I thought I could leave it behind

Evening all

I do hope you're all safe and well!

I sit here on a Saturday evening, absorbing the damp scene through the living room window. Unfortunately, in this particular part of Scotland that I live in, we are not experiencing the fluffy white stuff that so many of you seem to be enjoying recently.

Despite the annoying lack of sledging opportunities, I'm enjoying the quaint peace and safety from the little home I share with my pregnant partner Emma and two sons, Kian and Elijah.

So, the reason for this post?

Towards the end of the summer, about 5 months ago now, I announced that I was leaving my photography behind. Plain and simple. This wasn't an overnight decision or a quest for attention, but more a deliberation that had been mulled over in my head for quite some time. Although, I have to admit, the abundance of lovely messages wishing me well were overwhelming.

What was the reason for my decision? Well, there were a number of factors. Cost and time were two huge ones and kind of go hand in hand. Further to this, I suppose the slight panic of discovering I was bringing another little person into the world brought this on! However, mostly, at the time I hadn't a need for photography to take me away from stress or upheaval.

Deep down I've always known that photography was a way of escaping stresses in my life. My life is wonderful, I must emphasise this, but at the same time I must acknowledge that photography rescued me from sustained periods of pressure. Photography brought escapism and distraction from times of mental hardship.  However the upcoming time restrictions accompanied with only wanting to create work that had a collective end product i.e. Partition book, made me rethink my photography and I couldn't see it being sustainable. And, at this time, I was totally comfortable with my decision.

However, in recent weeks, I've found myself reaching out for my camera. And to no suprise, it has also been a time of intense pressure on my shoulders. Thankfully I have a huge network of love and support so I will comfortably overcome any hurdles. My photography will only aid this.

So, in short, all I wanted to say was that I am back. I'm back with a camera. I'm back with a new project - details to follow - and I'm back supporting everyone who has supported my work over the years.

Maybe I was naive to say that I could disregard photography and its merits in my life. I won't be making that mistake again.

John

P.s. a little phone pic from a recent wonder with some colour negative.

What are the Peace Lines?

Evening folks, hope your're all keeping well.

After some time off with my boys, i'm back to work at both my day job and also, in the late evenings, i'm busy preparing some more for the book.  That ranges from the following:

- Cutting the film negatives after they've been processed at a brilliant lab in Sheffield, England
- Packaging the negatives and sending them off to be drum scanned
- Tidying up the finished scan (although i'm very lucky as I have a fantastic drum scanning service)
- Writing sub titles for each piece of work - there will be about 90 or so.
- General communications between publishers, social media etc...

Its a fairly involved job, but I love every single aspect of it.  Feedback from you kind of folk really helps too.

So as I was going through all the negatives from the last two years, I realised that I needed to communicate more about what the Peace Walls/Peace Lines actually are.  Whilst I will obviously explore this in greater detail within the book, I wanted to talk briefly about it here.

Essentially the Peace Lines are physical, man made constructions used to separate communities and to prevent localised conflict.  The two communities that this (largely) applied to were ones containing Protestant's and Catholic's.  They were first introduced in 1971, two years after the start of 'The Troubles'.

The Troubles started in 1969, two years prior to the first structures, and involved approximately 50,000 people being killed or injured.  The conflict continued for approximately 30 years, with the after effects still being felt and harboured today.  Despite their emotional presence being retained by many and their physical one being shown in Peace Lines and murals, the progress Northern Ireland has made is monumental.

The Peace lines themselves were initially seen as a temporary measure to reduce harm and to aid policing of the areas. However, as you can see from the photographs, they are still very much within the geography after all these years.  During their implementation, there was involvement with town planning, where the placement of roads and Police Stations was often used as lines themselves and to act as a more 'subtle' measure.

Peace Lines exist in four areas in Northern Ireland, most of which are in the capital city, Belfast.  The lines themselves measure from only a few metres, to a few miles in length and approximately 10 metres tall.  Their pure physical form is to prevent the movement of persons, vehicles and objects through them.  The lines have witnessed much hurt over the decades, yet in a recent survey, over half the people that reside within their shadows want them to remain.  Their reasoning behind this decision is that they would not feel safe with their removal.

Coupled with the sense of security they offer, there have been huge negatives associated with their presence.  Mental health, particularly with males, is often poorer for those that reside side by side with these structures.  This is something that has largely been ignored or dismissed for years, however there are now organisations who work solely in improving the awareness and support for these individuals.

The Northern Irish Executive have committed to a 10 year plan, where they intend to remove all Peace Lines, walls and interfaces by the year 2023.  Although there has been the removal of some, approximately 100 remain totalling over 20km's in length.  Belfast itself is only 6km's wide, which shows you the scale of their presence.

Having worked alongside these walls and speaking with the persons involved in the communities, I find it hard to believe that the executive will achieve their commitment.  It is a massive logistic, mental and political undertaking.  However, what I have observed is an overwhelming belief that progress is being made at a rapid rate.  Not long ago, Northern Ireland was buried in a deep and venemous conflict.  Now, it is working on multiple levels to achieve security, prosperity.  And I am proud to see what it is becoming.

Partition book nears!

Good afternoon to you all,

I hope that you're enjoying your summer, wherever you are! Certainly, in this part of the world anyway, the weather could be better..

Anyway, I thought I would update you in relation to the status of the work and what will be happening over the coming months.

I suppose the first thing to tell you is that the work has been completed! Just a few weeks ago infact. This pleased me greatly as it showed that my initial timeline was pretty much bang on and at the end of this timeline I felt that I had achieved the desired amount of images.  And that desired amount increased somewhat from the initial estimate of approximately 65 to nearer 80 - and that's with a slight cull of some pieces of work.  The final amount of photographs taken will be approximately 90 and I am hoping to release the remainder of these unused images via a free download at the end of the project.

The last trip to complete the project was one of the most positive yet.  These were taken near to the 12th of July celebrations for many.  So often a time for conflict and aggression by some, however this was by far the quietest year I can remember.  Coupled with the wonderfully refreshing outlooks from persons that I was least expecting of, I am hugely proud of the direction Northern Ireland is going in.

Anyway, I'll share here a couple of new pieces...

With the completion of the actual imagery, this allows me to focus on the next objective - the book.  I had previously announced that I would have been working with Triplekite Publishing in relation to the printing of this book, however due to logistical and time frame issues, I have had to alter the publishers for this book.  Although I certainly hope to work with Triplekite again in the future, I am very happy to announce that I will now be collaborating with the Kozu Books who are based near to Bath, England.

Greg Stewart - who owns and runs Kozu - and I worked together last year in bringing the first of a continuing range of small, affordable natural landscape books.  It was a thoroughly enjoyable process from start to finish, and one that I would encourage everyone to take part in if given the opportunity, However, it would be fair to say that 'Partition' will be the largest project yet for both of us.  Not only are the physical dimensions and quantities of the book going to be larger, but the importance of the book to current affairs is large too.

The plan for the book has been discussed and largely agreed upon, but this remains a fluid situation, where consultation between ourselves and others remains a constant factor.  However, it would be fair to say, that we are both on exactly the same wavelength and are very excited about what we are bringing.

The short term plans will certain upon logistics although a December release is still the date for everyone to note!  Further updates will appear between now and then and will also become more frequent.

If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate about getting in touch.

Kind regards

John

2016 - The year of 'Partition'

Good evening everyone, 

I hope you've had a wonderful Christmas and New Year.  I was hoping to get this post up over the festive period however the day job kept interrupting things - has a bad habit of doing that!  Not to worry.

The reason for this post is probably hinted at within the title - its basically some text to give you an update on the status of the project.

Firstly, the photographs.  I am on course with the timeline that I had in mind in the infant stages of the project.  The work is 65% complete and will be finished by the summer of this year.  In truth, there are 4 photographs at two locations that I would like to complete again however I have factored these in to fresh locations.  The reason for these are down to user error (i.e. me!) however I knew this near the time and will be comfortably covered in upcoming trips.  The successful work has all been drum scanned, with exceptional results gained.  This was the initial batch and its fair to say that the work has increased in quality since.

My most recent trip covered some of the strongest work so far and I am very excited about what I hope is within the rolls of film.  As ever, only when I have the film in my hands will I be satisfied that I have managed to do the scene justice.  The next trip will occur in the next 8 weeks too.

The exhibition has now been booked and will be held within the Ulster Hall in Belfast for the entirety of December 2016.  The opening days of the exhibition will also contain a presentation by myself along with workers within the community and interface projects.  Academics will also be invited to engage with this side of things too.  The remaining images from the exhibition will be given to a Belfast based peace consultancy service that have been supportive of the project throughout.  It is hoped that the images can remain within the community to support and highlight the positive steps that have been made within Belfast but also to encourage further effort.

In the short term, details regarding the book will be decided - I hope to announce the plan with that after my next trip.  I'll also have a little taster of the the most recent work.  Overall, the project is well on-course with the schedule initially set.  The excitement and commitment within myself to make the project succeed has only increased as the project continues.

As promised, here is a new piece of work from the project:

Progress from the summer

Morning all,

hope you're keeping well and enjoying the shift in autumn/fall colours and conditions.

Anyway, thought I would post some work from the summer - in particular the work from the 'Peace Walls' project, and some work on the periphery i.e. scenes that dont quite fit the theme of the project, but worth photographing anyway.

At this point in the project, I was looking at having approximately 45-48% of it completed, and I'm pretty much there.  In fact, I would probably be tipping the half way point if it hadnt been for one of the rolls of film (or me) messing up and failing.  I wont dwell on that though, as I will be able to revisit those scenes another time.

Anyway, I sent my film off to Peak Imaging by Royal Mail special delivery on Friday 18th September which was received at their offices in Sheffield on Monday the 21st...... and was delivered back to me by lunch time on the 22nd! Absolutely first class service again from these guys.  All nicely packaged too.

Their website is here: www.peak-imaging.com

Overall, im really pleased with the images captured on the most recent visit and feeling really hopeful for building on the success of the photographs to date.  It is my intention to keep most of these images back so that the book and exhibition retains its impact, however here is one that I took in East Belfast.

Also, during this trip I went to work on some other scenes that weren't strictly in keeping with the original brief, but were scenes that I wanted to photograph none the less.  I'm also really pleased with how they have turned out, although they are quite low resolution scans.  Next on the agenda is for a large batch of negatives to go off to Tim Parkin and his wonder skills at drum scanning (and everything else photography related.)

Thanks for looking,

John.

A Path Not Far

Good evening everyone,

I hope your summer is treating you well, despite the weather misery, and you're atleast getting to spend some time with your families.

I thought that I would write - or type - some thoughts down on a project that I've been working on since 2013.  This project is my local woodland project, named A Path Not Far.

So what is the project? The project, or series of photographs are from the local area where I live, West Lothian.  West Lothian itself is quite a small county, geographically, in the central belt of Scotland.  It's not my home county - that is County Antrim in Northern Ireland - however its somewhere I know well, have met alot of wonderful people, and where I have chosen for my children to settle.

Scotland itself is well known for the drama it conveys through its stunningly beautiful landscape and the diverse weather.  It doesn't really have seasons, it just has 'weather.'  However the terrain of West Lothian is less eye-catching and one has to look more carefully for their images.

So why did I start this project? Well, to be honest, it was almost forced upon me.  Before its creation, I very much enjoyed chasing the larger scenes in the northern territories of the Scottish Trossachs and Highlands - the escapism and hugely obvious drama that greeted you every time you entered these areas created an excitement in me that was almost infection.  In fact, it was infectious... massively so.

However with increased workload at work, family and young children and the ever increasing fuel costs, I was almost driven to find work closer to home.  I'll be honest... I resented this greatly at the beginning.  I didn't want to drive or walk a mile from the house to see what I pass 10 times a day in the car.  I wanted to chase the light in areas I'm so lucky to live near to........ but I had to stick to the new plan.

Although the immediate grab wasnt there from the low key terrain, I began to notice that West Lothian had a number of little woodland areas, owned largely by the Woodland Trust and other conservation agencies.  I also began to notice that they offered their own little exploration and their habitats changed as the seasons, sorry weather, changed.  And within myself I felt at ease and increasingly absorbed with the subtle views that were so close to my front door.  And over the next two years, my whole mindset changed towards my natural landscape photography.

And so, here we are, two years down the line.  I have a real body of work created, consisting of approximately 35 images I am truly happy with.  All the images have been taken within approximately 10 miles of the house and have been taken in short outings to the woodland, often before or after work.  The support I have had for the work has been so wonderful, especially from ones that are masters in the field of woodland photography.  Without this continual support, would the series still be ongoing? Doubtful, as external 'drive' was greatly needed in the early days.

Will the project ever be finished? Maybe if I move house! However I very much doubt it.  Even when I visit a familiar scene, it is never truly the same as the previous time I set foot in the area.  Over the next 12 months, the plan is to create a small book to see if there is any interest on making a few more.. however lets see how that goes.  In the meantime, you'll catch me in some woodland, enjoying walking a path not far from here.

Packs a big punch

Good evening everyone.

Recently, I purchased a compact camera to sit alongside my medium format  film setup.  The purpose was for the digital camera to work alongside the film gear, and something that was a little lighter and easier to maneuver.

After looking at various models, I decided on the inch sensor Sony RX100 20MP compact.  I went for a used mark 1 version, purely because I could pick one up for a third of the price of a new, mark 3 version.  Reading the reviews prior to purchase made me feel confident in that I wouldn't be disappointed with the models first release.

Im not going to go into huge detail about the cameras performance as there are plenty of other reviews out there that will provide you with more concise information and results.  My only wish was for the camera to produce printable results from a small device.

Last week, whilst home in Northern Ireland, I took the camera out for its first proper outing.  The weather was miserable, obviously, as we are right in the depths of a UK summer - however, I managed to shoot all these images on a tripod with a bag for life over my head... 

From viewing the RAWS in lightroom, i'm extremely impressed with the sharpness throughout the image and the size of the files.  There is a bit of noise, even at low ISO, however nothing that harms the photograph.  Anyway, here are a few results from that afternoon outing.

Regards, John.