A LOCAL photographer has made it her mission to bring the joy of nature to those in lockdown.
Linda De Santiz has been making daily trips around the town to take photos of wildlife, plants, and places of interest – sharing them on her Facebook page, ‘Melksham Now and Then’.
Her project began at the beginning of lockdown, and it quickly took off as other residents noticed her photos online and started sharing them with other community-based Facebook pages.
Linda told Melksham News, “I started this project as there were so many people who couldn’t go out during lockdown – and there are many people that still can’t as they are shielding.
“It all started with photos of the blossom on the trees – there were so many nice comments, so I decided to carry on and do it every day.
“It’s been a challenge to go out every day and find different things to photograph – but through this I have discovered a real passion for wildlife photography – swans, dragonflies, damsalflies, frogs, squirrels and all the smaller insects – there’s so much out there around our town, and I think it is all so interesting.
“I’ve given a lot of the animals names too – frogs are ‘Freddies’ and squirrels are all ‘Sammy’ – people often catch me out with my camera talking to animals!”
As well as pictures from her daily nature walks, Linda also shares photos of ongoing work around the town, documenting how Melksham is changing and growing.
Linda said, “I’m so proud of Melksham – this is my town, I was born and bred here – and I want people to see what a fantastic place it is to live.”
To view Linda’s photography, visit: www.facebook.com/pg/melkshamnowandthen
