To borrow from Edward Norton’s character in Fight Club, this blog (and you) has met me at a very strange time in my life.

On the one hand I am dealing with the loss of my father, wanting to hide away, to shelter and get away from it all and be with my family.

On the other hand, I know if I want to make this blog a habit, then I have to practice it – which means regular posts until the habit has taken (regardless of what’s going on in my life).

I have no intention of moping about on here, emoting freely for the world to hear. Sorry if you were here for that! 😉

So I’m going to write about some of my photography instead. Just know I’m dealing with my shit and that life goes on (though I might choose stuff from my portfolio that resonates with my current mood, somehow, so it might still be a bit glum around here for a moment or two!)

This photo happened on a short morning walk. I was tramping across some fields when I saw this portakabin tucked in a corner, behind an almost equally dilapidated barn. The original scene was the other way around – I mirror-flipped it while editing it, because it just “read” better.

Some purists might see that as sacrilege – I haven’t changed anything in the photo though, merely bringing out the story a little more clearly. I won’t alter skies in post – I don’t even really like cloning things out much – but cropping and mirror-flipping (assuming there’s no signage that will reveal the flip) are fair game.

It’s also where I locked in my preferred film simulation on my camera; black and white with a definite blue filter shift, reminiscent of that Ilford Orthochrome look, which I’ve always found to be a very compelling blend of austere and gentle. I may explore colour more at some stage, I may dabble with other black and white looks (I’ve always liked the grit and grunge of hard-pushed Kodak T-MAX 3200, for instance) but I think this is going to be my starting point for photography for some time.

Anyhow, I’ve always enjoyed taking photos of decaying buildings – I think a lot of photographers do – probably something about entropy catches the eye, forcing us to remember some fundamental realities of life:

This, too, shall pass.

Remember, you could be dead tomorrow, live today.

(I found a lot of support and sense in Stoic philosophy during 2020, don’t judge me!) And so, in a way, this post is part of my current process after all, I guess.