Marie's photographs travel "on the buses"

Work by a young photographer, who set up her business with help from youth charity The Prince’s Trust, is attracting the attention of thousands of North East travellers as her landscape photographs appear ‘on the buses’.

Marie Gardiner, who owns Wheels of Joy Photography in Sunderland, was originally commissioned by Arriva North East to take photographs as part of a campaign to promote tourism and encourage local people and visitors to take a day trip by bus on their 93/X93 service to Whitby, Scarborough or Middlesbrough.

They featured on timetables designed as holiday brochures, postcards and online as well as on the actual buses used along that route. The project was such a success that Marie has now been commissioned to take photos of landmarks that include Durham Gate, Metal Man in Newton Aycliffe and the Joseph Pease Statute in Darlington, to feature on buses travelling from Darlington to Durham.

Michelle McGuire, marketing manager for Arriva North East said: “We saw some of Marie’s work online and thought that she could be just the photographer we needed. As a company, it is fantastic to be able to support local, up-and-coming talent. She has been a delight to work with and we had an excellent response to the campaign.”

Marie, who is 28, set up Wheels of Joy Photography just seven months ago but is already building up a successful business photographing weddings, family events, new babies and landscapes as well as carrying out commercial and portrait commissions.

Having completed a degree in Film & Media, she went on to study photography and the decision to turn her long-term hobby and passion into a business was made after a job offer in Dubai fell through at the last minute.

“It has been thrilling to get these Arriva commissions so soon after starting my business,” said Marie, “especially as landscapes are one of my favourite things to shoot.

“I did all the first campaign shots in one 12-hour session on a sunny Bank Holiday so it was busy and resulted in really vibrant photos of the locations. To have my work used by a major company like Arriva North East and seen by so many people is a great boost.”

Marie, who chose her business name because she wants her work to bring joy through capturing a memory or evoking an emotion, is finding her own joy in being self-employed.

She added: “It is hard work but I am loving every minute. I know how competitive this market is so I place great importance on quality, pricing, reliability and creating the right relationship with each individual customer. Seeing the pleasure they get from the finished result is so rewarding.

“The Prince’s Trust support has been invaluable as their Enterprise Course covered all the aspects of starting a business so was really useful and I was also given financial help to purchase photographic equipment that I needed.”