Teaching

Does the outer space into which we dissolve taste of us at all? – Rilke There are shadows because there are hills ― E.M. Forster I’ve been reading the Chinese Book of Changes and it refers to aesthetics, which is a good subject for photographers. The I Ching was the basis for a question which […]

  Creative work needs solitude. It needs concentration, without interruptions. It needs the whole sky to fly in – Mary Oliver In all things, the Way does not want to be obstructed – Chuang Tsu Before undergraduate university I read preparatory books. Bertrand Russell, Sartre, Thomas Hardy, Steinbeck, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. […]

  The word for this effect is landskein. Over the years I’ve made numerous similar shots but not quite like this. The view is towards Eskdale while climbing Pillar. It was my final big discovery in the Lake District. I walked there several times in one year, enjoying it very much.  It was a sombre […]

  You’d be so lean, that blasts of January Would blow you through and through. Now, my fair’st friend, I would I had some flowers o’ the spring that might Become your time of day – A Winter’s Tale I’m known for mountain photography but will speak now about flowers. When I do this – […]

Which camera is best is a good question to ask. Although there is no such thing, but rather a series of technical parameters you have to apply for yourself.

There’s a mystique attached to photographic practice based on outdated traditions. Digital technology means there is less need than ever to obsess about equipment, but the culture persists.

I learnt photography many years ago with black and white film and darkroom processing. I used Ilford FP4 and basic cameras including a Zenit, Praktica, and the school’s Yashica.

Photography is partly conceptual and partly aesthetic. It’s based on technical knowledge comparable with other crafts, like using a saw in carpentry or cutting marble for a sculpture.