Allie Crewe

A Refuge

I drove to an ancient village one damp morning, where Roman remains rest upon the ground. I was there to photograph Maya Ellis MP for the Royal Photographic Society, which is celebrating Women in Westminster.

Before I photograph anyone, I like to slow down. We take time to breathe and sit with the silence. The portrait begins when a person connects with themselves.

Maya spoke about her local church. Inside, I felt the stones might speak with her. They hold the weight of centuries, marked by faith and community.

Stone has always carried meaning. It stands for strength and stability, the solid base when things shift. It offers protection and refuge, a wall against the storm. A stone can bear witness — set down to mark truth or memory. And the foundation stone holds the structure, the place where everything begins.

As I worked, I thought about what endures — how people, like stone, can hold history and hope at the same time.

Equality and Power

Women now make up 40% of MPs in the UK, but change is fragile. Yesterday I met a woman who told me she believes figures like Andrew Tate have a point. She said she wants a man to be her “prince” — to lead, to dominate, to decide. In her view, feminism has gone too far and women should obey the will of men.

I listened and tried to see the world through her eyes. Later, when I told a friend, she said, “If many men are emotionally immature, we could be ruled by toddlers.”

It stayed with me.

I wish those who govern — men and women alike — truly believed in equality. Men are fortunate that women seek fairness, not revenge.

Conversations like this shape my portraits. They remind me how complex it is to be a woman today — how each of us carries our own history, our own understanding of power, and our own way of surviving within it.