Hi there,
My name is Samin Ghiasi, I'm from Tehran, Iran. I grew up in Paris from the age of 8 years old and moved to London in 2010.
I always found peace in Art, especially visual arts and music at a very young age. I was a lot into drawing, but only at 17 years old I started taking pictures because my dad didn't want his old camera.
Everything went very fast from there. I was more than obsessed. I did an apprenticeship for almost two years in Paris, and went freelance in 2010 in London. It was very hard, but worth it. My goal was to be a successful creative, and self-employed before the age of 30 years old. I'm grateful that I managed to tick that square, but something inside of me still wasn't satisfied. The real me, not my ego.
I think in your 20s, when I look back, you are only just a baby trying to understand yourself. With whatever you have then. I only recently really understood what it means when we say "looking back".
After reading a lot and taking time off, I knew that the fashion world was never my world. It only helped me to find work. I love portrait, and beauty. But I loved nature above all. During my spare time I was mostly outside with nature. I started to travel every time I could save money, and my favourite places to shoot were always in the woods or somewhere with a beautiful landscape. It became part of me, so much so, that I started to influence clients to shoot outdoors and have that nature element in their creative briefs. Sometimes obviously it didn't work, and sometimes it did. Selfishly I know, but the results were always wonderful too. So no one really complained (haha).
Then in 2020 as we all know, the pandemic hit, and I couldn't do much. I was worried but prepared somehow. I thought maybe I should start to code and put some money away so I started to study on my own for 6 months. But JavaScript broke me, I realised another office job wouldn't fix my hunger to be outside. Even if I was working for a green organisation. And I'm also someone who needs to love to do what they do and money isn't everything. At that time I was reading "The Secret Garden", by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I won't lie, I cried. It was time.
Seeing how fickle life truly is, especially with a killing/unknown virus out there, I jumped into action again and managed to get funding to study RHS 2. I'm 34 years old, I'm also here because of my 20 something self actions in the past; I still love photography to this day and practice as a hobby, but I'm glad I now chose to sing my own song.
I want to go back to what I was saying about looking back. When I open my portfolio, when I enter my house, when I look at my books, when I look at the people I admire... everything is screaming nature, ecology and plants. How blind was I? I guess fear, insecurities really have true powers. But life takes time and that's okay. You need to function in a space where you are confident to make the decisions you want to make. Why the rush in fact. Time is your best-friend as they say. And change rarely comes without pain.
So now I feel full, content for the first time. As a human. Not because I want to make money or have a career. I just feel happy.
I also feel excited and curious for what to come. I want to try as many nature related studies as possible before specialising. I have signed in so many wonderful webinars that I can count (haha) It's amazing to sit there and hear people talk about nature 24/7. I'm learning a lot and a lot is also free, which I am extremely grateful for. Also, I'm meeting so many passionate, knowledgeable and wonderful colleagues and why not friends.
I also do love health, and I love how plants can help us achieve a wonderful life. I also love aquatic plants, fungi, the sea and fighting for ecology. Trying to reunite the idea that yes, humans and nature truly belong together. We are one.
I think there is perhaps something we can all agree on here, that the lockdown over the past year showed us how much as humans we do need nature. And so many people now acknowledge that and work toward it to make London a greener space.
I'm forever grateful that I am here and I can do things I love and contribute. Thank you.