We are so excited to announce our latest acceptance to the Unraveled Expert Artist program: Lily Hatten! Congratulations Lily! We could not be more proud to have you walk alongside us on your creative journey. Your work is nostalgic, connected, hopeful, and timeless. It draws you in and is the perfect combination of posed and unposed.

On a personal level, Lily is a mother and photographer of motherhood, love, ritual and family based in Mullumbimby, NSW, Australia. Blending a fine art, lifestyle, and documentary approach, she creates timeless and raw images that evoke a sense of longing and nostalgia. Lily works with individuals, families and local brands to capture their essence and mentors budding photographers to help them unlock their creativity and build their business.

For more inspiration from Lily:

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Here is Lily, Unraveled…

What inspires your art?

I can scarcely remember my childhood. I recall it in sensations, smells, blurred images. Occasionally my memory will throw up something really sharp and vivid, particularly as I heal old wounds, and I find that now that I have my own children, I'm starting to forget those things too. The wildness of youth, and motherhood, a different kind of wild. So I guess my obsession with photography came from a longing to be a keeper of stories and a need to express things I couldn't put into words, or paint, or draw or even remember. I like to think that my images look a little like old family photographs, fragments of times gone by. In other words I'm hopelessly nostalgic.

What do you shoot with? Camera body and favorite lens?

My main digital body at the moment is A Canon Eos R mirrorless camera with a 35mm f/1.8 macro lens (the new RF mount), and my main analogue camera is a new (to me) Contax G1 with a 45mm f/2 lens, but I haven't got any film back yet so the jury is still out. My other favourite film camera is my Zenit 122 with a Helios 44/2 58mm f/2 lens. The lens is wild and the shutter only opens 30% of the time but when it works the photos are so lovely and imperfect on Kodak Tri-X film.

What other ways do you express your creativity?

I actually never thought I was creative before photography. My art teacher in high school used to sigh when he saw me coming. I used to write a blog about politics....that's about it.

How do you de-stress at the end of the day?

I'm not great at de-stressing. A cup of tea and some time in the garden helps, or taking the kids out to the street to play. Taking photos of my family, being near water!

What kind of music do you listen to while editing?

Leonard Cohen, Laura Marling, The April Maze, Fleetwood Mac, The Whitlams, Paul Kelly, Nirvana, Lisa Hannigan, Simon & Garfunkel, Tracy Chapman, Jeff Buckley, Nina Simone. It's hard to put a label on it but mostly acoustic, folky, melodic, lyrical stuff.

What is your favorite book?

Oh that's a hard one! I actually have barely finished a book since having babies. The last book I read that I couldn't put down was the Handmaid's Tale, the last books that left me deeply inspired was Call the Midwife, Motherwit: An Alabama Midwife's Story and Spiritual Midwifery (can you sense a theme here?), and Lord of The Rings and Harry Potter will always have a special place in my nerdy little heart. Sorry I cheated but choosing a favourite book is like choosing a favourite child!

Name one movie that inspires you.

Here I am again revealing what a dork I am but I do love a little musical theatre. Across the Universe.

How do you handle selfdoubt or creative slumps?

I usually try something a little different, whether it's busting out my manual focus lens, changing up the settings I usually use, for example using motion blur by slowing down my shutter speed, reading old photography books, going somewhere new or just putting my camera down and being more present in the moment tends to give me fresh eyes.

Who is one of your favorite photographers?

Amy Woodward. She turns the ordinary into the extraordinary and her portraits are true heirlooms.

What has been the most difficult part of your creative journey?

The part where I had a vision but couldn't even come close to achieving it. Or, to paraphrase Ira Glass, the uncomfortable gap between taste and skill. When I just couldn't get the skin tones or composition right and all my photos fell flat and I didn't know yet how to bring a story out of a series of photos, I didn't know how to see light or what settings to use. When there was no consistency and little sense of who I was as an artist and I was riddled with self doubt and imposter syndrome. 

I still visit this place, I still have off days, my dreams get bigger than my skills and I have to work to keep trying to close that gap. Hopefully it never closes because then I'll stop learning and evolving.

How do you handle selfdoubt or creative slumps?

Super contrasty light and dying light. I can't choose which! Super contrasty, whether it's full sun or next to the window because then you're seeing light in shapes and angles on your subject, and it's challenging and risky and dynamic, and if you can use it you can really tell a dramatic story. Dying light because it's moody, blurry, blue, grainy and fleeting.

What is your favorite course or lesson at unraveled?

The Fine Art of Birth by Elliana Allon

What is your favorite pizza topping?

Anchovies.

What is your most favorite kind of light and why?

Super contrasty light and dying light. I can't choose which! Super contrasty, whether it's full sun or next to the window because then you're seeing light in shapes and angles on your subject, and it's challenging and risky and dynamic, and if you can use it you can really tell a dramatic story. Dying light because it's moody, blurry, blue, grainy and fleeting.