Contents
John Hoath - ‘Surreal’ Paul Mann - ‘Holy Smoke’ Peter Young - ‘Arboreal Connections’ Stewart Bourne - ‘Engishness?’ Geoff Hicks - ‘Not Going Out’ Clive Haynes - ‘An Affinity for Ancient Trees’ Eric Williams - ‘Mother Nature Must be a Photographer’ Bob Train - ‘Imagery from Destruction’ Tessa Mills - ‘The Only Constant is Change’ Alex Isaacs - ‘Thoughts Around Coronavirus’ James Boardman-Woodend - ‘Woodland Light and Shade’ Lucy Allum - ‘Naturally Inspired’ Nigel Reader - ‘Birmingham’s Bridges’ Judy Knights - ‘First Day of Autumn or Last Day of Summer?’ Bob Oakley - ‘A Different Way of Life’
John Hoath Surreal
These images are from a series called Surreal Dances and Interludes. I intended to produce them in a hand-made book but so far I have not got around to it. They were produced by photographing an art video which was in colour and the synchronisation, or lack of it, has produced the effects shown. The outcome is nothing like the original video recording which was not about dancing and was very conventional in its presentation. I also have another set of images in colour which gives a very different feeling.
Surreal 1
Surreal 2
Surreal 3
Surreal 4
Surreal 5.
Surreal 6
Surreal 7
Surreal 8
Surreal 9
Surreal 10
Surreal 11
Paul Mann
Holy Smoke
Light a stick of incense and blow out the flame.
Breathe in the sweet smoke and let it calm your mind in the quiet environs of the temple. Indulge in a large spiral of incense. Light the end, blow out the flame and let your prayers, thoughts and hopes drift in the gentle, scented smoke up towards the heavens. Admire the clouds of giant spiral burners hanging from the ceiling above you. Linger a while and relax in the serene, incense scented atmosphere. Live in the moment.
Paul Mann 01 Holy smoke
Paul Mann 02 Holy smoke
Paul Mann 03 Holy smoke
Paul Mann 04 Holy smoke
Paul Mann 05 Holy smoke
Paul Mann 06 Holy smoke
Paul Mann 07 Holy smoke
Paul Mann 08 Holy smoke
Paul Mann 09 Holy smoke
Paul Mann 10 Holy smoke
Paul Mann 11 Holy smoke
Peter Young
Arboreal Connections
It’s easy to take trees for granted, to pass them by without a second thought. Yet they stand there, sentinel to our frenzied activity, all the while communicating deeply through their own network, the wood wide web, that keeps our planet functioning. So let us take the time for trees to be in touch with us; we are connected to them in many unknown ways..
Peter Young 01 Elgar’s Pines
Peter Young 02 Pines & Mahonia
Peter Young 03 Piper’s Hill
Peter Young 04 Old Hills Tree
Peter Young 05 Corsican Pine
Peter Young 06 Cub’s Moor Oak Tree
Peter Young 07 Robinia
Peter Young 08 Pear Tree
Peter Young 09 Varnish Tree
Peter Young 10 Albizia Leaves
Peter Young 11 Aralia
Stewart Bourne
Englishness?
A short visual consideration of Englishness at a time when I am regularly informed that I am confused about what this actually means, and therefore probably a closet non-patriot.
Stewart Bourne 01 The Enthusiast
Stewart Bourne 02 who could resist-
Stewart Bourne 03 Cheery sights on an autumn afternoon
Stewart Bourne 04 Girls
Stewart Bourne 05 Isn’t this fun darling, Amelia is ecstatic
Stewart Bourne 06 Just another day
Stewart Bourne 07 Indeed they do
Stewart Bourne 08 Another enthusiast
Stewart Bourne 09 The great post-Brexit British holiday
Stewart Bourne 10 Elusive destinations
Stewart Bourne 11 Selfie
Geoff Hicks Not Going Out
When lockdown started in March 2020, I was struck, on my first few daily walks, by how much life was changing. Here's a photographic opportunity, I thought. But since then it has grown almost into a mission: to observe, record and comment on the changing world around me. These images are a small selection of those captured during April, May and June 2020. I have completed one photobook, and a second is at the printers. I am assembling a third. The project continues. I believe that photographers have a duty to do this. If you look back through history, it is the photographs of war, famine, violence and catastrophe that often capture the story most effectively. I don’t aspire to this. What I’d like to happen is that in, say, twenty years time, people will look at these images and say “Was it really like that? Did we really have to do all this?” They won’t believe what we tell them.
Geoff Hicks 01 Not Going Out
Geoff Hicks 02 Deserted No. 1
Geoff Hicks 03 Deserted No. 2 - The Black Screen
Geoff Hicks 04 My Chemist
Geoff Hicks 05 A Better Future
Geoff Hicks 06 I Need A Will
Geoff Hicks 07 Vanity Not A Virus
Geoff Hicks 08 The Bookshop
Geoff Hicks 09 The Queue No. 1
Geoff Hicks 10 The Queue No. 2
Geoff Hicks 11 Football or Covid..
Clive Haynes
An Affinity for Ancient Trees
Whether through numerous cultural connections, myths from prehistory to the Ents of Tolkien, or by the simple practice of naming parts such as heart, limb, trunk, etc, humans have a natural affinity with trees. We also anthropomorphise trees perhaps, by attributing aspects of affection or anguish to them. Trees are not only indispensible for the wellbeing of our planet’s biosphere but they also present a tangible connection with the past. Each tree is literally rooted in history. This becomes apparent when we regard really ancient trees. We can stand before a tree which stood during the reign of Queen Victoria or George III, was thriving when the English Civil War sundered the land or when the Tudor dynasty began. We can effectively reach out and touch the past. This brief series looks at the indomitable character of Spanish Chestnut trees many hundreds of years old. The progress of time is registered in their twisting, fissured bark. Trunks are knobbly through age and scarred, as if in battle, by the loss of limbs. Some are hollowed out yet still survive. Where boughs have fallen, they remain close to the parent where, like leaves of autumn they gradually return nourishment to the roots below.
Clive Haynes 01
Clive Haynes 02
Clive Haynes 03
Clive Haynes 04
Clive Haynes 05
Clive Haynes 06
Clive Haynes 07
Clive Haynes 08
Clive Haynes 09
Clive Haynes 10
Clive Haynes 11
Eric Williams
Mother Nature must be a Photographer
Almost everywhere you look in nature, you see curves. Fauna, Flora, landscapes, seascapes all are based around non-linear shapes, smooth sinuous curves with not a straight line in sight. Knowing how much curves are appreciated by photographers, the conclusion must be that Mother Nature understands this need for curved shapes and is, therefore, probably a photographer herself.
01_Pebble Waves
02_3km of Sand
03_Contours
04_Early Farm Morning
05_Namibian Dune
06_That Was a Hard Day
07_Busy
10_Pair of Pears
11_Prickly Pear Cactus
Bob Train
Imagery from Destruction
After many years of photography, I have found myself drawn to what images are ‘About’ rather than ‘Of’. Our world has experienced many forces of destruction either by nature or mankind. War, storms and fires are natural but demolition, logging and neglect are examples of man-made destruction. The overall picture of destruction is seldom appealing, often horrifying and lacking artistic engagement. In Australia during the Bushfires of 2019 I witnessed destruction. Pictorial recording was everywhere on the media and I wanted to approach my capture on the basis of ’About’. My thoughts then developed into looking into objects that had been destroyed to find imagery through texture, pattern and colour. Viewing them may also reveal something else. These images are my starting point and I’m now planning to widen my hunt for source material on the theme of destruction.
Bob Train 01 Warrior King
Bob Train 02 Tribal Mask
Bob Train 03 Africa_
Bob Train 04 Hide
Bob Train 05 Tattoo
Bob Train 06 Horses Eye
Bob Train 07 The Shoal
Bob Train 08 Coal Face
Bob Train 09 Fracture
Bob Train 10 Stripes_
Bob Train 11 Dead and Alive
Tessa Mills
The Only Constant is Change
Restrictions give me time to reflect on small differences. Time to dwell on small changes. A simple walk along the canal offered me the warped realities of reflections. The 'decisive moment' became a plaything. Disrupted water surface is ideal for bringing a 'new reality' into being. I find that the mix of a known subject with slight, or profound changes is comforting. Nothing is expected to be perfectly reflected, which brings a welcome visual playfulnes
1. 133 Tessa
2. 55 Tessa
3. 58 Tessa
4. 62 Tessa
5. Tessa 51
6. 75 Tessa
7. 79 Tessa
8.128 Tessa
9. 130 Tessa
10. 150 Tessa
11. 151 Tessa
Alex Isaacs
Thoughts around Coronavirus
There are many factors relating to or stemming from Coronavirus. These images depict some of the practical and emotional consequences of the pandemic. They touch on government control, the economy, fear and uncertainty, following instructions and recreational limits. .
Alex Isaacs 01 control
Alex Isaacs 02 health
Alex Isaacs 03 the economy
Alex Isaacs 04 fear
Alex Isaacs 05 hanging on
Alex Isaacs 06 lack of clarity
Alex Isaacs 07 war against the unseen
Alex Isaacs 08 dressed to kill
Alex Isaacs 09 half masked
Alex Isaacs 10 preparedness
Alex Isaacs 11 restriction of fun ..the party’s over
James Boardman-Woodend
Woodland Light and Shade
As part of my daily keep fit exercise I often walk around some of the many magnificent woods that Worcestershire has to offer. I find myself particularly drawn to the occasions where strong directed sunlight manages to illuminate what can seem to be a dark or overcast part of a forest. In these circumstances I find that Infrared photography can easily lend itself to capturing the almost dream-like quality of light and dark cast by the sunlight on leaves, grass and trunks within the woodland.
James B-Woodend 01 Wyre Forest
James B-Woodend 02 Wyre Forest
James B-Woodend 03 Wyre Forest
James B-Woodend 04 Pipers Wood
James B-Woodend 05 Pipers Wood
James B-Woodend 06 Pipers Wood
James B-Woodend 07 Pipers Wood
James B-Woodend 08 Pipers Wood
James B-Woodend 09 Pipers Wood
Lucy Allum Naturally Inspired
My images this month are divided into two themes, though both are very much focusing on the natural world. The first five are a result of my thinking about all the different stages a plant goes through and how I could represent them in a photograph. The next six are a result of me finding it difficult to get inspired recently, especially as it's not that easy to go exploring. So, I decided just to go into the garden and try and see things a little bit differently.
Lucy Allum 01 Apple Tree Medley
Lucy Allum 02 Fern Medley
Lucy Allum 03 Hellebore medley
Lucy Allum 04 Dandelion Medley
Lucy Allum 05 Beech Medley
Lucy Allum 06 Acorns
Lucy Allum 07 Black and White acorns
Lucy Allum 08 Mushroom
Lucy Allum 09 Apple
Lucy Allum 10 Greenhouse
Lucy Allum 11 Upside down
Nigel Reader
Birmingham’s Bridges
A few statistics show what a fertile area for imagery is here. An extensive canal system still remains in Birmingham from the Industrial Revolution. The city has more miles of canal than Venice, though the canals in Birmingham are a less prominent and essential feature due to the larger size of the city and the fact that few of its buildings are accessed by canal. Spaghetti Junction covers 30 acres, serves 18 routes and includes 2.5 miles of slip roads, but only 0.6 miles of the M6 itself. Across 5 different levels, it has 559 concrete columns, reaching up to 80 ft. The engineers had to elevate13.5 miles of motorway to accommodate two railway lines, three canals, and two rivers. The Queensway, or Inner Ring Road, previously formed a ring around the then much smaller city centre. Junctions on the road were largely grade separated, with pedestrians kept physically separate from vehicular traffic and most junctions allowing vehicles staying on the road to pass over or under those using the junction. It is now widely regarded as one of the classic urban planning blunders of the 20th century.
Nigel Reader 01 Horsley Iron Works Bridge
Nigel Reader 02 Layers of Bridges
Nigel Reader 03 Bridges
Nigel Reader 04 Curzon Street Tunnel
Nigel Reader 05 Canal At Livery Street
Nigel Reader 06 Up The Junction
Nigel Reader 07 Under Spaghetti Junction
Nigel Reader 08 Islington Place Footbridge
Nigel Reader 09 Inner Ring Road at Lancaster Circus
Nigel Reader 10 Under Pressure
Nigel Reader 11 Coming & Going
Judy Knights
First Day of Autumn or Last Day of Summer?
September 22nd 2020 – I should have been on a Greenland Cruise – cancelled – then I should have been in South Wales – cancelled again – so I went to Stratford! It was a glorious day – people seemed really happy – just making the most of the sunshine and blue skies. The boats were busy for river trips, a duo were making music and people were just sitting on the grass chatting and eating ice creams or just having fun. Young teams in Dragon boats were paddling furiously on the river or Seniors just relaxed beside their boats. The light was very strong so this made for wonderful shadows under trees and on steps. The theatre of course was Closed - not wrapped in the pink tape of London theatres but festooned across it’s frontage and under adjacent trees with wonderfull brightly coloured strips of fabric. Now a few days later with the weather changed – it really was the Last Day of Summer.
01_Judy Knights
02_Judy Knights
03_Judy Knights
04_Judy Knights
05_Judy Knights
06_Judy Knights
07_Judy Knights
08_Judy Knights
09_Judy Knights
10_Judy Knights
11_Judy Knights
Bob Oakley
A Different Way of Life
Changes to the way we conduct our lives as a result of Covid-19 have been a shock to some people. When the first lockdown was announced in March 2020 many thought it would only last a few weeks. How wrong they were. Some restrictions have been eased but this has caused an increase in positive cases of the virus and further restrictions have had to be imposed. What the current requirements are can be confusing. Personal protective equipment is evident everywhere from barbers’ shops to pubs and restaurants. Many businesses are having a tough time. Many have had to close, some never to re-open. Notices are everywhere telling us what to do and what not to do. Will everyone obey ? People are longing for the return of the good life.
Bob Oakley_01_Don’t sit here
Bob Oakley_02_Barber Shop Quartet
Bob Oakley_03_Precautions
Bob Oakley_04_Wait your turn
Bob Oakley_05_Social distancing
Bob Oakley_06_Under 18’s unwelcome
Bob Oakley_07_Covid Safe - so they say
Bob Oakley_08-Delivery instructions
Bob Oakley_09_Desperate to sell
Bob Oakley_10_Closed
Bob Oakley_11_Longing for the Good Life
Worcestershire Camera Club Contemporary Photography Group ‘Viewpoint’ © October 2020