Biography:
Biography:Name: Fiona Compton
Nationality: Saint Lucian
Age: 21 (plus 9)
Resides: London, England
Profession: Photographer, since 2005
Cameras owned: NONE…in the process of switching.
Frequently used camera: Mainly Nikon – a lot of my work has been on a D300s, 24-70mm, 70-300m and 50mm lenses
Zodiac Sign: Libra
When you find something you truly love and enjoy, you should do it! It has been proven that most persons, who choose a career doing what they love most, have a happy and eventful life and career. Happiness is…having a job that you love. Happiness is…finding your passion and living it! Happiness is…walking barefoot and letting your hair down. If there is one thing we hope you learn from this interview, is that while life is unpredictable, happiness comes with self-discovery. Though self-discovery varies with the individual, Fiona Compton shows how much fun it can be by just trying. Lest nothing else be said about Fiona Compton, her patriotism to her country is unraveling and utterly inspiring, in true spirit of her father and Saint Lucia’s Father of Independence, the late Sir John Melvin Compton.
Dazzle: Who is Fiona Compton and what does she do?
Fiona: Well this is a hard question! As I get older, I get closer to knowing who I am. For now, I can say I am a person who is constantly in the need to do something creative. When I was younger I wanted to become a painter but that romantic idea quickly dissipated when I saw artists who were much better than I was on the streets struggling. I sat and I thought, ‘where can I be creative but realistic at the same time?’ That’s what led me to photography. Outside of that, I am a strong believer and supporter of the Caribbean. I am in love with our culture and I think that is reflected a lot in how I am as a person.
Dazzle: Which part of the world are you right now and why?
Fiona: London. I came to London to study and that’s where I learnt how competitive the Art world is. London is completely saturated with incredible artists, but I stuck with it. After completing university, my first job was crap. Then, I worked on getting a better job, then a better one after that and so on. I have a day job photographing heads of banks and I do my own stuff on the side. London is producing some opportunities for me that I would like to complete before I move back home.
Dazzle: What did you study and why?
Fiona: I did my foundation at CSM where you do it all – jewellery design, fashion, fine art, sculpture, product design and photography. Through doing it all, I realised my path was to become a photographer, so I did my degree at LCC.
Dazzle: What challenges are you faced with as a photographer?
Fiona: Some people think I pick up a camera, snap, and that’s it, they assume my job is not difficult, because everyone has a camera too, and they think ‘well I can do that!’ Many people also think that it’s just a hobby and not a real profession. What I try to do is create images that evoke an emotion – mainly to make people feel good. That’s the difference between a photographer and someone who takes pictures.
Dazzle: What subjects do you like shooting?
Fiona: Most of my work is of women. You can do a lot more with them in terms of posing, how creative you can be with makeup and wardrobe. I also love to shoot on location. I enjoy studio work too as I appreciate being able to have complete control of the light. Shoots on location, especially when I shoot in St. Lucia make me incredibly excited – ask anyone who has modeled for me just how much I express myself!
Dazzle: Have you done video recordings if so, what have you produced?
Fiona: Yes I have moved into video. It’s like another fabulous extension of photography. With photography it’s about capturing the decisive moment but with film it’s putting together a story, making it flow and look good as well. It involves more work I’d say, but enjoyable work for me. I have produced a cooking series called ‘Country Cooking’, which aired on Tempo, and I’m working on the second series now.
Dazzle: What other projects have you been involved with and what is/was your role?
Fiona: I have co-produced a series called Caribbean Footsteps, airing on Carib Vision from September 2012. It documents many influential people from the Caribbean who have made their mark across Europe – from WWII heroes, music artists, and actors such as Joseph Marcell, AKA Jeffery from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, who is St. Lucian. Many people don’t know that he’s done so much outside of that show – like he taught Shakespeare in the prestigious Globe Theatre. It’s a great programme that showcases our Caribbean people’s accomplishments.
Dazzle: In your very own collection what is your favourite photograph and why?
Fiona: I have lots of favourites, some are from my flower series where I photographed Caribbean (mostly Lucian) women wrapped in local flowers, mainly because the images are so colourful and it reflects how beautiful the Caribbean is. But my favourite image is one of my father, after the 2006 election. There was a problem going on, whilst there was mayhem and people shouting outside, he sat in his chair in his office quietly thinking. He was completely and 100% composed whilst everyone else wasn’t – he was just so wise.
Dazzle: What motivates you?
Fiona: My soul does. I feel like if I am not doing something creative, my soul will wither and die. Yes I know, very dramatic – but it’s true. When I am going through a lull, my soul says to me ‘Fi what you doing? Wake Up and stop wasting time!’
Dazzle: Who is your biggest inspiration and how has that individual influenced you?
Fiona: My parents never made me feel that I had to follow in my father’s footsteps. They never forced any of our hands growing up to be like him – but they are inspiring because they both worked nonstop. So all of us grew up wanting to be great in whatever avenue we chose. Another major inspiration is my Saint Lucian culture and more and more I see it coming through my work and the projects I have done and plan on doing. So you can say national pride is a major inspiration and that stems from my parents.
Dazzle: Tell us about ‘I am St.Lucian’?
Fiona: ‘I am St.Lucian’ started when I was trying to start a Lucian Arts event in London and I put together a website to promote it. I saw an image of a Muslim girl wrapped in an American flag with an ‘I am America’ caption. I thought it would be a great image for the website [www.iamstlucian.com] – so I created a Saint Lucian version. I was waiting for the event to happen so I started adding Lucian things like jobs, businesses, other events and unknown history – which turned out to be the most popular. I wanted people to come to the site and say ‘Wow, I didn’t know that!’ It evolved to becoming a point of reference for Saint Lucians all over to look at. I try not to get it confused with ‘I am Lucian’ which is a separate campaign, by Swagga Shane who has a different website and a great campaign running with shirts, stickers and more.
Dazzle: Whose brainchild is ‘I am St.Lucian’?
Fiona: The name was between filmmaker Davina Lee, author Loverly Sheridan, and myself, but I manage the site.
Dazzle: What is your biggest achievement thus far?
Fiona: Hmm…. Seeing my work in print is nice but I really appreciate it when people stop me to say they’ve seen my work and they like it – it keeps my energy going.
We at Dazzle Magazine really had fun interviewing Fiona and wish her nothing but success and more barefoot and carefree days. We hope that the fire and passion that stems from her soul, flows through her veins and radiates in her art and life, never ceases and never stops to inspire others. Good Luck Fiona – a true Saint Lucian beauty!
