Amuse-yeux

When I was selecting images for my range of cards I wanted many to be scenes that could be sent to a range of people for a range of reasons. Or kept, simply because someone loved the image. There were images that appealed to me, some for the quality of light, some for the content, some for the colour palette. They are not necessarily earth shattering images but they are easy on the eye and capture a moment.

I was trying to think what it was that was making me select certain images and trying to think of a term that described all of these images. Some were details, some wider landscapes, some a bit quirky but they all had something that made you look at them despite being printed fairly small on cards. I finally came up with a phrase adapted from the French cooking term ‘amuse bouche’ - a small, delicious, edible treat, often reflecting the taste and character of the chef. Thus the term amuse-yeux came into my thinking - small, visually appealing images reflecting my style of photography.

The range takes images from the UK, Europe and beyond, frequently taken on holidays and family trips. Often spontaneous, occasionally planned. I have lots more images ready to go for another printing as the project develops.

The wonder of light

As part of the requirements of lockdown I have not driven anywhere to take photographs. My photography would not necessarily be deemed an essential journey and I did not want to travel far, have an accident and burden the overrun NHS. Increased local exploration led me to this barn. I have long known of its presence but a run past in the late afternoon showed me how good it was looking at the moment. Late spring, crops coming through in different shades, a neatly trimmed hedge, the glory of the rusty barn.

I first shot it in evening at last light - in this case just before 8pm. Long raking shadows, tramlines leading you through the image, with the late light giving rich, saturated colours.

Beautiful evening light, plenty of leading lines.

I then got up for a dawn shoot the following morning so less than 12 hrs later the light was at its opposite effect. At 06.15 a gentle mist rose from the fields and absorbed the colours rendering the scene in lovely muted pastel tones.

At dawn the light is waking up the scene.

I stayed a while, taking shots as the sun rose so this last image is from 07.20 and sees the colours emerging more. It is rare that getting up early is not worth it - either from images or just the feel-good factor of being out at dawn. Something I have repeated a number of times - including three times over the last week in search of a particular shot. As I will describe in a subsequent next blog.

An hour after sunrise the light and shadow adds definition to the rolling landscape.

30/30 - 01 - The Invasion of Kuwait

This first post comes from 1990, my second year of photography and the first roll of black and white film I ever shot. The story really starts earlier in the year when I accidentally found myself cameraless in the midst of the Poll Tax riots in London to witness the full force of rioter v police. Seeing cars on fire, rioters destroying scaffolding to use as weapons and fleeing a mounted police charge are all scenes that have remained in my memory but left me kicking myself for missing opportunities through not having a camera. It may be that the images would have been rubbish or they may have got me lynched, but a lesson was learnt. I have rarely ventured far without a camera since. And meant that the images here were taken with a fair disregard for the fact that I was being slightly reckless.

Iraqis invade Kuwait city

A couple of months later, In the summer of 1990, I was with my family visiting my dad who had just started working in Kuwait. The Iraqis invaded the country on the second day of our trip and I was held under house arrest for several weeks with troops dug in in the grounds of the apartment and on the road outside. On the first day of the invasion I took some photos of the troops from the window of our apartment as they overtook the city. My episode of journalism did not last long - I was spotted and some soldiers bustled into the flat (with AK47s) looking for the camera. I managed to hide it, my family all assisted in persuading them I had been using a small point and shoot and they pulled the film out of this one. I was able to pass the film to a western journalist when we travelled to Baghdad to board mercy flights out of Iraq to Jordan and onto the UK.

Looking back, I could have preserved the negs better (though I do at least still have them and I have not done much cleaning on the scans). The images were not great BUT I did get paid for them (£250) by a newspaper and the foreign office looked them over to see what weapons the Iraqis were sporting. The exposures could have been better (all manual), and focus was questionable on several but it did in essence kick off my photographic career so the images are important for that, if not for their technical acumen. I had been bitten by a bug that developed further during some time travelling after school. I soon went to university and spent much time volunteering on the student newspaper and making money photographing events, which I then spent on travelling and taking more photos. All paving the way for my career.

Needless to say the whole middle eastern conflict has remained of interest, but not enough for me to pursue photo-journalism full time. I did revisit a war zone though when photographing a regiment during the Kosovo war. A story for another blog…

Starting to dig in for the long haul.

Lock-down photography

As has been the case for everyone, the Covid crisis lock-down changed many of my plans, and rightly so given the need to flatten the curve and which frankly I will happily accept in exchange for staying healthy. The factor that we should only drive when essential to avoid any kind of accident and impose on the NHS has led me to take no car journeys for photography - these are definitely not essential. No trips to the coast or to the New Forest. A cancelled trip to Scotland. I am definitely living the Think Far, Travel Near philosophy.

The whole nature of the crisis did for a while stop me wanting to go out and take photographs at all. I did not take my camera out for over a month and only ventured out with it again in the second half of April; Islay had taken the dogs onto the downs near our house and reported the beech in full youthful bloom. When there was a forecast for light rain one morning I thought it would add some atmosphere to the trees so took a soggy walk up the hill. The scene lacks a focal point and there was too much wind but it was good to be back out shooting and I saw noone until I got back close to the village.

A drizzly morning in the trees. A first shot back in the saddle…

Our neighbours have a very large ash tree in which nest several families (practically a flock) of rooks. They are annoyingly noisy, unless one wants to be woken up just before dawn in which case they are the perfect alarm. Over the last couple of weeks I have resisted the urge to roll over and go back to sleep (or at least try) a few times so have crept out of the house into glorious mornings. Without sounding smug, I am lucky enough to live in the countryside with a brother in law in the village who owns a farm. Thus I can escape into fields and photograph the wildlife. I have seen a surge in hares on his farm this year - I think due to the combination of pasture grass affording living space and arable providing plenty to eat. Anyway, I have been photographing these wonderful wild animals again. I have seen up to 8 hares at one time - often in groups of five or six chasing each other in the ‘playing tag’ way that they do. I saw one, very brief, boxing match. I have taken a lot of photos just because I can, many with the hares too small in the frame to be effective but it’s all good practice and just watching them through the lens helps to understand their behaviour. Sometimes the light has been lovely - subdued morning light or raking evening light.

Dusk on the farm. Small in the frame helps show the environment ;)

It got to about 20 yards away before scarpering

One morning there was some mist and I was heading out to find a tree to photograph and as I walked past the water meadow area there was a beautiful barn owl hunting. I spent a while taking shots, mainly of it flying far away, but some perching as well and even one flight straight towards me. I have tried to find it again since, but with no luck. I have more shots that I like so may well write a post just on the owl in the future. They are spectacular birds.

The graceful flight across the water meadow. Even eye contact.

I have seen much other wildlife in these dawn and dusk forays including a trio of roe deer that hang out on the farm a lot and plenty of calling pheasant and scuttling partridge who have survived the winter cull and are now replenishing their numbers. As yet no badger or fox - a couple to look out for.

Think far - Travel near

A few miles from home

Through the end of 2019 and early 2020 when I started designing my new range of cards, the environment was high on the agenda of people and politicians. I will print ‘Think far-travel near’ on the back of my cards to encourage people to think a little more that lovely images can be taken close to home. I think social media has played a massive (negative) role recently in encouraging travel and flying simply to get ‘the shot’ that everyone else has. Of course I am not innocent in this regards - there are a number of classic vistas both from the UK and overseas in my work and I was lucky enough to travel a fair amount in the days of innocence and ignorance before widespread environmental concerns and pressure; however many of the images that will feature in my range are non-specific in location and I believe that such amuse-yeux can be found close to home for most people. An open mind on what to photograph and an eye for the visual can be trained rather than simply copying what has been created by others before.

Of course, covid is rather putting any plans for travel into disarray for the foreseeable future. But this means that the principle takes on a new resonance. We will simply not be able to travel so will need to find something new in landscapes and scenes close by. Travelling to a different place often opens the mind to all that is new, exciting and exotic. We will need to find that fix through domestic and local travel opening our minds to seeing the space through new eyes.

30 years with a camera

I have been a photographer for over twenty years. But mainly working for a single company both as a photographer and in other roles, whilst carrying out my own photography. I have therefore been in a lucky position of being able to take plenty of personal work without having to be commercial. Having said that, over the years I have photographed weddings, portraits, made many print sales through a local gallery and published ranges of postcards and greetings cards. In the last year I have been making excellent headway into the process of re-editing images and shooting new work for a new range of cards. It is interesting what one finds that has slipped through the net previously and what works best for the square format of the cards I am designing.

As this process has developed I have been mulling over how my photography has changed and it has occurred to me that I bought my first SLR 30 years ago. A second hand Olympus OM10 when I was 15. I soon moved to Canon with which I have stuck ever since moving through several film cameras and onto digital with the 5D range.

30 from 30: As part of this reflection I have given myself the task of picking 30 photographs from down the years. Roughly, but not exactly, selecting one from each year and seeing how they have formed me as a photographer and how I have developed and improved.

A new entreprise

The best time to start something is now. So said a wise man. Probably. It may have been more like ‘there is no time like the present’. Either way, it is pertinent advice. So I have decided to accelerate a new entreprise (that has been brewing for a while) in a time of unprecedented turmoil and anxiety and double down my efforts of developing a greetings card company - a process I expect to take a year for commercial readiness.

Landscapes, wildlife, travel scenes…

I conceived this project a while ago but as with side-projects the development was slow, with priority given to my day job (for a nationwide photographic company). I have however been furloughed during this crisis so I have time to devote to this.

A really high quality matt finish print on very slightly textured card stock.

In all honesty I already have the foundations; I have spent 20 years taking photographs that are clamouring to be seen and have spent a lot of time exploring my archives for suitable material, deciding which images would / may work as cards and then editing them down and down. I have researched printers, found one with good ideals, high production values and beautiful papers and had some samples printed. I will soon have an expanded trial printed. The ones I think work best are the most simple; they are quickly absorbed and should stand out in a card stand. The range is (and will expand as) a collection of landscapes, cityscapes, flora and fauna and an uncategorisable collection of what I call amuse-yeux. These are moments of subjects, light, amusements that resonate and make interesting or unusual pictures. Importantly I think people like them, will buy them, send them and share them.