My Blog

I've been trying to figure out what to do next with some of my images, getting the new site up and going has been a part of that, I still have the store to get sorted out and I guess this is part of that process. I've not really been happy with any attempt or concept I've had before, it's all be a bit cobbled together. I think I'm finally now getting a chance to sit back and have a look at what i have and what I'd like to be doing more of if that makes any sense?

I've always wanted to try and have a way of presenting images so that people could use them, either as a card, a porter or a piece of art that they would hang on the wall (I do have a few of my own prints up and one mighty canvas that's 1.5m x 0.5m but not sure I count). So I've been playing around over the last week with a concept for presenting some images in a really new way, for me at least and I'd be interested in peoples feedback.

God's Window

This is a pretty old image but I've always liked it and I know a few others have liked it for a long time, my Mum actually has this on canvas at her place which is pretty cool. It's taken from within the Church of the Good Shepherd down in Tekapo and as you will no doubt know that's a really special place for me and I've never really felt I've done the image justice and I think this is a step in the right direction with the new formatting and some tuning of the image.

Maniototo Hills

This image is from a session I had down in the Maniototo with a fellow photographer (and mentor) Tony Bridge, again it's an image that's been around for a whole but again with some knew knowledge, new drive its getting a bit of a new lease of life so to speak

I'm sure I've said this before but I really haven't ever been someone who would sit down and read a book to relax. Actually at high school instead of reading the book (Educating Rita) I got the movie out, the English lit teacher thought I had a great understanding of the underlying subtext.

Anyways that has changed, and probably started to change a few years ago and it's been getting worse. I've always liked and once in a while read Science Fiction, I'm a big fan of Iain M Banks stuff (see bit below) but I never really ventured much beyond that.

I started to read a few books related to 'work' geeky stuff really and also a few of those management books that are supposed to help, actually maybe some of them did. I did enjoy the Jack Welch books (he was the CEO at general Electric for a time, very good reads)

Then I stumbled onto Sam Bourne who is actually the British journalist, Jonathan Freedland he's written 4 books now and I've pretty much enjoyed them all,The Righteous Men (2006), The Last Testament (2007), The Final Reckoning (2008) and The Chosen One (2010) the 1st one i think was the best but certainly found myself getting through them pretty quickly. I like they way he's weaved in a bunch of religious information that you think? Ok that's interesting but it all adds to the tension in the books which is great. I do find I like anything that has a slightly mythical style tone to it.

This is another of the images from the Tekapo Collection that I've been putting together, It's of the Gammock Ranges just behind Tekapo taken last winter.

I probably only spent about half an hour waiting on the cloud to lift and the sun to peak through on to the hills, yes it was cold, a little damp but worth the wait!

So I'm quite excited, last year I put some images into an online competition with a difference. The 2010 Project is an online competition where all of the images need to be captured in the year 2010, ok so not much strangeness about that but to enter you have to donate some more, no not an entry fee, a donation. The Donation goes to  the MacMillan Cancer Support who are a fantastic organisation focused on supporting those who really need the help either by lending an ear when you need it most, both the the suffers and  their families, with nursing support , financial support, the list goes on and on, it?s a wonderful group of people and for me anything that anyone can do to support them is a fantastic thing.

So the 2010 project is founded by Caron Wasserman who is a fantastic children's photographer living in London who, after her battle with cancer, lost her partner to Cancer early in 2010. As a memory to him she started the 2010 project to celebrate his life. The end result of the competition is a book to be called ?Life is a Bed of Roses? which will be on sale to help continue to raise money for MacMillan Cancer Support.

I lost my Dad to Cancer back in 2007 and so for me, anything related to raising awareness or money to help support and beat this terrible disease is a good thing, and when it comes to a photography competition I think supporting the battle against cancer is just the best reason I have ever heard of to have.

So I picked 3 images and I gladly donated my sum of money and left it there, I didn?t really expect to much more. I checked in from time to time to see how the fundraising was going and to see if any comments had popped up on and just to look at the rest of the stunning images there.

Well I was stunned when I found out I had been accepted onto the short list which was to be included in the book with an image, it was this one, which is a grab shot of my father in law Ian who is just one of the best people you will ever meet and his wee grand daughter just adores him, and he her of course.

So tonight we had Parents Night at Kindie, Parents Night for a 2 year old.... I never would have thought it, until I became a Dad, then what can I say, I've been looking forward to it with excitement and trepidation.

Trepidation I guess because I still remember parents night when I was a kid and waiting on Mum & Dad coming home from the school and giving us a review of the discussions... they were never terrible but there was certainly (on my part at least) a chunk of well he could try harder in some area's... or If only he'd study and so on, non of which conducive to a relaxing night, still I did ok.

Surely kindie reports would be different, well as it turns out being the one on the other side of the table is good for a start but it's also really cool hearing someone else tell you how great your wee girl is, who doesn't love that!

So turns out she's settling into the new room with some bigger kids, really getting out there in the play area and pushing the boundaries. Now I take Emily to the park all the time and she's obsessed with the swings, after that she loves climbing up ladders to get to a slide and if it's possible to go down backwards or on her tummy well that's cool. So when they say pushing boundaries i think they may well mean she needs a safety net soon!

she's smart, understands what your say, uses words all the time you think where did that come from and how did you use it in the right way... for instance Actually... she's really fond of Actually... as well as 'You go girl!' or lately (and it's my fault) deal.. make you a deal....