A LOCAL photographer is holding her first solo exhibition in a London gallery.

Natalie Wentworth’s new collection, entitled Moment, is on show at the Map Caf� in Kentish Town until Monday, September 27, and is her first headline exhibition to date.

Natalie, who attended Sandringham School, began her life-long interest in photography around the age of 10.

The 26 year old, who grew up in central St Albans but is now based in London, explained that her initial interest in taking up photography was awakened by a number of factors.

A self confessed ‘geek’ when it comes to camera equipment, she was in awe of the mechanism of cameras and the ‘chemical alchemy’ that went on in photographic dark rooms.

Her mother Josie, a local antiques dealer, introduced her to different forms of lighting, helping her to discover how it could be used to capture atmosphere and ‘paint pictures’.

Natalie’s new collection was inspired by a her house burning down three years ago, a fire which resulted in the complete destruction of her portfolio and equipment, leaving her unemployed.

The setback did not deter her and she made the decision to start using a digital camera, something she had never done before. The photographs currently on display are the culmination of her body of work since then.

Natalie’s work can also be seen online at http://www.mapart.net