by Steve Tanham
What do you do when it’s raining so hard that normal landscape photography is impossible? Stay indoors and use a simple trick to make some sophisticated and stylish abstracts for your future blogs… or even book covers. (400 words, a two minute read) They’re inexpensive, available online at a day’s notice, and will fool most observers into thinking you’re a Photoshop expert – which … Read More Wet Sunday photo trickery…
by Steve Tanham
Not to be outdone by the recent discoveries on Orkney, Stonehenge – one of the world’s most famous stone circles – has thrown up a whole new story about its origins… and its original face. (1100 words, a ten-minute read) It was the end of the archeology ‘dig season’ of 2018. Strong winds and heavy rain had blown for weeks across the exposed face … Read More The Shifting Stones of Stonehenge…
by Steve Tanham
I love this time of year. The early spring offers an interesting mixture of summer light and winter forms. The last few weeks of the bare organic structures offer mischievous possibilities for a slight degree of editing… But sometimes, nature surprises without any artifice on the photographer’s part. In the opening shot, I was walking Tess through the local forest when I was startled … Read More Eyes in the Sunset
by Steve Tanham
There’s a saying in Cumbria; you don’t get the real spring till it’s fooled you, twice… But you do get the sun; and its increased energy brings real life to the natural colours in the landscape and the sky. Below: One of the great trees on the shores of Lake Windermere has a large network of half-exposed roots which look magically green in the … Read More Signs of Spring (1): the edges of colour
by Steve Tanham
New evidence from the past two years’ work on Orkney has revealed breathtaking perspectives on the nature and importance of the finds at the Ness of Brodgar… (1000 words, a ten-minute read) (Above: technical reconstruction of Structure 10 and its dramatic ‘pyramid’ roof on the Ness of Brodgar by Kenny Arne Lang Antonsen and Jimmy John Antonsen) Staring, breathless, at the TV, desperately trying … Read More The City and the Stars – revisited – Britain’s oldest stone circle…
by Steve Tanham
It shouldn’t be happening. Bowness-on-Windermere swans are notoriously aggressive, and yet these two are approaching me as though I were another swan. I’m not, obviously. But I am in the water with them. Why this is taking place needs some explanation… We live a short drive from the shores of Lake Windermere. Our collie needs a decent daily walk, and the park areas around … Read More Approaching delight
by Steve Tanham
There’s something special about the two week period when one season blends into another, particularly winter into spring. This liminal period is capable of showing us the subtlety that winter lacks… (200 words, a two-minute read) Something wonderful happens to the winter sky towards the end of February – there is a weekend during which the light energy doubles – it’s the largest upward … Read More Winter walks with camera (12) liminal crossing into Spring
+ #Silenti
by Steve Tanham
Originally posted on France & Vincent:
There is a place the heart calls home, I think, for each of us. Sometimes we are lucky enough to live there. Sometimes it simply lives within us and pulls at the heartstrings, calling us. It may be the place you were born, a place you were happy, or a place that takes hold of your heart and…
by Steve Tanham
I am the child of two loving parents. One gifted me a living background in philosophy and mysticism; the other gave me the gift of verbal conceptualisation… talking. (1500 words; a ten minute read) My father passed away a decade ago. We’re still clinging on to mother, who at 91, is robust only in her ability to talk. She is in our care for … Read More The Big Picture (6) : Unshakable Mine
by Steve Tanham
A loving journey with a mother’s dementia… and occasional humour. Part Two (This post is 1000 words, a ten-minute read) The photo, below, shows my final attempt at an ‘ark’, as we came to call them: a place of refuge in times of extreme storms. The idea of the ark was born of the need to direct my mother to a point of safety … Read More Books, coffee, knowing things (2) Auden’s pamphlet
by Steve Tanham
Winter is a natural fit for black and white photography. The essence of a good monochrome shot is strong contrast, aided by subtle mid-stones. The low winter sun lends itself to that mix – as long as there is any sun, at all… (460 words; a four-minute read) The power of the high-end mobile phone camera has provided the means to carry out sophisticated … Read More Winter walks with camera (11) : black and white
by Steve Tanham
One of the ancient mystical traditions that has turned out to be startlingly modern is that of the Sufis. We may be familiar with Sufi thought in the form of its often quoted poetry, such as that of Rumi, or the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, the ‘Astronomer-Poet of Persia’, whose work became widely-read in the west, following its translation by Edward Fitzgerald in 1859. … Read More The Big Picture (5) : A glass of silver wine
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