The concept of ecocide, or crimes against the planet, has been brought into the consciousness of many people by the barrister and author, Polly Higgins. She has been campaigning for several years, negotiating with the UN, and governments around the world, asking for ecocide to be adopted as the 5th crime against peace. Her book, ‘Eradicating Ecocide‘, highlights the problems and why it is necessary for large corporations be environmentally responsible and accountable for their actions. On Friday a mock trial was held at the Supreme Court in London, where the proposed new law was tested. Two company CEO’s (played by […]
Category Archives: People
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been asked by people to take snaps of them in front of important landmarks. A camera is thrust in my direction, usually a very small compact, with an impossibly slow shutter release, which makes me look as if I’ve never touched a camera in my life. I fumble and eventually get an image, often after some quick tuition by the owner, showing me how the camera works. My recent holiday was no exception. Though this time, I kept a record with my camera too. This happy group ran up saying, “Foto, […]
After the success of the flower photography course Jason Ingram and I ran last May with the Royal Photographic Society, the follow up was held last weekend. This time it was for two days, with detailed assessments and plenty of time for practical experience in the beautiful gardens at Mill Dene, in the Cotswolds. Again we had a full house with 10 students who all appeared to enjoy themselves, despite the fact that at 6am the expected beautiful morning light was, in fact, rain! Plan B came into play and a daylight studio session was held instead. Our next planned course will […]
On Friday I visited the Tate Modern to see the Miró exhibition. As I left Mansion House Station en-route to the gallery, I noticed that the small lane by the exit was called Garlick Hill. This reminded me of one of my earliest shoots, carried out in 1982. I had been asked to take some shots of a church, St James Garlickhythe, which is situated at the foot of the lane. It is still one of the oddest jobs I have undertaken. I had to take shots of the church interior, and whilst being taken round the building, my escort […]
A few examples from this shoot. The Crossbones Graveyard is in Bankside, near Borough Market and London Bridge. It was originally an unconsecrated burial ground for ‘single women’, a euphemism for prostitutes, who worked in the “Liberty of the Clink“. This was an area controlled by the Bishop of Winchester, and the graveyard was used until the mid-nineteenth century when it was closed down after being declared full. Excavated during the Jubilee Line extension works in the 1990’s, it was estimated that up to 15,000 people were buried there. The women who worked in this area were referred to as ‘Winchester Geese‘.
A selection of images from Bermondsey.
Some photographs from the previous week – Kew Gardens, The Garden Museum and Victoria Tower Gardens.
Just a quick note on a couple of things worth looking at. The first is a clip from a WTTW broadcast on American TV called Chicago Tonight. It details the discovery of a collection of street photographs taken by a nanny named Vivian Maier, who worked in New York from the 1950’s through to the early 1990’s. The collection amounts to an estimated 100,000 negatives, and could be one of the most important photographic discoveries for many years. The work is largely unknown – even her employers through the years didn’t really appreciate what she was doing. But it is […]