SteveTanham – writing, mysticism, photography, poetry, friends

Category: Lake District

June 23, 2022 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Consciousness, Lake District, myths and spirituality, Photographic techniques, Photography

Heroes in a Landscape (7) End of the Quest

by Steve Tanham

Continued from Part Six… The final day of a weekend like ‘The Journey of the Hero’ has to serve many purposes. It has to reinforce what has been shared; it has to send people on their homeward journeys with a smile… and a desire to do it, again. In short, it needs to embrace the companions with a warm hug! It also needs to … Read More Heroes in a Landscape (7) End of the Quest

June 16, 2022 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Consciousness, Lake District, myths and spirituality, Photographic techniques, Photography

Heroes in a Landscape (6) Fellowship of the Shepherd

by Steve Tanham

Continued from Part Five… There comes a moment in any weekend event when the carefully cultivated sense of order breaks down… no matter how good the plan. At that point one looks to ‘heaven’ knowing that the success is in the ‘laps of the Gods’. The man striding up the hill from Great Salkeld towards Long Meg Stone Circle possessed a brain whose capacity … Read More Heroes in a Landscape (6) Fellowship of the Shepherd

May 17, 2022 + #NightMoves, #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Lake District, Photographic techniques, Photography

From beneath

by Steve Tanham

Photographs are meant to be taken from above, except…. Except when they’re not, and there’s some compelling reason to take them from beneath. Often, I walk the collie in the early evenings. It’s impossible in the winter, except with a flashlight; and then you get strange looks. But in spring and summer, you can still find strong evening sunlight – full of golds – … Read More From beneath

April 24, 2022 + #Silenti, Lake District, nature, Photographic techniques, Photography, Places and Prose, Silent Eye School

Light in the Park

by Steve Tanham

It’s not a park in the usual sense of the word. Levens Park is the ancestral home of the Bagot Family who maintain a footpath along both sides of the often turbulent River Kent as it winds its last mile out to join the vast expanse of Morecambe Bay. The ‘park’ is the perfect place to walk the collie. A round trip from Sedgwick … Read More Light in the Park

April 17, 2022 + #Silenti, Consciousness, Lake District, nature, Photographic techniques, Photography, Places and Prose

Blossom in the Park

by Steve Tanham

We all love blossom, and the time of year with which it is associated. That visceral feeling of renewal is a deeply tangible thing. It’s difficult to photograph, in my experience. Ideally, you get yourself beneath the tree and point the camera upwards – becoming wrapped in the soft light beneath the floral canopy. No such luck with this one, taken at Grange-over-Sands, yesterday. … Read More Blossom in the Park

April 7, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Consciousness, Esoteric Meaning of Myth, Lake District, landscapes, myths and spirituality, Photographic techniques, Photography, Silent Eye Workshops

The preparation of Magical Landscapes (2)

by Steve Tanham

You begin with an idea; in this case an entire workshop held outdoors, in the vivid landscape of the English Lake District. It’s vast and wild… and you have no control over the weather, not even in May. The goal is for those attending to experience themselves in a new way. In these dramatic surroundings, and in the midst of warm companionship, we can … Read More The preparation of Magical Landscapes (2)

April 3, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Consciousness, Esoteric Meaning of Myth, Lake District, landscapes, myths and spirituality, Photographic techniques, Photography, Silent Eye Workshops

The preparation of Magical Landscapes (1)

by Steve Tanham

There’s no ‘But what is it’, today. The series will continue for a few weeks, restarting next Sunday. Three of us have been busy doing a ‘dry run’ of the plans for our ‘Journey of the Hero’ workshop 6-8 May, centred in Keswick. We’ve been crossing lakes, walking up hills and following rivers to mysterious stone structures… Oh, and a quick visit to a … Read More The preparation of Magical Landscapes (1)

March 24, 2022 + #Silenti, History, Lake District

Unsung Heroes: Hardwicke Drummond Rawnsley

by Steve Tanham

The man put down the copper piece. Its construction had taken months, each day a voyage of learning. The elderly and bearded tutor had been patient, his bright eyes – a contrast to the dark beard – had eagerly overseen the development of the shaping of the copper pieces, then the detailed carving of the flowers, followed by the refinements, and eventually, the final … Read More Unsung Heroes: Hardwicke Drummond Rawnsley

February 15, 2022 + #Collie dogs, #Humour, #Silenti, humour, Lake District, landscapes

Lakeland in Winter (1) Bowness-on-Windermere

by Steve Tanham

I thought you might like a walk through Bowness-on-Windermere. It’s the place that most people think of as ‘Windermere’, but the actual town of Windermere is a 45 min walk up the hill from the lake: the final station on the rail line from Kendal, and as close as the Victorian engineers could get to the lake from the surrounding hills. Holidaymakers arrive in … Read More Lakeland in Winter (1) Bowness-on-Windermere

February 13, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Lake District, landscapes, Photographic techniques, Photography

Cross crossing

by Steve Tanham

It’s one of the most scenic parts of Grange-over-Sands. The old railway pedestrian crossing connects the town centre with the seafront by providing a walking space across the twin railway tracks. A simple enough role and one that you might think would endear it to both visitor and resident, alike. But the picture-postcard crossing at Bailey Lane now lies closed to pedestrians, despite an … Read More Cross crossing

February 6, 2022 + #Silenti, Consciousness, Lake District, nature

When the Snowdrops come

by Steve Tanham

It’s around November time when I begin to think about the ‘vastness’ of the winter, ahead. I let my mind play over the run up to Christmas, which, although increasingly dark, is brightened by the colourful lights and the spirit of the season. My mental journey continues through New Year, which always seems an anti-climax, and on into the wasteland of January. I can … Read More When the Snowdrops come

January 30, 2022 + #Silenti, Lake District, Photographic techniques, Photography, Travel and Photography

But what is it!?

by Steve Tanham

I took this the other day, on a walk with Tess the Collie. Looking at it, later, I thought ‘What was that?’ I’d forgotten where I’d taken it, and I took me a minute to reconstruct where we’d been. On that basis, I thought, it would make a fine what is it? The kind of photo people used to shoot, deliberately, to be a … Read More But what is it!?