Category: 1 Photography

Photographing markets

Late last year I spent a couple of afternoons at the Borough Market in London.  I have always found markets to be intriguing places.  The traders are usually full of character – self made individualists most of them who are by nature fiercely proud and protective of their independence.  The Borough Market in the South East of London has been there in various forms for hundreds of years.  Today the market as a whole is run by a non-profit organisation (although all the traders are there to make a living).  The market has a wide variety of produce and is well worth a visit.

As with most photography, the objective is not merely to produce a picture of the subject but to capture the essence of the place – to portray the life, texture, colours, personalities etc. which reflect the character of the place.  Continue reading “Photographing markets”

Featuring Cathedrals 1: Wells Cathedral

This post is the first in a series on Cathedrals and churches in the United Kingdom.  In cities, towns and villages all over Britain you will find beautiful old buildings which are often somewhat sad and sombre relics of a vanished era of faith, power and excess.  They are largely forgotten now, in many instances surrounded by the gravestones of a larger departed congregation than the living faithful and yet they represent a vast heritage of art, architecture and history which is there to be explored and perhaps rediscovered.  I have begun a personal exercise of photographing churches and cathedrals in the United Kingdom and have been struck by their wealth.  Most have been built over centuries and all are full of drama.  Most hold their ages within them and speak of bygone eras but some seem very modern even though they were constructed centuries ago. Continue reading “Featuring Cathedrals 1: Wells Cathedral”

Capturing flies flying

One of my interests in photography is capturing the ordinary in extraordinary ways.  It is fascinating to see the ordinary facets of life around us from unusual perspectives.  For example, there are billions of flies in the world – they are generally regarded as a menace and an irritation and yet they perform a critical role in cleaning up nature’s mess.  I took time out recently to try to capture some images of flies in my garden in Surrey, England.  The challenge was to photograph them actually flying.  I used my trusted Canon 1D MkIII with a Canon 100mm Macro lens and ring flash. Continue reading “Capturing flies flying”

Its in the Eyes – Images of degradation

Eyes of youth
Eyes of youth

[Note: A selection of charcoal images is now available for purchase and download from the Image Market – HERE.]

Whilst on a development mission in Mozambique, in the relatively remote Sofala Province, I was struck again by the immense impact of the practice of charcoaling.  All around was a haphazard devastation which no doubt grew insidiously, tree by tree.  The challenge is how to capture the underlying tragedy of what was happening.  I took a number of images but decided that the mood is best conveyed in sombre monotones.  The starkness of the landscape is captured in high contrast – the drama of what is happening is reflected in the eyes of the children of Metuchira.

For information on charcoaling, see the Blog Post entitled Charcoal and deforestation

The images can be seen in the Season Images Gallery.

Children of Metichura
Children of Metuchira