Dreamer | Meet Freya Dowson

Dreamer | Meet Freya Dowson

By Alice Whiteley

Dreamer | Meet Freya Dowson

Freya wears Yawn Pyjama Set 'Blue Chambray'

Hi, I'm Freya.

I love to travel, but most days I'm working with my camera, or infront of a computer, living the normal life of a girl in London. Other days I'm traveling overseas to photograph migrant workers at the bottom of a mine, or bonded brick kiln workers living and working together alongside their children and animals.

I like variety in my life, and I love to forge connections with my photos in a way that connects one heart to another, and ultimately makes a difference. 

We live in a hectic world, but I find it is so important to create space in my life so that I have room to breathe. If I don't take a moment to look up from the path I'm running along, I have sometimes failed to notice that I'm going the wrong way.

These are a few things I do to quiet my mind and give myself a chance to do nothing for a day – resting and recovering, a duvet day or snuggling up in a cosy blanket and dreaming the day away. I bought the one below on my travels -  from Jaipur a few years ago. 

Above - Me and my beloved dog Molly. 

I am drawn to photographing the good in people, capturing the human elements that connect us all and bind us together. I love bringing people together through my work and taking photos that show we are all connected in some way, we are all the same in how we feel. And even though our life stories differ, we are not so different from each other in what makes us human.

Capturing village life in Senegal 

Life on the road in Morocco

Searching for waterfalls in Hawaii 

I began working as a humanitarian and animal welfare photographer four years ago – I found an organisation that was struggling to tell its story and without really knowing where to start, I set about changing that. What started out as an impromptu trip to Kenya as a director with a borrowed camera, launched a career as a photographer, visual content and branding consultant, and sometimes videographer. It's a rewarding job - I mean of course I'm busy sometimes flat out! So it's important to remember to take time out for myself- without feeling guilty about it. Follow your dreams and desires but look after yourself too. Go out for a walk and get some head space, come back and get back into your pyjamas. Fresh air works miracles on the mind.

 India in October 

From a slate mine in Dharamshala, to an animal welfare club in a school in Kenya, or the hills of Quiché in Guatemala, I take pictures that focus on the dots that bind us all together as people. I search out that thread that connects a viewer to a concept, and I capture it using a style of photography that doesn't seek to elicit pity or fear, but rather empathy and an connection that lasts.

 Sunset in Canada 

I have been drawn to telling people’s stories, and I haven’t stopped since.

Freya wears the Yawn Blue Chambray pyjama set. 

You can find out more about Freya on her blog -  www.nishaantishu.com