Personal Statement - Alexander Sullivan-Cree

1. Alexander Sullivan-Cree Personal Statement
I've alwaysbeentoldthatpreparationisthe keyto success,buthow do we prepare forthe
thingswe don'tplan onhappening?Froma youngage,I wasencouragedintojoiningthe navy
like mygrandfatherandhisfatherbefore.Ispentcountlesshours practising,perseveringand
strivingtowardsbecomingabetterperson.Ispentalot of time raisingmoneyforcharity,
playinginthe band,and helpingoutateventssuchas Remembrance Dayandothersignificant
events.I've triedtocontinue thisthroughoutmylife,especiallyraisingmoneyforcharity
withthe helpof 'NCS' (National CitizenshipService) where myteamandI successfullyraised
GBP400 for dementiausingmyideaof a bake sale at Harrogate districthospital.However,at
the age of nine I wasdiagnosedwithType 1 Diabetesandall thattime I spentpreparingwas
wastedandI've neverfullycome totermswithmy diabetesandthe ideaof neverbeing
acceptedintothe navy.Duringthisupsettingandstressful periodmyinterestinphotography
and mediawassparkedwhilstwatchingmybrothertake picturesof the wildlife he saw whilst
out fishing.Tenyearslatermyinterestinphotographyandmediaisstillgrowingstrong.
My firstyearat college wasspentleaningthe basicsof Adobe Photoshop,PremierProand
Audition.Forthe firstproject,Iwastaskedwithcreatingsome videogame assets,suchas
characters,box art and sprites.Mostof thiswas done usingPhotoshophoweverImade abattle
scene basedonthe classicRPG style where Iused PremierProandAudition.Formyfinal
projectof level 2I made a magazine dedicatedtoanime andmangawhichisanotherone of my
interestsalongside Asianculture andlanguage.The magazinewas28 single pagesinlength
withmostof myinspirationcomingfromthe magazine 'NEO'.Icoveredphotographyinmyfirst
year,howeverIcontinuedtofurtherdevelopthisskill inlevel 3.
Level 3 wasthe yearwhere Iwas able to use myphotographyskillsmore.Similartomyfinal
projectof level 2,I decidedto make anothermagazine howeverthistime Iincludedfake
clothingadvertsforthe brand'Insert Coin'whichspecialisesinvideogame apparel.Iused
real modelsandlocationsforthe photoshootsandIthinkbothof these togetherreallymakes
the photographypopand standout. I reallyenjoyedthisfashionandcommercial photography
and I'd love todo more inthe future.Formyfinal projectof the secondyearwhichI'm
currentlyonI'm planningondoingeitherawildlife orcommercial portfoliowhere I will talk
aboutphotographerswhoinspire me.
As you're probablyaware,itiseveryphotographer’sdreamtohave theirworkpublishedin
National Geographicandmydreamis nodifferent.I've alwaysbeeninspiredbymagazinessuch
as LonelyPlanet,NatGeo,BBCWildlife andothersourcesof photographylikethe WWF,Rolling
Stone andthe BritishJournal of Photography.Iwouldhopefullylike tobe a photographerfor
one of these companies.Mymaininspirationsinclude AnnieLeibovitz,MartinBaileyandJon
Cornforth.