image of the week lovefilm

After the Ukraine adventure I feel disappointed not to have stayed longer and I am still in desperate fulfilment of a long term challenge... hmmm Anywhoo for reasons unbeknown to me I am still enjoying visiting Ashley and another Glasgow trip is much overdue. I recently processed a bag of rolls I had gathering dust in the bag stuck to my filing cabinet marked :"Only time will tell". This bag holds rolls I dump in occasionally like an old piggy bank. This frame of Ashley feels so raw and the difference between film and digital once again reminds me how much I respect the craft of image making...

Image of the week... lost with bearded ladies

I have a rather bizarre reason for the delayed post... nope I shall not wallow and moan with self punishment for my lack of punctuality as until very late Thursday eve I wandered deliriously around an old estate in Ukraine in fear of never finding our driver. After a few hours of blair witch style hunting we managed to track him down.

I love moments on trips when you are aware of the significance of a memory before it has even fully occurred . As I stood outside the supermarket and took this picture during our time of fear and frustration ( and most likely masking my insecurity with distraction) I could nt help but think : " This image will remind me of this ridiculous evening". I did nt need a literal snapshot but the scene seems to echo the way the encounter felt surreal and timeless.

Eventually arriving home and preparing myself for the 4 am wake up call my head was to weary to post.

Ukraine was fascinating...a land to be explored I hope..

Image of the week...urges to visit the land of Irn Bru... Its been a while since I ve had a chance to revisit these images and I’m still itching to return to Ashley and continue the journey. I was speaking with someone today and the dreaded question arose: " So...what are you working on now?" It's one I'd love to know the answer to, to be excited by... but alas it stirs a feeling of writers block, fear and lack of achievement. But what I realized is projects don't always come from a formulated plan and they often evolve through innocence and trial and error. Photographing Ashley is something I would like to continue doing for as long as she agrees. I have no purpose or intention for an end product; I simply thrive on her story, character and the opportunity to create pictures. The pressure to answer such a simple and interested question eased and I was relieved to reply...: " Lots of different projects and I feel like I am learning so much". Part of me wishes I had a long term project planned, a trip, a theme or a quest...but for now I think I'll just follow my nose and look for inspiration with open eyes.

Image of the week... the ones that didn't make the show

I am overwhelmed, delighted, grateful and unbelievably chuffed with the turn out last night at the opening of my solo show at gallery one- and-a- half. A massive thanks to so many peeps, Rhiannon Adam, Catherine Collins, Chris Littlewood, Stuart Harper (and Ting)... the list goes on but also a massive ta to everyone who showed their support and made it so fun! With the show consuming all the time in the world many an edit was passed back and forth between Rhiannon and myself. It is such a relief to have someone take over the responsibility of an edit and orchestrate their vision of presentation. Rhiannon understands the work. She presented it clearly, laterally and with narrative so that the series is viewed as a journey. There were of course some that made the cut that I definitely would 'nt have chosen ... and some that I considered... so for my late post sins here are two that aren't currently hung ... What's your verdict?

image of the week..lost & found...

With less than a week until the opening of my solo show at gallery One and a half the hunt for a negative began. This is an image I had given up on reclaiming after trawling through boxes of negatives some time ago. It wasn't scanned high res and was a small mission to capture. Veering away from portraiture, I knew, would be a challenge. Always game for a dare, I decided towards the end of last year to embark on a journey to capture the enviroments in which the project took place. I wanted to show the clubs and their sense of history. Many of the naturist resorts in the UK were built in the 1930's and are now maintained with little funding from membership and by those who first established them. Pheonix naturist site in Manchester was my main visit and I knew that spending a weekend there alone would force me to overcome any frustration and boredom I get when attempting to shoot spaces. Through perseverance I battled documenting the site. The pool was my main interest; a green house containing a shallow pond of chlorine rich water. I recall once taking a dip and smiling to myself as my stomach grazed the floor. For hours I frustratingly attempted to portray the strange atmosphere but soon realised that the random architecture and structure were proving too challenging and in fact the smaller details were more interesting and still revealed an insight into the overall feel of the camp's dated decor. Two to browse over as I am insanely delayed on this post...will you join me Thursday to see it in the flesh? http://www.one-and-a-half.com/

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image of the week...the birthday celebrations continue

So yup my bad... it s a late one..the to do list seems to be never-ending... ok dokes so this week is another from a previous post. This image is from a secondary location and the chairs were an inspirational accident. Despite the chill my subject did well to maintain a calm and still composure.




This was the image he was most itching to view so I hope it delights

Image of the week..butter wouldn't melt

it s been a non shoot week and my camera is itching ...A recent polaroid stroll was cut short by lack of film and the reality of how precious it is dawned on me. sad....and frustrating.

Im keen to get my teeth into a few projects and wallowing again at the lack of project progression. I hate my camera getting dusty.

Ok so here s another from the Glasgow shoot.. This little monkey had grown so much since my last visit . Ashley gleefully revealed that the mother / daughter bond was finally beginning to take shape after a couple of challenging years.