During 2017 I had two successful exhibitions and gave a talk as part of "Rewired", an event at the Royal Geographical Society in London. I helped raise several thousand pounds for neurological charities and was featured in newspapers, a magazine and local radio. I also got divorced and lost a lot of money to solicitors.... Continue Reading →
Street photography and printing and framing photographs for more exhibitions have been filling my days recently. I'm happy to say that the Movement for Hope exhibition in London was a great success. By a strange twist of fate the comedian Russell Brand came to the private view and seemed genuinely interested in my work - see... Continue Reading →
From years back, when I was still wearing the soles of my shoes out on street photo walks, I've found the idea of anonymising people and merging them into the urban landscape intriguing. I have some sympathy with people who question whether it's right to take photos of people without asking first. As much as I think candid... Continue Reading →
If you contemplate the miracle we call sight, what we actually see is light reflecting off "stuff" that is received by the sensory organs of the eyes and processed by the brain for the mind to make sense of. So, in a way, our mind is a house of mirrors from which we create meaning, our "lives" and... Continue Reading →
As I was getting dressed this morning I listened to the CD "Popular Problems" by Leonard Cohen that I'd borrowed off my dad. The album artwork makes great use of shadows and that and Cohen's inevitably deep and melancholy lyrics got me thinking about how we all have a shadow side. my shadow side I'm not embarrassed to... 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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
"A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal... Continue Reading →
Please take a look at the "about" page to see the circumstances that have encouraged me to start blogging again. Have you ever seen those car stickers that say "ONE LIFE - LIVE IT!"? They always seem to smack of desperation to me; as though beneath the surface someone is frantically kicking their legs around trying not to... Continue Reading →
Please take a look at the "about" page to see the circumstances that have encouraged me to start blogging again. There's a saying: "Instead of trying to coat the world with leather, get yourself a pair of shoes". It comes from the 8th century Indian Buddhist monk Śāntideva who said - “Where would I find enough leather To cover... Continue Reading →
Please take a look at the "about" page to see the circumstances that have encouraged me to start blogging again. Did you know you have a different body to the one you had seven years ago? I don't just mean that you've aged and might have put some weight on; your physical body has been replaced with virtually a completely... Continue Reading →
Please take a look at the "about" page to see the circumstances that have encouraged me to start blogging again. Have you ever had that dream when you try to run but your legs won't move? Just after taking the "geometry" photographs that you can see in my previous post, I had that experience for real - One of... Continue Reading →
Please take a look at the "about" page to see the circumstances that have encouraged me to start blogging again. It might sound strange, but for me there are benefits to only being able to walk at a snails pace. I've practiced walking meditation in mindfulness groups for years but rarely had the confidence to walk really... Continue Reading →
Please take a look at the "about" page to see the circumstances that have encouraged me to start blogging again. There's a very simple theory explaining how mindfulness reduces the suffering of physical and mental ailments - If we reduce as much as possible all of the "secondary suffering" that we pile on top of any health issues we have,... Continue Reading →
Please take a look at the "about" page to see the circumstances that have encouraged me to start blogging again. Every evening for a week of the eight week mindfulness course that I've been a part of, I would write a list of ten pleasurable things that I'd noticed during the day. We were encouraged to open up to the subtle, pleasant... Continue Reading →
mindful photos 