FORMAT 17 – Initial thoughts on Derby’s Photo Festival
Today I went on a press tour of Derby’s FORMAT 17 photography festival. The theme – HABITAT – is complex and wide-ranging and has, I feel, been a little over-intellectualised, which I suppose is to be expected in the photo exhibition world, but it has at least led to a great variety of work […]
Duffield Arts Festival
I was delighted to act as the official photographer for the first ever Duffield Arts Festival. As it took place over one weekend, I got a strong sense of the life led by a blue-arsed fly. For a first-time effort, the festival was a pronounced success with a wide spectrum of activities and events – […]
Belper Mill – Part of the Fabric
I visited a fascinating art installation at Belper Mill: Part of the Fabric, created by Tan Draig, OBE. At first sight, it’s a web wrapped around the pillars supporting the cast iron structure of Belper’s North Mill. Remarkably, this maze is one long continuous thread, enough to weave a man’s suit out of. As Tan told […]
What makes photography special?
I do a talk to camera clubs entitled The Wider World of Photography where I cover most of the genres of photography. I’ve been presenting it for just over two years. At the close, I present my Top 10 images. Up till now, I finished the talk by showing a photo of Marilyn Monroe taken by […]
Dickie Attenborough and the Nottm Uni Student
I know this is supposed to be a photo blog but I can’t let today pass without a word or two about Richard Attenborough, who died yesterday. In my days as a film broadcaster and writer at BBC Radio Derby and a little beyond, I interviewed Dickie five times. Every time, he was charming, articulate, passionate […]
Pants on Fire
By a weird coincidence, this next Blog is ALSO about Danny Baker. Yesterday, on his national radio show, he read out an email from me. You may be aware that Danny’s Radio 5 show asks listeners to relate stories based on his quirky suggestions e.g. ‘can anyone pronounce the longest word in James Joyce’s novel […]
Hurrah for Danny Baker
I wish I had had Danny Baker’s balls 12 years ago when the BBC axed me, though if I had gone on a three-hour rant on air, the consequences would have been devastating. I was a Radio Derby employee who, like Danny, suffered at the hands of ‘pin-headed weasel management.’ 13 years ago, I won […]