Life is Beautiful: photographer Miriam Ackroyd | Artist

Life is Beautiful: photographer Miriam Ackroyd

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23.01.2022 Two decades + one. Nearly every step of those 21 years have chanted ‘loss, loss, loss’. My bones creak & my muscles ache from the injuries I sustained that fateful day when our car rolled on a lonely highway & my mum was instantly killed. For 21 years grief, loss, depression & PTSD have pumped through my veins & circulated around my body finding a home in every cell within me. I’ve wondered many times if I cut into my skin would it bleed out & make way for something new? Anyt...hing else but this grief. The 5th of September was not only the day we lost our mum, but it is also the date we last saw our dad alive 12 years later. I go over that day in my head time & time again. It was Father’s Day & we were out for lunch. I talked incessantly because I didn’t want to talk about our loss. I looked over & saw my dad’s face & the pain that was written all over it, but it was too painful to acknowledge so I kept talking. I couldn’t wait to leave. I couldn’t bear it any longer. Boy how I wish I could re-do that day. All that week I thought about him & about texting him to acknowledge it but by Thursday 9th September it was too late. He left this earth. Grief now oozed from every crevice of me. Fast forward 9 years to the now. A few months ago, I felt like this was it. There was no returning from this brokenness. This bad brokenness. It was now the whole of me. I felt that my brain chemistry had been permanently altered & could never be repaired. A hospital admission & diagnosis after diagnosis came in justifying the way I felt. But then something happened. My village around me carried me when I could no longer stand & correct medication & therapy & my faith helped my brain to see things anew. Not all at once, but day by day. Sometimes its hour by hour. Yesterday on the 21st anniversary of when the loss began, I woke up & made a choice. I’m no longer going to wear grief like a badge of honour. I’m going to let it go. I’m going to let ‘this broken way make something new. He is making all things new’ (Ann Voskamp). So today I smile and walk with the sweet taste of joy in my mouth & breathe without it feeling like concreate is sitting on my chest. Today I choose life. And I pray. ‘May my grief & brokenness become, in some way, a gift to the world around me; Let my whole life be an offering’ (Scott Erickson). See more

21.01.2022 The lovely Fetch family Anna Ruff

20.01.2022 BARE BONES. This right here is a visual narrative of my hearts-work. If I could be a part of and document one thing for the rest of my days this would be it. Sitting with mothers in the bare corners of their homes where the light falls. Celebrating in their joy. Empathising and holding them with their pain. Live them. document them. Write these days on your heart.

19.01.2022 ‘You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise.... Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise. Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops, Weakened by my soulful cries? Does my haughtiness offend you? Don't you take it awful hard ’Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines Diggin’ in my own backyard. You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise. Out of the huts of history’s shame I rise Up from a past that’s rooted in pain I rise I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise’. Part of my favourite poem by the great Maya Angelou. Today is International Women’s Day. I want to share some images of women from across the world who have graciously shared their birthing stories me. To the women gathering on their kitchen floors in India, to the female students who graduated as Bangladesh’s first direct entry midwives a week after I photographed them and to the women in Kenya who welcomed me into their homes. You are powerful and worthy of being heard and celebrated. You are enough. In the words of the great Maya Angelou, may you rise. What I have found is that when it comes to birth women worldwide speak the same language, even without understanding each other’s language. These images are from a series I’ve been working on for just over 6 years now called ‘with women’ project. It’s a collection of images of midwives and women around the world sharing their stories. Of midwives caring for women the best they can in broken systems and of women who are demanding to be safely cared for and heard in labour. I’m dreaming big and hope to release a book one day Miriam Ackroyd

17.01.2022 I absolutely LOVE making films. They are not refined & perfect. They are messy & imperfect - just like us. I couldn't make them any other way even if I tried. This is how I see the world & I literally can't see it any other way. I want you to remember a feeling, not the posed moment of putting on your dress or the smiles you try to get out of your children (these are absolutely fine but not what I want you to remember). I want you to remember the cup of tea you only drank hal...f of in the mug your mum made you. I want you to remember the shadows that hit your wall that you've never noticed before & from now on make you happy every time you see them. I want you to remember the drive to the ceremony with the butterflies in your belly. I want you to remember the way your hand feels in your lovers. I want you to remember the fractured moments that weave into the tapestry of your beautifully messy lives. I am so blessed to have met these two beautiful humans & that they trusted me to document exactly what I am trying to describe. Like everyone else they had to change their wedding plans due to Covid19. They changed their plans completely from a big wedding to a small intimate one with their loved one. It's a funny thing, this pandemic, this new way of life. It's bringing out both the worst & best in people. As an eternal optimist (a complete paradox as I suffer chronic depression) I love seeing how people are thoughtfully considering exactly what is important to them - in both their everyday lives & wedding plans. Not just going with the crazy fast & predictable flow of what a wedding day usually looks like. These two did the things that were important to them. Beck's best friend couldn't fly over for the wedding so she shared her speech & beautiful words with them over FaceTime. Dancing at venues is currently banned so Beck had a drink of whisky & a slow dance with her dad before he walked her down the aisle. After the ceremony Beck & Jori privately had their first dance together. If there's something Covid19 has taught us it's to live with intention. There are so many things I miss but I don't miss watching the world turn at a rapid rate & being a slave to the fast, now, must have society we lived in (this includes myself too). It makes me sad to think that it's going to happen again when the world starts turning like it did before. We can't help it. We are humans & we are flawed. But let's try individually to change a few things. Let's use this time to be kind to each other, live intentionally & love those who we don't think deserve it. Sorry about the verbal diarrhea. I just wanted to share that with you all xx See more

16.01.2022 Lovers & a baby :)

15.01.2022 In the water & rain this evening with this incredible woman. We were happy the bull sharks stayed away Emily Wilson

15.01.2022 Mums, I know some of you can relate

15.01.2022 A lovely motherhood session of Kat and her 3 little loves. Because 3 is a magic number

15.01.2022 A day spent with these wonderful humans. Every year I get invited to document their beautiful family. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when she decides she wants another photographer to document their journey ;) @Chantel Campbell

15.01.2022 I don't usually photograph extended families as I find it difficult to get genuine and intimate moments due to there being so many people. But sometimes I do and this is one of those times. It's one of my favourite films I've made to date. These 4 beautiful daughters organised it for their mum's birthday. Enjoy x

14.01.2022 A little story about welcoming Charlie earth-side (photos/film of the birth are by a beautiful midwife at the hospital as I wasn't allowed in due to Covid19 restrictions. Thank you Janie!) Enjoy x @Miriam Ackroyd

12.01.2022 Happy Saturday friends! I actually wrote happy Sunday at first. It's been a busy week I don't even know what day it is. Just a reminder that you have ONE DAY left to book a session and receive a film free of charge. YES, free of charge! A gift from me to you. Thank you to all the beautiful people who have booked me over the month of May. I look forward to meeting with you and your loved ones to photograph and film your lives together. Meanwhile I hope you enjoy this little film of a slow afternoon with this beautiful family and their newest family member xx

12.01.2022 And sometimes I get invited into spaces like this to document sacred times like this. It is a truly unique experience witnessing new threads being weaved into a family's tapestry. We watched this amazing woman instinctively do the slow labour dance in front of the most magical orange glow. Her husband, mum, son and her chosen midwives It Takes a Village Midwifery quietly supported her while she breathed her baby earthside in a pool in their living room. Birth can be beautiful...ly family centred. I often hear people say it's inappropriate for kids to be present at births. However I don't think we give children enough credit. We all know that early childhood development is affected by environment and experiences. It's these things that shape who we are and how we see the world. What if they saw birth as a normal life event? If we don't teach the next generation this I do wonder what is going to happen. 'Normal' uninterrupted birth is a dying art. Are they only going to think it happens like it does in the movies? With women screaming on a bed and people frantically running around, all covered up with scissors or clamps in hand and a drape up where she can't actually see the doctor at the end of the bed demanding in a loud voice that she needs to push? I am sitting here thinking of so many movies and TV shows where I've seen this exact scenario. Being present at the birth of a sibling teaches them normality, empathy, compassion and love. They get to see their mother for who she truly is. A warrior. Let's teach our children it's normal and sacred to eat toast on the bed next to the placenta while dad cuts the cord. *Disclaimer: I wholeheartedly know that at times birth can be high risk and intervention is the only/safest option and that children being present at births like this would not be appropriate or beneficial. See more

08.01.2022 A lot of the time its really, really hard to treat my business like a business because this is my hearts-work. My soul. The way I see the world. Not better than the way you see, just different. I love seeing the way others see life. Seeing something from someone else's point of view challenges us to grow, understand and evolve. In my business I've always played by the rule that the work will come, the right work will come. I suck at advertising, I don't follow many of the 'ru...Continue reading

06.01.2022 Love Hurt Surrender Abandon Fail ... Drown Rise Repeat. Some words that have been swimming in my mind of late. My body is exhausted from this season of working non stop but my cup is full that day after day after day people invite me into their beautifully tangled lives to document where they are currently at. My cup overflows with gratitude On a side note a client this week said to me that family life is a complete love-filled shit show I told her I was stealing this line. Enjoy the rest of your weekend friends x

05.01.2022 A little film from a beautiful afternoon spent with the Kelly family, enjoy!

04.01.2022 Katale & Archie

03.01.2022 A gift from me to you... With restrictions slowly (slowly, slowly) starting to ease I’m opening up my books again for portrait sessions and I want to GIVE you a little something. For the month of MAY every family session that is booked will be gifted a family film totally free of charge. A gift from me to you. If this is something you would love let me know! Email me at: [email protected] (film gifted with each storytelling family session booked. Sessions must tak...e place between May & August) p.s. did someone say Mother’s day present?

02.01.2022 Sally & Chantel. They got engaged on & married next to their favourite rock - Adder Rock. I still pinch myself that people choose me to photograph their weddings. Eternally grateful xx

01.01.2022 It’s been a bit of a whirlwind over here. In 3 weeks I’ve documented: 3 weddings 1 birth 6 family sessions... 6 films 1 maternity session I’m exhausted but heart is full. I put together a little film to show you all the beauty I’ve seen in these 3 weeks. I’ve sat the in the car with a labouring woman heading to hospital, again with them coming home with their newest family member. I’ve driven with nervous brides on their way to their ceremonies. I’ve watched Hulk make pizza and his parents dancing in the living room. I’ve had my fill of watching babies yawn (one of my favourite things!) and listened to birth stories, validating their experiences and watched mums navigating through the newborn bubble. I’ve reassured a labouring woman that she’s doing beautifully swaying her baby down in the morning sun as the butterflies fluttered around us. I’ve listened to exhausted mums share their woos and joys of motherhood. I’ve heard their cries and their triumphs. I’ve heard men talk about how much they dislike their photos being taken. I’ll continue to be hopeful that when they see the way I’ve documented them that they change their mindset and see the necessity of documenting this glorious shit show called parenthood. I’ve seen tears from brides, broken hearts and children expressing their big emotions. I’ve watched fractured relationships being hopeful and trying to navigate acceptance and love. I’ve seen love. I’ve seen a lot of love. And what have all these beautiful humans done for me? They’ve made my heart grow bigger. They’ve reminded me that love does (those words taken by book I’ve just started reading from Bob Goff). Love is never stationary. Love does. It moves. It adapts. It forgives. It invites us to love the unlovable. It invites us to fully experience this beautifully messy thing called life. You’ll now find me over here even more exhausted as I’ve just been on night duty at the hospital (being ‘with women’ while birthing their babies) and also trying to get through this editing to give people their stories to hold onto forever. Oh, and parenting three little men that have missed their mum most afternoons for these 3 weeks. I’m now putting down the camera for a month before I get to do it all again. But thank you to my beautiful clients for letting me into your hearts and homes. I’ll never ever take this for granted xx

01.01.2022 And one more because I think she look stunning & powerful in this image Emily Wilson