Hello! I’m Thomas Underwood, the person behind Stuff By Tom. I publish photos for free online, as well as selling postcards, prints and much more to support my mission of bringing high-quality free or low cost media to Norfolk, all independently.
Most of my funding comes from you, so if you could support me over on Ko-Fi I would really appreciate it!
Below is the journey of Stuff By Tom, starting from where it all began…
2023: The beginning
Stuff By Tom initially started in December 2023 as Underwood Photography, quickly becoming TOMUPA – which stood for TOM UNDERWOOD PHOTOS AND ART.
The first photo I took for SBT was a sunset I took on my mum’s phone, but the first I uploaded was a picture of a muntjac deer at Center Parcs Elveden Forest, while I was on holiday.
Other photos I took soon after include locations such as Castle Acre, Binham, and, of course, Fakenham, coming to a total of 12 photos for that year.
2024: Ramping up
At the beginning of 2024, I was still figuring out what I wanted SBT to be. At that point, it was pretty much just an Unsplash page that I uploaded to on the weekends.
After coming back from a rainy trip to Paris, I went, for the first time in my life, to a place called Bawsey Country Park. To this day, it remains my favourite park across all of Norfolk (sorry other parks!).
Going there gave me a sense of what photos I wanted to take, and what I wanted SBT to become. This is clearly shown in the progression of my Wells photos; they went from dull, grey pictures of sand, to beautiful sunset photos of beach huts.
2025: Full speed ahead
2025 was my biggest year yet. Well, at least the second half of the year was.
In May and June, I was in America, exploring a similar, yet completely different world. The logistics of this trip were challenging; carrying cameras and my luggage around the airports and hotels was challenging, but it gave me a lot of experience with how to deal with it in the future.
It was also the first year of the Fakenham Arts Festival, a great experience that brought me back into selling at craft fairs and events, just like I used to with my mum with her old brand Clara Rose Creates.
2026: Sustainability
If 2025 was my biggest year yet, ’26 would blow it out of the water. A mini documentary series on Norfolk towns, protesting the social media ban and going to a total of 5 events so far.
Although making series didn’t turn out to be my thing, I do enjoy making videos on they’re own, so maybe you’ll see some in the future.
On the other hand, I joined the new Fakenham Church Craft Fair, assist Active Fakenham with photography for some events and helped raise £600 for charity on the Hat Walk, so I’d say it’s been a good year.
Currently, I’m trying to balance output here with my schoolwork and life in general. I’m working on big things though, so keep an eye out!
– Thomas Underwood
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