A Meadow On Film

I don’t know if your family were the same when you were growing up, but mine liked routine and found comfort in familiar places especially when it came to holidays. We’d pack the car up and drive to Loch Awe in Scotland. We’d stay in the same house, we’d meet family in the same service station for lunch (the delights of Tebay). I’ve battled many of the other routines that my parents surrounded themselves with, but I’ve realised there is one that is part of our year. An annual trip to Wild Meadow!

We first took a trip down there in 2016 for Suzi’s birthday. We’ve been back every year since, sometimes a couple of times. There’s such a pull to the place. A beautiful eco house, located in the middle of a meadow, with an orchard, kitchen garden, pond, and the best swing you ever have seen! We’ve celebrated birthdays, and had hazy days in the golden light with the sun prickling our skin. It seems strange to think we started visiting before Olive was here, but now she’s been twice, and meadow life certainly seems to suit her. The tall grass was taller than her as she walked down the paths with my Mum and Dad, learning all about the flora and fauna, taking it all in. She is now obsessed by birds of prey, as the buzzards are a very frequent sight circling high above the meadow.

As the season is turning the page, I want to hold onto these days a little while longer, and to put these photos together in as blog, to share with you, but to show Olive too. Although I took my digital camera with me, it didn’t come out of the bag, and I just took photos on my 35mm Olympus OM1 and my medium format Mamiya 645. These photos are a mixture from the two cameras.

There’s something about film that just suspends these moments more significantly, the warmth and the colours sing.

It’s always SO hard to leave. But I’m happy to say that we’ll be back there again next May. A home from home.

1 Roll, 1 Day. March 15th 2020

Back in December last year, I was talking to Catherine from Everyday Mama about 35mm film, and our love for shooting this way amongst our digital work. Over the last few years, we have had conversations about creativity, art, family, and how important it is for us to record, and share our everyday moments, maybe even more so now at this time in our lives. We talked about a project we could do together, so last Christmas Day, we both shot a roll of film each, me in West Yorkshire, Catherine in Auckland. You can see our shots here.

At the beginning of March, we were chatting on Insta, and Catherine suggested we do a 1 roll, 1 day project every month. We put the date in our diaries and then immediately realised we’d both be travelling that day. Instead of choosing another, we stuck to that day. I’m so pleased we did, as only a week later we both found ourselves in lockdown on opposite sides of the world.

I sent Catherine my photos from March the other day, and she put our photos side by side in diptychs. I love how she’s chosen them to fit together.

I had to share these words that Catherine put on her Insta post about our project; ‘And herein lies the lesson from this month for me, embrace the mundane, don’t be so quick to dismiss the very very ordinary moments, because woven together, they make up the very fabric of our lives’.

5 Creative Ways To Stay In Contact

It can be a bit lonely sometimes can’t it being self employed? Or just being in this situation we find ourselves in. Having a good creative network around you certainly helps. Having those people to cheerlead you, to chat to about your latest ideas, to help you see the right path when you’re feeling confused, and sometimes a shoulder to cry on when times are a bit too much.

So in these strange times, that feeling of isolation can really hit you, I know it has done for us. It’s been hard to think straight some days, but I know that doing something creative each day does really help me, whether that’s picking my camera up and taking photos or making a mini film, making lunch, or planting some seeds in a window box.

If you follow our stuff, you know I love a project. That might be one over a day in collaboration with a friend, it might be over a few weeks with a couple of friends, or it may take shape over a year or more, building a portfolio of work around a theme. I was chatting to Suzi today about ideas for collaborations, and how you can keep in touch with your photography inclined friends to create photos together. Maybe you want to do it it a pair, but these would work in larger groups too. So after a cup of tea and biscuits, we’ve come up with a few ideas 5 Creative Ways to Stay In Contact.

1. THE CHAIN

Choose who will take the very first photo. This could be of anything, but we guess it’s either going to be around the house or on your daily walk at the moment! That person then sends the photo to the next one in the chain, who reacts to that photo to take the next one. Maybe it will have a similar theme, or the light will be the same. Maybe it’s a silhoutte, or the view from your window. Find a similarity, get creative with it, take the photo and pass it on. We’re thinking that this will be a chain letter that you actually do like opening!

THE CHAIN II

I love a good sequel. If you wanted to set some limitations around the chain, you could think about setting a theme to it. Maybe only taking the chain photos in one room of the house, or maybe concentrating on the colours of the rainbow, we’re surrounded by their vibrancy at the moment. If you’ve been meaning to put your camera into video mode, but haven’t quite plucked up the courage yet, this could be your moment! Film a clip of your everyday, maybe 5 seconds, and then send this clip over to your project buddy who will react to it, and film the next 5 seconds of your collaboration! If you each did 6 clips of about 5 seconds each, all of a sudden you have a minute film. I REALLY want to see these!!!

2. TEA FOR TWO

Pick a time of day to share a cup of tea together. Maybe it’s taking a flask of tea on your daily walk. Maybe it’s sitting at the kitchen table for five minutes with your favourite biscuits. Maybe it’s your first cup of tea of the day you’re sipping, propped up in bed. If there are 2 of you, or more, try and co-ordinate a similar time. Take photos of those steaming cups of tea, and the location you’re in, noticing the details, the light, the chaos or the calm. All these prompts will hopefully lead to a body of work you can show on your blogs or Instagram feeds. As the Phlock Live photography conference was cancelled a few weeks ago, and as I was going to be running filmmaking workshops, I wondered how we could still create something together. So I asked people to film their first cup of tea on a Saturday morning, and I put it together in this film below. Tea solves so many things.

3. SING IT OUT

I have to say having a good sing does help me relieve a lot of tension. But for this one, it’s more about the words, unless you really want to have a sing, and by all means set up a FaceTime duet! Choose a couple of song titles, more if you feel yourself really getting into it, and create an image around that tile or lyric. I’ve been listening to a bit of Joni Mitchell today, I love Blue, so I’m sharing this montage me and a couple of photography friends did a few years ago. We limited ourselves to just taking photos on our phones for 3 weeks with a daily theme.

4. SAME TIME, DIFFERENT DAY

Pick a time of day between you, one that is convenient. Remembering when the GOOD light is though as this will really enhance your photos. When you’ve chosen the time of day, take a photo each day for a week at that time. And then share them in a blog post or on Instagram. Look at the similarities or differences. It’s so good working together like this as you soon build up a good body of work.

5. SELF PORTRAIT

I know I know, this is supposed to be a collaboration. So this is a selfie with a difference. You know that Bob Dylan video where he holds up the lyrics on cards? So, how’s about you set up your camera to take a self portrait. And on a card, write a message to the person you’re collaborating with. A few words about the project you’re doing together, or how that person has inspired you in some way. Or just tell them how you’re feeling that day.

Maybe you’d like to work on the project ideas consecutively, or take your time with them, or come up with your own ideas, we’d love to hear about them.

And when you come to the end of the project, and if you have access to a printer, how’s about printing a photo out from your collaboration together and writing a note on it and popping it in the post?

Even thought we may be feeling isolated, we can still work on things together. Have fun, we’d love to hear how you get on. Please do tag us in to anything you do and we’ll share it #5CreativeWays

And just a quick note about our mentoring programmes. If you’re just on the edge of setting up your photography business, or would like to nurture the one you have, if you’d like guidance on how to take better photos for your creative business to connect with your ideal clients, we have been mentoring people for over 5 years. We are currently offering a free 30 minute Skype call to see if we’d be a good fit to work together, the perfect amount of time to have a cup of tea and chat about where you’d like to take your photography. Just email us here and we will set up a chat with you.

Happy Creating! Don’t forget to hashtag #5CreativeWays so we can share your collaborations!