London-based artist Emma Alvin’s The Sun is Just Another Star is a joyous photo dump packed with sad girls, clowns and coquettes

From gymnastic mats to wedding venues, Louis Smith, Britain’s most decorated male gymnast, has embarked on a surprising new career path as a wedding photographer. Smith, who clinched silver medals in the pommel horse at both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics, alongside a bronze at Beijing 2008 and a team all-round bronze in 2012, has transitioned from an athlete to an artist behind the camera, offering a range of photography services.

From Olympic Podiums to Photography

Retiring from gymnastics in 2018 at the ripe age of 29, Smith has not shied away from the spotlight, showcasing his talents on The Masked Singer in 2021, which he won, and participating in other reality shows including X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing. Despite his previous entertainment endeavors, Smith’s latest venture into wedding photography marks a significant career shift. His website, which provides packages ranging from £700 to £1400, promises to capture the “unique essence” of matrimonial celebrations, aiming to create “timeless memories.”

An Athlete’s Artistic Journey

On his website, Smith shares his journey from Olympian to photographer with a candid bio, expressing his surprise at this career pivot. His commitment to capturing the magic of wedding days through his lens highlights a deep passion for storytelling and artistry. Smith’s goal is to craft images that tell the unique story of each couple’s love, an ambition that underlines his dedication to his new profession. Moreover, his venture into capturing significant moments has already seen him photographing events for notable personalities, including JLS member Aston Merrygold’s tour.

Embracing New Beginnings

Living in Peterborough with his girlfriend Charlie Bruce and their daughter Marley, Smith is fully immersed in his new role as a photographer. This career transformation showcases his versatility and ability to adapt, proving that it is never too late to pursue new interests and professions. As Smith continues to capture special moments for couples, his journey from an Olympic medallist to a wedding photographer serves as an inspiring tale of reinvention and the pursuit of passion beyond the world of sports.

The first knee-jerk response to this imagery is often to question how it’s made. Nathaniel, of course, works with digital doctoring, using post production in tandem with photography. This combination has always offered a way for the artist to “really reify” the worlds they want to inhabit. “I think so much of my ambition with my creative projects is about deepening my sense of hope and possibility,” she says. “Because I feel so often that you can get so mired in the day-to-day that it’s easy to lose sight of things, but, you know, you can create a world or an image that’s representative of a place that you want to live.”

Another common response to her work is more intuitive. The work Nathaniel shares is often met on Instagram with comments that describe how much the image, accompanying caption, or both, have resonated. Provoking such a reaction is an accolade many work up to over decades, but photography is actually a relatively new pursuit for Nathaniel, picked up while travelling – though creativity has been a long-running thread, in childhood, through to studying painting as an undergraduate.

The introduction of photography came with the reappearance of other themes in Nathaniel’s life. One was spirituality. Growing up in the Christian church Nathaniel found it difficult to tap into this part of herself within the structures of organised religion; “I really just wrote it off for a long time [thinking] that I’m not a spiritual person, or that’s just not for me.” A shift has transpired in the past five years, driven by a profound reconnection to the natural world. This pull to nature and wildlife directs and informs the images they make, sometimes in distressing ways; the ecological crisis is a recurring focal point for Female, prompting images that are increasingly apocalyptic.

FOUR-TIME Olympic medallist Louis Smith has swapped gymnastics for wedding photography as he embarks on a new career path.

Britain’s most successful male gymnast, 34, claimed silver medals in the pommel horse at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games after a bronze at Beijing 2008.

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He also won bronze in the team all-round event in 2012.

Smith, who received an MBE 11 years ago, retired from the sport in 2018 at the age of 29, but was back on screen in 2021 when he won The Masked Singer.

He also has past experience auditioning for X Factor in 2008, before he won Strictly Come Dancing four years later and finished runner-up in The Jump in 2017.

But it is behind the camera that he has now begun a new venture as a wedding photographer.

The Mail have discovered the website for his business – which offers “portrait shoots, headshots and a range of photography services for businesses and events”.

And the bio reads: “I’m Louis Smith the Olympian and I’ve managed to find myself typing this bio trying to figure out how I explain how I ended up here.”

His website, which offers packages from £700 to £1400, states: “My goal is to capture the unique essence of your special day, creating timeless memories that will be cherished for a lifetime.”

It goes on to add: “I invite you to join me on this artistic journey, capturing the magic of your wedding day through my lens.

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“Secure your spot now to benefit from my current pricing and let’s create extraordinary memories together.

“I look forward to the privilege of being part of your special moments and crafting images that tell the unique story of your love.”

Smith’s Instagram account confirms that he shot photos of JLS member Aston Merrygold‘s tour last summer.

He lives in Peterborough with girlfriend Charlie Bruce, 30, and daughter Marley, 3.

the sanctuary: an ode to turkey’s spiritual past

Multiple’s The Sanctuary is a visual ode to the forgotten religious structures of Turkey’s charming historic past. Tucked away from main travel routes are remote, unexplored villages, which in in the last 20 years, have perished and evolved, with remnants of architectural heritage narrating notes of a forgotten past. First, the older, crumbling mosques were removed to make way for newer and often much grander religious spaces, then, as the economy began to falter, villagers began migrating to larger cities in pursuit of employment. In this photographic series, Multiple (also known as James Kerwin) set out on a journey across approximately 18 towns, visiting over 40 villages in search of these hidden gems. ‘You’ll see that each sanctuary invites you to appreciate its understated beauty while providing a window into the nation’s past. They are a poignant illustration of the richness and diversity of the Turkish culture,’ he shares.

all images by James Kerwin (Multiple)

james kerwin uncovers five-centuries old mosques

Traversing all but two of Turkey’s seven vast regions over two years, the photographer steered away from conventional travel routes on his search for these structures. Although, many of those abandoned mosques have been destroyed by the weather over time, as Multiple found, many still stand present throughout the country. Some of them are over 500 years old, entirely constructed of wood, or vibrantly painted, others seemed to be weathering and crumbling. Some were found destroyed by landslides, others standing strong yet repurposed by locals as storage or shops. Regardless of their condition, he found them to be rich in color and ornamentation. ‘Normally, I had no idea about the structure’s condition. And often I’d travel by plane or drive for hours only to find a wrecked structure, or worse nothing,’ notes Multiple. The series was launched as a 20-image collection as seen here, alongside a set of on-location tutorial videos. 

for the photo series, James Kerwin travelled across 18 towns and over 40 villages in search of these hidden gems

as it is the directional focus of prayer, the qibla wall is often the most ornately decorated area of a mosque

a three-lobed arch, cupola, and painted flower motifs that continue throughout the mosque