5 Things to Love This October

Although I can find the longer nights difficult, I’m not one to mourn the end of summer. To me, autumn signifies the start of real beauty in the natural world; the foliage colours, the way the woods start to smell, the beauty of the light in the early morning and the opportunity to see sunrise and sunset a lot more often.

Barbed

The images from Barbed are part of a continuing series exploring the disconnect I feel from my  environment since moving to Dorset nearly 19 years ago. I used to live on the outskirts of London in a place called Northwood; I suppose the name suggests what the environment was like! I had access to various…

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Simple Lumen Prints

How to Create a Lumen Print For this you will need: Darkroom black and white photographic paper; I’m using Ilford multigrade resin coated* Photographic fixer; I’m using Ilford Rapid Fixer Sunshine or UV light Running water to rinse Glass and board to put it all on, or a contact frame Plant material or something to…

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Cyanotype: Taking it Further

My guide to creating a cyanotype. I decided to try a few experiments to work out how various additions to a wet cyanotype can effect the outcome, and then to tone these experiments. If you’re particularly interested in this I’d recommend you follow the blog as I intend to do a lot more of these…

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Epic Top 10 Free Image Sites

My list includes sites that specialise in photography, as well as some more unusual image resources for something a bit different. It’s not in order of preference as these are all great sites. 1 Unsplash Unsplash calls itself ‘the internet’s source of freely-usable images’. It provides free images (photography) for both commercial and non-commercial use….

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Chicken Stew

British Jewish Penicillin with an Asian Twist This is great for using up any leftovers from a roast, is budget friendly and healthy. This post is more of a guide than a recipe. My version bears only a passing resemblance to the stew my grandmother made in that it contains chicken and carrots – I…

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Life in Lockdown

It’s March 2021. We’re approaching the point where this time last year, the UK went into its first lockdown. It feels like a good moment to reflect on what’s happened this last year, and what might happen in the next few months. For the first time in a long time, I feel hope as well…

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Transfer Images to Plaster

How to Transfer an Image onto Plaster This post will show you how to transfer a laser printed image onto plaster. Keep in mind that this technique probably won’t give you a perfect result. For me, part of the reason for this process is the introduction of slight imperfections that add character to the final…

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How I Dealt With My Dog’s Separation Anxiety

I have a rescue dog, Jasper, who has always hated being left alone. I’d had two other dogs before Jasper, worked in a kennel as a teenager, grew up with dogs and have done volunteer work as a home checker for a dog charity. So I had quite a bit of experience with dogs but…

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Make Challah for Shabbat

Despite my lack of religious belief I recognise that there is a power in the routine and structure of keeping Shabbat. It’s a difficult acknowledgement for me because I seem to fight both routine and structure at a visceral level, but Friday night was an important part of my childhood and I kept that desire…

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Happiness and Gratitude

If you’re feeling down a good idea is to write down at least three things you’re grateful for as a daily habit. I started to do this some time ago and quickly saw an improvement in my mood along with a more positive general mindset and a greater sense of self-worth. I began this as…

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If You Feel Depressed, Do This Now

Feel Better Now My partner is a psychologist, so when I saw a talk with Martin Seligman and Richard Layard advertised I told him about it straight away. I watched about 2 minutes of it with him and I learnt something that might be useful to share on this blog, where part of what I…

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