SteveTanham – writing, mysticism, photography, poetry, friends

Category: English Lake District

April 9, 2023 + #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness, English Lake District, esoteric psychology, Photography, Silent Eye School

Death and Resurrection

by Steve Tanham

For the mystic, Easter is about symbols… Being doesn’t break through the barriers into normal life very often, though it is the very substance and energy of its existence. The journeys in the gospels are those of the individual soul, learning the fundamental truths of their own existence – which then expands to be existence, itself. For me and many others, Easter is about … Read More Death and Resurrection

April 4, 2023 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Celtic Christianity, Consciousness, English Lake District, History, Lake District, landscapes, Photography, Travel and Photography

Treachery and Morecambe Bay

by Steve Tanham

The treachery of Morecambe Bay has been well-documented throughout its history. Volatile, unpredictable and downright dangerous are words often used to describe it by those in the know. A ‘sister’ resort to Blackpool, forty miles to the South – Morecambe has managed to cling to a little of its former Victorian glamour partly due to such iconic buildings as the renowned Art Deco Midland … Read More Treachery and Morecambe Bay

March 28, 2023 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Castles, Consciousness, English Lake District, Lake District, landscapes, Photographic techniques, Photography, Places and Prose

A most unlikely castle…

by Steve Tanham

James Dawson had an eye for a view. In 1840, he stood on the spot from which the photo below was taken. and decided to buy it. His advisors explained that he couldn’t buy all of that, but could have the land down to Lake Windermere, on which he could more or less do what he wanted… planning control were not expected along for … Read More A most unlikely castle…

March 26, 2023 + #Silenti, Collie dogs, Consciousness, English Lake District, esoteric psychology, landscapes, Photographic techniques, Photography, Silent Eye School, Travel and Photography

No strangers on the shore

by Steve Tanham

“Lead them in,” said the man who taught me much about composition in photography. “You’ve got to ferry those looking at your images into the core of the shot…” The steps, alone, were a perfect ‘lead’ down to the beach. Add in the storm wall and the high level of the promenade’s main body and you have a harmonic set of ‘pointers’. The third … Read More No strangers on the shore

March 14, 2023 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Consciousness, English Lake District, Photography, Places and Prose

Bench March

by Steve Tanham

There’s something about March that is difficult to define… It’s a classically liminal month. Not quite the end of winter; not quite the start of the spring. You can be knee deep in mud yet standing next to a clump of glorious crocuses. When you get a good photograph, it’s to be celebrated … as they can be few and far between. This shot … Read More Bench March

February 19, 2023 + #Humour, #Silent Eye, English Lake District, Travel, Travel and people

Platform Three

by Steve Tanham

Er… Perhaps I shouldn’t be on this platform! Last Friday. 15.57. Lancaster station; waiting for a train back to Oxenholme, our wonderfully local Lake District station. Look at the electronic train information display. The London train (Euston) is a large express going south. The rest of the trains are going north. Each is stopping at Platform 3. My head hurts… there’s only one track … Read More Platform Three

February 14, 2023 + #Silenti, English Lake District, landscapes, Photographic techniques, Photography, Silent Eye School, Travel and Photography

The massive Skiddaw

by Steve Tanham

The massive presence of the mountain called Skiddaw towers over the Lakeland town of Keswick. The entire north-eastern horizon is dominated by its sheer size. I was intending to simply post the photo above, but the dramatic image invites a bit more background information for anyone who is not familiar with the northern part of the Lake District National Park. The opening shot was … Read More The massive Skiddaw

January 31, 2023 + #Silenti, Consciousness, English Lake District, landscapes, Photographic techniques, Photography

The Light and the Gloom

by Steve Tanham

Kendal, midweek… the retail day was drawing to a close. A thin fog had covered the town and its surrounding hills for most of the day, and the encroaching darkness at the end of the afternoon made the gloom seem even more dense. I have always been drawn by urban photos of streets where the lights have that ‘just turned on’ look. Collie in … Read More The Light and the Gloom

January 17, 2023 + #Silenti, English Lake District, Lake District, landscapes, nature, Photographic techniques, Photography, Places and Prose

Some days define…

by Steve Tanham

Some days define… In this case the cold. The vastness of Morecambe Bay is sometimes defined by its light. In this case the deep blue of an early afternoon with icy winds to match. Ice on the foreshore by the lifeboat’s hovercraft station, clustered into tiny pools on the dark mud. Two small fishing boats – most of Morecambe’s shrimping fleet – provide the … Read More Some days define…

November 27, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Consciousness, English Lake District, landscapes, Photographic techniques, Photography

Pale sun, November river…

by Steve Tanham

That moment when you look up and realise that the sun is as high as it’s going to get … and, yes, it’s the end of November. On our ‘town and castle’ walk, the Collie and I pass over this old stone bridge and gaze down at the silver-gold of the river Kent. And reflect… ©Stephen Tanham 2022 Stephen Tanham is a Director of … Read More Pale sun, November river…

November 22, 2022 + #Humour, #Silenti, Dark Humour, English Lake District, Photographic techniques, Photography, Places and Prose

Goths on the Lake?

by Steve Tanham

A mid-November trip to Keswick and one of its two lakes – Derwent Water. The last few days of the visit of our artist friend from Oz, before she leaves for a final rendezvous in Manchester and then the long journey back home to Melbourne. A week with us then she had two days with a fellow artist and his engineer wife… who happen … Read More Goths on the Lake?

November 13, 2022 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Consciousness, English Lake District, Photographic techniques, Photography

The shifting beach…

by Steve Tanham

What I love about the beaches around Morecambe Bay is the way you can go back a day later and find them completely changed. Heysham Beach, near Morecambe, is a wonderful example. In autumn, the tides get stronger, and the landscape upon which you walk – often a liminal zone between rock and sand – changes with each tide. Which is good news for … Read More The shifting beach…