Kilwinning Graduation 2019: Student of the Year for Art, Fashion and Media
I’m so glad that I made the decision to come to college as the knowledge and confidence it has given me has been invaluable.
Sylvan Buckley, HND Photography
Before applying to college, I had been a full-time carer for my wife for around ten years.
Photography had been a hobby since I received a camera as a gift from my wife. After some encouraging comments from friends and family, I decided to apply for the course.
I’m so glad that I made the decision to come to college as the knowledge and confidence it has given me has been invaluable.
My main concern about coming to college was that I wondered if it was the right time for me to do it. Being a Carer meant that I had to balance college, home and overcome some financial barriers, but overall we managed just fine.
The course was very hands on, mixing research with practical applications. We looked at different genres and techniques that had practical uses and would lead onto further developing our own style to take our photography onto the next level.
I really enjoyed the exhibition part of the course, which involved planning, costing, logistics and holding a photography exhibition. I loved learning new skills, techniques and processes and I learned so much more than I thought I would do taking on this course. It really exceeded my expectations.
I had a great experience during my time at college. The lecturers were always on hand to give advice and give a boost if ever it was needed. My impression of Ayrshire College is nothing but positive, I had a very enjoyable two years and met a great bunch of people, student, lecturers and other staff alike.
For work experience I worked with a local company who were installing wind turbines and solar panels to a small island community in the Inner Hebrides on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands. This was a week-long shoot and was also part of a larger job for the company where I was asked to take photo and video of the manufacturing process of the turbines as well as corporate photographs of the company buildings, stock and its employees. It was massively fulfilling and gave me a huge amount of both practical experience and confidence in executing a job for a client.
I was really honoured to even be nominated for this award to begin with, but to win the award is an even bigger honour indeed.
Winning has given me a source of pride and confidence and is something that I think will be a great addition to my CV. I think it will boost my possibilities for gaining employment or attracting clients in the future.
I plan to take every bit of knowledge that I’ve gathered over the last two years and carve out a career for myself.
Where I would like to see myself over the next few years is having built a business doing something that I love… taking photographs for other people to enjoy.
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