Author Archive

This year’s dry season has felt long – in more ways than one. Here in Zambia it hasn’t rained since April and in Blogland I haven’t posted anything for more than two months. The creative well has felt empty. I was talking to a friend last week, moaning about lack of inspiration.

‘I simply looked at the world, not prepared for anything.’ Saul Leiter (1923-2013) I have mixed feelings about Saul Leiter’s black and white work. Some of it I love, especially the images taken through glass. But I have to admit – reluctantly – that a lot of his black and white photos

If you’re visiting Zambia, you’ll probably arrive by air. In a landlocked country there aren’t many practical alternatives. I remember my first visit – collecting my luggage after landing, passing through Customs, the warm welcome. It was September and there’d been no rain for several months. The rainy season used to start

Have you hit a creative block? I know the feeling. That’s one of the reasons I’ve been quiet recently. I could make excuses – we flew back to Zambia last week. But really, the excuses don’t hold any water. Inertia set in a while ago and it hasn’t been easy to shake

Big cities are perfect for street photography. And when I lived in London, a friend would remind me how lucky I was. My problem is that I don’t like confrontation (or even the risk of being confronted). So what are the options? Do the introverts of this world give up, go home

‘Cherish your children, for they are the footprints you will leave behind.’ Taylor Evan Fulks

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In a world that’s flooded with photographs, getting noticed can be hard work. The point was recently driven home by an article that I read in the UK magazine Black + White Photography. Apparently most visitors to photography websites never venture beyond the homepage, generally moving on within sixty seconds. And Facebook

I took this picture in Wanstead, east London, for my Town Dogs project. I’d seen the dog before, but always been too busy to stop. So I made a special trip one Saturday morning and asked for permission to take photos. That way, I felt at liberty to hang around and wait

‘Every place is someone’s backyard.’ David Alan Harvey – photographer and mentor They say that travel broadens the mind. And by extension, it’s supposed to be good for your photography. If you don’t believe me, browse through any book of quotations (or clichés). ‘Familiarity breeds contempt’ and ‘Variety is the spice of