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TRAVEL


3 April 2015 East Kilbride Post Walking On The Wild Side STACEY JANE REID is a vibrant and dedicated local photographer who finds snaps in all the right places.


p FOTO: STACEY JANE REID


Duncanrig High school graduate Stacey Jane Reid recently discovered Africa through the lens of her camera.


Elaine Kelly editorial@eastkilbridepost.co.uk


ll She started out studying politics and went on to disco- ver her love for photography while paying for night classes and balancing a full-time job. Stacey recently spent an ama- zing four weeks on a sponta- neous trip to South Africa af- ter stumbling across a great deal on flights. She stayed in Johannesburg with family for two weeks and then bravely travelled from hostel to hostel stopping off for a spot of sa- fari or skydiving. Here she tells us about her passion for cap- turing beautiful photos and her trip abroad.


Swapping from studying the subject of politics to pho- tography is a major change. These areas of interest are so very different from each other, how did this decision come about? lI went into the subject of po- litics because I was very inte- rested in journalistic photo- graphy in places such as war- stricken countries. I wanted to be involved in taking political photographs, but I also wan- ted to understand what was going on behind the photos. I enjoyed photography a lot mo-


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re though, it wasn’t studying, I was doing something that I loved


You have lived in East Kil- bride all your life, is there any particular place locally that you have enjoyed photogra- phing? lI have shot a few weddings in the area. One was at a lo- cal hotel and they didn’t really have anywhere that you could take a really beautiful photo so I suggested a quick drive to the James Hamilton Heritage Park and took some really ni- ce shots. Another time we took some wedding photos in the EK Arts Centre. A lot of peo- ple aren’t aware that they have a really beautiful garden there


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Those couples were lucky to have such a committed photographer. Would you say that you’re a creative person in other aspects of your life? lI think everyone has it in them to be creative; it’s mo- re to do with the time you ha- ve to allow yourself to be. I’ve always been lucky to be surro- unded by people that are cre- ative and I’ve met so many pe- ople from different backgro- unds, it’s been a good influ- ence.


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You would have met a wi- de variety of East Kilbride’s residents when you worked as a nightclub photographer in one of the local clubs for a while, what was this like?


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lI enjoyed it but it was frustra- ting at times. I couldn’t under- stand why all these girls spent hours getting dolled up only to refuse having their photo ta- ken. I would always ask per- mission before a photo. When I asked one girl with a group of her friends she replied, “Oh no, you don’t want to ta- ke a picture of me, I’m not very photo-hygienic”. I was trying not to laugh and I didn’t have the heart to tell her she meant photogenic!


Visiting Johannesburg in South Africa must have be- en a big change from life in East Kilbride. You swapped nightclubs for safaris and got to visit many game re- serves. Were these encoun- ters what you had expected? lI had heard stories about the Elephants being like sea- gulls in South Africa, I had ne- ver seen one before visiting but it was true. There was so many of them. I was also really lucky to be able to visit a reser-


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ve for orphaned big cats. I got the chance to play with lion cu- bs and baby white tigers and cheetahs. That was an incre- dible experience.


It sounds like you had an enviable trip! Were there any experiences that weren’t so positive? lThere were a few times when I probably wasn’t as se- cure as I felt I was. Because I was staying with family first, or I was always in the com- pany of other backpackers, I started to get a bit compla- cent with my own safety. One day I travelled to a towns- hip, this is a poorer area wi- th squatter camps. I went wi- th another backpacker I had met - an older hippy type man. It was an eye opening expe- rience and humbling to see. The divide between the rich and the poor is so much grea- ter; there isn’t really much of a middle ground. The poor have such a sense of community; everywhere you could see fa-


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milies doing their best to look after each other.


I would say the only really ne- gative experience I had was when I went out on my own. I went on a walking tour of Mossel Bay while staying in a hostel. I didn’t think much of going alone but I realised a while into my journey that I was being followed by two large rough looking men. Af- ter a while I got so scared that when I seen a women in her car stopped at traffic lights, I just got in the passenger seat! I explained what was happe- ning and luckily she was really nice about it. She locked the doors straight away and dro- ve me back to my hostel.


That sounds like a frighte- ning ordeal. In the future you would like to continue tra- velling and your next desti- nation is a choice between South America and Asia. Do you think you will learn from your scare in South Africa and consider being more ca- reful with your safety? lI haven’t decided yet but those are two places that I wo- uld love to see. I should be mo- re careful but I probably won’t. You can’t fully experience so- mething without taking a few risks along the way!


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lIf you’re looking for a photographer then have a look at Stacey’s Face- book: facebook.com/sta- ceyjayphotography


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