About Me …
I’m a retired engineer, studying photography, art and art history through courses, workshops and three years of mentoring with Julia Anna Gospodarou, a renowned, international photographer.
I was born and brought up in Berkshire, in the south of England, and came up north to Leeds to study Civil Engineering at university. The city and the county of Yorkshire suited me well – I felt as if I'd emigrated and found my spiritual home – so I've stayed; a wife, a mother, a professional engineer, a hockey player, a post-graduate – all this and now an art-photographer.
About My Photography …
There are different images on this website – different styles, themes, genre, techniques etc. – but you'll see that I've grouped them broadly as either monochrome or colour.
The genesis of my monochrome images lies in the past; firstly as a child of the black and white world of the 1950s; then in the technical drawings of my former profession; and as the 25 year old who bought a second-hand SLR and 'wet' darkroom kit to develop and print in black and white.
And so this work presents a traditional, secure view of the world around me; the slow contemplation of long-exposure images where physically and emotionally I’m at my ease; where my breathing has slowed; where the image that the camera captures and the vision in my mind’s eye are in close accord. Or in the solace and sanctuary of ecclesiastical images; the stability and history of the edifice around me; the beauty of sunlight on the stonework. This is a time when I re-engage with my past – with absent friends and family – and draw strength for the present.
In contrast my colour images present a more active, spontaneous, bubbling melting-pot of thoughts and ideas, as I explore the world around me – my ‘present world’ – with childlike curiosity. And here I'm more experimental and more adventurous both in capturing the image and its subsequent post-processing. You'll see me trying to recreate the way I felt as I lifted the camera to my eye, or represent a memory that the scene has brought to mind, or sounds, smell and taste. Thus the language of my non-visual experiences is texture, abstraction, unreal colour, double exposure, blur, grain etc. and the style is more loose.
And for all this I owe my mentor Julia Anna Gospodarou an enormous debt of gratitude; for her belief in my photography and for her patience. My Twitter profile says that I’m “seeing the world afresh” and, at the time I first wrote it, I was referring to the magical impact of cataract interventions, restoring vibrancy to my murky visual world. But it’s also an accurate description of the effect of working with Julia; she has inspired, challenged, helped and guided me to develop confidence and vision in fine art.
Thank you Julia.
Update: Autumn 2022 …
I did my first photography course in 2008 – it was 10 weeks of remote learning with the Open University. And since then (in addition to the extensive mentoring programme with Julia and two 4-day workshops with her) I've attended classes to learn the rudiments of drawing and to re-learn the skills of the (wet) darkroom; three 1-day workshops with photographers, another two with artists; three 10‑week online courses with the University of Oxford (two on the History of Art and one on The Impressionists); a 10-week History of Art course with the University of Edinburgh; a 4-week course with The Hepworth Wakefield on Barbara Hepworth; done independent research into 'Photography and the Crimean War', and into the 'Social History of our Family Photographs'.
Most recently (since the Covid pandemic exploded) I’ve also done photography courses with Ruth Davey [ HERE … ] and Rachel Wright [ HERE … ]; and joined the worldwide ICM network.
Have I forgotten anything?
Yes, at least two more – an online course on meteorology! and another on psychogeography!!
At some point I developed severe osteoporosis which, across the winter of 2021/2, led to multiple fractures of my spine. Camera photography from a wheelchair has (temporarily) lost its allure – its rhythm – but, as I've written elsewhere, a chance remark by Rachel has taken me into the world of alternative photography – particularly cyanotypes – and thence into watercolour painting.
I've no commercial imperative for my photography. For me the drive – the pleasure – emerges from my curiosity; from learning, exploring, experimentation. And I think you'll see the evidence writ large across this website.
Stay safe xx