Walking from Birmingham to Wolverhampton.
On the 29th December last year I walked along the canal from Birmingham to Wolverhampton. It seemed like a good way to end the year.
As I set out in Birmingham I was a little apprehensive, partly about sore feet and partly about the weather which looked pretty dull. The first few miles felt a little uninspiring, but I took a few photographs. The damp grey weather left me wondering what I was doing. Then as I got out of the centre and started seeing more interesting older buildings I got into my groove.
I love the remnants of our industrial history that still remain along the canal. The worn brickwork and memories of the horse drawn boats that used to ply these waters. These days there is modern construction butting up against the historical. The canal is also much quieter in places and it is a haven for wildlife. Sometimes it feels a little like a refuge in the middle of a very built up and industrial area.
At lunch time I sat under a bridge where the motorway crosses the canal. I ate my sandwich as the rain started in earnest, then as it eased I pushed on. Several miles further on I came out of the tunnel at Coseley to a clearing sky and the start of a sunset that lit up the sky with some beautiful colours. I walked into Wolverhampton as it finally got dark, with slightly sore feet but also with a set of photographs that I felt happy with.
At first I worked some of the photographs into monochrome images, and then started experimenting with re-photographing the prints to slightly distort them. I think this is producing an interesting set of images that I will work on and develop over time.
(21st January 2024)
A new exhibition.
I've just finished putting up a set of photographs in the windows of K Teas Cakes in Wolverhampton. This includes images of Wolverhampton, Birmingham and three from my "Industry" series. It's great to be able to show my work in a place that is local and easily accessible.
K Teas Cakes is on the corner of St Georges Parade and Tempest Street (WV2), and is a great place for a drink, some food and a slice of delicious home made cake. Opening times and more information here.
The picture below shows some of the pictures, complete with a reflection of the Central Library!
(12th July 2023)
I've had another photograph published.
It was great to find out that Black + White Photography magazine had selected one of my images to print in issue No. 277.
The image, below, was taken down a back street near Fleet Street in the Holborn area of London, in the summer of 2022. I am drawn to the way the glass windows form a flat plane that reflects the buildings around it, that in this case are also very linear geometric shapes. It is fascinating how architectural design decisions affect the everyday environment we live in.
(29th April 2023)
Finding my style.
Over time my photography has developed, no pun intended! I started using black and white film, then moved to digital but stayed predominantly black and white. Over time I have used more colour but I will always love black and white or at least monochrome images. I still feel that I am searching for ‘my style’, but I guess that is a search that to some degree never ends. It’s important to evolve and re-invent yourself over time.
I’ve been experimenting again with combining paper textures and using words in my images. Sometimes I feel that an image on its own isn’t enough, that there are things I want to say that need words. I know my handwriting is a bit scrawly, but I am trying to become more confident using it to show my words.
As well as that I love the way the paper texture works with some photographs. This is partly from an aesthetic point of view, but for me paper also represents books, history and memories. As well as this, at a time when so much of what we see is on screens, paper makes things feel more real and tangible, especially when combined with handwriting.
This is just another waypoint on a journey that I will always be on, but at the moment I am excited by where I’m at.
(30th March 2023)
Royal Birmingham Society of Artists - Photography Prize Exhibition 2023
I entered three photographs for the exhibition this year, and was very happy and slightly taken aback that all three were selected. These pictures are ones that I created a couple of years ago, and then re-worked a few months ago. They are part of the Canis Lupus series, a piece of work I’m really proud of. To see more images in the Projects section, click here.
Once I had printed the images I had to make a decision on how to frame them. I really love the way they look mounted on the back of the glass rather than behind a mount board. Thank you to the Framers Gallery in Wolverhampton for the framing.
I think the three of pieces work really well hung together in the gallery. However proud you are of an image on the computer screen, it looks so much better as a physical object on the wall.
The exhibition runs from the 2nd March to 9th April.
Click here to see the RBSA website.
(14th March 2023)
Wood Saints & The Shop in the Square.
I've been taking pictures at a couple more local businesses in Wolverhampton. The first four images are of Wood Saints, who take old timber and clean it up for sale, as well as making furniture and garden items. The bottom four images are from the Shop in the Square which is run by a group of local artists and makers as a place to sell their work.
(10th March 2023)
Job Done!
I’ve been taking more photographs recently of local businesses. It’s wonderful to see the passion and sense of purpose of people doing things that are really important to them.
I am particularly interested in people who are doing things that are positive for the environment. I know that there is so much more that needs doing, but I think it’s important to celebrate what is being done, as an antidote to the seemingly endless negative news stories.
More images of EcoWulf and CarSeq are on the Job Done project page..
(5th February 2023)
It's a New Year and I've made a book!
New year feels like an opportunity for new beginnings and new projects.
I’ve been working on images of Wolverhampton for a while, and I’ve finally got a set that I’m really happy with. I have put them together into a small hand made book that I’ve now got on sale. See the Shop page for full details. This feels like an exciting moment, and a really good way to start the new year.
I’m looking forward to the journey that the next 12 months takes me on and really want to push my work into new areas, travel to new places and develop my creativity in new ways.
Happy New Year!
(12th January 2023)