Stills

Think of this as a still from a film - a short perhaps. Imagine the film running, the camera stationary and wait...

This is about narrative alone although it's not too bad a photo! We recently went to our sheep breed (rare) AGM near Coventry and took a (grey and rainy) day out to visit Worcester. Almost from the moment we crossed the border (there's a word I dislike) we became aware of cars flying St George flags, one either side on little sticks by the windows. On narrower roads these cars invariably drove one foot from our rear bumper (no problem, it's a Land Rover). We wandered around Worcester, exploring parts away from the centre, eventually arriving at yet another cricket ground surrounded by flowering horse chestnut and opposite was this house with that dreaded flag. I tried to get a good shot of the ground with the trees and gave up and before departing thought that I'd take the flag as 'one for the record'. Immediately the door flew open and, what I can only describe as, an archetypal English football supporter stormed out. Why was I photographing his house? He was going to call the police. What was my name? Reason seemed useless in such circumstances so I merely said that I would be very happy for him to call the police as I hadn't broken any law. This object stormed around mouthing inconsequential inanities and telling me to clear off - as I stood in the road. Photo taken we departed. I lacked the inspiration (or maybe, subconsciously, the courage) to take a photo of him (fuel to the fire?) unfortunately.

I don't like flags of any description much and this one I certainly don't like: it seems to evoke some sort of cultural inferiority complex. The cars with flags attached reminded me of countries in Latin America celebrating football matches but without the fun and colour. I wish Germany all the best when these people arrive!

In another incident the previous day in the Hereford Arts Centre, which is quite an elegant new building, I took a few pictures. Eventually the duty manager aproached me and asked why I was taking pictures. We discussed it and he came out with the statement that later (this was around 1600) people might be offended were photos to be taken of children. I was flabbergasted. No problem about artist copyright (which I had been scrupulously respecting), just the potential to take a child (dressed one hopes). All I can say is that Middle England has its problems.

Sorry about the length and the very ordinary photo.



I suppose this is a coda to the whole debate. The front page of 'The Sun' from Friday, 2 June. No doubt the editor is unaware of the irony that most of the time 'The Sun' is emblazoned with the Union Jack but has conveniently made itself an English nationalist paper as opposed to a British one. Meanwhile the car flags are being paraded on roads as far as Pembrokeshire.

This was taken at Gearrannian Blackhouse Village. We had been driving along the west coast and arrived at this museum when it should have been closing (17:30). This chap insisted on running the loom and explaining everything about the way in which the work was done in crofts, how the loom worked etc etc. Around 18:00 I made a comment about the need for him to pack up and go home. His comment? "We don't work to rule up here you know!"

On the left, out of view, were two and half lengths of tweed that the museum had made in demonstrations. They were waiting for the local mill to open and wash the cloth. In conversation the value of the cloth was said to be £1000.

This picture was taken at ISO800 1/10s F2.8 hand held.

I put this here not because it is a great photographic achievement but by way of a tribute to all the friendly Hibrideans we met.

back lighted banana leaf

I was fascinated by the pattern this balconyand the colours produce.

Brennan jointly runs a boutique restaurant in Carmarthen called Mosaic. Quite a big deal for West Wales. We went in for morning coffee and I asked him to pose for reflections in the 'mosaic' mirrors. Afterwards, as he was talking to my wife, I took this informally, compositional warts and all. For those interested, it was taken at ISO 800 and put through Noise Ninja.

Harris, what a fantastic place!

I'm starting to think more about approaching portraits in an intentional way. My usual portrait is something along the lines of "Oh, that light looks nice, stand still for a second". I'm trying to move beyond that phase to actively looking for the light and eventually creating it. This is one of the first efforts along those lines. I'm not sure it's entirely succesful, but I'd appreciate some feedback.

Destiny - the destiny of a child.The light fittings are the pathways through life, the baby represents the birth and the dove is the journey through time. What the child will develop into is unknown, hence the missing face in the figure. The second figure is a shadow, the alternative path.

With all this talk of wind turbines and martian fighting machines I thought it was about time that we had a real one. Another shot from within a museum in England which I've had to give treatment to tease out the image. Composition is not quite how I would have liked it but sometimes you just have to take the shot.

This one is for those of you who thought that my bracken picture just had too much content. Whadjamean, nobody thought that.......

It is a Narcissus 'Sweetness', and as you can tell I'm continuing to explore different ways of seeing the plants that surround me.

Hamarikyu Gardens, Tokyo. I strive to take the 'Tokyo Cat' picture.

Clearly, a different kind of photo to '1.3 Mw'. The hill called Moelfre from the North side. The three wind turbines on the site all lie on the South-facing slopes.

taken in the early 80s. from outdoors through the window while the musician was preparing for his concert.

Matt's comments with his last picture made me realise how little street photography I now do. But then, I suppose if I was still living in Sydney or London I wouldn't be doing so much landscape stuff.

Anyway, this was a street photography opportunity earlier this month. I'm not thinking this is great art, but I am smiling.

During a recent discussion that I had with Colin, in between his invitation for me to join "Stills" and my acceptance, he invited me to keep photographing the obscure. This is one of the obscure subjects that I have been trying to photograph on and off since last year. I think I know why I keep going back but to say why would be to preempt discussion and opinion. It has a title but that too would contaminate.

About a mile from the Pembroke coastal path is a small valley running East/West for about a mile and a half, just to the West of Cardigan. I discovered it in March and found this abandoned chapel along the path. Half a mile away, on the other side of the valley is a chapel that is still in use (yes, still!). When I asked why there were two in the first place, so close and serving so few people, I was told that they were for different denominations. There is another unrelated story concerning this photo, which I shall recount later.

Hello all; thanks for having me in the group. I look to forward to getting to know everyone and their work.

My first post is an image that's a couple of weeks old. Before moving to South Korea, I lived in a fairly small city in the Mid-Western US, so I've never had much of an opportunity to investigate street photography. I've been giving it a try here, and I'm finding that I'm mostly drawn to scenes that have a touch of humor. This kid's pose struck me as funny particularly in the way that it mirrors the stance of the adult on the other side of the train.

A shot from the Western Desert in Egypt.

Another of my shots where I try to create an air of mystery. I saw this woman looking out of her window. Not at me this time, however. I wondered who she was looking for. A loved one? A debt collector? Such questions fascinate me.

No ducks here! In fact, this is a scene of desolation as it is a field covered in water from the River Aeron, which comes to Cardigan Bay at Aberaeron. You can see the river behind the trees. It was taken on the same day as 'out of season'. There were two big flooding sessions this winter in November and December; this is the latter. It is unusual in that I used a tripod. It was relatively early, about 10 am and the rain had stopped not long before. The light, although subdued was very interesting as you can see from the colours here.

A different kind of beach photo....a part of my Bernera Beach series.

Taken some time ago with a lowish resolution compact (Canon S20). This is Roch Castle in Pembrokeshire, west Wales which we rented for a reunion gathering. And yes, it has a dungeon which we made full use of.