When Kellie Langham was 12 she saved up enough coins from her family's pumpkin harvest to purchase her first camera.
It was second hand, from an ex photographer and cost $145.
It was that camera that led Kellie to pursue a passion and photography and through her business she has created endless joy and memories for herself and clients across the state.
"We had a rule in my family that anything that was notes (money) you had to bank and anything that was coin you could spend so I saved all my coin up; it was $145 and it was a Konica Minolta," she said.
"I ended up selling it on for $20 to a young daughter of a farming family. She liked photography and in hindsight I should have kept it but I'm more than happy I did sell it because she got as much enjoyment as I did and it was so nice to pass on that love and share that love."
Kellie now shoots on two Canon 5D Mark IV cameras in between juggling her busy work and farming life.
For eight hours a day she can be found working as a patient safety pharmacist covering the area from Port Macquarie to Coffs Harbour.
On the weekends, Kellie and her fiancé James Elsley head to his family's Spring Ridge cropping property and in between all that she travels across the state to document families, newborns, weddings and rural settings.
"My work is quite stressful so having photography as a creative outlet is very important but also it's so different to my every day," the Macksville girl said.
"When I'm either doing a wedding or a family photoshoot it's always happy and it's always creating something beautiful...and creating that memory."
Online courses, mentoring and practice helped Kellie develop her skills but the moments and photos she holds closest to her heart aren't from a textbook.
Like the declaration of love a man makes on bended knee asking for his girlfriend's hand in marriage or the photographs capturing James' late grandfather in an Anzac Day march, one of the last when he was able to walk among the crowd.
"There are photos that I take that the style is beautiful and it's a really nice photo and I've nailed the composition and that's awesome but then the photo that speaks more to me is that memory behind it," she said.
"When I take a photo I want someone to look at it as a beautiful photo of that couple but I want that couple to look and say that was so much fun and we were laughing and the photographer made me do this and we had so much fun.
"It's having that bit of fun where you can connect and really deeply connect with your clients even if they are five years old or 105, it doesn't matter, as long as you are getting on that personal level and creating those beautiful memories."
Kellie and James were scheduled to get married in April but had to put their plans on hold due to coronavirus restrictions.
For all the joy she brings to other people's lives hopefully they can make their own memories on a rescheduled date in August.
Lucy Kinbacher
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
