I once had a photography friend who created symmetrical portraits, his project was based around the idea that symmetrical faces are considered more attractive. But I found the faces kind of creepy and dismissed the idea of symmetry in my own work.
Then a few years ago I went camping with some friends in the Gower Peninsula. The location was atmospheric and beautiful but I felt like the pictures I took there they were lacking something to make them really special. I was just messing around when I flipped the first image but I loved the result and I ended up making a couple of symmetrical landscapes with photos from that trip.
This project has been a slow burner and it’s one that I never think about when I’m actually shooting. Occasionally, I’ll see a photo in the archive and wonder if it could work.
I’d actually forgotten about the project all together until I was looking for images to add to this updated version of my blog and found this picture of Emsworth Mill Pond. I’ve worked on it before and looked at it hundreds of times but this time I saw something new in it.
I guess the point is that creativity can sometimes happen years after the actual shoot. And I love that there are always new ways to look at things.
More symmetrical landscapes here.
It was my birthday so I made a cake.*
And broke my no photography at parties rule.
*My little sister made the Olaf cake topper because mine kept coming out like a screaming skeleton.
It was an honour to take photographs at the wedding of one of my oldest friends and his beautiful bride. David and Rebecca were married in Dungeness Lighthouse and partied on Mersea Island.
Dungeness was wonderfully sparse and had so many opportunities for photos that I could have stayed all evening.
Two days later, we met on the jetty in West Mersea and were whisked off to a tidal island where we ate seafood, drank gin, and danced until high tide.
I’ve been to a lot of weddings, as a photographer and as a guest, but this was definitely one of the best.
About a year ago my interest in photography started to wane. Dragging the tripod, lenses and the rest of our kit off to the coast, standing in the rain for hours for just a couple of images, had become tedious. I’d also found myself snapping endlessly and inanely on holidays, days out, family visits, so much so that I didn’t have time to enjoy what I was actually doing. I made a pact with myself to leave the camera at home and my 2014 and 2015 image folders are significantly emptier than 2013. It had stopped being fun.
But things are changing. I’ve had a few projects that forced me to think photographically again, an author photo shoot for The Mechanics’ Institute Review, a beautiful coastal wedding for some lovely friends, and a spontaneous abstract project with my husband, PJ.
We didn’t plan to collaborate, or even take any photographs. We were just messing around with PJ’s pocket microscope (he was looking to see if I had a splinter in my thumb) and wondered if we could capture what we were seeing using the small lens of a phone camera.
The first few pictures took us by surprise, the microscope/phone combo produced clear images with great magnification. The objects were swirled out of context by the mirrors, creating an otherworldly glow. We searched the house for anything we could put under the microscope. Strawberries, nail varnish, jewellery, shells, ornaments, toys, rocks, PJ’s collection of seaside junk paraphernalia; turns out we have a lot of stuff lying around.
The kit was minimal and we didn’t have to leave the house. The resulting images were exciting, unpredictable and immediate. They barely needed any processing.
I’m not sure if my interest is fully awakened, but I’m definitely remembering that photography can be fun.
See the rest of Our Little Worlds here.
My friend, Joanne, took these pictures of me hula hooping after a few too many gins last weekend. I’m impressed that she’s made it look like I know what I’m doing! In reality, I was all about dropping the hoop and falling over.
Red and White ,a photo I took last year at Minnis Bay in Kent , will be on display at the Strand Gallery this October as part of the London Independent Photography exhibition. The exhibition runs from the 22nd of October til the 3rd of November.
Four more pictures from the Into the Ocean Series will be part of a slideshow projected at the exhibition.
Last year ‘Yellow Rose’ made it through the first round of selections and was part of the slideshow. I’m excited that Red and White made it through both rounds and am looking forward to exhibiting again. If you are interested in coming to the private view on the 22nd , please let me know.
My friend Simon just released his first full album and we took some pictures at the weekend for his last.fm page. Simon is currently offering his album as a free download here: simonisland.co.uk/music/
Stripes in the Distance and Into the Ocean (both part of the Into the Ocean series) were both featured Routes, this month’s issue of fLip magazine. fLip is the magazine for London Independent Photography.