Nigel Poole
My interest in photography started as a child, when my parents bought me a Kodak Brownie 127 camera for my birthday. I can remember being very proud of my black & white images of half an elephant at London Zoo! A Kodak Instamatic soon followed, those of us of a certain age, will remember with affection (or not) the flash cubes that slotted into the top of the camera, and colour images.
However, it was my late father-in-law Kenneth Miller a photographer and founder member of the Beckenham Cine Society who introduced me to 35mm cameras, including the Zorki Rangefinder, Praktica LTL and various Canon Cameras. Currently in the bag is a Nikon Z6 and a Fujifilm X100V.
My passion for social justice especially homelessness and social housing started when I was 16 having read a book about the Kingsmead Estate Hackney East London. That was the catalyst for a 38 year career in social housing, 18 years of which were spent in Hackney. I left the sector in 2008, to establish a consultancy working in the faith and charity sectors. In 2013 I became the minister of St John's Church Penge.
I continued to be involved in a number of projects and charities working for and serving those on the margins of society.
Now that I have retired I am able to combine two of my passions photography and social justice. In the words of Claire Thomas Photographer and Photojournalist "A single photograph can - evoke emotion and encourage the viewer to engage in the story - and in some cases, contribute to a change in policy."