Acknowledgements Cover by AO Media Designed by Kieron Lewis from Olga&Kay All imagery featured should not be used, without the owner’s permission
Welcome to Amyra’s First issue. Welcome to Amyra Magazine. My name is Carla and I have been inspired to create a magazine for people of different ethnicities. ~ Over the years, I have noted that there is very little in the way of organising weddings with specific ethnic themes. Living in such a diverse community, some friends and I have come up with the idea of catering for weddings which features the ethnic background of bride and/or groom. ~ Our aim is to travel to different regions of the world, where ever possible or speak to knowledgable people to find out and experience at first hand the nuances of weddings as they are performed in these countries. Armed with this knowledge, we hope to replicate this experience on your special day. ~ Amyra also wants to educate you on the meanings behind the different rituals within the cultural aspects of the weddings. Amyra wants to make your wedding day a special ethnic affair. A day you will remember for its reflection of your ethnic and cultural background. ~ As well as specialising in ethnic weddings, Amyra also aims to be a magazine that will cover different aspects of love, life and relationships. Why not give us a call to see if together we cannot plan your special day with an ethnic theme that will be pleasing both to you and your guests.
amyrasubmission@gmail.com.
Carla Christian F O U N D E R
I had just finished university, worked at Olympics, and thought to myself, I am currently doing photography part time and its working, why not chase the dream and make it full time and build the business. I think the ability to create your future and do what you love doing. I think thats the enjoyment, I am doing what I want to do. ~ In terms of the services I provide I specialize in Wedding, Commercial /Corporate and Portraiture photography. We offer free consultations regarding our clients photographic requirements. We do offer a bespoke service to our clients, in most cases our prices have a starting rate that will result in being tailored to any specific requirements they need. ~ When looking at the idea of different ethnicities coming together I think it’s beautiful! Diversity, difference, the combination of both traditions and culture. It’s beautiful, it’s vibrant, colourful, interesting... different. And different is always good, the world is changing, so makes the story of the world all the more interesting to see and witness. I love it, especially photography wise, we crave content, a story, we want to capture everything, the drama, the special moment, the emotion, the reactions, these are more likely amongst the different ethnicities weddings.
Website: www.a-o-media.com Instagram: @ao_media Email: contact@a-o-media.com
What a treat!
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AN INTERVIEW WITH OLGA KOTT Tell us briefly about yourself and your work?
There are a lot of Photographers out there. What makes you work so unique?
Hi there! My name is Olga and I’m a Latvian born Photographer who moved over to the UK in 2010.
I am very much a perfectionist! Within my wedding photography work I always like be as close to the soon to be husband and wife as possible. Before I even touch my camera, it is important for me to have a strong connection with the couple. This could involve me spending the day with them, a few days prior to the actual wedding day, or even going for a meal. It is important that those in front of my camera are just as comfortable with me, as I am with them.
I received my BA (Hons) degree within Photography and Media Business at The University of Hertfordshire. My work revolves around a number of different elements. Mainly Street and Portrait Photography and in particular, documenting people in their natural surroundings is what I love to capture. From my perspective, when people are not so focused on looking at the camera, the shots I take feel more natural, organic and more importantly my work shows genuine emotion - which I love to document! This also feeds into my obsession with Film Photography, which I have a strong background within. Over the course of the past years, I have been fortunate to work with such names as Bjork, Herschel and Reebok.
In terms of being unique, I would say that I’m always keen to have my photography be as raw as possible, with very little editing. Now more than ever, many photographers will edit their work so much than if you were to compare the before and after, at times you cant even seem the resemblance. From my perspective, editing photographs is an essential part of my work, yes however, keeping the essence of the original shot in tact as much as possible, is truly beautiful thing.
In this period, I really developed a strong bond between the couple, especially the bride-to-be, who is originally from Venezuela. This led to me flying out with the couple to Venezuela, where there I photographed their second wedding, which were for those who couldn’t make the first, back in Dublin. Once both shoots were completed, I literally felt as though I was part of the family. Fantastic experience! From a learning perspective, my whole experience travelling with this couple really fed into my final year at university. I realised the importance of time management and how to multitask. You have a number of attributes which make up your profession. In particular your Wedding shots are something which we admire highly. How did you find it working on your first wedding shoot? I believe that I’m the sort of person who is forever doing something productive. Whilst studying at university, I also freelanced and this led to my first-ever wedding shoot. I found it very exciting, despite being slightly nervous, because I had the opportunity to do my first shoot, abroad in Dublin. Prior to the wedding, I spent time with the family over a meal. I found this to be a very important aspect to the process, as I was able obeserve and develop a real understanding as to how everyone interacts with each other.
Amyra is dedicated to celebrating different ethnicities through the power of marriage. What is your perspective on this?
Spanish, Polish, Indian, Hungarian or Irish. One thing which we should all strive to cultivate is love for your fellow man or woman.
Interesting question.
With everything going on in the current world of politics, it really brings a lovely memory to mind which I will share with you.
Well, I’ve just got back from the Barbican, where I watched the film, A United Kingdom staring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike (highly recommended). Watching that film, and more evidently seeing how the world is changing around us, really inspires me as professional and encourages me to embrace my interest in documenting people of different backgrounds and cultures. I’ve done wedding shoots for couples of various backgrounds. Whether it is,
Whilst on my shoot in Venezuela, I remember seeing a group of children playing and laughing with one another. Now it was obvious that they were from different nationalities, but that didn’t mean anything at all. They were having a good time and enjoying the moment. For me, this perfectly demonstrated the power of equality.
Olga you really have a ‘good eye’ for noticing those special moments, which most could miss out on. What is your favourite thing to photograph at weddings? We briefly touched on this at the very start, but I would say capturing those moments where the couple or even the guests almost forget the camera is there, is when you capture the real emotions. (It is almost like being a ‘photo ninja’).
You have a number of services which you provice, would you mind telling us what they are? I do find my job roles forever changing simply for the fact that I’m learning more skills, than I ever thought possible. My main strengths are Creative Direction, Portrait Photography, Commercial and Event Photography.
Within your line of work it does require a lot of travelling. How do you feel about this? Well routine doesn’t usually work with me. I’ve never actually had a full-time for that very reason. It might sound like a cliche, but within Freelancing you really do pave your own way. For me, the best way to spend your money is not on material items, but more on experiences. I love to travel and meet interesting people. Connecting with other people, and in particular creatives, has led me to a collaboration with a Freelance Graphic Designer. Despite us both having our full-time commitments, we still find time to work together on exciting projects
under the name Olga&Kay. Olga&Kay are two creatives from different disciplines, Photography and Graphic Design. We both have a strong passion for documenting the way people interact through culture and lifestyle. Our final outcomes tend to be a series of photographs, which were in the process of gathering and filtering down into print.
So what can we expect from you in the new year? Well my next adventures will be around Europe as I will be shooting in Athens, Amsterdam, Riga and Berlin, so that will be an exciting chapter. I’m really keen on pushing my creative partnership with Kieron Lewis (Kay), through Olga&Kay. We’ve recently given talks based on, ‘The Importance of Self-Directed projects’, for Westminster City Council, Bright Ideas Trust and Young Gold Teeth. Bright Ideas Trust have kindly invited us to speak again in February, which Kay and I are very excited about.
A big thank you to Olga for a smashing interview, it was a real pleasure! Many thanks to Amyra for speaking with me! If you would like to see what I’m up to next, please see below:
Two creatives from different backgrounds, but with a similar passion for documenting the way people interact through culture and lifestyle
Email Us
Christie Ryan-Coker
Facebook: Zara Christie MUA Email: themuazarachristie@gmail.com
JORDI WILLIAMS
Dj Chillz (Debbie Ade) I decided to become a full-time DJ because of my love and passion for music that I’ve always had. Growing up I listening to the likes of Fela and 90s music, I knew from an early age that I wanted a career in the music industry. The aspect of my work that I love the most has to be how music can bring people together. For me, there is no greater feeling than me looking over the DJ booth, and seeing people having an absolute blast. ~ We specialise in a personal service, we offer a free consultancy to meet up with our clients to find out their plans so that we can make their wedding/event/party a complete success! We always take great pleasure in going the extra mile to make sure our clients day is one that everyone will talk about for years to come. We also offer bespoke services to our client, mobile disco and music service for any wedding, corporate party or private function. As no event is the same and their requirements also differ with our extensive and diverse music collection, past and present. We tailor everything to meet the needs of our clients. As an extra services we can also provide DJ mixes and playlists for all weddings, parties, events and occasions. Unique remixes of your favourite songs produced to your specification. ~ Djing at weddings and events, I meet a lot of couples, I love the idea of love and seeing others coming together from a different background. Music sees no colour, no race.
Website: djchillz.com Email: Jordi@djchillz.com
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I started out as a trainee hairdresser over 20 years ago, from there I went on to work in several salons, went to college to gain my Level 2 & 3 NVQ in Hairdressing and also trained in makeup. I have always worked freelance on a part time basis but only decided to take the plunge full time about 7 years ago. After changing up my lifestyle to live a more natural and organic lifestyle, naturally I did a lot of research to help me sustain this lifestyle and it was clear to me that more and more people of all backgrounds are wanting to live a more green and ethical lifestyle, whether it be going vegan, vegetarian, or just switching to using more natural and organic food and products.
~ I switched all my personal hair and makeup products to more natural and organic brands that are vegan friendly and cruelty free and I immediately saw the benefits. I wanted to get this information to as many people as possible so I switched my professional hair & makeup kits to products so that my services would be suitable for everybody including vegans, those with skin allergies or sensitive skin as well as anyone living, or wanting to live a more ethical lifestyle.
~ I saw that brides of all ethnicities needed a dictated bridal hair and make-up company, specialising in creating world-class bridal hair and makeup services using vegan, natural and organic products whilst avoiding harmful chemicals, pollutants and animal cruelty. This is how Brides Personified was born.
~ I am so confident that our brides will look flawless and be 100% thrilled with their Bridal Hair &/or Makeup Services that I offer Brides Personified’s 100% Satisfied Bride Guarantee with every booking. I personally attend every booking but do have a team I work with for larger bookings.
~ Being in a mixed marriage I fully embrace and love the fact that more couple of different ethnicities are coming together and more services need too be able to cater to those different cultures and backgrounds.
Website: bridespersonified.com Email: hello@bridespersonified.com
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Our gift to you!
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SEAN ROLLE
Events Catering & PR Sean Rolle Events & Catering love to dream big and put that extra sparkle into every event we do. With over a decade worth of experience in Events, PR and Catering we have built up a repertoire of events, wonderful dishes and creative ideas. Sean Rolle is a family run business which means we treat your event like a family affair giving it that extra special touch. ~ We are very passionate about events, catering and the overall experience that we give to all our clients that we are happy this reflects in our work. As a company our brand is based on paying attention to detail, tailor made services, bespoke ideas and individuality. From corporate events to private functions the company’s creative work is delivered by our in house team, which we think makes us extra efficient. ~ Our food is prepared with love, care and a little Sean Rolle magic. With delicious recipes that have been handed down the generations, preparing banquettes, dinners and events to remember is in our DNA. As a company we raise standards, brake boundaries with our creative ideas. SREC work endlessly to exceed your expectations and strive to achieve the best results. We recognise are clients our different and so each event is tailor made to your specifications and requests. Sean Rolle provides affordable packages that cater to all budgets. We also have flexible payment options. ~ For more information on Sean Rolle Events why not contact us at info@seanrolle.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram @seanrolleevents
Website: seanrolle.com Instagram: @seanrolleevents Email: info@seanrolle.com
© Sean Rolle
© Sean Rolle
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- Few lines describing you/ your businees - Include URL links such as social/website - Your thoughts on how culture and ethnicity can inf luence weddings.