Armed with tripod and trusty old OM10 I spent a cold evening in the streets around my home shooting long exposures. Portra 400 did well, yielding some nice colours and exposing consistently whether under- or over-exposed. I was impressed with the accuracy of the Lux light meter app on my iPhone – on all but a few exposures the metering was pretty spot on.
Back at the tail end of 2017 we were awaiting the arrival of our duaghter and found ourselves, for the first time in many years, without a lot of travel on the agenda over the festive period. We filled our time with hygge & celebration, and walks around local forests including Hareskov and Dyrhavn. I enjoyed the opportunity afforded by the faltering sunlight to make a series of photos which captured the mood of a winter forest. Two years on, I look back at these photos and feel the way I did as I walked amongst those trees, bathing in the quiet ambiance of raindrops on foliage, and absorbing that mysterious, ancient woodland energy.
One reason I love the Olympus m43 cameras, specifically the EM5, is the size. I can carry this camera in my bag every day, and should I feel inspired by the light, my surroundings, or simply have some excess creative energy, I can pour that energy into photography without the pressure one feels when specifically dedicating time to the pursuit.
These photographs were made on a 20 minute commute on Copenhagen’s new M3 metro line on a recent rainy November evening. The colour grading is my own Lightroom CC preset, available soon in the store.
The skate park at Bexhill leisure centre, now earmarked for demolition, has an incredibly passionate and vibrant community of riders and skaters.
The skate park is in desperate need of renovation – several accidents and near misses due to the state of the ramps and concrete occurred during the shooting of these photos. And with demolition on the horizon, the community here deserve a firm commitment from local government to the development of a new location.
Skate parks are positive and sociable community hubs which deserve serious investment to ensure they are safe spaces for up and coming athletes to practice and share their passion with others.
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The satellite dish. That reliable, omnipresent parabolic residential appendage, facilitating technology for the rise of satellite television in the late 70s, and modern day delivery medium for Murdoch’s media empire. On a short impromptu photowalk in somewhat economically deprived Bexhill-on-Sea my lens inadvertently captured a huge range of the rusted concave devices, their cables trailing across rooftops like determined vines clamouring for vertical dominance, terminating at this strange metal plate seeking a favourable situation on a pebbledash plain. I wondered: to what extent could the “dish density” of an area be a socioeconomic indicator?
They will sell you a dish outside Asda. Aspiring salesmen, fleece top proudly embroidered with the Sky logo, enthusiastically propping up a portable sales stand, together representing an unavoidable gauntlet between shopper and shop. The determined survive but the weakest are cornered and eventually convinced they sign, committing to 24 months of box sets, premier league and propaganda. A typical contract could cost a day’s pay packet on the minimum wage, but out there in the cold the numbers might just start to make sense.
Nice little article by a chap called Ajit Menon, a hobbyist photographer from New York City. Ajit talks across topics ranging from the desirability of some very expensive photography hardware to an introspective look at the ‘soul’ of his own work. Some great photos too…
The wind today blew us around a little. Our first walk of the day was a battle, with rain driving into us on gusts of Atlantic breath. Later it softened a little and we braved the huge expanse of Woolacombe’s beach. Bare feet, rain pocked sand, bitingly cold water, white cloudy skies. It was beautiful. Walking south. Talking a little; observing a lot. The grasses on the dunes shivered in the wind, giving life to the land; hairs on the back of a cold, slumbering giant. We paused at this small formation of rocks – a lone landmark in an ocean of sand. Looking back to Woolacombe village the sea spray fogged the view of the distant buildings; cosy boxes under a featureless grey sky.
These were taken on 22nd December 2014, days before Christmas. The sky was grey and unremarkable but the English channel drove wave upon wave of cold, dark water onto the pebble beach of Bexhill-on-Sea. Just days later we enjoyed a swim in calmer waters with the winter sun in our eyes.
I’ll admit it. I’m a serial abuser of perfectly good bicycles. I ride them into the ground giving them very little TLC; the bare minimum of maintenance. I’m hopeful this time will be different, but don’t hold your breath.
I’ve got myself a Fuji Track 2.1, an aluminium version of their very popular Track. I’ll be running it fixed for the time being and am in the market for some pedal straps.
