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I recently acquired a projector and was able to finally view a collection of slides I had been given which were taken by my late Uncle during climbing expeditions in the 70's and 80's.
My Uncle was a strange and unfamiliar enigma to me. He was much older than my mother and we saw him quite infrequently when he made a trip to visit the family from his home in Cheshire. I know that walking and climbing was his passion and we believe he climbed all over the world including Austria and Nepal. I have heard stories about him being air lifted off a ledge after falling and breaking his shoulder but I don't remember talking to him about his travels being so young at the time. In my older years, my Uncle had become unwell due to debilitating epilepsy which had affected him since his youth and so conversations remained limited. As a child I don't think I felt any connection to my Uncle but as an adult I feel the pull of family connection and a great desire to know my history. I knew that I wanted to create something using the images he had taken. To view the places he had travelled to through his eyes, the paths he had walked and to discover whether he had a particular talent for photography that I might have inherited was exciting and thought provoking. It was quite mysterious and haunting to see the photographs projected onto the walls of my studio. There were no images of my uncle at all, which I guess was to be expected; just incredible views - it was like looking out through his eyes onto beautiful landscapes I had never seen before. I wanted to connect with this somehow and become part of this history. Here are my images:
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Wednesday 10th October was World Mental Health Day. The subject of mental health is of huge importance to me and something which I have begun to explore through my photographic work. In our stressful lives, it is easy to isolate ourselves in an attempt to protect us from the fears and anxieties we experience; but this coping mechanism can often be counter productive. My Dad is in the process of creating a 'Men's Shed' space for people who may wish to find purpose or companionship, to come together in shared endeavour to create things, make friendships and generally support each other. Part of the process involved in creating this space is to convert a section of his barn into a workshop, for which he needed to concrete the floor. Concrete is strong, secure, unfaltering, tough; some of the things that we may strive to be to cope with everyday pressures. However, the best way to make concrete, it seems is with planning, support, effort and time. This weekend, my Dad organised a work party of friends and family to help to concrete the barn floor. He had the right materials, he set time aside to concentrate on the job and then enlisted some much needed support. With a promise of bacon rolls and strong tea, the willing workers set about the tasks they were given with positive energy and smiles on their faces. Together, they communicated, laboured, mixed, poured and shaped the fluid concrete, leaving behind a smooth and settled expanse (and a few biscuit crumbs). So, the little message for us all: We may not always feel it, but we all have the ability to find strength inside us. We just might need to make the time and ask for support for it to become concrete. For support or information about mental health visit https://www.mind.org.uk UK Mens Sheds Association are the support body for Men's Sheds across the UK. Men’s Sheds (or Sheds) are similar to garden sheds – a place to pursue practical interests at leisure, to practice skills and enjoy making and mending. The difference is that garden sheds and their activities are often solitary in nature while Men’s Sheds are the opposite. They’re about social connections and friendship building, sharing skills and knowledge, and of course a lot of laughter. Panorama, tonight on BBC1 @8.30pm meets families who spend their lives caring for children with complex disabilities. The Wright family, whom I have been following for the last 9 months, is a family who deal with these issues every day and struggle with limited resources to provide the everyday care and experiences we all take for granted. Last week I was able to accompany the family on a camping trip in the woods and I was completely in awe of the organisation, team work and commitment I observed to make a trip such as this possible. I personally find the planning and packing for such a weekend taxing enough with two young children of my own but to be able to plan for and achieve such a task with an additional child with severe complex needs who requires 24 hour care is unimaginable. Sleeping, feeding, changing, medication, washing, access are just a few of the things to be considered and the extra equipment to make it possible must have made a list as long as the motorway we journeyed on to get there. When looking at these images and on watching the Panorama programme, perhaps we might all think about the unexpected impact on their lives when their children were born and consider the support needed to make these and other such simple and valuable family experiences possible for them. Well, I've not created a blog post for quite a while.
I have been busy updating my website and have transferred my blog over; so welcome, or welcome back to CapturingEvie! For any new followers, my blog started with my desire to capture the essence of my beautiful daughter, Evie and the life sphere that encompasses her, on camera. This little sphere now also includes my son and, because I often explore my photographic work through the everyday activities and places we visit together, the blog has evolved to encompass my general photographic exploration and development. To enjoy, inspire and to set the scene for future posts, a little image of the children in the 'garden' with their Nanny from our most recent visit to North Essex... |
CapturingEvie
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