Growing up on a farm in a very small rural community in NSW, between Coolah and Binnaway, we were encouraged to follow our passions and entertain ourselves in the great out-doors.
My sister and brother, have always been the farmers – loving their horses and absorbing every moment of the farm life.
I was right there beside them but I had another passion – one that was cultivated by my very talented grandfather, Edward Callow.
From the time our beautiful Mum put a camera in my hands (a Kodak point and shoot) I was hooked.
My grandfather would sit with me for hours and chew over the many technical facets of photography.
It wasn’t long before I had my hands on my first fully manual Praktica and a whole new creative world was opened up to me.
Out of necessity for a steady income, I studied at the Dubbo Secretarial College and my first job with the Coolah Shire Council.
I had various jobs where I worked for someone else, but I had a dream …. that one day I would own my own photography related business and work for myself.
I have been truly blessed with a very supportive farmer husband who has encouraged my desire to turn my hobby into a business.
Fogarty Fotos has thrived over the years, strengthening and growing considerably.
We have reinvented ourselves and undertaken a few redesigns to bring us to where we are today.
With the constant changes in technology, our creative side has been allowed to take flight and now the sky is no longer the limit of what is possible.
Us …. refers to my amazing Liz Emmerson, who has a similar creative flair as myself. You will find Liz hard at work around the framing table making our visions come to life.
Between the two of us – there is not much that we can’t tackle.
Having the freedom and flexibility to develop our ideas has been extremely empowering.
Recently we identified a very real need in our community for a large format photographic printer.
We were able to rearrange our shop again to make room for the very versatile Canon Pro 6000s.
This has been very well received with hardly a day going by without yet another stunning artwork being created.
Being equipped to seize opportunities in real time has allowed our little business to grow into the ‘go-to’ shop for creative ideas.
I have been extremely fortunate to have strong, successful women in my life.
I am regularly inspired by their successes, motivating and guiding me to realise and expand my dreams for my business.
We are very appreciative and grateful for the assistance received from our local community and our awesome customers, from all over NSW, who have encouraged us and turned our unique little framing and printing shop into something we are extremely proud of.
I wish my grandfather could see what is possible now, it would blow his mind.
- HEATHER FOGARTY
