In our recent episode of The Camera Life Podcast, we were joined by internationally recognised photographer and awards judge Emily Black. Emily shared with us her fascinating and inspirational journey through her career as a photojournalist, family photographer, and international photography awards judge. Emily’s optimism and energy extend beyond her creative crafts. During the Victorian COVID lockdowns, Emily found peace and purpose in exploring her local community on foot. Before long, Emily found that her local community presented an unnecessary boundary to her desire to run further…and further. Today, Emily is an endurance athlete participating in marathons and ultra-marathons in some of the most challenging and gruelling locations. Being a visual creative, Emily has integrated her photography into her commitment to the trail running community.
I met Emily on the first day of the Bright Festival Of Photography in October 2024. Emily was the instructor of my first-ever BFOP workshop. I was immediately aware of Emily’s energy, friendly nature, and commitment to the workshop participants. Emily had such a small window of opportunity to impart a set of skills to elevate our photography processes and output. In a couple of hours, Emily demonstrated more than her photographic prowess. Emily brought knowledge, experience, commitment and fun to the workshop. With the workshop complete, I was lucky to ride with Emily on the return car trip to BFOP HQ. We chatted about family, photography, and Emily’s journey into ultramarathon running. While I was grateful for the ride, I was even more thankful for Emily’s time and candidness in sharing her story. I knew then and there that we had to unpack this on The Camera Life in more detail.
In high school media studies, Emily began her photographic journey when a teacher recognised her eye for photography, which sparked her motivation for the craft. She was fortunate to finish university with her qualifications and straight into a photojournalism job with a large local community news organisation. However, it wasn’t all glory, as Emily had to prove herself to her peers and superiors by starting with the small stories first. She was also one of only a handful of women working in an otherwise male-dominated workforce. Emily spent 12 years as a photojournalist, capturing every conceivable event, opportunity, and newsworthy story. Emily approached her assigned shoots with empathy and humility to document how people in her local community faced the world they lived in.
As a young mother with many friends at the same stage, Emily was encouraged to work with a friend to shoot baby and maternity photos. Being a parent with a strong social network allowed Emily to broaden her client base and build a successful photography business with a family-friendly focus. Emily’s positive and caring nature, coupled with her experience as a photojournalist, allowed her to develop her unique approach to capturing family moments. Today, Emily is an internationally recognised photographer with an extensive portfolio of work covering family, events, business and commercial, nature, and, more recently, endurance. Emily is also a qualified and accredited photography award judge appointed as the Australian lead on international photography awards and judging.
One of the most inspiring stories Emily shared with me on the winding road to Bright was that of her accidental introduction to endurance running. Like many who lived in Victorian during the Covid pandemic lockdowns, Emily found herself housebound while homeschooling her kids. It was challenging, to say the least! Emily sought solace, peace, and inspiration by making the most of the allowable travel zone. At first, Emily walked to get some space and oxygen amidst a world gone mad. Over time, Emily rediscovered her connection with the natural world and discovered a desire to explore further. So, she started to run. As it turned out, Emily loved to run and see the natural world in her way. Before long, Emily was clocking up the kilometres, and her brother encouraged her to run a half-marathon. After that, her competitive sibling suggested a full marathon wasn’t much further! And so, the ever-increasing distance to the finish line allows Emily to run some of the most challenging trails as an endurance athlete.
Beyond being thoroughly impressed at Emily’s commitment, focus, and stamina, I was inspired by her fond accounting of the importance of her endurance and trail community. Emily is a people person and has found kinship among her endurance community. Nothing brings people together more than participating in such an extreme event where overcoming mental barriers is the key to overcoming physical ones. Through her connection with the endurance and trail community, Emily has broadened her photography repertoire to document endurance events and the stories of the people involved. Another impressive facet of this story is that Emily integrates her endurance efforts with fundraising for Dementia Australia.
“Photography is how I defined myself for many years, and while I can't imagine defining myself in another way, in recent years, I have loved exploring the world through endurance trail running and the resilience of the human spirit through it." Emily Black
If you’re unfamiliar with The Camera Life Podcast, be sure to take a look at our YouTube channel for the latest episodes and, of course, our back catalogue of weekly shows. Our shows are also available on popular audio podcast platforms. If you like what you see, please give us a thumbs up, Subscribe to The Camera Life, and click on the bell icon to receive notifications of upcoming shows. If you want to check out Emily Black’s body of work, there are links below to the Emily Black Photography website and Instagram page. And please take a moment to check out the link to Emily’s fundraising page for Dementia Australia. Dementia Australia is the advocate for over 400,000 Australians living with dementia and the 1.6 million people involved in their care. Moving into 2025, Emily plans to integrate her photography and trail running with fundraising and awareness of this critical cause.
- Running For The Memories - Dementia Australia Fundraising Page
- Website: www.emilyblackphotography.com
- Instagram: @emilyblackphotography
