“There’s a lot of erasing and redrawing.
“It’s not only necessary, it’s also kind of the point — the greatest opportunity to learn is when you don’t do it right.” — Chris LaPorte
Through the week, I stumbled across the Twitter feed of Colossal and, in turn, the inspirational work of Chris LaPorte.
LaPorte makes huge pencil drawings…really huge!
I love that there are people in the world making such wonderful creations. I’d love to hear what you think too — leave a comment and let me know…
Have you wondered why I put so much love into pursuing such an old print process as Platinum printing?
It’s true that the process doesn’t fit snugly into our modern fast-paced life — the prints are expensive to make and each one requires a fair amount of time to create.
I’ve described the beauty and rarity of Platinum printing on this process page.
Sometimes, however, it’s also good to hear about it from another angle and perhaps none better than this short video from George Eastman House…
I now have four beautiful prints available to buy in my Platinum/Palladium Collection.
My last post, Rum at Dusk, describes one of the images in more detail.
“All the complex wires of life were stripped out and he could see the structure of life.
“Nothing but rock and sea, the tiny figures of humans and animals against them for a brief time.” — Annie Proulx, The Shipping News
Annie Proulx has eloquently put into words an issue I’ve been pondering of late…
When I first step out of the car having journeyed to a place such as the west coast of Scotland, why is it that I always feel so readily and notably at ease?
Any cares or concerns fritter away in the breeze (there’s always at least a breeze in Scotland) and my mind seems instantly able to function with a new-found clarity.
It’s a sensation rather akin to drinking a lovely cool glass of water on a baking hot day.
In August my wife and I travelled to a spot just south of Mallaig in Scotland. I wrote about it shortly afterwards on these pages.
The thing is, this site didn’t even exist at the start of that week and now it does — a direct result of the clarity gained from being in a location so wild as the west coast of Scotland.
On the day this site was conceived, during that week in August, I made my first new photograph in years — one that I knew would be among the first to grace these pages.
So, here it is, a sumptuous Platinum/Palladium print capturing the beautiful Isle of Rum at dusk (as seen from the mainland at Camusdarach)…
Visit my Platinum/Palladium Print Collection to buy this print and have it delivered to your door. Alternatively, feel free to contact me for further information.
If you’d like know more about Platinum/Palladium Prints, you can learn all about them by clicking here.
My thanks to Paul Kenny for our discussions about wild places and for pointing me in the direction of the The Shipping News once again.
I’m currently re-reading this beautiful book…
I’ve been involved in a rather special journey over the last week or so — accompanying my friend Duncan Davis on his narrowboat, Pearl Barley, from Skipton to Leeds.
Defiantly imperial, Duncan briefed me ahead of our mission:
“The total distance is 28 miles, 7¾ furlongs and 28 locks. There are at least 32 moveable bridges of which 3 are usually left open and 20 small aqueducts or underbridges.”
The journey took five days, albeit at a leisurely pace. The time taken to travel home to Newcastle by train from Leeds? 90 minutes!
A longer blog post beckons once I have sifted through the hundreds of photographs I’ve made. In the meantime, I’d like to share my favourite Instagrams from the journey with you.
All made with my iPhone 4s and edited with Nik Software’s Snapseed, I view them as a kind of scrapbook for formulating my thoughts whilst also acting as modern day postcards, winging their way into the timelines of my followers…
The 57ft Pearl Barley
Duncan had a surprise for me — we would drive from Frosterley to Skipton in his 1955 Morris 1000…
Before we could go anywhere, the gearbox needed seeing to…
Captain Duncan Davis at the tiller of Pearl Barley
Standing on the roof of Pearl Barley as we pass through a leafy stretch of the Leeds Liverpool Canal…
Entering the first lock at Bingley Five Rise…
Water gushes through the 4220kg gates at Bingley Five Rise…
The stoves keep us warm during a chilly, misty morning at Saltaire…
Duncan Davis at Fanny’s Public House, Saltaire
Jack Lowe 