Tiana Walton
Off Roader & Automotive Photographer
Despite being told her subject was not worth pursuing, Tiana has been working in the automotive photography industry for a number of years now. For a number of reasons, she often feels different to the majority of the off-roading, truck-modifying, camping community; but that doesn’t hinder her love for the outdoors. Instead, she accepts who she is and encourages everyone to do the same.
IS OFF-ROADING SOMETHING YOU’VE ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN?
I guess so, I’ve always loved camping so it felt like the natural next step. I’ve found the same people you would meet hiking you meet off-roading, you know? I think it’s a category within camping. I’m really grateful to have been able to meet people who are into it too, particularly other women! I’ve met, perhaps, six other girls who are into off-roading through social media, so I know I’m not alone.
I started working as an automotive photographer at a company called Available car. I was only in that role for seven months, but the first thing I bought with my first paycheck was a new roof tent. I started with a pink one but decided to get a black one as well. I’m now working for a company called SMC automotive, where they do classic car restoration and four by four modification. With my next paycheck I bought my dog, Pickle.
THEN PHOTOGRAPHING VEHICLES FELT LIKE THE NATURAL NEXT STEP?
Yeah I think, after a very hectic year of travelling all over the place to keep up with off-roading events, I knew that this was definitely what I wanted to do. It’s what I enjoy, which was my one requirement for picking my specialisation at uni. I knew I wanted to be outside, but I didn’t really want to photograph animals and like I said, I’m not really into swimming or hiking… So automotive work felt right.
It’s funny actually, while I was in Uni my lecturer told me that automotive photography wasn’t a category and that I couldn’t do it, but it definitely is. That guy that ended up marking my final module and told me after that he was petitioning against all the automotive vehicles off-roading in the Lake District, he hated it!
DO YOU CAMP IN THE VEHICLES THAT YOU’VE MODIFIED YOURSELF?
I have a Toyota Hilux and a relatively new Toyota Surf. I bought it last year during the lockdown for £1000 as a project car. It had no handbrake and the bumpers were completely rotten through, the previous owners had gaffer taped tinfoil over the holes. It hadn’t had an MOT for a couple of years so I thought it would be a good practice vehicle, as I really didn’t know anything about mechanics and didn’t want to ruin my actual car. But I was keen to learn! So I bought some second hand bumpers in Leeds with huge dents in, got these dents pulled out, filled and painted then put them on myself. I didn’t do the paint work though – I’m not a body panel paint person.
I then did the handbrake cable and the back door. It has a bit of a quirk, it’s kind of cool but really stupid, as there is no handle to open the boot. You have to put the key into the door to allow the window to drop down, then reach inside to lock it and open the door from the inside. But if you were sat inside the car and all the doors and windows were up then you wouldn’t be able to get out, as the window wouldn’t open. I found that the window mechanism had rusted shut. Over the summer, I had to strip everything out from the inside and pull off all the backing to get everything out. It was really hot and all I had to go off was a manual and YouTube, so it was a bit of a challenge. Particularly as it was during lockdown, so I couldn’t ask anyone to pop over or help.
Eventually I got the mechanism working, but the motor had blown. All together it probably took me about eight weeks to figure out how the door worked, I was slow, but now I understand it. There is something satisfying about knowing how to fix something, especially as I could take that door apart now in two minutes and know exactly where everything goes. It took me a long time, but I love knowing how it works. I’m moving onto the wheel bearings next, so hopefully I’ll know how those work too soon.
WOULD YOU SAY YOUR INDUSTRY HAS A CLEAR GENDER DIVIDE?
Yeah, I’d say it’s 90% - 95% male from my experience. I’ve met a few women through social media, a few couples on the road, but mainly just guys with Landrovers. I’d say there aren’t that many under 30 either, like if I was looking for a future husband I’d be pretty doomed. The most common demographic is probably 30 to 50 year old men. But that’s why I’m grateful for the online communities, such as Tents and Tread which used to be quite big, because it’s given me a lot of opportunities to meet different people with similar interests. More often than not though, I find myself meeting people while I’m camping, which is always nice.
I quite often feel a bit out of place when I’m away with all these lads stood together talking about mechanics, especially as it is pretty much all men. Occasionally they’ll bring a girlfriend or a wife, but more often than not I’ll be the youngest and the only woman around. I’d like to be able to join in the conversation and have a full understanding of what they’re talking about, rather than just nodding along. I’m also conscious that if I were to break down, I’d like to know what’s gone wrong. If the mechanic comes over and I don’t have a clue what they’re on about it sort of defeats the point of me having a tent on my car. The whole point of having everything I need on the truck is that I can go anywhere, I feel pretty invincible. I shouldn’t be worried about getting stuck or breaking down. But then if I break down and don’t know how to fix the smallest thing then I’d feel pretty embarrassed. That’s why I want to know how everything works, but it is a slow process.
There’s a lot of positives to being a woman in a male dominated industry .I certainly wouldn’t swap it to fit in. I’ve found throughout my life that I don’t really like fitting in anyway. For example, being dyslexic, I like the ways that my brain works and the ways that it doesn’t, so I would never swap that. Being different makes you stand out and if that’s what you’re after, it’s good not to fit in. I think you can get more opportunities that way too. I’m pretty confident that some of the sponsorships I have got are because it’s unusual for me to do what I do. Or if companies are looking for someone who will stand out on their profile, you know? So in some ways I think it’s been quite beneficial, it can be irritating when people presume that I don’t know anything about mechanics.
WOULD YOU SAY THERE IS A HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR CAREER SO FAR?
Being on the Toyota blog. Toyota UK paid for me to write an article for their blog, everything else is irrelevant in my eyes: graduated, got a job - nothing compares. It is the best thing ever, and it’s still on there! There are six pictures of me on the Toyota People page. I just love it.
TIANA IS AN AUTOMOTIVE PHOTOGRAPHER AND OFF ROADER, TO CHECK OUT HER WORK CLICK HERE.
THE FULL ARTICLE IS AVAILABLE TO READ IN OUTSIDERS: HER STORIES. FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BUYING YOUR OWN COPY, OR FOR MORE INFORMATION FEEL FREE TO GET IN TOUCH.