The Fallen ..

Very sad to hear of the death of Mark E. Smith, lead singer/dictator of Manchester band The Fall. I can still remember the excitement I felt as an 18 year old, hearing the unbelievably different 'Bingo - Master's - Break- Out!' on John Peel in 1978, a single I still own and play to this day. I even have on my wall a poster for a Fall gig at Manchester Students' Union. I took it down when I moved to France and put it straight back up as soon as I got here. He's definitely one of my musical Marmites - some of his stuff is totally unlistenable to - but yes, it's safe to say Mr Smith has had quite a defining part in my musical tastes. God bless ya, Mark E ... 

What a square ..

I've set my Fuji X10 to 'Square' again in an effort to emulate the 120 film in my old Yashica 124 camera. I love the challenge I get from fitting the world into a square, with no advantage being gained from shooting either portrait or landscape. The thing is, I find it very easy to have my subjects 'look right' when they're put into that format so I know it's going to be a great new project. However, the privacy laws in France mean it's not legal to take photographs of people in the street without permission, so I have a feeling that this series will generally be landscapes. No problem. There's nothing square about that ..

(Click the shots to see them larger) 

Flyin' ..

It's four months to the day since we moved to France. Time flies! Yet, funnily enough, it seems a long time since I shot my last Wedding .. on the August Bank Holiday. I was reminded of it this morning when I received a lovely e-mail from Emma, the bride. "Thank you so much .." she said "for making our day so special. You made everyone laugh and feel so at ease, you’re an amazing photographer, your work speaks for itself, we have a beautiful album and set of photos we will treasure forever. You're a star xxxx". Thanks so much, guys..

As you can tell, this Wedding was turned around really quickly. The couple were keen to chose their images and I've already designed and delivered their Wedding album. Job done! Contrast that with another couple who have just got in touch to ask about choosing the shots from their Wedding .. two years ago!!
Yep, time flies alright ..

Poo ..

I love France and the French and everything about them. They have such a pride in their appearance, their food and their 'Frenchness' .. so why on earth don't they pick up their dog poo? It spoils the streets of every big town I've visited so far. It's so odd. I mean, they love their dogs and will happily allow them into bars and restaurants, but they just can't be bothered to clean up after them. After living here for almost four months now, it's just about the only sh*t thing I've come across ..

Turning over a new leaf ..

New Year trips to the nearby towns of Angoulême and La Rochelle gave me an opportunity to take out the camera - as if it's ever away! - and get some fresh photography under my belt. But instead of shooting 'tourist' shots and happy snaps, I found myself drawn to numerous trees around the towns. I'm not sure why. Perhaps the fact that most of them had no leaves on them made them more sculptural. Maybe it was a photographic acknowledgement that I, like them, have put roots down in France. Or perhaps it was just the plain and simple fact that a photographer never stops 'seeing' photographs and the satisfaction of the composition is enough. Time to turn over a new leaf and stop over-analyzing photography, folks ..

2017 ..

France! There, that's my review of 2017 done and dusted! We started the year here, painting the gîte last New Year's Day, and everything else we've done in the last 365 days has been to do with the country. We've planned our move, survived the whole process of moving, and enjoyed the last three and a half months of actually living here. So yes, as it's the done thing to review one's past year, I really can sum it all up in that one word. So here's to France and our new life of chickens, eggs and brilliant off-road mountain-biking ..

Oh, and a Happy New Year to you and yours, too ..