Three Countries, a Pandemic and on to my Fourteenth Year
When I look back to where this all started in 2012, it feels like a different lifetime. I borrowed a camera to shoot my very first event because mine just wasn’t up to the job. That gig turned into my first pay-check from photography, and in many ways, the seed of what became Noodle Photography.
Starting the business in Singapore wasn’t just about taking photos. The amount of paperwork and bureaucracy to set up a legal entity taught me persistence early on, persistence in the face of red tape, rules, and systems I wasn’t familiar with in a foreign country. It was a crash course not just in photography, but in running a business, and it laid the foundations for how I still approach challenges today.
Not long after that first job, I landed work photographing drama productions at an international school. That opportunity lit something up in me. Capturing live performing arts (the energy, the expression, the fleeting moments on stage) quickly became one of the cornerstones of my work. And it still is today. Performing arts photography is one of those areas that never feels like “just a job.” It’s a privilege to freeze something so alive into images people can hold onto, and it’s shaped the creative identity of Noodle Photography ever since.
A masked dancer takes off during Covid in 2021
A couple of years in, my work expanded into marketing photography, and that grew faster than I could have imagined. For businesses, telling their story visually is powerful, and it’s been rewarding to help clients do that in ways that feel authentic and compelling. For years, I balanced both worlds; creative performance photography and commercial shoots, and that mix still defines my work today.
Running Noodle Photography hasn’t been without its challenges. Surviving Covid was one of them. Almost overnight, the shoots that made up so much of my work came to a halt. I’ll always be grateful to the schools who found ways to keep me busy during that time, including sending me client-made footage of kids performing in their bedrooms and kitchens and asking me to edit them into online “band” videos. It wasn’t the same as being in a theatre with an audience, but it kept me going, and it reminded me of the resilience and creativity this job demands.
Over time, Noodle Photography has travelled with me across three countries: from Singapore, to the UK, and now the UAE. Each move has come with its own challenges. In Singapore, schools and clients often came to me once I’d built a reputation. In the UK, I had to carve out a place in a competitive market. And in the UAE, despite arriving with more than a decade of experience, it felt like starting over once again. Building a new base of clients here has meant phone calls, emails, meetings, and countless LinkedIn conversations. This is the less glamorous but absolutely essential side of freelancing.
If there’s one lesson I’ve learnt from working across three countries, it’s that the freelance life doesn’t necessarily get easier with time. Every chapter requires persistence, adaptability and a willingness to keep reaching out and pushing forward. At the same time, the reward has been incredible: the opportunity to build connections, collaborate with clients in new industries, and bring fresh stories to life through photography.
Now, entering my 14th year, I feel proud of what’s been built so far. But, I’m also excited about what’s next. I’ve got a strong foundation here in the UAE, a portfolio shaped by diverse experiences, and the same drive that carried me from that first borrowed camera to today.
The journey has been anything but straightforward, but it’s been worth every step. And as always, the best part is working with people; whether it’s capturing the power of a live performance, creating images that help a business shine, or finding creative ways to keep telling stories when the world shuts down.
Here’s to year 14!
