I am Hope Fitzgerald, a photographer, videographer, and artist. I have lived in Faversham, Kent with my husband and three girls since April 2000, but only began walking everyday in June 2013. Pictures from this past year in Faversham are also on Instagram and you can see them here. I started writing about the experience in Letter From Faversham on Christmas Eve, 2013.
As a photographer, looking and seeing is my job. It felt natural to take a few pictures using my mobile phone to document where I’d been, and this began to act as a motivation to keep going. After two weeks, I was completely hooked on the walking. The photographs became a personal diary of observation of my hometown of Faversham, Kent. A grant from Ideas Test, Creative People and Places has made extending this idea into Swale and Medway possible.
Meeting people, learning new things, and seeing familiar things and appreciating them anew are all unexpected benefits of walking. The feeling that walking every day gives me is something I will always want in my life. Using mobile phones has made sharing the images of these things so easy through social media like Instagram and Twitter. Having the chance to walk further, meet more neighbours, and promote walking will be a great adventure. I look forward to meeting you out there, Swale and Medway!
If you are walking anywhere in Swale and Medway today, use #walkSwaleMedway!