“Storytelling is storytelling whatever the medium - I love telling stories through words and images.”
Jana out with her camera near Stockbridge in Hampshire by Sandy Chestnut
I was born in the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading and grew up in Eversley in Hampshire with my parents, Kay and Ian, and younger sister, Ali.
I wanted to be a writer from a young age and wrote my first book at the age of seven, a story about a Seville orange travelling from Spain to the UK.
I studied Spanish (and French) at Swansea University and spent a year living in Granada where I dedicated myself to learning Spanish and spent many enjoyable hours reading under orange trees in the exquisite Alhambra Palace gardens.
After finishing my degree I moved to London and put my languages to good use as a video and television writer, producer and director filming internationally.
I went on to produce and write a travel documentary series for The Travel Channel, sponsored by Emirates Airline, which led to a full time position at the Discovery Channel, producing, writing and script editing documentaries, a job that I loved.
Jana showing Syrian refugees her camera in Zaateri Refugee Camp in Jordan by Salah Malkawi
I love visualising stories in my head, putting those images into words in a script, then seeing them materialise on screen.
In 2001, having filmed across the Middle East, I moved to Dubai and wrote, produced and directed a series of high profile promotional films for the Government of Dubai at a time when all the major real estate projects were being conceived.
Then in 2006 I set up my own video and photography production company, Seraph Production, and in the same year gave birth to my daughter Carys.
The 15 years I spent in Dubai were an exciting time, both personally and professionally, and changed my perspective on life in many ways.
But the lure of the English countryside was too much and in 2017 I moved back to Hampshire with substantially more than I took.
James settled in his new home in the UK
I arrived in Dubai single and returned with a partner, daughter, company and a pair of manky looking Arabian rescue cats.
After settling in Winchester, I set up Seraph Production Ltd and continue to work on video and photography projects for local and international clients.
I decided to allocate more time to writing and, combined with my love of photography, took on the role of Publishing Editor and Writer for the Royal Photographic Society in the Southern Region.
In 2021 I completed an MA in Creative Writing and I’m working on a memoir about my experiences living and working in Dubai.