About me

Wait, who are you?

I’m an enthusiastic skint photographer with a love for the city I grew up in.

Is Selkie your real name?

No, it’s not. My real name is Claire. Selkie is the camp name I used when I worked at Girl Scout camp in 2005 and 2009. It comes from Scottish myths hailing from the Orkney and Shetland isles about creatures with the body of a seal in the water but the ability to come onto land and shed the skin to become human like. Here are some of the stories.

Why photography?

I’ve quite enjoyed taking photos for years. Having destroyed over the years – a 110 (not a lot of heads in those shots), a cheap early digital camera (when 2 megapixels was huge), 35mm film, disposable 35mm cameras, lost count of the number of camera phones…. Occasionally I was allowed to touch the Polaroid camera but it was expensive. It’s still expensive but I can afford film for it now. My dad gave me his DSLR and it has spiralled from there. I’ve completed night school courses that took me from Auto mode to Manual, then took SQA Higher Photography in 2020. I finished up my HNC this summer and I’m taking a year out before doing NHD.

So what camera do you use?

Currently own with a Canon EOS 77D, 1300D and a collection of lenses. Including a fisheye, wide angle, and 50mm prime. Mostly, I shoot with the 77D and a 24-105mm 4f L lens. Huge fan of pushing everything to its limits and seeing how far I can go. I also have a working 1980’s Polaroid instant camera, now fuelled with modern Polaroid film and a 1960’s Kodak Box Brownie, I’m working on getting into film for it.