Shadows of Day

I have been building up a collection of work based around my many visits to Cardiff and my interest in the skyscrapers there. I have found that most of my time is spent either on the beach or in a rural area, and when I visit a city my mind wanders with wonder at all of these buildings. To me they are remarkable - but to the people that see them every day they seem invisible.

Full collection on http://www.mgjackson.co.uk/

Not so pretty gulls

After watching these birds for a while they stop all looking the same - and there are some beautiful ones out there- looking as though they have been cast in bronze as the sun shines on them - and then there are some that are not quite so beautiful. They look to me like Victorian villans.

Good weather for the gulls

I am now in my third month recording the gulls at Ceibwr. It has been an interesting project so far with many changes of equipment and little additions found on ebay for next to nothing. Each time I visit the gulls I change my technique/equipment just a little to take me towards what I have in my mind. Once I get there I can settle down and start work on the real job of understanding these birds and forgetting about how to record them. I am lucky that I have time on my hands to do this - if it takes years then it takes years.

If I could paint...

If I could paint I would want to paint like Chelsea Bently James.



This is amazing stuff. For some reason it really makes me want to get out there with the camera - much more so than seeing other photographers' work. I can almost see some Poppit abstracts in it - and the fact that it seems to be taken from far above. Check out her blog - http://chelseabjames.blogspot.com/

Business as usual

Business as usual at the moment. I have been making a number of trips to see the gulls at Ceibwr as well as travelling to Cardiff to work on ideas for a future project that is taking shape. And as usual I have been scanning ebay for any odds and sods that I can use.

I am also working on a new book and a number of exhibition proposals - all should be ready for later this year.

Lenscratch

I was very pleased to be featured on 'Lenscratch' yesterday. What an excellent blog it is. Run by Aline Smithson it is considered one of the top ten photography related blogs. Many exciting photographers featured. http://lenscratch.blogspot.com/

I have been back to Cardiff for more work - and I am off to Ceibwr today to see how the gulls are getting on. One minute I am walking amongst tower blocks - the next I am laying in grass on the Pembrokeshire coast peeking at gulls - the next I am striding through sand on a freezing Poppit beach at sunset. Three sister projects - all so different and they all need attention. Sometimes it is tricky to bounce ones mind from one to the other.

New Singular Structures

The weather is no good for the gulls at Ceibwr at the moment - so I am adding some more work online to the Singular Structures series.

The big question...

....How to portray these birds so that they match what I have in my mind? They are gentle yet hard - commonplace yet strange. Overall they are just plain unusual.

Thank you for the messages

I have had a wonderful response to my new gull photos. It is quite a lurch when you move from one type of photography to another and positive comments and emails help immensely as I feel in the dark for something solid to hold onto and use.

After 4 years at Poppit I knew what to do inside out and was very comfortable with it. However, I find that comfort often stops one from growing. Now I am following a totally different subject, with different equipment and ideas. For me the subject should make the photos. The subject should show me the best way to photograph it. With the gulls I am having to abandon pin-sharp photos at sunset and move towards a softer, more telling approach in full midday sun. This is what I have in my mind's eye.

So, thank you all for the many emails - and to answer some of them - no, I have not finished at Poppit yet - yes, I am using 35mm film cameras (Ilford HP5 for those that asked) and yes, I'll be following the gulls for as long as it takes.
All the best
Mike

The joys of 35mm film and old cameras...

These old cameras cost almost nothing on ebay. I have a Canon Av-1 and a Canon FX - and they are taking all my gull shots.

Work is going well at Ceibwr - new discoveries every day.

Laying in the mud

To get close enough to these chaps I have to lay in a muddy path. The weather is freezing and I get little bugs crawling into my hair.