When I travelled to California earlier this year, I was hugely privileged to stay for a few days with a friend who lives up in Humboldt County, way up with the redwoods. I took many photos in and around her home, which was full of beautiful details. This is my favourite. I’m a fan of anything rusty and this was gorgeous – the ram’s head is the beater for a triangle hanging by the front door, which could be used to ring out to family and friends spread across the 80 acres of land. It’s a piece of rusty perfection.
The Cathedral of Mission Dolores is beautifully lit, thanks to the orange stained glass high in the walls. To this day, I’m not sure whether it was the stained glass or the rich wood itself that created so many different hues in these pews. Whatever the cause, I think the effect is wonderful; where the eye expects uniformity, it is given subtle waves of colour.
Lose shoes may well become a photo project in its own right next year. I am always mystified by single shoes lying derelict in public places. How did someone manage to lose it and not notice? Surely not every piece of left footwear is discarded by a drunk or drunken reveller? But if you’re not drunk, why else would you leave one shoe behind?
This particular shoe caught my eye because it’s so neat, tidy, clean and – with the lace still tied – it looks as if the person whose foot had occupied it had evaporated a few moments before.
Perhaps I’ll create the ‘Lost Shoe Bar’. Up high (where you can’t smell them!) shoes on display and every night around a wood burner, folks turn up and tell or sing the tales behind a particular half a pair. If anyone ever walks in with the matching shoe, they get free drinks in exchange for the real story.
Weaving and winding in the narrow streets of Marrakech, finding my way back to the little Riad was one of the delights of my stay. Never sure whether I had taken the correct alleyway, I meandered down narrow, dusty streets full of people.
I loved this shed – bursting open with a random collection of tyres and bike parts. I don’t create too many black and white photos but this one called for it, so that the textures and tangles became the focus rather than a mess of colours.
A shoemaker must surely be one of the oldest crafts in existence. After all, I just read on the internet that humans first started wearing footwear 40,000 years ago.
In this photo, taken in Marrakech, I feel the echoes of centuries past, as if time has stood still. Shut your eyes and those leather souls, drying in the sun, could be the base of 15th century slippers, 12th century boots, 8th century shoes. At the same time, they are a story of what is to come; who will fill these footsteps and where will they lead?
Those of you who follow my blog will know that when I went to Tuscany earlier this year, there were a couple of dogs living on the farmstead that was my home for a week. They were gorgeous animals. I was amazed all week by the ability Elvis had of sleeping without laying his head on the ground. I have one of him asleep standing up but I’ve picked this one instead – he reminds me of a dog carved at the foot of a medieval knight in chain mail on a stone sarcophagus.
As you can see, I edited in Photoshop to give the picture a slightly faded, gentle sepia tint. If I had real patience, I would edit out the harness but I don’t, so I won’t!
Oh, darn it, I shouldn’t have put the thought in my head…ten minutes later, spot the difference.
I enjoyed snapping this picture in London, solely because I immediately saw the pun. Sadly the pigeon was blinking and my wise friend, Moth, said afterwards that in that kind of situation, it’s worth shooting loads in a row, as it’s really hard on the camera screen to know whether you’ve got all the details.
I still like it but I do have a sense of regret for not rattling off a few.
I love those moments in photography when you do manage to lift the camera to your eye in that quick moment and get the shot on the hoof that really works.
I couldn’t believe my luck when this man strolled past an arched window in Marrakech. I try to keep my camera in hand, with the strap wrapped around my wrist to avoid any accidental drops, and switched on whenever I’m in a photogenic place and it really paid off here.
To me, he looks like a medieval monk on a secret mission, hunched over, hurrying and not wanting anyone to know who he is.
Possibly my favourite photo of the year but I’ll see what you all think!
I’m sure these legs in Haight Ashbury, San Francisco, have been photographed a million or more times but there’s a good reason for that. They are eye-catching, funny and unexpected.
I took them from two different angles with very different effects.
I try to avoid using the flash on my camera; I find it too harsh. Oh, and besides, it’s bust. So it’s always touch and go when I’m shooting in low light.
I was chuffed that this one inside Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, came out well. I love the interplay of the stunning stained glass windows and the delicate ribbon installation.
Footsteps and Photos 