The Anniversary

"We warm hands in the sun, where a young love lingers so".
Turn of the Century by Yes.


This week will mark something very special for me.

Some ten years ago, I found myself visiting a local model for the first time - a young lady who had a taste for the Gothic and the flamboyant when it came to looks.
Bright pink hair, high boots, dark moods and expressions that screamed across the frame...
Where, I thought, is the tender engagement of light and form, as an expression of grace, I long to capture in images. Where is the commonality between us? 

I didn't think, as I sat there, that there was any, and yet, as I looked and listened, a series of images played across my mind from something I did love, something, I began to realize, that might provide a nexus between our two approaches to art and creativity...




I wasn't aware then how this scene (particularly from 1:20 in on the video) would become so woven into our future collaborations, but as I replayed this video in my head as we talked, I realized that we could indeed work together.

Ten years on, and I truly relish every moment we have been able to create, and so, I wish to say a huge thank you to my muse, Magenta, and hope that we can do much more in the days to come.

Thank you, also, for following our creative adventures.
I hope that 2016 proves to be a year when more unfolds.

Days...

"Human beauty belongs to our embodiment, but such comes only when human life is set at a distance from which it can be viewed without disgust or prurience". Roger Scruton.

My last decade of life alone has been marked with moments when the aching cleft of loosing Kay has been soothed and eased by creative activities and events, which, I hope, have allowed expression of the life that came from our time together, especially in relation to photography. The tenth anniversary over the summer would be so marked.

First, in June, came an opportunity to once again work with Magenta amidst the splendor of Cornwall's West Coast. After re-visiting the North of this area on what proved to be a day covered in sea mist and camping over night, our little company headed South to shoot at a new location on the second day. The sun came out after a little early rain, and the joy of a truly creative afternoon ensued (above, and see a few images below). It was wonderful to be working with the Muse once again, and as we left Cornwall at the end of the day, tired yet pleased, we knew it had truly been worthwhile.




The second event had been something almost entirely organized by friends - an exhibition of  work which celebrated the grace of the mature female form. Once again, July returned us to a favorite exhibition site in Cornwall, where a number of my images were included into the event - a project which became featured in that month's edition of the UK magazine, Health and Efficiency. The event went well, raising funds for a local hospice.

It was a delight to be working with friends on both of these projects to create and share images that "speak" of something that continues to jolt us regarding our existence. Such beauty, says Scruton, makes a claim on us. We may travel through this world, alienated and broken, but when we encounter such grace, it assures us that, in spite of such peril, there is a home to be found.

My thanks to Tony, Maureen, Richard, Ian, Sian, Sioux and especially Magenta, who made these moments this summer very special.

The precious gift

Because man was made in the very image of God, he argued, man is not ultimately a liar. He may pervert the things of God for his own ends, but he can never fully efface the image of God in him. He can never really be satisfied with lies. He can never escape who he really is. And for this reason, even the pagan myths retain a semblance of eternal truth, however corrupted. Ultimately, even in his imaginative creations, man is pulled back to the truths that answer to the call of his own true nature.

Martin Cothran -  Tolkien, Lewis & Christian Mythology.

It's proved to be a busy - in some respects turbulent - start to another year. Whilst this has meant very little time behind the camera (I have managed to get a little landscape imagery done), it has been a period when, once again, I've been reminded in my studies and my daily life that there is a God who, thankfully, is very much involved and engaged with us in the mundane.
Studying afresh through the Old Testament, I was reminded last month of the story of Ruth - a woman who could so easily have been alienated from 'the righteous' because of her background, but who, through simple, straightforward even routine behavior (caring for the daily needs of another) became favored by someone who would come to marry her. It's a very simple story, especially when you look at it in the context of all the bluster and fury of what was going on in that part of the world at the time (take a read through the book of Judges), and yet, it was in this very normal backwater tale that something momentous was beginning. Ruth's children would be the family from which David, Israel's great King, would come - the 'quiet' story is the opening of the stuff of legends.

The Gospels, noted C S Lewis, contain many elements of those stories which, rising from amidst the mundane, touch us at our very core. We taste the deepest art, drama, beauty and meaning in spite of our corruption, as it allows us to peak for a moment at what we truly desire - the fragrance and embrace of what was lost - but the truth unwrapped here is that the story - our story - begins and ends in joy, because another sees us and restores what was lost.

Our engagement with life - be it with myth, or art, or the mundane, can be meaningful, if we can catch this glimpse, and allow the beauty of what is truly there to nest within our hunger for the one who "makes all things beautiful in their time, and places eternity in our hearts". We can never find a sufficient source for joy or rest if we fail to see it there, but if we do, then all the radiance of the goodness of the Father, through the Son, will rise in true health and righteousness, ripening amidst the most common things of life, and our pleasure in the finding and sharing of such truth.

Amidst the daily things - work and play, creativity and reflection - I hope that some small part of what I do will at least point to such riches.

Images: Skyclimb. Model: Magenta. Evergreen. Model: Erin. The Reveling. Model: Magenta

2015

"To the nonbeliever, the person who sees no cosmos in chaos, we are all victims of the darkness which surrounds our choices; we have lost our way. There is no meaning. To serve any discipline in art... is to affirm meaning".  Madeleine D'Engle - Icons of the True.

The last few weeks have brought some pleasant surprises.

First, there was the news that some friends I created some commissioned work for some years ago have decided that they intend to hold an exhibition of a selection of this work in Cornwall in July, and they have invited me to be involved in the whole project. This will allow a public viewing of many of my fine art figure images in the area for the first time in several years. so I am delighted for this opportunity.

Secondly, a wonderful model I've previously worked with from America is back in the UK for a short time, and thanks to the assistance of friends, I was able to meet up with her with a short time a few days ago and create some new images.

Finally, there are two other possible art projects in the offing. Some friends and I are seeking to put together a photography workshop in June, and in spite of some initial set-backs, it looks as though this may still come together. I'm also currently assisting in a research project to look at the possibility of holding an event in the city which seeks to express the significance and value of the relationship between faith and art. We had our first meeting this week, and it was great to see lots of passion and interest for this...it's going to be interesting to see how this translates into a possible working scheme for an event.

What has really been affirmed to me in all of this is that it's vital to have and to share a common vision which allows you to take such steps. The longing in each of us, not only to exist, but to truly find and share a form of life which is replete with value and significance, truly, I think, affirms the image which we bear at our deepest. Whilst this is so often marred and forgotten, art can sometimes allow us to glimpse that remarkable truth in a fresh way.

I hope 2015 will bring about moments that allow such a grace.

A seasonal thought...

Why do we make art, especially art that depicts the human figure? 
A piece I was reading recently put it well, especially in the light of the time of year: "God, in creating the greatest story ever, used a human figure, too: Christ. Begotten, not made, he took on flesh. He subjected himself to all the gross, worldly secularism with which I inevitably identify, and it’s around this man, this naked, bleeding man, that the coolest art of all revolves". L’Engle writes: “There is nothing so secular that it cannot be sacred, and that is one of the deepest messages of the Incarnation.”


It is because of this - that at the centre of our story is a God who comes to us as us - that we can truly marvel in the splendor of where we are and what we are... it is all a gift of astonishing grace, if we only have the eyes to see.

The Compliments of the Season to us all!

Ripples

"Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days".
Solomon.

It's like the moment in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

There, locked behind glass and steel, is a sleek, red, thoroughbred of a car, and all the owner wants to do is polish it. It's never taken out of the gallery, never allowed to turn heads as it purrs along the open road - it's become less than it was meant to be.
One of the joys of photography is when you meet and begin to work with someone and the ramifications of doing so becomes bigger and greater than you ever imagined. That's certainly been the case with many people for me over the last decade, but particularly with my Muse, Magenta.

When we first met, we were very different people, both still very much finding our feet, especially in relation to our artistry, and I really didn't expect us to connect or be able to do that much together. How wrong I was!

Over the last eight years, I have truly been blessed to watch an artist grow through the curve balls and splendors that life has given to her - often being allowed to be present at moments of pain and joy.

Like the Samaritan woman that Jesus met at the well, our lives are often pretty mixed affairs, but in amidst that mixture, there is something precious and noble, and when we know how to invest  this well, this allows us to stop curving in on ourselves and begin to engage with a much bigger picture - to cast our gifts before the world, and see them valued.

When thinking about this, Solomon also noted, As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.

It is only as we stop, as we  'consider the lilies' - the deeper truths that moments of art, beauty or true experience express or reflect - that we can allow a richness into our souls that makes us healthy.

The joy is knowing and sharing such moments -  taking that beauty for a spin. That's what truly makes us .

Before winter begins.

Every December Sky, must loose its faith in leaves,
and dream of the spring inside the trees
How heavy the empty heart, how light the heart that's full,
sometimes I have to trust what I can't know.

Beth Nielsen Chapman

With a forecast that had been promising reasonable conditions for weeks, my friends and I decided to brave the bleakness of the moors for one last artistic venture before the winter firmly moves in to herald the closure of another year.



The conditions were, well, somewhat less favorable than had been predicted, and we had to risk getting very wet to reach the location on a pretty perilous river crossing, but Erin worked hard in the grey chilly afternoon to blend form and surroundings in a truly wonderful moment of reflection and delight in the 'rightness' of creation and our being part of it. It reminded me again of what is good in life, in spite of a propensity as broken creatures to often spoil this.



With the colder days taking their grip on the season, we hope to bring Erin and Magenta together at some point at an indoor location (so they can stay warm!) for some further images in the next few months...

So I'll keep you posted.

A Necessary Beauty

"God rips off medals of rank, puts aside titles, honors, and talents, and appears in his birthday suit. Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail the incarnate deity! In the Incarnation, things heavenly and earthly are gathered into one: one in the naked flesh and folds of God. Mary Ellen Ashcroft - Gift-wrapping God.

This week gave me a wonderful opportunity to work with my muse, Magenta, and her wonderful new arrival, Caius:

It was a true delight to see them both doing well and to spend the best part of a day, following them with a camera, as Magenta bathed, fed, played and was entirely there for this new life, nurturing and caring for her child with all the love of a mother for her beloved.
It had not been an easy birth, and Magenta candidly informed me that now, some two months on, it felt as though every muscle inside her had been withdrawn in those hours and replaced with something feeble and weak instead. She spoke of how she had reached the point where there she had no more to give, but somehow, miraculously, her body had managed to continue, and despite complications, Caius was born, and is so deeply loved.

There were numerous thoughts and comparisons that went through my mind as we talked and worked, but one that came to prominence, especially as Caius was fed, was a verse by Paul in his letter to the young gathering of Christians in Thessalonica: "We were gentle among you, like a nursing mother feeding her own children. Being so affectionately desirous of you, we readily shared the Gospel of God. You had become that dear to us" (Chapter 2, verses 7&8).  Paul is saying that the message of Christ is something as needful as a mother's breast milk, and true Christian ministry is as loving and as desirable as a mother nursing her new born.

We recently studied this letter at church, and I was dreadfully disappointed at the translation used which read: "we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for little children", pretty well omitting the image (in the reading and the following sermon) Paul actually uses - even more bizarre, when this celebration of motherhood, which includes a mother breast feeding, is situated on the church wall (!):

We see the spiritual and the good so often in the most natural parts of life, especially when we encounter the joy of love being shared - it graphically shows us what life is all about, but we sadly so often confine such splendor to the 'small corners' of our days, hiding the goodness and the rightness of what we are and God's gifts to us.

I have been truly thankful for the opportunity to catch glimpses of this astonishing moment in the lives of people at a remarkable time. It speaks deeply of what truly matters, knowing love - God's love for us, and our love for one another.

 With huge thanks to Magenta and Caius.

The time of the year

A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken. ~James Dent

Some months ago, some friends invited me to walk a part of Dartmoor I had not previously explored (there's still plenty more of that!). I was delighted for such an opportunity and, obviously, took along my camera to truly enjoy the event:

It was a splendid Spring afternoon, and as we hiked further into the stark but grand surroundings, I found myself truly missing something else - a model! I knew, all too quickly, that I needed to return soon and really work in these locations.


I really didn't know how long it would be before this would be possible. With my muse now busy with a new arrival (something now common to most of the regular models I have worked with locally in the last decade), and given the difficulties of reaching the area, I thought it would be some time, possibly next summer, before a shoot would happen, but events took an unexpected turn in June. Erin, who had suspended modeling over a year ago to become a parent, contacted me and was keen to create some new work. We discussed the location on Dartmoor, and, a few weeks ago, spent the most splendid Saturday working there. The weather was... interesting. A severe thunderstorm had spread across much of the country, and this thrummed away in the distance as we worked amidst warm, cloudy and on occasion, bright conditions. The result was some truly rewarding images, now compiled into a video.

In a week which has itself rumbled here with the question if being naked in nature is moral (!), it's good to remind ourselves how we were fearfully and wonderfully made, and that beauty itself causes (or should cause) pause for thought about what really counts - the splendor of a world that is His handiwork.

Images: Tor. Splendor. Model: Erin. Unison Photo Arts 2014.

The New Arrival

Sorry if it's been a little quiet here of late, but a few weeks ago, my Muse, Magenta, gave birth to her first son, Caius. I'm pleased to say that in spite complications at the birth, the family are doing well, so my congratulations to them.

I will aim to resume normal service again before the summer ends.
In the meantime, here are some images of the Muse to celebrate:

T h e D a y

It's beauty that captures your attention; personality which captures your heart.

Friday was one of those perfect moments, which could have so easily not have been. One model who is very pregnant, one who had a serious leg injury, a photographer who had to travel half the country to get there, and me, hoping for a break in some pretty grey weather...

And yet, in spite of the little glitches and possible trips, it came together like something out of a bedtime story, and the moment was simply splendid.

I came away truly thankful for some wonderful people, who, over the last few years, have come to be part of a very special place in life - where beauty, creativity and the sheer joy of enjoying the moment can be evidenced together, and where you can truly begin to appreciate the amazing splendor of such friends, as they employ themselves in something really meaningful and worthwhile. It was a beauty that 'spoke' so deeply, it once again affirmed just how marvelous people truly are.

Such charm and grace draws us to look at what is going on as such wonder unfolds - clouds part and light glitters upon the gentle ripples, as creation whispers how 'good' it all is. Yes, in spite of all the hurt in life (and there's been plenty this year), there is something amidst and beneath such moments that brings a warmth to these very special days, drawing us to glimpse a deeper hand weaving within our sharing of such bliss.

Beauty of this kind is like a garland of freshly woven, deeply scented flowers, adorning the neck of one we cannot help but adore, barely able to look in the eye, because we know such a view will melt us - there is a love and care so deep, so whole.

The day brought eager anticipation of further ventures, and I hope it will be so.

My thoughts relish and delight in the goodness of these gifts.

Marvel

My hope is that these images will further help to create a platform of hope and promise for the future.  Anne Geddes.

Back in 2005, when I was in my own process of moving from 'crawling' to 'tottering' in the field of fine art photography, another Christian artist in Scotland shared some images with me he'd recently taken for a new mum of some very natural (nude) images of her and her new arrival, playing together in the afternoon. The images 'shouted' - here was something I really wanted to do. Later that year, on a trip to America, I visited a bookshop and came across a copy of Anne Geddes' wonderful work, Pure, which was quickly purchased. I hoped and prayed for an opportunity to share in such beauty.

Fast forward to 2011, and Kirstie, a model I had worked with on many occasions, became a mum again, and wanted some images of her and her new arrival:

It was a truly sublime moment for me - the joy of capturing the natural bond shared between mother and baby was something unique, and left me pondering about covering another stage of this amazing part of life - maternity.

In September 2014, my muse, Magenta, and I, were commissioned to create images to accompany a new theatrical version of Shakespeare's The Tempest, and we set off to Cornwall to do so, unaware that my Muse was already expecting her first child. This week, now just a month away from the birth, we met up in my home studio to mark the moment with some wonderful images:

My desire has long been to 'say' something about the natural grace and splendor of the human body, and all the richness of charm and wonder this includes. I think in this work, I may be getting closer to that goal.

A huge thank you to Magenta and Kirstie for allowing me to share these very special moments, which so clearly express the marvel of the Creator's hand.

In the fields of Eden

"Do not stray at will from nature, and do not think that you will be able to find 

something better yourself, you will only be misled. For in truth art is to be 

found in nature; whoever can pull it out, has it ... But the more accurately 

your work in its forms resembles life, the better the work will seem. And this 

is true. Therefore, never intend to make something better than God has 

made possible for his creation. For your ability is powerless in comparison 

with God’s creation". Durer.

"We are not engaged here with a plain naturalism that simply aims at the 'photographic' idea of depicting nature uncritically... There are artists, who can make good things through great knowledge and experience, from what comes from the heart, to depict what is truly beautiful". Rookmaarker.

There has been a whisper of spring in the air the last few days. Sunlight has been spilling though the doors and windows as the wind and rain has eased in measure, allowing thoughts of better and brighter days to be entertained. I actually managed to sit outside for a short time in the middle of the week, and enjoy the colours of the waking blooms as the sunshine warmed me. This is all very welcome after a very stormy and dark winter, and it's allowed me to begin to organize materials for the forthcoming 'tempest' exhibition in May, and to begin to display work on the net again after a very sparse season.

I received a very encouraging note yesterday from a fellow photographer regarding this. He wrote how delighted he was to find a photographer who "brings art to our craft". That was a very welcome dose of sunshine! Photographer's often discuss how technically competent a particular image is, but whilst I aim at good composition, my personal intent is to seek to include something in an image which 'speaks' of the inherent beauty of the person or location I'm seeking to capture.  As Durer says about our delighting in the naturalness of God's good creation, so viable art, I suspect, must derive from and express images, whatever the medium, which open a way for us to re-connect with the true splendor of divine art; to relish and 'play' amidst those unspoiled plains of the untainted garden.

Christianity provides us with a wonderful set of tools and context in which to do this. The Christian is truly free to work as an artist in a fashion which allows love, joy, peace and goodness to be expressed as the work is fashioned, and to provide art which allows others to truly delight in all that is good and honorable and lovely (Galatians 5:22, Philippians 4:8). As Rookmaarker notes, this is the only true context or framework for 'christian' art - any other impositions are contrived and legalistic. The aim of art, then, is to bring a joy or realization regarding both truth and goodness - a pointing to the maker through reveling in His handiwork.

I hope that 2014 will provide a few more opportunities to do just that!

Images: Wonder. Model:Joceline. Happiness is. Model: Kari.  Paint Play. Models: Loella, Magenta and Kari.

Continuing

" Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others" Jonathan Swift



It's proving to be a long, hard winter, filled with harsh winds and flooding rains, so the practical dimension of photography has been pretty well closed off since early November. Where the feet cannot reach, however, allows time, at least on occasion, for some conceptual 'days out', which can also be productive.



I spent most of this weekend assembling mounts and frames and sifting through last September's work with Magenta, as it's now been provisionally confirmed that an exhibition of our work will accompany a new local production of Shakespeare's The Tempest in May.





 I've also begun thinking about returning to certain locations in Cornwall during the Spring and Summer, as it looks as though fresh opportunities to work with Aurelie may prove forthcoming.

Life indeed moves apace, so it's vital that we see what is truly there, and appreciate it well. It never ceased to amaze me just how blind we can choose to be to the true value, intent or significance of others, of moments and of those precious opportunities when both blend into something so rich and rare that life truly becomes clothed in a beauty that feeds us.

Time to queue a little insight:


Images: Golden. Light & Grace and Aglow. Model: Magenta.

Grafitti

I consider looseness with words no less of a defect than looseness of the bowels.
John Calvin

We all get them... those hurtful moments. Anyone engaged in the public arena of sharing their art (and thereby, their life) will, on occasion, find themselves berated by someone for what they're doing.
It was waiting for me at the start of a New year - words which defined my work as immoral and demeaning were bad enough but the attack proceeded to define those I worked with as morally and socially impure purely because some of my images of them were nudes.

It isn't the first time, of course, I've encountered such miss-placed babble, but the question you always need to ask is why - why would someone bother to visit a section of an artist's portfolio which is clearly tagged 'adult' content, find the images which are labelled 'fine art nude' and then proceed to protest the 'public' display of such images, especially when there are far more public displays of material that are, generally, far more explicit than what was depicted in the particular image they had chosen to seek to so demean?

The aim of such violence is clear. The tongue is used, as  the Apostle James notes, to do evil - to seek to taint what has been done to praise what is good and lovely - to scar something that seeks to say to the very one who scorns it 'there is a beauty in this world we cannot escape, no matter how loud we bellow to deny its call".

I hope that person so troubled by my nude work finally finds a better way of examining what's truly involved here, and that my images continue to help people to see beauty, and the one who gives such splendor to our world.

Images: Within. Model: Erin. Arched. Model: Magenta. Outward. Model: Erin.