Today we’d like to introduce you to Alisha Bangham.
Alisha, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My fascination with taking photographs and looking at photographs started as early as I can remember. My family was a huge influence on me. I have a big family of people who like to “perform” for the camera. This resulted in there always being a camera around, and hours of looking at those photos. Every time I go home, I still head for the family albums. When I was 16, I bought a pack of black and white 35mm film and took the family point and shoot for a drive. My friend and I ended up in the rural parts of Pennsylvania and this was the first time I shot landscapes and really the first time I tried taking pictures. I still have them, and 24 years later, I can still see those elements in my current work so clearly. My casual picture taking continued through my 20’s and progressed into a Canon digital point and shoot that went with me everywhere. People always complimented my pictures and remarked that I should do something with them. I didn’t even understand what that meant! Photography as art had never even entered my line of thinking before. My creative outlet was a hairdressing career. Photography was not even on the radar.
My world had a dramatic shift when I was 30. A painful and sad divorce, coupled with the housing market crash and our home being foreclosed was very traumatic. The relationship with my family and friends was incredibly strained and I felt so alone and out of control. I would find myself going on these intense runs in the forest and carrying my small camera. A hair client had seen those photos and commented that everything in those black and white photographs was dead, and was in various stages of decay. My mind shifted and I started to see things differently. It really became an outlet and a way for me to communicate during a difficult time. The following year, the friends of my cousin asked me if I would be interested in photographing their wedding and they would pay me. I thought they were crazy! I sheepishly agreed and one month prior to the wedding, I went to best buy and bought a Canon Rebel. I cannot stress enough that I had no idea whatsoever what I was doing!
Up until the wedding, I walked the streets of Pittsburgh constantly learning how to use it. It became really fun! I met interesting people and saw my hometown in a new way. I started shooting wedding and kids immediately through my clients at the salon. That helped me build up my gear, but I was not really interested in those subjects. The next turning point was eloping and moving to London, England. I had started reading about photography and going to many galleries. It was incredible. London is also a photogenic place to be, so that’s what I was concentrating on the most. My husband was working very long hours and I was on my own a lot in a city where I knew nobody and wasn’t working. I decided to volunteer a hospice in East London. I had a lot of different roles there, including taking photos for them. It was incredibly difficult to be there sometimes, but also very rewarding. I worked on a year-long portrait project about the Impact of volunteers in hospice in the UK, and that took me all over the country and was amazing. That resulted in an exhibition at the OXO Gallery in London’s South Bank. I still feel really proud of that project. I was working a normal day at the salon and got a phone call from a social worker.
Two weeks later, I was arriving at the home of a young couple. Andrew had just been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and his wife wanted some portraits of them. I spent the next hour with them in their bedroom taking portraits. Two weeks later he passed away. This was so hard for me to deal with, I lost all desire to photograph people. Shortly after, we moved to Colorado an I was relieved to have endless vacant landscapes.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I have one main struggle that has not only hindered me creatively, but in every aspect of my life, and that is the wonderful world of depression. I call it The Dark Demon. I’ve had a friend and two cousins commit suicide. Two years ago, when my cousin Jeff hung himself at 38, it catapulted me into some of my darkest times. I spent a lot of time alone, in a loop, and very in my head. I saw no point in anything. I had no room for creativity, I didn’t trust my ideas and hated all of my work. I also had a lot of health problems at this time, and that mixture was really no good for me and giving up seemed like the best idea.
What do you do? What do you specialize in?
I have “retired” from hairdressing after 23 years-except for friends. I focus on a lot of personal projects, mostly involving portraits and certain landscapes. I will do the very occasional wedding if it’s laid back and unique. I travel a lot and that’s been a lot of what I’ve shown in photo shows.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
While I’m very proud of the work I did involve hospice, I’m most proud of my recent portrait work.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.alishabangham.com
- Phone: 720-226-488
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @alishabangham
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