116

This is a wedding photography post. Before the photos, a few words from Shakespeare which might help explain why I consider the job an honour.

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

I think we often forgot how special weddings are, and how remarkable it is to hear such vows joyfully and solemnly spoken in days like these.

From this day forward;
for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish,
till death us do part.

Two persons living separate lives collide to form a new, lifetime-lasting entity. Shakespeare’s 116^th sonnet delves the depths of the love felt on these days; a love that alters not, remaining unshaken by tempests.

I consider it a privilege to have been asked by Ele and Greg to document this day for them.

I very much enjoyed the experience. Wedding photography is pressurised, yes, but more than anything, provides opportunities to capture some of the strongest emotions felt in a person’s life. What excellent subjects for an aspiring photographer!

London’s Heart

After some of the worst rioting in years, residents of Clapham are  waiting for forensic teams to finish so that they can clean their streets. Some of them are students, some are men and women who have taken a day off to help. These are true Londoners.

To wild cheers from the crowd, a man hangs some bunting across the street.

The Darkest Parts

I often write of Paris’ charm. It is an astonishing city. But within the incredibly beauty, there are dark corners. Dark parts that won’t be shown in the latest Hollywood film set here.

Today I walked from the Louvre to the Champs Elysees with a friend, discussing, amongst other things, the luxury cars that frequently passed us. Towards the setting sun we walked, myself taking photographs, him stopping to humour me.

A little tired, we descended into the circulatory system of Paris, the Metro, and went our separate ways. After countless escalators, I reached the depths of the RER platform. With camera in hand, I looked over my shoulder up the staircase, and my gaze fell on a figure sprawled across the stairs. Having taken the escalator, he had previously been out of sight. My heart beat raced as I took the stairs three at a time, reviewing first aid training in my head, and wondering whether I’d have signal at that depth to call an ambulance.

As I approached, the darkness lessened, and the figure became clearer: a man, old, reeking, swollen, asleep on the steps.

Poverty is not hidden in Paris; one often walks past beggars or is asked for ‘une petite piece, SVP’ riding the metro, but only in the darkest places is this greatest need found; those who aren’t faking it – those who have nowhere to lay their head.

I didn’t wake the man; I didn’t know what to do. How does one help? Walking down the stairs, I turned and shot two frames, and took the metro back home.

The Art

Flickr is the largest photosharing website on the internet; since its launch in 2004, more than 5 billion photographs have been uploaded.

Why? Why do so many men and women find such satisfaction in taking and sharing photographs?

I believe photography is communication. Through the manipulation of light on a sensor, an artist has the power to create meaning.

Throughout the last century, photographs have not only documented important moments, but shaped and evolved, shocked and surprised, motivated and inspired generations. Photographers are heralds and orators – whether through careful, slow planning or impulsive lightening-speed reactions, a photographer works with a tool to tell the world a story. As Monet understood his brush, the Photographer uses camera in his hands to direct light in such a way as to speak.

A photographer possesses amazing power, and the responsibility to use that power in presenting a full canvas, worthy of the spectators’ investigatory gaze.

This is what I hope my photography might one day become.

A Spring View

‘Where petals have been shed like tears’, life has returned! The spring is upon us, and Parisian gardens and parks are bursting with life. Strike up Vivaldi!

The Rafters

HDR ceilings and light in some of France’s most glorious buildings; , St Sulpice, and Chartres Cathedral.

Number 51

The Bible is a fascinating book. I encourage you to read it, even if you’ve never picked it up before, even if you’ve only ever seen it in hotel rooms. There are moments of incredible passion, unrivalled emotion, fascinating intertwining stories of broken people. One such story is found in the book of 2 Samuel. It is the story of David and Bathsheba. David was a wonderful man, and a glorious King. But he is perhaps most famous for his adulterous relationship with the aforementioned beautiful women. It is tragedy beyond that of Romeo and Juliet, or Oedipus, as God’s beloved King kills a man so that he may have his wife.

David wrote a song to God, expressing the depths of his regret. This is an excerpt.

Hide your face from my sins,

and blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence,

and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit.

This is one of my latest pieces of digital painting. Click for the image in higher resolution.

Les Couleurs de Paris

Shutter speed and Focus.

London

In moments of cynicism I wonder where street photography is a valid art form. The late Vivian Maier’s portfolio convinces me that it is. http://vivianmaier.blogspot.com/

Here’s some work from a recent trip to London.