on our family holidays to Pembrokeshire and Cornwall along with some very bad wildlife photography without a telephoto lens. I used to want images with nobody in them, not even my two sisters. Now as I get older I realise just how important it is to include people both as a point of interest and also to permanently capture family and friends who will not always be with us.

Almost everyone regards themselves as a 'photographer' nowadays because of the improving quality of photos from mobile phones, can you tell us about your preferred camera equipment and why you think it makes a big difference?

Technically, anyone with a camera or smartphone can call themselves a photographer… but are they a good photographer? I have an iPhone and will take many photos every day on it and the quality of these sort of phones are improving every year.

However, using apps such as Instagram and Snapseed, being able to add filters and tweak photos can deter people from taking the time to compose a good image or manage the lighting conditions.

When I am shooting commissioned work or on a family photo-shoot I rely on my Canon 5D Mark 3 full frame DSLR camera. Together with a set of Canon luxury 'L' lenses the quality is superb. The lens are called fast lenses as they enable me to shoot high quality images in low light, the advantage being that for family photography with children playing, for instance, I can achieve the shutter speeds I require for a pin sharp image.

My favourite lens and the one I use the most day to day is my Canon 24-70mm f/2.8. A lovely lens which gives me a slight wide angle for landscapes and a slight magnification for more tightly composed images.

There is massive competition in your business, what do you think sets you apart from other photographers? What are the key qualities a successful photographer requires?

Planning, patience and flexibility. No family should have to worry if something unexpected crops up or someone is poorly on the day - we can easily reschedule. I am experienced and fully trained but the way that I work is very simple. I do not have lots of complicated photography packages and I really do not like the way that some photographers work by only allowing limited access to low resolution images to clients after a shoot and then charging a small fortune for a limited number of printed images!

After I have worked with a family, I will undertake the most difficult part of editing a large number of images down to the very best. There is no point in providing lots of similar images - I am confident in choosing the best ones from the day and provide these after full post processing.

The top ten are also produced in black and white which a number of clients have appreciated. The client receives either a DVD or USB stick (whichever they prefer) with at least 30 edited full size JPEG images which are of a high quality to either print or send to friends and family. I can arrange printing as well but I find that basically most people like to have control over their own images.

You have travelled far and wide all over the world, which country do you think represents a 'photographer's dream' and why?

Oh my goodness, this is a difficult question. One of the strands of my work is travel photography both on commission and for stock work. Venice was a revelation, it really is like every image you have ever seen, there is no trick photography or clever angles. However, for me the best time to go is in the winter months from November to March.

It is so much quieter and if you can persuade yourself out of bed before day break this really is the most magical time to experience the city (and it is easier to use a tripod).

For travel further afield, Thailand is one of my favourite places. The people I have met during my travels on a number of occasions there have all been so kind and helpful. One of my college friends is from Thailand and it was lovely to meet him again after more than twenty years and obtain a local perspective of his home city of Bangkok.

The colours are fantastic and if you are photographing in a food market - one of my favourite locations - people are happy to be photographed - make sure you make eye contact with a smile to check first. The culture and Buddhist religion gives rise to some amazing temple architecture and I have some of my most memorable images from this country. The street food is also excellent and very safe to eat as it is cooked fresh in front of you.

Difficult question but could you pick out your favourite EVER photo and why?

Please don't make me choose, when you have taken literally over 100,000 digital images it is difficult to select just the one! If pushed, one of my favourites at present is a photograph I took in Venice in the rain.

The sky was flat and grey and I hadn't got a waterproof on! It is very difficult to take an original image of Venice as it is so well photographed so I decided to experiment with intentional camera movement (ICM).

It was really fun and I took a number of images before I got the speed and direction just right. I think it is still clearly Venice and recognisable as the classic view towards the Giudecca. The movement captures the feel of the rain and film like quality of the city, almost like a watercolour. I particularly like the fact that I achieved this 'in camera' and not with post processing effects.

You work in different areas but where do you prefer to see your work displayed, magazines, websites or commercial photography?

It is always a pleasure even after all these years to see my work anywhere but I have to say that print is still the best for me as I can pick it up and imagine others seeing it as well.

However, my very best place has to be Piccadilly Circus - there are not many people who can say that both their photographs and indeed photographs of themselves have been displayed above Piccadilly on the advertising hoarding at rush hour. A few years ago I shot an advertising campaign for British Airways in Venice as a winner of a photography competition.

I personally only shoot for editorial work so shooting for advertising was a whole new ball game. It was a pleasure working alongside an advertising photographer to understand the requirements and I am pleased to say that being familiar with the city, it was me that chose the final location and composition!

My image was used across London and it was a thrill spotting it at Richmond station, Elephant and Castle underground station and projected alongside the departure boards at Waterloo station amongst other locations.

Lots of photographers still believe that a great black and white photo still surpasses a colour photo, can you share a black and white photo that you are really proud of?

Black and white is a really expressive medium of photography. I remember the 'olden days' when I developed my own black and white negatives in college!

With modern DSLRs it is best to always take photographs in colour and convert to black and white afterwards using post processing software. This ensures that the greatest amount of 'information' in the file and more to work with.

I normally shoot in colour and this image is actually one I am very fond rather than proud of for personal reasons. It is my niece Isabelle (she's now six). She is less than 24 hours old in this photograph and I chose black and white so that her natural pinkness after birth and the colour of her clothes and the background do not distract from her.

Black and white allows you to see the texture of her skin and I think creates a more atmospheric record of her first day in the world.

There are many brilliant photographers out there, who do you admire and respect? Have you ever modelled your work on anyone in particular?

I have never attempted to emulate a particular photographer. Everybody would try and develop their own style. Even if you use the same photographic gear and the same settings, you will never be able to recreate exactly the same image. I have learned a lot from the way that different photographers approach their work though. Two people whose work I particularly admire are firstly Matt Stuart - a superb 'street photographer'. This is a challenging type of photography but relies on good observation, patience and a strong nerve. Some of his images taken around London can make you laugh out loud.

In complete opposition in terms of type of portfolio - Giles Duley, a British war photographer who lost both his legs and an arm in Afghanistan after stepping on an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in 2011. I met him a few years ago during one of his talks in London. His war photographs are brilliant examples of photo journalism and after his injury when a lot of people would have given up, he returned to work with an adapted camera and continues his work documenting conflict and hardship around the world.

Out of all the range of work you do, which gives you the most satisfaction and why?

Whilst I really enjoy travel photography, the most satisfying work for me has to be family photography. I have worked in this area for a number of years and I still get a frisson of anticipation before I meet the family.

I do not use a studio as I prefer the look and natural lighting outside although obviously I use a flash as and when required. I normally spend between one and two hours photographing a family and that can be any number of people - the highest number to date has been ten.

Family are often extended to include grandparents, aunts and uncles and even the family dog! I will spend as much time as needed to capture the family looking their best. With younger children, as their attention span is not long, it helps to know my camera and settings inside out to enable me to work quickly.

Some of my best photographs have been when the children have been playing together and I am using my telephoto lens to capture them from a little distance away so they tend to forget I am there.

How did you come to live and work in Teddington and what do you like about Teddington and the area generally?

Before I visited Teddington in 1999 my entire knowledge of the town was that it was the location of the Teddington Television Studios and also the National Physical Laboratories where my father - an analytical chemist - used to bring the laboratory scales to be calibrated!

However when I started going out with my 'now husband' in 1999 who has lived in this area all of his life, I became much more familiar with the town. I moved here permanently in 2003 when we got married.

This is the first place I have lived since leaving home back in 1987 where I have felt really 'at home'. I know a lot of people in the various shops in the High Street in particular those where I sell my greeting cards and when popping out I will always see somebody I know! Teddington is evolving over time but still retains a large number of independent shops and businesses.

The Landmark Centre is a great place to visit, not just to admire the architecture but also as it offers a location for exhibitions, courses and classes in a range of subjects. The Crescent where we live is very friendly and we really do know most of our neighbours and over the years there have been a number of great street parties. There are not many places from where you can walk along the Thames, visit a number of Royal Parks yet be able to travel to central London in under forty minutes!

Teddington offers such a fantastic 'landscape' for a photographer with the parks, the wildlife and the river – do you have any favourite areas which attract you as a photographer?

This really is the nicest area I have lived in since first moving to London over thirty years ago - to Tooting and Balham. The obvious places are Bushy Park and in particular the Woodland Gardens which provides strong competition to the currently closed Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park for spring colours.

I enjoy walking along the tow path either to Kingston or Richmond and have spent many early mornings photographing both the Teddington footbridge and Richmond bridge. It is easy to check the tides but not so easy to get just the right light and right clouds for a good image. The trick is to keep going back to the same place at different times and on different days to capture the perfect photo.

Go to Emma's website:

Check out Emma's website and work here