"We construct human realities around the things we make and build. We give them names and identities that are bound up with what they used to be, or what we wish them to be, or what we think they’re for." Richard Smyth: An Indifference of Birds.
Image Of The Week
On My Photo Stories Site
The Bird by Andy Marshall
The bird stopped being a bird and became its song [more...]
From The Shop
Photographing the Wells Light Refinery Print – Photo Wellness
I spent a winter’s day stood in front of the west front at Wells Cathedral and photographed one of the most remarkable light displays that I’ve ever witnessed. My camera recorded the changes in colour temperature from morning until evening. [more...]
From The Blog
All Mapped Out | Sideclick
Mapping my way through anxious moments [more...]
Vanlife
📸 Headed out to the East Riding of Yorkshire to Barmby on the Marsh and then payed a visit to Howden nearby. Mid-week I travelled down to Gloucester and Cirencester for some more commissioned photography. Stayed at the campsite on the Bathurst Estate just outside Cirencester. I finished off the week in Slaidburn, Lancashire (photographing the archive room) and Middleton (Greater Manchester) photographing Edgar Wood (Art Nouveau Architect) buildings.
Clandestine pic.
Mum secretly took this pic of me on FaceTime whilst on my travels. We were in a heated discussion on how to soufflé an egg without a whisk. Serious business.
When I'm out and about I try and get local produce and ingredients. Found a fab place for granola and bread in Cirencester.
I visited the Corinium Museum in Cirencester. Beautifully laid out and informative. Bought this little Roman soldier to tie to the memory ribbon in the van.
V'envy
On My Coffee Table
The Hinterland. Cabins, Love Shacks and Other Hide-Outs - gestalten UK Shop
Located on mountain tops, nestled in villages, or ensconced in lush forests, The Hinterland showcases homey hide-outs and charming cabins from shelter to domicile.
From The Charo's
📸 Bought these books from the Oxfam bookshop in Cirencester - both found in the Arts section. About a tenner each.
Hotspots
All photos shot on iPhone.
Yorkshire, East Riding.
St. Helen's, Barmby on the Marsh
I can't convey the unalloyed bliss there is in unlocking and opening a church door. Photographed this lovely church for Friends of Friendless Churches.
Want to see more? You'll have to visit - check out this page.
Howden
Howden is one of Britain's best kept secrets. I visited the wonderful Minster many years ago and took a photo that was used on the front of the local OS Map. So I thought I'd head over and visit again. I wasn't disappointed.
A scroll around the town...
Inside Howden Minster
For some it's the best of both worlds, Howden Minster is half ruinous and half complete. The choir collapsed in the 1690's leaving the structure that we have today. Inevitably, upon entrance, I was drawn to a golden pool of light in the south transept.
Amongst the sombre medieval effigies is a remarkable testament to new life: a life-sized sculpture, made of jesmonite and marble called 'The First Meeting.' I love the way art can confound expectations and build new and alternative narratives in places steeped in history.
Gloucester
Gloucester Docks
A scroll through the city.
St. Nicholas, Gloucester
St. Nicholas Church is a hidden gem. I was commissioned to photograph the interior a few years back and I've included some of the photos of the interior I took on that day below. You can find out how to access the church by visiting here.
Coffee
Great coffee to be had at Clementine on the corner of Westgate St. and College St. Warm and chatty peeps.
Cirencester.
I felt a little giddy in Cirencester - what with all the travel and the material culture on display over the last few days. After arrival at the campsite on the Bathurst Estate - I headed out for sustenance.
Just too much to cram in this week - so more of Gloucester Cathedral (including a trip to the stone mason's yard) and Cirencester next week.
Bookmarked
Discover Roman London.
London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE returns the Roman Temple of Mithras to the location of its discovery in the heart of the City.
Lancashire village buys its own pub – to add to its shop and library | Communities | The Guardian
Trawden’s residents are the first in the country to also own their library, shop and community centre
Planning Permission and Listed Building Consent granted for Old Black Lion pub in Northampton | The Churches Conservation Trust
West Northamptonshire Council has granted planning permission and listed building consent to the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT) to reopen the Grade II-listed Old Black Lion as a community-based pub.
Roman mosaic and villa complex found in Rutland farmer's field - BBC News
The mosaic, part of a villa complex, is said to be one of the most significant found in Britain.
Sounds
BBC Radio 2 - London Soundscape, Part 1
Charles Hazlewood and Mick Jones lead an impressionistic portrait of London.
Observations
Contre-jour
📸 I love this time of year when the sun is slung low in the sky. In the summer I have to be quick to catch the light on the facades before it moves on - but this time of year, the sun arcs slowly along the horizon. When I was starting out, I asked a professional photographer for advice on how I should progress. "Shoot into the sun, my friend." he said.
📸 I've seen light pad down Micklegate in York, reckless in its choice of venue, pawing at the tip of a pediment and gnawing on the spandrels of a porch. At Stowe House, it fearlessly tickled the noses of leaded lions, agitated solid mass into shimmering symmetry, revelled in the Elysian Fields and then slipped into the Octagon Lake.
I've seen it gouge out the blandest of stones - an ashlar facade - in Leamington Spa. As flat as a pancake, until the sun angled itself to the west and started to rake out indentations, mortar joints, and screw holes.
In Gloucester it turned silky smooth oolitic quoins into pockmarked squares, only to dissolve their forms into a lustrous patina: grainy at first, then mutated into an incandescent surface like the scales of a fish.
In Beverley, I've seen light welling up into the curve of a pantile only to spill out onto the eaves, down the wall and flush into a Georgian basement.
On the harshest of summer days its enraged refraction made me wince as I walked from a darkened ginnel into an explosion of light reflected from the glass of a modern shop front. On the softest of autumnal mornings I've been teased into reflective mood by diffused sunlight within a market square, the facades yellowed, softened and undefined.
On some days I’ve been witness to the sun’s antics whilst in motion. One morning, whilst driving down the A1, I was entertained by the pinky adolescent globe swinging from left to right and then back again, as I snaked along the ancient Roman route. For a short while it perched on top of a lorry cab hurtling up the inside lane, until a rise in the road dropped it into a distant village vignetted by a blanket of fog with the buildings embossed like cardboard cut outs.
Shoot into the sun, my friend.
And Finally...
Friendless Churches on Twitter: "Our brand new magazine has landed, and we are very happy about it! Hitting doormats near you soon. Only members receive the magazine. You can become a member today for £30"
📸 I just joined: the annual fee is a drop in the ocean - and the anticipated joy of hearing that magazine (so lovingly put together) drop onto the mat....
Thanks for alll your support and emails. See you next Friday.
Andy.
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