Overlooked And Forgotten: Returning To The World Beyond My Front Door.

-

Rediscovering Curiosity.  

The world beyond my front door has certainly changed since my last post: it seems a little darker and perhaps a more threatening place than it did a few years ago. In these turbulent times I think it’s more important than ever to find those quiet places in which we can take refuge and find time to disconnect from the breakneck pace of modern life.

Changes have occurred in my own circumstances too, cameras have come and gone, passions and interests have waxed and waned. Years have passed. Perhaps it’s the growing awareness of the time slipping by in my own life that motivates me now to return to more creative and fulfilling endeavours. While the world beyond my front door has in some instances grown more overcast and ugly, there are still beautiful and interesting places waiting to be investigated and uncovered.

The technical requirements of this blog have also changed. I’ve recently tried a new layout as the old one was starting to look a little dated. The website address switched over to https:// which is more secure and should prevent anyone making unauthorised changes. However, some of the blog posts have not weathered these alterations well, resulting in some odd glitches. I’ll continue to work on the layout and perhaps lightly edit some older blog posts. For the foreseeable future, I intend to stay with Blogger, even though it’s quite an old platform; while somewhat limiting, it’s simplicity does mean that it is easy and cost effective to maintain.

My current camera: the Fujifilm X-T10.

One change which I enthusiastically embraced was a new camera. I’ve moved from the Micro Four Thirds System on to a camera with a larger APS-C sized sensor, the Fujifilm X-T10. Although by today’s standards it quite an old camera, released in 2015, it’s easily the best camera I’ve had to date. I picked mine up second hand this year, along with a used 18 - 55mm lens. I love the aesthetics of the X-T10; when I daydream about being a photojournalist in the late 1960’s I imagine using a camera that looks like this one!

I intend to get out into the world beyond my front door once again, exploring the wild, overlooked and forgotten places; detailing what I find, here on this blog. I can’t wait to get back out there!

Popular posts from this blog

The Sheffield Code

-
Image
Following the clues to be found in the curious signs and symbols hidden on Surrey Street, Sheffield City Centre. Early on a Sunday morning in September I decided to take a walk into the city centre to see if I could find anything to photograph. I like to walk along  familiar streets and look at them from a fresh view-point. Often in our day-to-day lives as we rush to and from work or push our way through the crowds on a weekend, we don't get a chance to look above street level or notice the relationships between buildings, streets and other aspects of the urban environment. And so I found myself standing in front of the Sheffield Central Library, located at the end of Surrey Street, just before the stairs and cycle path that lead down on to the Arundel Gate, one of the main roads into the city centre. I've always had a warm fondness for the Sheffield Central Library and especially the Graves Art Gallery hidden away on the top floor. It feels like a littl...
Read more

WALKING THE BLUE LOOP PART TWO: THE SHEFFIELD AND TINSLEY CANAL

-
Image
 An introduction to the history and sights found on Sheffield’s waterways.   It was June and I was continuing my exploration of the Blue Loop. An informal walking route, roughly 13Km or 8-miles in length. It begins at Victoria Quays, following the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal to Meadowhall, and then returning to the city centre along The Five Weirs Walk, beside the River Don.   Once again, I found myself making my way to Victoria Quays. However, a full year had passed since the last posting on this blog, where I began my introduction to the Blue Loop and outlined some of the history to be found along Sheffield’s waterways. In that previous instalment, I ended on an optimistic note; I was anticipating a refreshing and ice-cold soda, as I made my way along the canal towards Meadowhall, pausing in the shadow of the Sheffield Energy from Waste Plant. Optimistic too, in the sense that the long, dark shadow, cast by the coronavirus pandemic was finally beginning to lift. Well, u...
Read more

Five Weirs Walk

-
Image
A Walk Along The River Don.   It was a warm and pleasant, if somewhat overcast Sunday afternoon in June, almost a month to the day from the first tentative easing of the UK’s lock-down, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson had announced in early May, the first stages of relaxing the strict protocols governing travel and outside activities, that had been in place since late March. Even though we had been granted the relative freedom to venture outside, I felt a certain reluctance to do so. The stress of the unprecedented circumstances, and the severe curtailment of personal freedom and liberties, resulted in an over-cautious aversion to activities that many of us had taken for granted and had never given second thoughts to previously. The dawning realisation that life must carry on, if we were ever to regain some semblance of normality, led me to making the spontaneous decision to pack up my camera in a small shoulder bag and set off. But where? Catchin...
Read more