June newsletter: steady progress and a free e-book soon

June was a month of steady progress

I feel that my main projects have been progressing. I have been focussed and not too distracted with new ideas. Even the good weather has not stopped me from having some good creative sessions.

What I’ve been up to this month

I have been continuing to focus on my body of work from the Ardnamurchan Spirit workshop from Rob Knight that I went to in March. The e-book that I was creating has turned into two e-books! They are called “The Intimate Landscapes of Ardnamurchan”. These are now with readers for feedback. They will be available free to all newsletter subscribers very soon. I will make an announcement, hopefully later this month.

I have also been creating more edits of images for my project on the floor at the Arnolfini Arts centre in Bristol. I have also been deciding which images will make the final cut and am working on a first set of sequencing.

I also met up in Bath with my good friend Rambling Badger and we spent an afternoon making images based on the theme of Lines. I have ended up with a panel of nine images of paving stones as well as a few standalone images. It can be really satisfying to create a quick mini project like this.

What I learned this month

This month I have been learning about the value in making multiple edits of images. I have been making some much lighter edits of my Arnolfini floor images. These add tonal variation into the sequence. As I start making sets of images I have also been revising edits so that a set of images have the right complementary tonal and textural qualities.

I have also learned the value of lines. Some of my work is taking on more geometric patterns, although these are always present in the subject already. But this could change: I may end up creating my own geometric patterns to my work.

What are my plans for next month?

This month I am continuing to consolidate. I will complete “The Intimate Landscapes of Ardnamurchan”. I will also be starting to create some handmade versions. I am trying a few new ideas for this so I will need to make some test prints and try out some new papers.

I will also be sequencing my Arnolfini floor images. As a result of this, it may be that I find some gaps. If so, I will be going to create some more images.

Finally, I plan to start learning some new video editing software. Up until now I have made my videos in iMovie. However, this cannot manage everything that I now want to create. I have heard good things about Lumafusion so I will spend some time exploring what is possible with this software.

What I’ve been writing about this month

I have been delighted with the amount of engagement on this month’s blog. Is Photography Art? has generated a lot of discussion, both on the blog page and on social media. Please do read the article and share your thoughts with me.

What have I been up to this month

I normally share my recent reading, watching and listening at this point. However, it has been lovely and sunny over the last month and I have spent much more time walking and running. I have also been enjoying some easy reading thrillers.

Make sure you keep in touch

You can follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Mastodon. I am also on Vero. However, I am considering leaving this platform as I am finding it really hard to be social there. Please do let me know if I should reconsider this. And please also e-mail directly: I really enjoy the conversations I have with those of you who have contacted me. And I love to see image and projects that you are proud of. And do send me recommendations for reading, listening, exhibitions, blog articles and more!