📍Loci: ✨The Sycamore Gap and the presence of absence.
I plumped for Birdoswald and missed the opportunity of ever seeing one of the most photographed trees in the country. On 28 September the tree was unlawfully cut down in the dark hours.
ways of seeing
In the late 1990's I had a breakdown that ultimately led me, through a journey that took me away from depression, to a new career in photography. What made all the grit of the dark days worthwhile was that I was left with something that felt like a pearl - a new way of seeing and interacting with things - more sensual, emotive and visual. These posts explore different ways of seeing and experiencing our world.
91 posts
In Pursuit of Spring - Day Five
A journey (now complete) on my camper-van-camino from the Scottish Highlands to Cornwall. Each day, on this journey, I wrote a short post and produced a watercolour drawn from the day’s experiences.
📍Loci: How Photography Taught Me How To See.
Stopping and taking time to observe is an act of faith in the material truth that surrounds us. It washes away the fake news, discomfort and confusion of present times and helps me feel rooted.
📍Loci: A Universe in the Particular at Grafham in Cambridgeshire.
I run back into the porch blinking my eyes in a vain attempt at reviving my bleached retina. I'm guided back to safety by a potent line of yellow lichen that underpins the church and stops directly at the buttress next to the porch.
📍Loci: Ways of Seeing at Inglesham
J.B Priestley equated the time continuum to an omelette. Add Inglesham to the mix and time is a soufflé. Inglesham is like an odd bend in the road of time.
Andy Marshall's Genius Loci Digest: 9 January 2026
It began with a visit to Lastingham in October last year. Since then, there has been a growing awareness of the spirit and art of place - not only to steady us, but to generate an overwhelming sense of hope and direction.
📍Loci: Andy Marshall's Golden Light Digest.
After spending prolonged days wrestling with the light through my viewfinder, I’ve experienced a kind of photo-serotonin effect, as if a transfusion has taken place resulting in an inner glow, unable to stop chattering; a feeling of being baptised with the splendour of it.
Andy Marshall's Genius Loci Digest: 12 December 2025
And it’s here, at this first hint of light, that I’m always stopped short by the sight of winter trees standing in silhouette: its whole architecture pressed into sharp relief. I never quite understand why it moves me so deeply.
Andy Marshall's Genius Loci Digest: 7 Nov 2025
The standing stone before me has occupied this spot for around 4,500 years.