Oh the Excitement..

Excitement, CA, 2016

If given the choice I would opt for film when shooting night scenes over digital for several reasons as mentioned on here many times before.  Without trying to sound like a broken record I love how film reacts to long exposure over digital, etc, blah-de-blah. 
However, one of the benifits with digital sensors is speed (again as metioned on here too many times). When your exposure times are mere seconds rather than minutes it can open up all kinds of new senarios. You can be in and out and even shake it all about without being noticed. Handy when hanging around strip clubs, dive bars, or a Macdonalds..

Renew

The Renewable Energies project is a bit of a slow burner, but very interesting all the same.
As with any project, I am finding things out I never knew, like just how many solar panels it takes to create enough  energy for one two bedroom house (with a pool). Answer; 48 and a big garden..

Terrible composition, but I like the woman posing on the right..

Thats not a rain cloud..

Smoke Cloud, Santa Clarita Fire, CA 2016

Normally I miss such dramatic events or do not have a camera with me. But yesterday I did as a very large purple cloud of smoke (from a not so far away bush fire) created a very surreal looking landscape. 

 

Untold Stories.

Flags. Untold Stories along the LA River. CA, 2016

Since my arrival in LA I have been working on a little project along the banks of the LA River.

I am still not sure if I find it so satisfying because its new to me, or because its just interesting subject matter, or both..

The project follows on from my Virtual Water series looking at the way drought has effected the area in and around the river.

To view more please  go to the New Project Diary page on my website and check out the goodies..

Sentimental Farts..

 UK 2011

US 2016

I have found that no matter where you are in the world there are always similarities to be found in the urban landscape. Take these two images for example. The top one from my Flowery Room series is the view from my childhood bedroom with the bottom image being my view from my bedroom in the America. Ok, they are not the same, but there are similar patterns, in particular the street lighting.

I am reminded of how powerful photography can be as a trigger for memory (something I touched on in my MA thesis which the tutors did not like because they were institutionlised and useless). Looking at my Flowery Room project now, I feel very different about the images than I did at the time of shooting. Its wonderful looking back on them and the project has done what I hoped it would. 

As I get older and more sentimental, its not the recent things I miss, its the old childhood things. It doesn't matter where you are in the world, these never change..

Vehicular Rebirth..

 Coup Deville. Encino

Merc with smashed window. Burbank

There are three kinds of photography project; A finished one, A one started with no intention of finishing,  and an ongoing one you keep finishing, but then add more..

My 'Vehicular Landscape' series has been going on for ages. In fact, the first solo exhibition I had in London was a series of abandoned cars with the terrible title, Dumped (now changed of course). It might even have been 20 years ago, but my aging mind has forgotten. 

Some time ago (again I cannot remember), I expanded the 'dumped car' idea to included cars parked, often in strange places, or all alone like a lost cat. I also changed the title as I love saying the word 'Vehicular' in an  Southern American accent. 

What I like most about the VL project is that the cars are often gone the next day and is something that cannot be repeated. They are like intruders within the landscape, and I like it..

I have seen a fair few projects in a similar vain (my wife has been snapping 'Sweet Rides' on her iPhone for years, a touchy subject). But these are often just pictures of cars. From its early beginings I have looked for vehicals (and other subject matter) that harmonize with their surroundings and have become part of the landscape, hence the real reason for the title..

 

One big fat Facade...

I often like to photograph things that are not quite what they seem with facades holding a particular fascination.