SteveTanham – writing, mysticism, photography, poetry, friends

Category: Photography

March 3, 2020 + #ShortWrytz, #Silenti, Lake District, landscapes, Photographic techniques, Photography, Silent Eye School, Spirituality

#ShortWrytz : Hope in the Sky

by Steve Tanham

I have always looked for the key ‘moments’ as the turn of the year progresses. My favourite is the first day when you feel like ‘spring is in the air’. But, prior to that, there are certain nights in March when you feel that there is ‘hope’ in the sky – and sometimes that comes in the darkness rather than in the day. Here … Read More #ShortWrytz : Hope in the Sky

March 1, 2020 + #Cats, #FurryFives, #RagDollCats, Cats, humour, Photography, Rag Doll Cats

#FurryFives : thinking outside the box

by Steve Tanham

Human: Ah, you’ve found the new box! Misti: it’s just the right size… Human: But I was using it to store your play balls! Misti: I moved them to where they’d be happier. Human: Ah, yes… sigh. ©Stephen Tanham

February 23, 2020 + #ShortWrytz, Photographic techniques, Photography, Spirituality

#ShortWrytz : Leaves of Winter

by Steve Tanham

There’s a new park in Kendal. It nestles beneath the Fellside district. It’s an old part of the town that climbs to become one of the first fells on the way to Lake Windermere. The meeting of Lakeland fell and level park is dramatic and beautiful. The centre of the park is circular, and filled with ornamental grasses, surrounded by shrubs. Cold and frost … Read More #ShortWrytz : Leaves of Winter

February 20, 2020 + Ancient Sacred Sites, Consciousness, Photography, Solar Year, Spirituality

The Flickering Present…

by Steve Tanham

I’ve taken a lot of photographs during the past ten years, but none of them like the one above. Shot at Castlerigg Stone Circle, near Keswick, in December 2018, it depicts what I’ve called the ‘green flame’. The photo was part of a set taken during the ‘Full Circle’ Silent Eye weekend. Sue and Stuart had created the weekend and were doing the detailed … Read More The Flickering Present…

February 9, 2020 + #Collie dogs, #PhotoZen, #ShortWrytz, Photography, Places and Prose, Spirituality

#Shortwritz: liquid sunset

by Steve Tanham

Sometimes you just get lucky. This is the mouth of the estuary at Arnside, Cumbria, where two of the abundant local rivers flow out into Morecambe Bay. During the previous half hour, and further upstream, I had taken several shots on the tiny beach where we sometimes walk Tess, our Collie dog–and finish the day with the excellent local fish and chips.. With the … Read More #Shortwritz: liquid sunset

January 28, 2020 + #ShortWrytz, #Silenti, landscapes, Photography, Spirituality

#ShortWrytz: Lille Sundance

by Steve Tanham

It was late afternoon in the city of Lille in northern France. We were making our way back to our relative’s house on the outskirts of the centre when we turned a corner and found the sunset breaking through the heavy clouds at the ‘end of the street’. Being January, the sky was rapidly darkening, but suddenly the street was filled with golden light … Read More #ShortWrytz: Lille Sundance

January 23, 2020 + #Silenti, Mindfulness, mystical travel, Photography, Politics and Power, Spirituality

The Sun, the Lion and the Ashes

by Steve Tanham

We are in northern France, visiting relatives that were only re-discovered three years ago, after an eighty years gap… My paternal grandmother was the youngest sister of an elder brother (also Stephen) who survived the horrors of WW1, married a French girl and eventually settled near Calais. When France was overrun, the Nazis wouldn’t allow Stephen to take his family back to England and, … Read More The Sun, the Lion and the Ashes

January 21, 2020 + #ShortWrytz, #Silenti, Lake District, landscapes, nature, Photographic techniques, Photography, Spirituality

#ShortWrytz – Intricate Outlines

by Steve Tanham

Winter offers the photographer a challenge – to be creative with what little colour there is… One way around this is to look for the most contrast to be found. In this shot, taken on a walk in the mid-afternoon, the pale sun was already falling towards the horizon, filling the shadows with a rich, inky darkness. Lovely! I walked for a while until … Read More #ShortWrytz – Intricate Outlines

January 16, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Celtic Christianity, esoteric psychology, Photography, Spirituality

Keys of Heaven (10): final resting place…

by Steve Tanham

continued from Part 9 The village of Lastingham, of the southern edge of the North York Moors, was a fitting place to end our weekend – both for its mysterious wells and also on the basis that the crypt of St Mary’s Church marks the final resting place of St Cedd. Following the fateful Synod of Whitby in AD 664, Bishop Cedd returned to … Read More Keys of Heaven (10): final resting place…

January 9, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Celtic Christianity, esoteric psychology, Photography, Spirituality

Keys of Heaven (9): blown down the mountain

by Steve Tanham

continued from Part 8 My companions of the Silent Eye’s ‘Keys of Heaven’ weekend were waiting when I arrived at the Lion Inn. We had coffee and biscuits and we discussed the options for our last day of the workshop. Everyone was looking forward to the visit to the celebrated St Mary’s church at Lastingham – the final resting place of St Cedd. There … Read More Keys of Heaven (9): blown down the mountain

January 7, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Celtic Christianity, esoteric psychology, Photography, Spirituality

Keys of Heaven (8): crosses at heaven’s gate

by Steve Tanham

The high pass over the North York Moors is seventeen miles long and crosses the ‘roof of the world’ in the heart of the national park. You’d think twice about going there once the autumn has given way to winter. Local photos show the many times that groups of people have been stranded on the long line of its peak. In one case, in … Read More Keys of Heaven (8): crosses at heaven’s gate

January 2, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Celtic Christianity, esoteric psychology, Photography, Spirituality

Keys of Heaven (7): the path to gentle darkness

by Steve Tanham

The tiny fishing village of Staithes is a place of peaceful beauty. It lies part way between Whitby and Saltburn on the North Yorkshire coast. It’s geology is also one of the few breaks in the vast cliffs that define this region; and which are the main source of the famous Whitby Jet semi-precious stone. Staithes was our destination… and I was taking a … Read More Keys of Heaven (7): the path to gentle darkness