Stories within photos

I take photos of things that grab my attention, make me stop and think. I take the photo then I play with the image to draw out what I feel should be seen, what I want to see...

A story in a moment. A story leading to that moment. A story that follows that moment.

Saturday, 13 June 2015

Eye know

The final picture from my research in to Captivated vs Captivity, and this is by far my favourite. The creature's look speaking without words, but saying so much.

With eyes full of words, the world sat before. 
Looking for life, his life passed in front, 
the day starting with silence and ending with more.
The words watched and the face told,
as the gates opened, but not for him.

Saturday, 16 May 2015

Reflecting Reality

I've got a couple more photos from my Monkey set, initially used as part of my 'captivate v captivity' research (interesting stuff, and a lot of view points that all have merits).

Monkeys are such interesting subject matters, as they have been perceived as so many things over the years, from clownish creatures to research subjects, and then of course we sent them in to space and made stars out of them with tea adverts. But, as with all creatures, there is so much more to them and as always, we should never forget that they are part of nature and the natural order, so have their own roles to play on planet Earth and in evolution.

I am not going to say too much about this photograph, other than wonder how much of this image is about the reflection, and how much is about the reality?

Saturday, 9 May 2015

When light became redundant

They stand tall and proud, alone in their duty, all powerful in their purpose. A storm, through night, the day too bright, their visibility a warning, their presence a meaning. Bleakness and darkness sees their light shining true, reaching the waves and the swell and the bows of the boats. Ships pass and keep safe, trawlers turn form danger ahead. So what happens when the light no longer shines, when life moves on and the danger's not hidden? Who shines the light, who walks up the spiraling steps, who tends to the paint and the life of the lighthouse?

Too beautiful to abandon. To important to make redundant. Let's give them a new life.

Sunday, 26 April 2015

Animal Eyes

There's something about the eyes of animals, that enable them to silently speak a thousand words with a look. You can go deep in to the darkness of them and spot a twinkle in an instant and a tear in another. Maybe there is more to the expression 'windows to the soul' than many of us give credit.

So take a look, beyond the face and the story of the surroundings, and see if you can tell what the they are thinking...

Monday 13th April 2015

Support programs that help animals, and the organisations that aim to stamp out cruelty & wrongful animal captivity.
http://vrheal.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/captivated.html

Monkey Feet. Captivity
April 2015

Friday, 10 April 2015

Golden (Gateway) Memories

Some places make such a surprising impact on you that they linger on, long after you have left them and long before you may ever return to them. Places that you know will impress, places that are famed for their notoriety, places that are known before you get there. So to still be surprised by the unexpected is indeed a surprise.

And that was what happened in San Francisco. I was surprised. I knew I would love it, I knew it would excite and captivate me, I knew I would feast out every night on seafood and local chef's culinary delights, I knew I would go from A-to-Z and up hill and down hill on foot, rail, wheel and water, but I never expected to want to stay. To stay and be apart of it. To feel genuinely sad to be torn from the constant movement, constant buzz, constant throbbing pulse of this city. I didn't want to cross the Golden Gates.

Tuesday, 31 March 2015

Lost in Malibu

I may have mentioned that I left a part of me in America, that part that keeps calling to me to come back and immerse myself in this amazing place. Torn between home and another life, I often sit daydreaming about my American life. My mind will drift from place to place that I have seen and loved, places I settled temporarily and others I passed through, lingering in lost parts I discovered. Today I drifted back to Malibu and this old pier cafe. I can feel the pull.

24/02/15
All the fun of the fair

The noises, the smells, the anticipation and the intrepidation. Money changing hands, ketchup overflowing hot-dogs, whirring pink candyfloss and light-sabers wielding above heads. The fair is in town. It may be dark, it may be freezing cold, but it's dry, lights are flashing like neon rainbows and music fills the air. Time to jump on the rides and wait for them to start...

Herefordshire, November 2014


08/02/15

Let sleeping kings lie

It's amazing what you can trip over whilst out walking. Fields, woods, parks all have their hazards when your head is off in a wondering world elsewhere. However, this trip-culprit was a welcome one with its mysterious stillness as it merged in to the ground it lay on, with the ground it lay on now growing over this sleeping king. No doubt a majestic feature of the felled forest of the past, this old tree has been reinvented as a silent and beautiful sculpture.

Hereford, February 2015

26/01/15

September sun

There is something about the Mediterranean in September, the sun blending hues and tones in a near dreamy effect. Washing away unnecessary fussiness and hiding the details, to produce pictures that just merge into the light or the shadows.

A perfect moment in an old city in the late September sunshine.
Menorca, September 2013

15/01/15

Feeling Rock N Roll

Sometimes you just encapture a moment with a picture, and the picture tells a complete story that simplistically reflects that moment and place in time. A month travelling in West Coast America took me through towns, cities, desert, mountains, forests and to the coast. They merged in to each other with beauty and a feeling of hazy, lazy free days. This photo was shot in San Francisco and sums up the all American adventure with its rock n roll beat and bright vibes, laid back but making a very permanent mark.

06/01/15
Bleak is beautiful

When you come across a windmill on a grey, slightly drizzly day, you don't automatically think 'how pretty, isn't it beautiful'.

However, hidden in the bleakness of the day, on the exposed hill amongst the scrub, lies something of strength and character, full of history and purpose. The sails may not have been turning, but the windmill stood out in its own glory.

Birkenhead, 2014

06/12/14

The same day and two different images, man made and natures way, cut across the sky - both remarkable and both creating a sight to remember.

Can you say which is more beautiful or striking?

The flight of Geese

The flight of Man

17/11/14

Coolness in calmness, the sun has gone and the moon awaits. There is a patience in the waiting, an air of expectation, a feeling or of a world about to wake.

Herefordshire, 2014

02/11/14

Tranquility in a moment. The traffic silenced and the playground hushed as the ripples spread beneath the swans. Time was still. Time was quiet. Just for a moment.

Herefordshire, 2014

15/10/14
Nature creates and nature was created, 

from the shards of early light 
to the fire and power of nature waking 
and filling the day with its beauty.
Zurgena, Spain, September 2014

01/10/14

The desert is still: the Joshua Tree stands guard, the boulders stand strong and nature protects.

Joshua Tree National Park, California April 2013

11/09/14

As the dawn mists swirl, night is pushed back by day and the bay wins back its tranquility.

Los Osos, Morro Bay, California April 2013