We Are Homegrown

Dayspring

Loop — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:00:26 +0000

Very occasionally I wake up early enough to do this. Though I'll admit it only happens in the Winter when the sun rises that much later and I will be out there wearing about sixteen different layers of clothing. It's always worth it though, especially when you feel as if you're seeing the world wake itself as everyone else misses out on a secret.

Finding My Way

Loop — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:00:36 +0000

"You are a lost leaf, fluttering through the world."

Pilgrim by Sebastian Baczkiewicz.

I always feel a bit weird when I really like my own work but the lead image for this post is one of my favourites. It looks even better in print (please remember, you can click all the photos on the site to view at full size). There is a lot of really nice, sharp, micro-contrast detail that you can't make out on the screen. I'm keen to get more stuff printing this year though I never know quite what to do with the pictures once I have them? These images were captured in either March or September last year whilst listening to either Lightfalls by PTH or The Warlord Trilogy by Bernard Cornwell.

You See Colours

Loop — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 08:00:02 +0000

I'm not very good at blogging anymore. The problem this site faces is twofold; I either forget that I actually have a website or that I can't actually be bothered to update it and that I've just been kinda burnt out when it comes to photography. Having such a backlog of stuff that either needs developing or that has been processed but I haven't gotten around to publishing has rather taken it's toll on my motivation. (I've just realised that a lot of the latest batch of photos I have to blog are from twelve to eighteen months ago.) It's also difficult to care when you know that no one actually reads blogs anymore, it's all about curating an engaging social media experience. Whatever... the thing is I still really like having a 'proper' website. Perhaps a rethink is in order, maybe more of a gallery/portfolio type of thing would be more appropriate?

Priory Stones

Loop — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 23:16:17 +0000

"I find that if I look too far into how facile my existence is, I find myself staring into the abyss and realize that every aspect of my existence is an irrelevance." Gwarizm sounding well goth... but still, that doesn't mean I don't agree entirely. Thing is I don't crave relevance; I suppose I'd like to take the leave only footprints philosophy to the Nth degree. My life has been shaped by the fact that I have no idea what it is that I really want and that I have a natural aversion to wanting what I am expected to desire. Contrariness is the purest thing to me. Given the current zeitgeist of self improvement and optimising one's profile (whether in real life or online) the idea that you aim not to matter seems absurd, which consequently is exactly why I like it. I will always be stumbling through one rabbit hole into the next.

Delays

Loop — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 20:44:11 +0000

Imagine I've written something witty and self-deprecating here... This is getting a bit silly now; I've had draft posts saved and ready to go since September and the only thing stopping their being published is thinking of something to write in this here wordy bit. So I've been trawling the archives. This mix of photos is from from every season, Wales and England, arranged in the pretence of a narrative. Hopefully someone still checks this site since I have so much better stuff to come (I just wanted to through something up quickly for now).

Sabre Skull

Loop — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 11:33:54 +0000

This was one of those rare instances where the final image completely matches the idea I had before I'd even started out. This was despite the fact that it wasn't immediately obvious where to find a Sabre Tooth Tiger and that when I found said beastie he was trapped behind glass. Side note: London's museums have wonderful collections but suffer from awful lighting (except for the V&A Jewellery room which is superb). P.S. I will do my best to regularly update this blog again, I just need to get reacquainted with Lightroom.

Infrared

Loop — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 08:00:00 +0000

More experimental stuff. These pictures were shot using an infrared filter which means that visible and ultraviolet light is completely blocked. I've forgotten all the science behind it to be honest but the result is the sort of otherworldly B&W landscapes which remind me of Terry Pratchett's descriptions of Death's abode. My images are out of focus because infrared focuses at a slightly different point than visible light and I was clever enough to work out the disparity. These were very long exposures (a few minutes each) because the filter is very dark and very thick (it looks like a solid black disc at first glance). Hence the watery, flowing clouds. I've often felt like I'm making the same picture over and agin so sometimes it's good to go completely leftfield and try something completely different.

Sky Fire

Loop — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 08:00:01 +0000

So I happen to look over my right shoulder, out of the window and see that the garden is glowing. Like someone's shining a giant red spot light on the world. I slipped my shoes on, grabbed my camera and ran out of the front door. All it took was a matter of seconds, it was totally instinctive. As I headed down the road, everything was bathed in soft red light. I'd never seen anything like it. On the horizon I could see that just as the sun was in it's final few minutes of setting, the giant cloud bank that had been soaking us for hours had moved inland enough to act like a giant reflector so that all the light and colour of the sunset was bounced back down to earth. I accept that photographs can often make a scene look far more dramatic than the actual event but in this case it really was quite magical.

The Hollow

Loop — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 08:00:46 +0000

These images were created whilst I was on a quest to find The Hollow as referenced by Adam Scrimshire in his album of the same name. Adam described the idea as "a journey to a mythical place from real places," combined with a "love of nature, of childhood hideouts, places I love and remember and nature is a big part of all of it." In a sense, The Hollow is an expression of the universal desire to retreat from the real, everyday, grown-up world. You should have a listen to the music, it's really good.

Smudge

Loop — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 08:24:35 +0000

This may turn out to be one of those ideas that seemed better at the time. I was wondering how the well I could describe the landscape through shape, colour and contrast but without sharp lines or focus. Perhaps it would've been more successful if there was more of a patchwork of different colours rather than various greens. I have actually tried this thing before in black and white but I think in this case you need the colour (and even then I'm not sure it works). Still, it's always worth experimenting.

Salutations to Boudica

Loop — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 11:11:54 +0000

I still can't quite believe I managed to pull this day off without a hitch but everything went swimmingly all the same. I left Salisbury in a right pea souper and arrived in London to glorious, clear blue skies. Engage the red filter. Commencing with a stroll along embankment, I then meandered my way up to the British Museum. Despite the myriad of antiquities on display, I was mostly there to see the ceiling (and have lunch). I then threaded my way through the Underground to Kensington and the V&A. Gorgeous displays in wonderful surroundings; I really like this place, especially the jewellery rooms which are spectacular. However, chucking out time is five-thirty and I wasn't meeting Tommy B until six. Thus I spent the last hour of opening in the Natural History Museum seeking out a particular specimen to photograph. Prehistoric mammal located and captured on silicon, I proceeded to the powwow and then onto catch my train which was not just on time but early! N.B. Click on the photos to enlarge them.

Wabi Sabi

Loop — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 09:00:38 +0000

It's becoming increasingly had to write something intelligent in these text except bits. What can I say? I like taking pictures of patterns and textures. All these images have been split-toned to some extent. I think it helps prevent that plastic, artificial feeling you can sometimes get from a digital photograph. It's a little bit like shooting film colours with the clarity of digital... maybe?

Mechanical Slumber

Loop — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 10:00:50 +0000

For the amount of interesting machinery you find on the farm, I have far too few images worth processing. Must try harder. I've gone for a cross processed kind of feel with the split toning with various degrees of success. I love what it does to the greens though (I think it's the extra blue in the shadows that does it). Once I'd finished tweaking in Lightroom, some of these images were dropping into Photoshop so I could play around with some texture overlays to try and enhance the grimy worn feeling of the machinery.

Rising Storm

Loop — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 12:00:50 +0000

I love the way that the lines seem to swoop along the field's undulations. Come to think of it, I think this is the first time I've ever managed to do anything useful with a 16:9 crop. Just wish I could have captured a little more detail in those clouds.

Harmony

Loop — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 10:59:50 +0000

I could have sworn I had more photos from Venditch Chase and Chickengrove Bottom. Still, it's better to have three shots you like than a memory card/film full of horrors.

Snowball

Loop — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 09:00:16 +0000

I'd like to say that I processed these portraits in black and white to seperate the subjects from their surroundings and to place the emphasis on the texture of their bristly snouts. Thing is that wouldn't be the whole truth; I was still pretty rusty at using my camera when I took these shots and thus had set completely the wrong White Balance. I should also have been shooting RAW, then it wouldn't have been a problem (so that's two slapped wrists for me). Still, I think I managed to save the images...

Napoleon

Loop — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:47:50 +0000

Photographing pigs is actually rather difficult. They spook very easily and sprint away and a speed that belies their rotund appearance. However they are also intensely curious so the second that their panic subsides they will start ambling back up to you to take a look at what you're doing. They also have unnervingly human like eyes.

D’enouement

Loop — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 09:00:12 +0000

And like that, it they were gone. No more spears of barley, swaying in the breeze like the waves of a golden sea. Cut down in their prime, ready for the land to be tilled so the whole process can start all over again... but never mind that, look at the sky! You don't see many of those where I come from.

Down Beat

Loop — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 09:00:50 +0000

I know it's just more of the same but hiding at the bottom of a barley field is a very nice place to be on a long, hot Summer day. I tried to something a little different with the colours this time. Turning down the saturation to try and concentrate of the details and mix of textures a little more.

Golden

Loop — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 09:00:04 +0000

I bet I'd be amazing at advertising Weetabix. I don't remember much about this day other than it was really, really hot and I spent most of my time with my lens set to the minimum focus distance and just moved the camera back and forth until everything lined up. Also, if you laze around long enough you will see the deer come bounding past like Zebedee in a particularly buoyant mood.