Month: December 2023

Signing off for 2023 – Happy Christmas!

With this post I’ll be signing off for the rest of 2023 and the first week in 2024. I’m sure we all need a recharge, and I find the festive season a good time to switch off and lie fallow for a while… The image above is a montage of two of my recent photos. I liked the way the warm bits reveal themselves … Read More Signing off for 2023 – Happy Christmas!

Sodden

Sodden, like a soldier’s backpack hauled across the final freezing mile. The face of one determined To outlive, within an icy smile. A green chord, stroked arpeggio Denied its solemn tone But knowing minor E contains The fire in flint and spark in stone. The forest, bright with inner flame Disguised in mud and weeping bark Waits, silent, dripping, lost in time A holding … Read More Sodden

Metanoia and Light from Darkness

This Sunday (17th December) sees the last of our Silent Eye Explorations zoom meetings for 2023.  It’s been a fascinating year, and we mean to end it with a special event which will combine a guided mediation on the subject of ‘metanoia’ with a visualised, mental and emotional odyssey to two sacred places on the mystical and ancient Orkney islands. We’re going to supplement … Read More Metanoia and Light from Darkness

Green that thrives in winter

I walk the collie through the local forest and marvel at the intensity of the green mosses and lichen growing on the limestone boulders and the forms of dead or dying trees felled by the savage winds we get in these parts – particularly between the start of November up to the new year. With the other side of my mind I curse the … Read More Green that thrives in winter

And five hours of solid rain, later…

©Stephen Tanham 2023 All photos taken and post-processed on an iPhone 12 ProMax. Stephen Tanham is a writer-photographer and mystical teacher. He is the founding Director of the Silent Eye, which offers a mentored, journal-based journey from personality to the awakening of realised Self and its world of Being. http://www.thesilenteye.co.uk and http://www.suningemini.blog

“Dancing, double-talking…”

“Dancing, double-talking…” It’s a line from one of the most powerful songs I’ve ever heard: Innocents’ Song, by Show of Hands, a west-country folk duo who we have followed for years. Click the link above to listen on YouTube. (There may be an advert to click through, first). But this post is not about music or that album. It’s about the dramatic words used … Read More “Dancing, double-talking…”

Beyond the edge of colour

There comes a time when even the most creative use of ‘pale colour’ results in a lesser image than its equivalent in black and white. When we get a shot for which no amount of digital rescue or fine-tuning will deliver success, it’s time to let the powers of monochrome have a go… Good results can often be achieved by taking the original to … Read More Beyond the edge of colour

Pale December Light

The fading light in December is a challenge. There is a temptation to ‘settle’ for a monochrome approach to taking shots; looking only for high-contrast situations. But there are opportunities for compositions that lend themselves to a limited spread of subtle colours. As a second stage, modern editing tools can be applied to bring out a small selection of colours as highlights – such … Read More Pale December Light