Alan and Margie: 9/50

Alan and Margie are my aunt and uncle. Alan is my mother's oldest brother. They are standing in my mother's living room, photographed on my visit to the UK last year. Alan, now retired, used to be a glider pilot, and took me up in a glider several times. I wanted to be a pilot when I was younger. Planes still have a certain fascination for me (though not the obsession I had as a child), and the quiet floating feeling of gliding is like nothing else.

Alan is also a keen photographer, and we talked about cameras and photography for a while when they visited. He came back the next day to give me a couple of Pentax lenses that he had used with his old film camera, which was very generous.

Taken on Kodak BW400 Professional. Pentax ME Super, 50mm 1.7. 

Rebecca and Brian: 8/50

Rebecca and Brian are my sister and father. They are pictured here in his back garden, talking as he waters his plants. My father told me he wasn't aware I was taking the photo; I'm not sure if Rebecca was.

Rebecca and Brian are close. She spends time in this house, and has a room there. This was my first visit to the house, on my visit to the UK last year. I am not as close to my father, but we have recently reconnected after being out of touch for a while, and we are becoming closer. Rebecca and he have an ease of interaction that I would like to find with both of them. Although my father and I have been visiting each other over the last few years, I don't get to see Rebecca as much as I'd like to. She, like I, has moved to another country and no longer calls the UK home. I'm looking forward to her and my mother visiting me next month.

Taken on Ilford HP5 400 film. Pentax ME Super, 50mm 1.7.

Gill: 7/50

Gill is my mother.

She is an independent person, in a way that I never really understood as a child - maybe because she had to forfeit a lot of that independence in order to be a full-time mother to myself and my sister.

But she has a very independent spirit, which I admire. She seems happiest when travelling with friends and exploring new places. I'm very grateful to her for the sacrifices she made to raise us. She does not consider them sacrifices, but I do.

As an adult, my relationship with my mother has naturally changed, though I think I have always felt close to her. I appreciate the space she has allowed me in which to grow into myself. We see each other a lot less these days, living on different continents, but it makes the time spent together that much more valuable. This photo was taken at a friend's wedding, during a visit to the UK last year. The background of flowers feels very appropriate, as one of Gill's favourite things to do is garden.

I also owe my mother a thank you for continuing to encourage me to take photographs as a teenager. Several of my cameras were presents from her.

This photo was taken with Kodak BW400 Professional film, and was not cropped or edited from the digital copy. Pentax ME Super, 50mm 1.7 prime lens.