The Green Room.

 

There was a time, not long ago, when sneaking into old abandoned places and making photographs was all the rage. Maybe it still is, but I don't see so much of it these days. For me 'broken interiors' were a by- product of sheltering from the midday sun in places like the Salton Sea, or just plain curiosity as to what was on the inside of whatever I was photographing. 

An open door the other day presented me with the above scene. Despite the interesting, and by the looks of it very old furniture, all I wanted to do was tidy the place up a bit and move things around. But unlike all those Urban X'ers with their ultra wide angle and naff retouching skills, I did not..

The daily observations of a Doyle.

 

The Piffle of the Sniffle..

 

 

 I don't like talking about covid and I don't like looking at imagery of covid. Any images that include people wearing masks I immediately dismiss. This is not denial by any means, but more a case of 'too soon'. I am aware of whats going on and don't need to be constantly reminded. I should also add that if one more person tells me we are living in unprecedented times I may slap them with my sweaty mask..

In my opinion, most photographed events are more powerful, and interesting, much later, and I believe this will be the case with such things as covey. What has been most intriguing however, are the images and projects that would not exist had it not been for such world changing events. Some of the finest work  I have ever seen has been shot over the past two years.

I do believe that eventually people will look back on this period with great fondness. Not because of the virus (that would be stupid), but because of all the good things they done during an unprecedented time.... Slaps himself with sweaty mask!

One a day..

 

For the past fours months I have somehow managed to make at least one photograph a day, some good, some maybe not so good, at least that's what I think.

As much as I love old boy Ansel Adams, I never liked his quote: "Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop." OK, he was probably the greatest landscape photographer that ever lived, but the way so many take his quote literally just seems a little daft. And don't get me started on the, "If you don't agree this you are a liar and a fraud" etc, that's just ludicrous. I know photographers that produce  mountains of great images every year. I also know photographers that don't produce any (lots in fact).

Of all the work I have been producing, I am pretty happy with most of the images. Whether they are 'good' or not, well that's completely subjective. 

I do wonder what Adamsky would of said if he was alive and making photographs in a digital age. Personally I think he would of added a couple of zeros..

 

 

A moldy lens

Nostalgia in photography can be a dangerous thing, especially if you think you can recreate it... There you are dreaming about heading out into the abyss, but you can't because you want to shoot film, and you need to spend thousands on some old camera with a moldy lens and dodgy shutter, and then there's film and that old stuff is hard to come by and very expensive, and then you need to get an old car from the 70's so you pictures can look, well nostalgic, and then there's your outfit, etc, etc.

These days we can always slap a filter on an image and post it on Instagram and pretend. But thankfully I want none of that and will just keep my thoughts to myself. 

Only the other night,  I seen this car  (below) under a yellow light and was filled with a sense of nostalgia from the time I first headed out with my camera in America. The camera was old, it shot film, and it had a moldy lens...

 

Cold and bold..

 

Now the holidays are well and truly over and everyone is even more depressed, I am reminded of the therapy that photography can bring. It may be cold and it may be dark, but its better than being inside worrying about being outside.