2 – My approach to photography
When I was a dentist, I took photographs all the time – mostly macro settings of small objects and areas. These were essential records of what I was seeing.
In my private life, my photographs have also been records – records of places, people and details. My family will tell you somewhat wearily, “He takes photographs of boats mostly!”
We walked from Drewsteignton to Chagford on a rare hot, sunny day. I was being introduced to the walk – “It’s a great walk. Not too difficult.” It is and it wasn’t.
The purpose of the walk was the walk, a small group of friends following the coast. We were surprised and charmed by the sheer variety of flowers.
This became a photo challenge for me which I took on – with the result that I have learnt that I have a long way to go before I master the art of flower photography. Some of the results appear below – with qualifying notes.
In February I changed the WordPress theme for this site. This started as a cosmetic gesture – I wanted it to be easier to read and easier to search. However, in the process, it has opened up new possibilities. At the moment, these possibilities are inklings at the back of my aging mind. Discovering them means teasing them out, being honest with myself about what I think I am doing . . . and why. Therefore the aim of this post is to review what’s going on beneath the surface and reassemble the contents. I want to do this without losing the ‘Folksong’ and ’Maritime History’ elements that I started back in 2006. The path I am taking roughly follows this route:
. . . a birthday treat. The train meandered through Devon – Newton Abbot, Totnes, Plymouth, and on to Cornwall, threading it’s way down the county, stopping everywhere – Saltash, Liskeard, Bodmin Parkway, Lostwithiel, Truro, Par, St Austell, Redruth, Camborne and Hayle, before we changed at St Erth, with time for a coffee in the tiny station cafe. And then Lelant Saltings, Carbis Bay and finally St Ives, to step from the platform into a world discovered by artists long before the holidaying public came to stand and stare, to eat pasties and ice creams and tempt hungry seagulls that know no better.
In a Radio 4 interview yesterday morning, a student from Bicton farm said that she was looking forward to the lectures on ‘rare breeds’. They had become rare over the years because the popular breeds were more profitable, easier to breed and to manage. The problem was that, in the long-term, the more inbred a species became, the more its vulnerability to disease. Apart from liking the animals themselves, she pointed out that the rare breeds were an important part of the gene pool for sheep, pigs and goats etc.
Beyond Steeple Point 