Gone ..

 

 

 

 

 

This week I have been asked, once again, to supply a photograph for a funeral. A lovely friend from the village has died and, as I'd previously shot a portrait of her in my old studio, the family have come to me for a print. That's the third time it's happened in such a short space of time, and I'm sorry to be so maudlin but it makes me very sentimental sometimes to think of my photography as a record of the past. Of things gone, of people no longer here. It is literally the driving force behind the production of my two new portrait books .. Remember Me! 

 I feature here three young lads from my archive, all of whom left this life far too soon. May they rest in peace .. 

Are you there, Iggy?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's only one thing to do when the weather's as bad as it is. You dive into your big box of old negatives and see if you've missed that one great shot that's going to make you famous .. 

Well, I haven't found that (yet) but I've found this, among others, and haven't the foggiest idea when I took it. I don't know who the guys are, why they were putting on make-up or the location of that salubrious toilet. And I probably never will, unless the Iggy Pop lookalike suddenly recognises himself from this blog and lets me know. The amazing thing about human memory, though, is that, if 'Iggy' were to make himself known again, I might well then recall the circumstances of this photograph. The 'who' and the 'why' and the 'where' might still be stuck in that mass of wobbly jelly in my bonce, and I might be able to pull out the detail and recall the occasion. In the meantime, thank God for photography, eh? Are you out there, Iggy? Are ya?..

 

Oh, the memories ..

Suddenly, it's all happening! The blossom's out, leaves are unravelling at a pace and the Wedding season is kicking off good and proper! It's time to make some memories!..

Actually, I'm back to my old tricks! This morning I drove 36 miles to check out a venue at which I'm shooting a Wedding in July, only to arrive at the gates and shout 'Damn! I've been here before!'
Doh, me and my memory! ..

Not so much a Wedding as a Vow Renewal to photograph this week, though I'll treat it exactly like a Wedding, of course. It's only the second one I've ever shot .. as far as I can remember!

PS: Now that the feel-good factor is back I've chosen a suitably vibrant shot from my Florescence range to go with the mood!..

Oh, my memory ..

Christine's Birthday Party
Summer 2014

Hot day
Dahlias
Pimms...

****

"Are you Martin?".. asked a young lady I bumped into yesterday. "You took my Wedding photographs!"..

I was embarrassed that I didn't remember her. "When was your Wedding?".. I asked her. "2005 .. " she replied. "Ah.." I said "No wonder I don't remember! I've got a memory like a sieve! How is everything?.." "Oh.." she said "We're divorced, but they were a lovely set of pictures!" ..

Well, it sure is a time for memories at the moment, what with the 100th anniversary of the war and everything, and look how fascinated we are with all those old photographs from the time. Ah, the power of the image. How evocative .. but where the hell will all the images be from today when they look back in 100 years time? The flippant answer for me now is "I don't care!" I won't be here then - unless I'm the healthiest 154 year old on the planet - so it ain't my problem, but I'm sure as hell going to make sure that, at least for my lifetime, my memories get out there to the people who might find them useful...