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 →
Its been a hectic time recently. This week I was at the House of Lords for the launch of a book that I contributed to. I've also been selecting and printing photos for a London exhibition in September and there are a couple of other exhibitions in the pipeline too. The writing was a personal reflection... 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 →
It's been wet. It's been really wet, mild, windy, occasionally cold, but mostly just wet. We are not supposed to have a monsoon season in the UK, but this January was very like one - albeit cooler. All that dampness condenses on glass and makes for interesting opportunities for image making. A new glass bus stop has... Continue Reading →
I've not posted on here for a while: Life has been hectic and in some ways my personal world has been turned onto its head recently. This has all conspired to keep blogging and other creative endeavors to a minimum for a while. Thankfully friendship, my mindfulness practice and photography itself are helping see me... Continue Reading →
"There is a crack in everything - that's how the light gets in" Leonard Cohen, ANTHEM In August 2013 darkness threatened to seep through the cracks in my life. . I'd spent 10 days in hospital to find the cause of what, for over a year, doctors had told me was a bad back (I was... Continue Reading →
I saw this street art and thought "how cute" but then wondered how on earth they made the babies feet so perfect without putting it to some discomfort! Hopefully stencils were involved. Sometimes I feel a slight a dilemma about whether to process images to black and white or colour. I know many photo blogs... 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 I can't trudge the streets looking for interesting subjects to photograph anymore, I wait for them to come to me. It's again the tough inner zen master of my MND making me stop looking for life elsewhere and start noticing that it's available right here, right now - all we have to do is stop. Sometimes being forced to... Continue Reading →
I'm looking forward to taking more photographs from the relative comfort of a scooter after my productive experience at Hay. The other day I drove to a place where I hadn't taken street photos before. When I saw the crowds and the grumpy look on most people's faces, I have to admit, I chickened out.... 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 →
"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 →
mindful photos 