(Apologies if you've received this more than once. I've reposted to see whether the image in the WordPress "blog reader list" makes a huge difference to the amount of readers the post receives.) - To first time viewers welcome and I hope you enjoy! On Saturday evening almost by accident, my family and I experienced some... Continue Reading →
When I was travelling through Romania in 1992 with my future wife Ali, we witnessed a tremendous amount of poverty. After seeing news reports at home in England, we had prepared ourselves for crowds of orphaned "street children", but in fact hardly saw any. Instead it was the sheer numbers of disabled people begging for spare... Continue Reading →
As a person disabled by MND, I freely admit there are days when I'm just too tired, ill, stiff, painful (or all of the above) to get out of the house. So in glass half empty terms, my photographic opportunities on those "home-alone" days are limited. When it's hell just trying to get up the stairs, officially... Continue Reading →
I often find myself browsing through the photos that I took in Venice. We were only there for a week and I have to say it was the most prolific week, in photographic terms, that I've ever had. Some stand out to me as personal favourites and there are a few images that I didn't... Continue Reading →
Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. - Buddha Just in case you hadn't noticed(!)...... there's been an election here in the UK. The Conservatives have a majority for the first time in 20 years and it seems they will be... Continue Reading →
As we travelled by train through Romania there were so many photogenic looking towns and villages with stations, we sometimes just got off to explore. Never exactly sure where we were, we felt safe in the knowledge that there'd be another train along soon. These two pictures were taken at a couple of those stops.... Continue Reading →
This is the second of my posts about the time I was invited to photograph members of the Romanian National Circus in 1992, as they relaxed in-between performances. Part one can be found here. . One of the photos I took during the time I spent in the circus encampment still ranks, for me, amongst... Continue Reading →
Mindful Photos mindfulness reminder - My most recent posts have involved photographs taken a long way from home in locations that are guaranteed to stimulate the senses. For balance, I thought I'd show some examples of how, with mindfulness and a camera, it's possible to see the most ordinary moments of life as though they are... Continue Reading →
As promised, here are some prints from my Romania Contact sheets - We had stopped in Brașov, Romania, during our trip by train through eastern Europe in 1992. Not far from the flat where we stayed with a local family who'd befriended us at the station, were what I took to be a group of traditional Romany gypsies. It was... Continue Reading →
Good news! My wife Ali just called to me from the loft with the enticing words "I've found something you might be interested in". I walked onto the landing to find her hand dangling a very tatty looking "Prince Cigarettes" bag from the loft hatch. Inside were my long-lost black and white prints and travel diaries from the... Continue Reading →
Some more personal photographic treasure found in the recesses of our family loft - These photos were taken during a backpacking trip my (then) future wife Ali and I made from Spain around Morocco during August and September 1997. I love the painterly effect this photo of children playing in the blue and white, north Moroccan town of Chefchaouen has... Continue Reading →
For the last few days we've been clearing out our loft before moving to a new bungalow. This morning, squeezed behind a tottering pile of boxes, Ali found a shopping bag full of negatives and prints that I thought were long-lost. They are mostly snappy snaps from a back packing trip to The Gambia fifteen years ago and... Continue Reading →
Mindful Monday Mood Lift: I've added a new page of photographs that I shot on film in Israel and other countries during the early 1990's to Mindful Photos. It's a "select" group of images that I'll be adding to as and when I come across more negatives and prints. Please do take time out to have a look. It's amazing... Continue Reading →
Mindful Photos Sunday Reflection: Does the taking of certain types of photograph contradict Buddhist or Mindful ethics? Any introductory book on Buddhism would be likely to mention the Five Precepts. They're ethical guidelines designed to help us avoid harming, and to create conditions helpful to the arising of wisdom. At number two is "not taking that which is not given"... Continue Reading →
Wow! Yesterday Mindful Photos achieved the highest viewing figures it's had since I started the blog two years ago - Three Hundred and Eight views by Six P.M. and Twenty "likes"! Thanks for all the interest 🙂 I've started to add gallery pages at the top of the website. Do have a look. There are pictures that haven't made it into... Continue Reading →
It was my interest in "street photography" that caused me to pick up a stills camera again five years ago after a twenty year hiatus from taking photographs (in the 80's and 90's it was how I made a living - but that's another story). Even in a place as picturesque as Venice I can't pass... Continue Reading →
I spent a relaxing afternoon yesterday meditating with friends who I'd first met on a "Breathworks" mindfulness course last year. Breathworks run 8 week courses designed to help people living with pain and illness. I've completed 2 of the courses (never one to under do things!). If I didn't have the tools that I learned... Continue Reading →
Sooner or later I will come to the end of my prolific week spent in Venice but for now the photos keep on coming. I'm gratified by the number of half decent pictures I came back with despite walking with crutches due to my disability. Just goes to show that you don't have to trudge ten miles a day searching for... Continue Reading →
My last post showed just how crowded Venice can get. Amazingly, it seems that most visitors don't move very far from St Mark's Square, so it's actually easy to reclaim some personal space by taking a short walk or water bus ride away from the area. Venice is famous for beautifully crafted glassware. The most famous (and... Continue Reading →
We were visiting Venice in summer, so we expected lots of other tourists. But we didn't expect this - It seems that the big cruise liner companies have the right to steer their vulgar monstrosities as close as they dare to some of the worlds most exquisite architecture and art. Perhaps this is so their customers don't have to... Continue Reading →
mindful photos 