Zen pebbles

Some very frosty pebbles in the back yard.

15th April 2008

Paul Bebe, Les Arc, 2006


Memorial, Paul's funeral, Blacon crematorium, this morning.

Our mountain biking buddy, Paul, died of cancer this month at only 40 years old. It only feels like a moment ago we spent carefree days on the trails, Paul lugging his super-heavy Orange Patriot downhill bike around the cross-country trails with us. He always beat us to the top.

Paul was one of those friends that makes you feel very fortunate to have had him in your life. He was a great person and we are going to miss him. He was friendly, generous and kind, always willing to lend a helping hand in his typical laid back style. Nothing was ever too much trouble.

He was a man of few words but the ones he used were well chosen. His one liners were sure to have you in stitches. This went with a mischievous streak that you always had to watch out for. You could be sure to end up with a smile on your face when Paul was about.

Although quiet he was not shy and was always involved with things. We met through one of his great loves; mountain biking. He loved the outdoors and was always keen to head into the hills. He gained a lot of respect for dragging his heavy Orange Patriot bike up mountains. I don’t know how he did it. This strength was something that showed in everything he did, no matter how hard the task he just got on with it and never complained. Even when he was diagnosed with cancer he just shrugged, seemed to take it in his stride and bought a new (and lighter) mountain bike to ride, ready for when he got better.

Although not the fastest of the mountain bikers we know he still beat us up to the top of the hill and left us standing on the downhills. When I think of Paul I will only have happy times to remember. In particular I always come back to him letting me think I was at last going to beat him to the top of a climb. Just before the summit he would give me a cheeky grin and effortlessly cruise past me only to disappear in a cloud of dust down the other side.

There was standing room only at his funeral. It takes a remarkable person to be so well liked and so highly thought of. He has left his mark on our lives and for that we will be grateful.

We will miss you Paul, we hope your Orange Patriot is with you now.

12th April 2008

Slate pots, in progress.

Good slate is so enjoyable to work with. Making these pots today gave me a really sense of connection with the past. Maybe it's because slate can’t be worked without slowing down and being patient. Slate is unforgiving to any modern-day rushing around; it won’t hesitate to break with one over-zealous impact.

28th March 2008

This shot breaks the best practice [guidelines] I just learned for food photography – mainly as the light here is overhead tungsten lighting, which really shows in the flat look of the photo. The preferred diffused natural light was in short supply at 9pm though, plus our guests were looking at their withheld food threateningly. The [recipe] thankfully, was a real show stopper and also really quite easy to put together if you happen to have some Scottish flaky hot-smoked salmon handy.

27th March

I read an [article] on food photography earlier this week. The condensed version of the articles goes something like this; most food wants to be eaten, not photographed, and therefore looks rubbish when photographed. The advice was firstly to undercook the food, let it go cold, photograph low and close up on a non-fussy background, use natural diffused light, custom colour balance and finally to use a shallow depth of field. This shot uses most of those techniques, and although I can see I will be able to improve on this, it is my first attempt at food photography. The final point of the article is to know when not to shoot food at all, and with anemic looking cheese as a subject, this is probably one of them. More to follow this weekend with folk to cook for.

26th March

Eucalyptus Tree, after the rain.

25th March

Beer glass and water, glass 'borrowed' from Pizza Express

This backlit shot uses only a household lamp as the light source, but custom colour balancing before shooting makes all the difference. A flash, from the side of the glass, would no-doubt finish off the shot, adding more glass reflection.

13th March

Hamish - feeling very sorry for himself - he had a wound on his paw and was stuck inside for days.

12th March 2008

Kurly Cale. This plant has been growing none stop for two years, and the young leaves still taste great.

11th March

My pal Sue. Sorry Sue, I know you said I made you look like an 'ugly miffer', but I kinda like the retro lighting so you are getting published anyhow.

7th March 2008

Man in Cafe, Chester

I spotted this shot while passing. I was drawn to the reflection on the glass obscuring most of the cafe interior, apart from the well lit subject.

6th March 2008

Cool girl in front of the Kingsway estate. Thanks for letting me take your picture.

1st March 2008

This lovely old Triumph bike was given to me by my neighbours Eileen and Frank. It was Eileen’s engagement present from Frank, over 40 years ago.

29th Febuary, 2008

Fabric #4 - silk scalf from Vietnam

28th Febuary, 2008

Fabric #3 - cushion detail

These images show detail of a handmade cushion by Scotish artist Jo Gallant. She is based in Kirkcudbright and you can see her work [here]. I have never dared to put this cushion anywhere near a chair though, it's far too precious.

27 Febuary, 2008

Fabric #2 - homemade felt vase

I made this not-so-waterproof felt vase on a feltmaking weekend hosted by a cumbrian artist Dianne Standen.

26th Febuary

Fabric #1 - felt flowers.

The first image in the first themed series here - Fabric.

I bought these amazingly bright felt flowers in the Kyle of Lochalsh at Christmas. I had to bring them this far south to photograph them against a blue sky though.

24th Febuary 2008

Riverside Taxidermy shop front, Llangollen


Riverside Taxidermy shop front, Llangollen

These photos were taken from the steet through glass using a wide aperture to ensure the dirty glass didn't register on these shots. The text and block colour was added later in Photoshop.

23rd Febuary 2008

Roman Catholic iconography with added red rags. St Lukes Catholic Church, Frodsham.


Roman Catholic iconography with added red rags. St Lukes Catholic Church, Frodsham.

These are the first photos I have taken that I feel are complete shots. Unless landscape and nature shots are really quite stunning, they convey little emotion, and it’s going to take me a fair old time to get that good at landscape photography. These shots though, are conceptual, and I think that having the idea (i.e. adding the red rags), knowing a location and waiting for the right light, seems to build a stronger image than simply reacting to the environment.

22nd Febuary

You didn't need to worry about looking hungover. Thanks for letting me take your picture.