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and Magenta candidly informed me that now, some two months on, it felt as though every muscle inside her had been withdrawn in those hours and replaced with something feeble and weak instead.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.