Having spent over five years now in London and nearly a decade with a British partner, I am fairly confident with my comprehension of British culture. Sure there are all the stereotypes that Americans tend to associate with the Brits–tea, crumpets, the Queen, color with a “u”, black cabs, double-decker buses and bulldogs –those are easy. Then there are the references and institutions that fly well under the radar of the average cultural voyeur. From popular culture to local traditions to occasional encounters on the street, there are some things that are so uniquely British that if I didn’t live with a Brit, they would go completely over my head. Read More
Life
Double-pie, Double-mash & Licker
2
Filed under Life, Shoots
Tagged as bev, bonfire night, christmas crackers, guy fawkes, guy fawkes night, Harrington's, jellied eels, mark weeks, mash, photo journal, pie, pie shop, tooting, traditional English
Tagged as bev, bonfire night, christmas crackers, guy fawkes, guy fawkes night, Harrington's, jellied eels, mark weeks, mash, photo journal, pie, pie shop, tooting, traditional English
Kicking and Screaming
Filed under Life, Shoots
Tagged as dieting, exercise, obeses, overeating, overweight, photoshopping, pilates, sitges, weight loss, yummy mummies
Tagged as dieting, exercise, obeses, overeating, overweight, photoshopping, pilates, sitges, weight loss, yummy mummies
One of the greatest things about being a photographer is chance to learn life lessons from the people I shoot. Though my interaction with each of my subjects may range from a quick portrait to a full-scale production, I generally have the luxury of my subjects’ undivided attention at least for a few frames. By watching them, examining them, preening them and of course talking with them, I am able to assess their character quickly with relative ease, and generally take away something of value (besides a photograph) from the shoot. Read More
Making Lemonade
Filed under Life, Shoots
Tagged as antisocial behaviour, asbo, Broken Britain, london riots, pushing in photoshop
Tagged as antisocial behaviour, asbo, Broken Britain, london riots, pushing in photoshop
Shop closed in the middle of the afternoon
Over the last week, images coming out of England have painted a dark and dire picture of this country that is now my home. Scenes of riots, looting, and the silhouette of a woman jumping out of a burning building are now ingrained into the psyche of people across the globe. Videos on YouTube of people flagrantly oblivious to the suffering of others, endless Twitter messages and the non-stop barrage of politicians, police and pundits stepping forward (now) to discuss how to fix “Broken Britain” has created a complete sense of unease here in the Capital, as well as across England. Read More
Waiting for the Bats
Filed under Life
While flying to Austin for a meeting the other week, I realized that over the years, I have formed a rather biased opinion about Texas without ever having been there. J.R. from Dallas, an episode of Charlie’s Angels where Kelly and Chris go undercover as Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders to take down a conniving southern belle murderess (aptly played by Audrey Landers), the big boss in the white suit from Smokey and the Bandit with his little side-kick, and of course George W. Bush have all been instrumental piecing together a rather negative opinion of “the great state of Texas.” Gas guzzlers, ten-gallon hats and bull horns on Cadillacs all race through my mind when I think of Texas. Read More
“Happy Slap”
Filed under Life
The other morning, just as I had finished up making Lee’s lunch and was making my way to the shower, there came a knock on our door. Since moving to our new place in Tooting, I have noticed what appears to be a marked increase in the number of people who knock at the early morning. Perhaps it is because we are relatively new to the place and are still getting deliveries on a regular basis, or simply because our new place invites knockers. Not totally sure about this, but I’m sure that over the course of time, I’ll have managed to make a fair assessment of the situation. Read More
I am Two Floor Lamps Away from Happiness
Filed under Life
This writing is one that I wrote a number of years ago, long before the concept of a blog crossed my mind. Hopefully it has managed the test of time. Read More
First the Wrong Vodka…
Filed under Life
Artist: Jim Coughenour
When asked what my favorite hobbies are, invariably I reply running, playing bridge, reading, or grabbing a pint of beer. It dawned on me the other day, that browsing through card shops is really one of my favorite hobbies, although I expect few people consider it a hobby. Read More
Touchy Subject
Filed under Life
Ever since I was a child, morning has been my best time of day. One of my earliest memories was waking early one frosty Minnesota morning to help my grandpa milk his cows. It was dark when we started. Walking from the house to the pump house to feed the cats and then onto the barn to milk, the darkness of the morning was strangely comforting. When we finished milking, the sun rising over thee barnyard and we returned to the house where grandma had breakfast waiting for us. Read More
Going to Alderney
Filed under Life
One of the first people that Lee introduced me to when he and I first started met was his friend Jo Baxendale. In fact, I knew about Jo even before Lee and I had our first date, as days after he and I met, he celebrated New Year’s Eve with Jo at her flat in Brighton. Lee invited me to join them, but as my friend Alex was in town and we already had New Year’s plans, I politely declined. Read More
The Big Move
Filed under Life
It’s been a few weeks since my last posting, and I fear I’ve already broken my resolution to have one posting a week. That said, I never realized that moving house would be such an adventure. Lee and I bought a place in south London and moved into it on Wednesday the 24th of February and have been settling in since. It’s a sweet house in Tooting, south London. Read More
