Leicester Cathedral

Peterborough Cathedral

Ambleside

Mevagissey

Porthlunney Cove

Mevagissey

Natural History Museum

An Old Master In Wistow

Around 10 miles south of Leicester City centre lies the long lost village of Wistow. All that remaisn now is the hall, a few associated cottages and St Wistans Church. The hall is no doubt hung with all sort of grand olde masters and it was with this in mind that I created this image of a tree in the church graveyard. The colours were as is which attracted my attention to it, the rest was created by computer.
One day I intend to visit the inside of the church, the keys are apparently available from Gardens cottage or so it says on the door, within tombs and memorials galore. Watch this space.

Motorhead at DeMontfort Hall Spring 1980

DeMontfort Hall holds very fond memories for me as the venue of my first ever rock concert. I was just 16 and having purchased the tickets a few weeks before against the wishes of my parents I was counting down the days for at least a month before.
The Band was the notorious Motorhead, with lead singer Lemmy at the helm. The Tour was "The Bomber Tour", which with frequent volumes in excess of that produced by a Lancaster Bomber, was probably the most appropriate title that they could have chosen.
My pier group were all denim and leather clad head bangers, a case of safety in numbers, and "head banging" was the norm at parties. Not for me on the night in question as 2 days before I have inadvertantly managed to lacerate the top of my head on a door frame requires 15 stitches. My folks were horrified that I still wanted to go to the concert in that state, but I wouldn't have missed it for the world and boy was it a good decisions. I recall vividly a huge skeletal bomber riding up above the stage with lemmy holding onto the side as the music reached a staggering 129 decibels, I has tinnitus for days afterwards as did all my mates..... great for the teacher the next few days at school.
My lasting memory though was after the concert we queued to get the groups autographs at which point the extremely sexy and well endowed lady in front of us lifted her top and asked the boys to sign their names on her exposed breasts for all to see. Happy days.

Grandads Potting Shed

Potting sheds, especially those painted blue are quintessentially English, don't you think.
As a child I was allowed to use a similar shed as a den, and it was my favourite place to hang out. Not blue like this one, but preserved in creosote, such that everyone could always tell when I'd been in there by the eye watering smell which emanated from my body for the following week or two.
Currently my sense of smell is terrible, a bonus on many occasions, especially during those "nappy" years, and I do often wonder if the daily bombardment of my inner nasal structures with the toxic creosote at such a tender age, was a significant aetiological factor. I'm sure many things its wouldn't be allowed in this modern health and safety consious era.

Waterworld at Universal Studios, Los Angeles, USA

Last summer I was lucky enough to spend three weeks in the USA. I'd always dreamed of living teh American dream and travelling along Route 66 and that is exactly waht we did. The exchange rate was at its best, just prior to the slump so it was cheap aswell... an added bonus. Towards the end of teh trip we arrived in Los Angeles and headed for The Universal Studios. This shot was taken during the Waterworld Show which was superb, explosions, fire, people falling hundreds of feet, jet ski's, the kids loved it.

The Foxton Locks Inn, Foxton Locks, Leicestershire

There are probably very few children brough up in Leicestershire on the 60's and 70's who won't remember a school trip to Foxton Locks. until a few years ago it was a muddy and generally run down place. No so now. A grant has enabled restoration of the site including the Foxton Locks Inn which now not only serves a great range of Real Ales but also offers really nice food, which if you are lucky can be consumed over looking the water at the front of the building. They even provide blankets to keep your knee's warm in the winter under the canvas cover.
I have visited many times and always receive a warm welcome, and its also dog friendly.

Mevagissey Harbour, Cornwall

With the decline in small boat fishing in the water around the UK the number of working harbours getting less each year. Personally I love the colours and ambience of seaside towns, probably a throw back to childhood trips to the seasid, Which is probably why I love visiting mevagissey so much. It simply has it all. Ice creams, Cornish Pasties, a harbour bar with leather settees and real Cornish Scrumpy. Along the harbour wall kids haul out crab after crab as fishermen come and go. A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to see a 2ft long dogfish swimming within the inner harbour, on the last visit I only saw them in the aquarium, which is now free to visit. If you ever get the chance to visit this place make sure you leave time to see the museum where there are a great selection of black and white images of the harbour many years ago...... amazing.

OLD POSTCARDS OF CORNWALL

The Halcyon D1 Days

In 2000 I took the plunge and decided to swop fill for digital so purchased a Nikon D1 SLR. 2.79m pixels and a price tags that still makes my eyes water. It was amazing, all my old Nikon lenses were immediately available with the ease of digital.
One of the first images I took was in a field behind St Wistans Church in Wistow where an obliging cow posed for me. I printed it and proudly hung it on the wall at work where it has sat ever since. I look at that almost every day and for years have been thinking that I must have another go at photographing cows to see if with news lenses and a new camera I can do any better. Well finally I have something to show. Note sure if it is really any better, but I like it.

Las Vegas USA

Las Vegas city of lights and fun, and wow what a photographers dream. Amidst a multitude of people trying to sell me female flesh in variety of forms I set up my tripod and captured the images which combined produced this HDR. Unfortunately my visit only lasted for 2 days, I could have happily spend 2-3 weeks there taking photographs there was so much to see.