Meet Judith Oatley (@jamethyst), the winner of the Golden Hour Mission

We always say that behind each amazing photo there is an amazing person.

Today we want to reinforce that. Foapers, meet Judith Oatley (@jamethyst) who recently won one of the toughest Foap Missions ever, “Golden Hour”, with the photo above. A single mum in the North of England, Judith’s passion for photography started when she got her first smartphone (sounds familiar? 😉 ). Are you ready to get to know more about this amazing person? Enjoy your reading!

Judith, first of all, we want to congratulate you for winning the mission. So many amazing photos were submitted and yours was selected first as a finalist and later as the grand winner. How did you react when you received the news that you were the winner?

Thank you very much. Oh! It was really excited and to be honest I did not really quite believe it. There were so many amazing pictures in the Golden Hour Mission. I was alerted by another Foaper to my win and I just stared at it and then checked and rechecked that it was true!

We would love to know more about the context in which your winning photo was taken. Where and when was it taken exactly?

It had been a very rare and beautiful hot day in the UK and I knew the sunset was going to be amazing. I arrived home from work, dropped everything, picked up my camera and ran to the meadow which is just around the corner from where I live. I arrived with the farmer and we were talking about the weather and his flock. The farmer was such a lovely man and he talked really fondly about his sheep, I guess like you would about a family pet. I stayed for a while and took lots of pictures whilst fascinated by the love the Farmer had for his flock. I think the picture here catches his love/fondness for them in the way he us touching the Sheep along with the glow from the golden hour across the meadow.

What does photography mean to you? And what does Foap mean to you?

I think this is quite hard to put into words! Since getting my first camera phone I have always loved the challenge of trying to take a good picture. It has made me visit many different places and kept me fit by walking. I love to challenge myself and the camera phone to get as close to an object as possible to try and get a really good macro shot. I have met so many wonderful new friends through Foap who are all so brilliant, these people are scattered all over the world and their shared experiences are amazing.  Their encouragement and advice is priceless and without Foap I would never have met these people so I am very grateful to you Foap, thank you. A friend of mine said about photography ‘“ I never saw a thing until I bought a camera” (@catblack). To me this says it all!

Who or what got you started with photography?

Getting my first camera phone started me interested in photography and as these phones get better I guess the pictures do too. I do however love my hobby now and even though I am far from an expert the joy it brings me is wonderful. Last year I was encouraged to buy a DSLR by my sister who is also on Foap and this is a whole new experience and a challenge for me. Although I still use my iPhone too.

We would love to know a little bit more about you. Who is Judith when she is not on Foap?

Oh goodness, who is Judith I would be here all day if I had to go into detail about me and my life lol. However I am a single Mum with an amazing daughter, family and friends who are all very supportive of everything I do. I live in beautiful countryside in the North of England and my favourite place near to where I live is The Lake District. We are so lucky to live near such an amazing place.

Last but not least, could you tell us what’s your favorite photo in your Foap portfolio and why? 

This is one of my favourite pictures as I was so pleased I managed to capture the wonderful colours of the evening. 

Thank you so much, Judith, for sharing your great story and inspiring us all! We are super happy to have you in the Foap community!