Red Door : Photography

For years we went on summer holiday to a lovely campsite in Brittany, France called Camping de Kervel. The nearby village, St Anne de Palud, had a small gift shop which sold small bags of toy cyclists for around 15 Frances (in the pre Euro days!) and every holiday I would buy a couple of bags. Being a cycling fanatic I collected as many as I could and I must have around fifty of them. I love the colours and the typical rider shape crouched over the handlebars, faces fixed in concentrating on the wheel in front……

Photographs of people that have caught my eye…..Family…Friends…Random people going about their day……I prefer the candid and unguarded shots although there are posed portraits in this section…

Observing people working, especially when it is an old traditional craft such as weaving for example, is fascinating. Sometimes it is the skill involved developed over many years or the dexterity built on experience…I’m particularly interested in the effect of work on the body over time and this is especially evident when watching agricultural workers going about their business……

Although not a natural sailor I do love boats - perhaps my ancestors were seafarers. I like the shapes and colours, the way that they move through the water creating shapes and disturbances. The skill involved in building these craft is amazing as is the ability to work with nature and guide them through the water. I could sit and watch for hours - especially with a pint of porter and an open mackerel sandwich………….

Going to…….Coming from…..Welcome……..Keep Out…..Private !……

The coastline of West Cork is stunning and breathtaking in equal measure. It is quite easy to find yourself just standing and absorbing the changing vista in front of you. The light seems to constantly change bringing features tantalisingly close and then in the blink of an eye obscuring them from view. Late Autumn and Winter are my favourite time on the coast….if you look hard enough you can see America….

I’m fascinated by the relationship between form, shape and shadow….the way structures interact with surroundings and how nature can change appearance, certainly over time……..

It was a chance meeting with an old sailor a while back - he was dismantling some fishing gear and had a pile of bent and mangled metalwork on the quay. A storm had wrecked his fishing boat and he was in the process of salvaging anything useful that could be used on his next boat. I asked him where the boat was now and he pointed to an orange shape beached up in the distance - “I’ll leave it there and the weather and sea can take care of her”. She had been a good fishing boat and had served him well but her time was over.

I went over to take a closer look…she had taken a battering and the elements had started to remove the orange paint and reveal previous colours. I was quite taken with the old girl - she seemed to be at peace and resigned to her fate. My fascination with the effects of erosion and the power of natural elements led me to start a long term project recording the slow deterioration of the structure and what nature will reveal as part of the decaying process…

No name evident on the boat (maybe there is a reason that there is no identification!)…I wish I had asked at the time. Perhaps the boat’s history will become apparent as the project develops……

I always seem to come across machinery just discarded when their usefulness is at an end. Mainly agricultural and maritime, once obsolete or broken beyond repair they are left where they stand to slowly fall apart. Sometimes it is obvious what the machine is or what it was used for but every now and then I stand and try to work out what it is I’m looking at……. The colours can really stand out sometimes - rust changes the shape of things…

………the gradual destruction or diminution of something by wind, water or other natural agents…………

We live in beautiful West Cork, Ireland not too far from the coast and one of our favourite spots has this old wreck which you can see at low tide. I love the colours as they are exposed by the sea and weather. I’ll carry on photographing this old boat until it disintegrates and is claimed by the sea.

I love the colours and shapes of the floats used by mariners. The lobster pot is such a simple design and they change colour as they are used…the way they are stacked on the quayside create interesting shapes. You always see nets and ropes casually lying around on piers and quays waiting to be used and I am drawn to the knots and tangles of netting………..

Signs can serve many functions - instructional, informative, prohibitive, directional……it’s whatever catches the eye…

Although not particularly interested in wildlife photography I do take pictures of animals if I come across them ( it tends to be mainly sheep though! ).................