Chrissie Edwards, ARPS

Extract from the Slough and Windsor Express, 8th April 2005:

Twice bitten, not shy to snap ex's wedding

EXCLUSIVE

Photographer Chrissie divorced Nolan ten years ago, but now she's taking his wedding pictures, writes Lisa de Sousa.

A WOMAN who divorced her husband almost ten years ago is set to follow him down the aisle again - this time as a photographer. Chrissie Edwards, who describes herself as a 'keen amateur,' was invited by her former spouse, Nolan, to take pictures of him and his bride-to-be at their forthcoming April wedding in Beaconsfield. ...

"To be asked to take the pictures at your ex-husband's wedding, is quite a compliment," Chrissie, of Northcroft in Slough, said. ...

The former medical photographer is nothing short of flattered by the invitation, and not at all uncomfortable with the idea of snapping her ex-hubby as he goes about tying the knot with someone else. Her only concern when her husband asked her was that his fiancee, Jan, felt the same about the arrangements as she did.

Meanwhile, Chrissie, who is also the author of three novels, has something of her own to celebrate. Her 12th exhibition of photographic work opened at Slough's Central Library this week.

'Carnival of Venice' features a striking collection of portraits taken during her February trip to Italy's famous 'floating city' and runs until April 23. She says she wanted the exhibition to be in Slough because it's her 'home town'.

Far from being embittered by the break-up of her 20-year marriage Chrissie, who's been married twice herself, sees it as a key turning point in her life.

"Once I became separated, I started doing all the things I wanted to do. It was very liberating," said Chrissie, who has a 36-year-old son, Matthew, from her first marriage. She went on to write three successful family sagas and renewed her enduring interest in photography.

"When I left school, I trained as a medical photographer at the London College of Printing, and worked as a photographer until I had my son," she said.

"Ever since then, I have been a keen amateur photographer. But it was only when I became single again that I started to show my work in public."

Now an Associate member of the Royal Photographic Society, her favourite subjects include flowers and other wildlife, partIcularly dragonflies and butterflies. ...

As for her writing talents, her latest book, Wild Pampas Man, is selling very well,' she says. ...

You can catch Chrissie's 'Carnival of Venice' exhibition at Slough's Central Library, High Street, Slough until April 23. Free entry. Open from Monday-Saturday from 9am-7pm, except on Mondays and Thursdays when it closes at 5pm. For details, phone 01753 535166.

Extract from the Southend Evening Echo:

Catching the world through her lens

Kate Eshmade [reporter, Southend Evening Echo] takes a look at an exhibition being held in Southend Library.

Chrissie Edwards says her life began at 50 as this is when she started taking photographs and writing novels, her photos are on show at Southend Library until the end of the month.

PHOTOGRAPHER Chrissie Edwards had a rather unconventional start to her artistic career. Straight from school she trained as a medical photographer at the National Hospital for Neurology, London. "It wasn't at all creative," she laughs. "Looking back it was actually quite gruesome."

Chrissie, 57, would spend her working day taking pictures of operations, post mortems and before and after photographs of plastic surgery patients. She wasn't thrown in at the deep end, however. The students were slowly introduced to the realities of the medical world.

"For the first year we would spend our time in the dark room processing other people's photographs. So by the time it was our turn to take pictures, we'd become quite hardened to it."

Chrissie, of Slough, who also studied at the Royal College of Printing, later gave it all up to start a family. That was the last time she did any serious photography, until she hit her 50th birthday. "I had a change of lifestyle, got divorced and really went into photography in a big way," she explains. "I started taking photos and having exhibitions."

The latest of these is at Southend Library. The display is a mixture of wildlife, flowers, nature and pictures taken during her travels.

During the past seven years, Chrissie has also become an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society.

Her favourite subjects are dragonflies and butterflies and she can often be found in woodland or surrounded by water. "For the dragonflies I need to be near water, so I go down to Surrey where there are a lot of lakes and bogs," she laughs. “I'm only happy when I'm standing with my wellies on in water."

She also often finds herself at the mercy of her subjects. "The butterflies tend to come in threes. You can wait for hours and then all of a sudden you're spoilt for choice."

Her pictures are often snapped up by doctors for their waiting rooms and garden centres for their tea rooms. "They're popular in places where you just sit around and look," says Chrissie. "People in the waiting rooms also do a bit of impulsive buying, which is good."

As well as her love for photography, she has another passion - novel writing. Chrissie has had three novels published, including her latest, the Wild Pampas Man. "It's something I've always wanted to do," she says. "I was 50 when my life started really, and since then I've written three novels and had them published."