Today I've been ringing All Saints' bells half-muffled for a funeral. I'm very sorry for those saying goodbye to a loved one so close to Christmas when everyone else seems to be partying and celebrating, so I was glad to be able to show respect for them by ringing. With 400 years of tradition behind English change-ringing, there is a real sense of marking the seasons, celebrations, joys and tragedies of life.

On Christmas morning the bells will be ringing in celebration, but today, half muffled, they sounded solomn and dignified. The marking of the passing of someone much loved. Yet although subdued by the muffles the sound was not the mournful clang of a bell tolling, but rather the simply rung eight bell musical acknowledgement of a life lived, and the legacy left behind among family and friends.

On Show At: The Tourist Information Centre, Faringdon

During November I am the 'featured artist' in the local tourist information centre. If you're in the area please pay a visit and take a look at some of my work. As well as mounted prints I've included some 'desk pictures' (stand supported acrylic prints) and for the first time some pictures printed on metal. The metal images are quite striking (if I may say so!) and are all black and white this time around. I really like these first few I've had made so will undoubtedly order some more. Perhaps in colour next time! They are extremely robust, useable in kitchens and bathrooms, and even in gardens if not in full sunlight, and they are very contemporary. They're also surprisingly lightweight and easy to hang. I may order one for my own bathroom... The four on display are all local scenes.

If you need further incentives to visit, the TIC now has a full range of charity christmas cards available, along with 2011 calendars, and all the usual local information. You will undoubtedly also get, free of charge, a warm welcome from the friendly staff there!

Tornado Watch. Or: What a Difference a Day Makes

This week has been about work and weather. I've been in Grand Rapids, Michigan, attending a conference. I come regularly and enjoy meeting up with my US colleagues. Because I'm carrying work kit, there's rarely room for much camera gear, so on this trip I had just my Panasonic DMC-TZ6. And even that pocket camera ended up not being with me when I could have used it!

At the start of the week the news was full of severe weather warnings. The worst storm for 70 years was forecast to be coming through on Tuesday - the day of the conference. Boy, did it arrive! The rain became heavier and heavier and increasingly audible even in our windowless conference room, and you could hear the wind roaring.

Halfway through Tuesday morning's sales presentation, the tornado warning sirens went off..

Now as a Brit, this is something I've never experienced before and it did spike my adrenaline a bit as we were all evacuated to the conference centre's basement. Unfortunately as it has always been drilled into me to evacuate without taking anything with you, I left my camera upstairs in my case. Which was a pity as there were some rather good photo opportunities as people tried to work on in the basement.

Still, photographers (like fishermen) frequently refer to 'the ones that got away'... and I was there to work rather than photograph. Work on we did - the sales conference schedule was not going to be flattened by a tornado warning! So we all 'kept calm and carried on', with a great on-the-fly-and-who-needs-modern-technology-anyway presentation of the next set of books with visuals of the book covers shown by using the new catalogue. A bit smaller than the powerpoint presentation upstairs, but it got the information across.

Forty minutes later we all trooped back upstairs. (I must admit that I did look to see if all the cars parked out front were still there!) Ten minutes after that we went through the whole process a second time when the sirens went off again. Despite all the disruption, the conference ran to time, which I thought was pretty impressive.

By the time we finished the rain had eased, though the wind was still incredible. From the shelter of my (rocking) car, I took a grab shot of the amazing threatening sky. You can just about see the outline of the cars at the bottom of the picture. I missed my SLR's manual settings at this point - the general light level wasn't quite this dark - but I think the picture I've got does represent the atmosphere of the day rather well, even if it's not as good as it could be. (Bearing in mind too that this is the picture 'straight out of the camera' with no tweaking or tinkering whatsoever.)

I heard the following day that a funnel cloud was seen at Grand Rapids airport, which is only a few miles away from the conference centre, but most local damage seemed to be to power lines and small things like signs.

By Wednesday morning the worst of the weather had gone through, leaving very strong winds following. The power went out (again) at the offices I was visiting, but not for too long. Though the traffic lights going out for most of the day on one of the major intersections meant some very lengthy traffic queues which I accidentally ended up in! It was quite literally hard work to walk into the wind, and my car door was snatched out of my hand and slammed. But the black clouds of the previous day had been utterly blown away. This picture was taken about 18 hours after the last. Apart from the storm force winds, it was hard to imagine the tornado warnings and torrential rains of the previous day.

These photographs are not among the best I've taken. I didn't take very many, and they were taken on a camera which perhaps isn't best suited for extremes. Nonetheless, there are times when the pictures you are taking are about personal memories, not pictorial perfection. In photography, as in many other things, there is infinite diversity. And that's one of the things which keeps it so interesting.

A Spitfire, Some Grapes and a Folly

Today I decided to take my camera and walk a route I frequently run. It took me at least ten times longer to walk one stretch of path than it normally takes me to run it, owing to periods of 'stopping and staring' as well as stopping to take photos.

As I was strolling along contentedly, I suddenly heard an engine. An aircraft engine. Not just any old engine though - this was a Merlin engine. A Merlin has a completely distinctive sound. A Merlin means that something special is in the vicinity. So I rushed out from the hedges to where I could get a clear view and saw - a spitfire! It streaked across the sky in the distance while I struggled to get near it with the medium zoom on my camera, all the while thinking 'please come this way!' (as if you can somehow send a telepathic message to an aeroplane).

Telepathy or no, it shot across the valley right in front of me, made a wide turn and came roaring back, before doing a roll which caught the sun on it's wings, and then disappearing out of sight. The sound of that fabulous engine faded away and I was left peering at the screen on the back on my camera, trying to see if I'd managed to get a single reasonable shot. The pictures I got certainly aren't great technically, but they will remind me of the moment when an ordinary Sunday walk turned into something exciting.

I would've been just as thrilled to see a spitfire even if I'd left my camera at home. If I had been running as I usually would have been at that time on a Sunday, I would have stopped to watch it. Some things are just worth taking time to enjoy - even without a camera!

Feeling very cheerful, ok to be truthful feeling rather 'hyped up' and restraining the urge to jump about and yell in a rather childish manner, I continued on my walk. After taking several of the sorts of pictures I'd set out to take (such as the one shown left of the local Folly) I walked back along a road I must have run along hundreds of times. At the edge of this unexciting country lane came the second surprise of my walk.

I've often noticed the shrubs growing up and over the stone wall which runs alongside the lane. Today I noticed the fruit. Grapes? Really? Yes, grapes! It really is the case that less than half a mile from my house is a vine, with ripening grapes growing just above the pavement.

I would have said that photography has made me look at things more closely, but perhaps that isn't always the case... Note to self: 'Could do better'! It just goes to show that you may come back with some photos you didn't expect the next time you set off for a walk with your camera!

I nearly didn't do this morning's walk at all. Just one decision made differently, and I would have missed so much more than a few photographs.

Book Review: Choosing to SEE

There are some books I talk about because it's my job. There are some I talk about because they are wonderful books. This is one of the latter. (Though in fact it is also one of the former!)

In Choosing to SEE Mary Beth Chapman talks very frankly and openly about her life's path, and the ways in which things didn't go to plan, despite the way everything looked on the outside. Her family has had to walk through a Grand Canyon sized valley of the shadow of death. Yet this book is not depressing. Sad, yes, but often joyous too. Sometimes I laughed and cried reading the same page. I found the chapter covering the meeting with their first adopted daughter deeply moving, and the love which is shown there clearly binds the family together during the dark days following Maria's death.

Their faith is inspirational - not least because Mary Beth is very honest about asking the hard questions which many of us run up against. Hers is not a 'champagne lifestyle' faith, but one which has been shaped by hard work and hard knocks. All in all I can't recommend this book highly enough. It's the best biography I've read in ages and ages.

Read it. You won't regret it.

More information, including sample chapters and an author video can be found here.

Price: £7.99
ISBN: 9780800719920
Published by: Revell (Distributed by Lion Hudson)
Available through any good bookshop or online

Book Review: They Almost Always Come Home

When Libby's husband Greg doesn't return from a canoe trip to the Canadian wilderness, the authorities initially suspect that an unhappy husband has made his escape. Greg and Libby have been growing increasingly distant since the death of their daughter. An event for which Libby blames Greg.

His plans for his latest trip were not for fishing though, although he couldn't bring himself to tell his wife of his real plans. When he doesn't come home, Libby sets out to look for him, together with her best friend and her father-in-law. Along the way, she discovers all sorts of things about herself, her friends, her husband and her fragmented faith.

I sometimes find that I run out of steam (or interest) with Christian fiction stories, but this one kept me gripped all the way through. And as a photographer I really connected with Greg's dream! I did find the sudden shift to Greg's perspective such a long way in was a bit jarring, but at the same time it was good to 'hear' his viewpoint too.

Well-written and suspenseful (in a low-key sort of way), this is an involving story. I was reluctant to put it down. Recommended.

Price: £8.99
ISBN: 9781426702389
Published by: Abingdon Press (Distributed by Alban Books)
Available through any good bookshop or online

Is There a Letter You Wish You'd Written?

Today I paid a visit to my local library. I've not been for so long - working for a publisher means I'm rarely short of reading matter - that when I presented my card in order to borrow a book it was no longer recognised. However, I digress.

After browsing the shelves and selecting my book I noticed a table on which was a pile of local interest newspapers and magazines, and a slender book called 'The Letter I Wish I'd Written'. As I had some time, I sat down to read the opening letter in the book, and then read the second (which you can find on-line here: 'I wasn't really much of a dad..." It's well worth reading). And the third. And most of the others. They were fascinating, and thought provoking.

These letters were all written by people over 60, as if they were their younger selves. They started me wondering. Is there a letter I wish I'd written before it was too late? Am I in a situation now where I may think later on 'I wish I'd written a letter'? Are you? If so, maybe it's time to do some writing.

'Sensitively revised' or unnecessarily messed about with?

I've been collecting children's books from the 40s & 50s for years and am a big fan of storytelling for children both old and new. So when I hear that a good story written in the '40s, '50s or 60s is being re-published I think 'Hurrah'!

Then I read the dreaded words 'sensitively and carefully revised' and my heart sinks. This time it is Enid Blyton's The Famous Five series books which are being afflicted with this treatment, supposed to 'make them timeless and appealing to a generation of new readers... lifelong fans will be captivated'. (Hachette Children's Book 'Hachette Gazette'.) I hope they are right, but I think that 'lifelong fans' and 'new readers' are two very different groups when it comes to 'classic' books.

The main reason I don't believe revising old books works is that a book is written of its period. So a book set in the 40s or 50s is immersed in the feel of that time, not just the money and the types of vehicles used and so on. The way the characters act and interact and the 'tone' of their voices is all affected by the era in which their story is set. Therefore I believe it is almost impossible to update the 'old book' without having to materially affect the entire feel of the story too.

The charm of many well-loved classic books is precisely this period feel. It's the sense of place and time of a book. Which is more than simply its setting.

I fell over this business of 'updating' when I was still at school. At the time I was reading a series of books, and one of them had been 'updated'. I was well into the story when suddenly the characters were talking about modern money in a way which jarred substantially with the rest of the series. Furthermore, I discovered that a section of the book had been removed altogether for the 'new edition'! I remember feeling cheated, and going to hunt down a 'proper' copy which contained the whole story in a way which flowed.

The trouble with 'sensitive revisions' is that they often aren't. Changes are not merely minor alterations to the occasional word which might have changed its meaning over time, but often stretch to altering characters' names, place names, phrases and remarks. Nowadays I especially dislike books being updated in order to accommodate 'political correctness', one of the worst reasons I can think of to mess about with a book written and set in a different political and social era.

It's interesting that some well loved period books are now being re-issued in their original editions - even books which had previously been 'updated'.

For example a number of Monica Edwards' books have been re-issued, with the stories in their original unabridged and unadapted form, complete with the original illustrations, and with introductory information in a separate section, including a publishing history of the book. The covers are the original illustrations from the first edition hardbacks. These have become collector's editions in their own right. (See http://www.ggbp.co.uk/ for more information.) The main reason people buy them though, is because they love the stories, and they want to read them as they were originally published.

So I hope that this latest round of revisions are being done for good reasons. Not because children are considered too stupid to work out that things were different in different times. It would be good to pick up one of the new 'Famous Five' editions and be able to enjoy reading it without once thinking 'why on earth did they make that change?'. Perhaps I'll have a go. The test will be whether the stories remain the primary focus and are as enjoyable as the original editions.

So, do you prefer original versions? Or do you believe there's a place for updating well-loved stories?

Other Peoples' Gardens

My little courtyard space is filled with geraniums, lavender and clematis. They are mostly blue and white flowers, yet in the middle of these is a single pink rose plant. When I moved in and the garden was a sea of mud and rubbish, that valiant little plant was still stubbornly carrying a pink bloom and I could never bring myself to remove it.

This year it is covered in flowers, and it seems to me that many plants appear to be especially beautiful and prolific this year. In addition to those in my own tiny space, I have been enjoying lots of flowers belonging to other people in gardens both grand and small.

The pleasure thus afforded put me in mind of one of my favourite garden poems, 'My Neighbor's Roses', by Abraham L Gruber (1807-82). It is a short poem, only three verses, but it's the middle one I want to quote here, because it is undoubtedly true:

'They bloom for me and are for me as fair
As for the man who gives them all his care.
Thus I am rich, because a good man grew
A rose-clad vine for all his neighbor's view.'

My thanks to all those gardeners whose roses, and other flowers, I am daily enjoying.

Book Review: The Magic Thief: Found

A series of books which gets better with each volume, The Magic Thief trilogy is a rare gem. I enjoyed both of Sarah Prineas' previous The Magic Thief books, so when I noticed Found on a shelf in the fantastic Woodstock Bookshop (well worth a visit - see comments & link below) I picked it up at once.

It's been a while since I sat down and read with total absorption for hours, but this book made me do just that.

We've got to know Connwaer the gutterboy-turned-wizard well through the previous two books, as well as Nevery, Ro, Benet and a string of other characters. Conn has a talent for magic, and an equal talent for getting into trouble.

At the beginning of Found, Conn is on the run from prison, but this is a small concern compared to the threat approaching his home city of Wellmet in the form of a predatory magic known as Arhionvar.

Without his 'locus magicalicus', a powerful wizard's stone, Conn's link to his own friendly magic is weakened, but he has been given a book containing a finding spell. With Nevery's help he casts the spell, but the finding of his new locus magicalicus proves far more difficult and time-consuming than expected - even with help from a surprising and frightening (not to mention supposedly extinct) ally - and while he searches, the threat to Wellmet increases. A threat which will soon demand great risks and greater sacrifice...

A wonderful book with an unexpected and moving ending. And the dragons are superb! Although this trilogy is now complete, I really hope that Sarah Prineas writes more about Connwaer (and Pip) in the future.

Price: £9.99
ISBN: 9781849161916
Published by: Quercus
Available through any good bookshop or online


Mini 'shop review':

The Woodstock Bookshop is well worth a visit for anyone who enjoys good independent bookshops. A little shop, it nonetheless has a great selection of books across a wide genre of subjects. Despite a pressure of space lots of books are face out - hence my seeing Found and buying it as a result. I'd actually gone in to buy a book on gardens. There are some tiny single copy display shelves utilising otherwise 'dead' wall spaces. It also has a couple of seats - adult & child sized so that you can relax and browse properly!
See www.woodstockbookshop.co.uk for more details.

Talking About Photography

On 5 May I was guest speaker at Whiteley Village Camera Club in Surrey. I was asked to display and talk about my LRPS panel. It was my first photography talk, and it was a good start as the group was very welcoming and friendly and nicely interactive, asking questions when I invited them to.

I started off by putting up the mounted prints one by one, exactly as was done for my LRPS assessment, so that the group saw them in the same way as the RPS' judging panel and then gave some background information on the pictures and the process of applying for my 'L'. I also mentioned the advisory day I attended in January, and talked about the affect of this on my final panel. I replaced a couple of the images from the final panel with ones I'd presented at the advisory day, to demonstrate the 'before and after' effect of making quite small changes. I also moved some of the images round to show how different layout can materially change the look of the panel, even when all the images remain the same.

Afterwards I was glad of a cup of tea and a biscuit and the chance of an informal chat with several of the club members. It was great to hear them talking about what they like to photograph and why. There was a lot of variety in the areas of interest among the group, and a similarly wide level of experience. Lots of enthusiasm seemed pretty universal!

It was a privilege to be asked to speak to the club, and I really enjoyed my visit. My thanks to Jim Buckley LRPS and Kate (Club Secretary) for the invitation and welcome.

Giving this talk made me realise again how much I learned by working for my 'L', and I certainly plan to aim for my 'A' in a year or two.

I know the Whiteley Village Camera Club has only been running a very short time and I was very impressed with what they've already achieved. Their next 'big event' is Village Day which takes place in July and at which the club will have a display of members' work.

For my LRPS panel, see: http://www.annerogersphotography.co.uk/section382203.html

Book Review: The Chosen One

I picked up this book from the Simon and Schuster stand at the Federation of Children's Book Group conference, and I read it at every opportunity thereafter because the quote on the back cover is completely accurate: It is indeed 'intensely gripping and grippingly intense' (Kirkus Reviews)

Kyra is thirteen, and lives in an isolated polygamist community with her father, his three wives, and her twenty brothers and sisters. 'The Prophet' who leads the community enforces rigid rules, by force if necessary, and is seen as a direct conduit to God, thus making any challenge to his authority a challenge against God. Punishment for offences is severe - that given out to a baby because she cried while The Prophet was speaking is truly shocking, even in a book with many shocking elements.

But Kyra is growing up. She is noticing things and asking questions. She sneaks out to the mobile library, being careful not to be away long, and bringing back books which she hides and reads in secret - since The Prophet decreed all books other than the Bible must be burned because the words they contain are 'of Satan'.

But Kyra's biggest secret is Joshua, the boy she sneaks out to meet. The boy she falls in love with. So when The Prophet proclaims that God has revealed that Kyra is to marry her sixty year old uncle, a desperate and tragic series of events begin to unfold.

A simply superb story of a young girl wrestling with a desperate choice. Pulling no punches in the telling, it is utterly gripping, compelling and convincing.

Carol Lynch Williams is reported as saying: "Many years ago I heard of a young woman who ran from her polygamist community. She was dragged home, beaten and yet she ran again. I knew at that moment - at least a decade ago - that I would write this novel."

Price: £6.99
ISBN: 9781847389381
Published by: Simon and Schuster (Publishing August 2010)
Available to pre-order through any good bookshop or online

Review copy supplied by Simon and Schuster

Book Review: The Crowfield Curse

This book was recommended to me by someone who knows I enjoy good children's fiction and I have no hesitation in passing on their recommendation.

William is an orphan sent to live at Crowfield Abbey when his parents die in a fire. He himself escaped the fire without a scratch, a fact which means the villagers view him with suspicion. He discovers he has 'the sight' when he rescues a creature from a trap in the forest. The creature is a hob, a being few humans can see. (The hob is rather an endearing chap, with a central role through the story.)

But all is not well at the Abbey or in the surrounding woods. An ancient document shows that years earlier an angel was shot with an arrow, and buried by the monks of the Abbey. But how could an angel die? Is it really buried in the woods behind the Abbey? And why have two strangers come to stay in the Abbey? Before long Will finds himself caught up in a dangerous and frightening search. One which has implications reaching far beyond his own life...

This is a great read. The characters are interesting. Complex, varied and believable. There is a good sense of place and time (the story is set in 1347 and the historical 'feel' works well without being too dusty and 'old-fashioned') and there is a nice degree of threat/tension. Although a fully rounded and complete story, by the end I found myself hoping there will be a sequel.

Chicken House have a great track record with their children's authors and it looks like they have another great one in Pat Walsh.

Price: £6.99
ISBN: 9781906427153
Published by: Chicken House Ltd
Available through any good bookshop or online

Aiming for an 'L' - I made it!

I made it! I achieved my 'L'.

My assessment was held at the NEC in Birmingham, alongside the 'Focus on Imaging' exhibition. After all the preparation, I wasn't particularly nervous until I arrived, and then the nerves got worse as the morning progressed. I found the room in which the assessments were being carried out, and handed over my panel to Ben from the RPS. I'd emailed Ben a few times when I put in my application so it was good to meet him and put a face to a name. At that point we (Mum had come with me for moral support!) decided to stay in the room and watch some of the other panels go through the process. Originally this was influenced by the length of the queue to get into Focus, but it turned out to be really interesting so I'm glad we didn't just drop my pictures and leave.

However, the more you sit and listen to the comments being made about other panels, the more neurotic about your own forthcoming panel you become! I arrived at the NEC uncertain about one of my images. By the time my panel was put up for assessment, I was worrying about three!

As at the advisory day I attended in January, there was a vast range of subject matter across the various submitted panels, and some of them really had the 'WOW' factor for me, while others were interesting but didn't necessarily appeal to my own taste. At least one other person who'd been at the same advisory day as me submitted a panel for assessment, and I was really pleased to see it pass. It struck me that it must be interesting for distinctions panelists who advise on the advisory days to see re-worked panels subsequently submitted for assessment. I know that my final panel looked much better than the one I took to the advisory day, even though there were actually only a few changes made between one and the other.

As each panel was put up, the 'judges' viewed the panel as a whole, from a distance. Then they considered each picture from close to - sometimes lifting an image down so as to see it more clearly. After each panel had been assessed, a comment or two was made about it to the audience by one of the panelists. In the case of failed panels these comments included reasons as to why the panel hadn't been recommended for the 'L'. Reasons for failure included colour casts, lack of sharpness (although over-sharpening was also warned against), and issues with tonal range. By far the most regularly occurring issue was that of 'blown highlights', resulting in loss of detail in the images.

When one beautiful panel failed on blown highlights in an image of a horse's head my 'worry level' went up another notch. I really felt for the person who'd submitted that particular panel, as in every other way their pictures were fantastic, and I felt quite gutted on his (or her) behalf. But it did confirm what I'd been warned of - that wow factor alone is not enough and you only need one problem in one picture to end up with a 'fail', even if all your other images are spot on.

One thing I found encouraging was that positive comments were made about each failed panel. There was no 'tearing down' of any candidate's work, but helpful criticism and comment. Therefore I hope that although disappointed, no-one failing to achieve their goal on this day would go away feeling ridiculed or made small.

When my own panel was put up, I couldn't watch but found myself scrutinising the carpet. I was amazed by how nervous I was - I could feel my heart pounding and realised I was holding my breath. When my name was announced with 'congratulations' I couldn't contain a huge smile! Well, it was a lot of work and effort, so why not show that I was pleased! Some nice comments were made about my panel, which I noted down as I knew I'd forget them in the euphoria of the moment otherwise.

To see the panel I submitted, follow this link: http://www.annerogersphotography.co.uk/section382203.html

So what next? Well there's the 'A', of course, and I'd quite like to submit a few competition entries this year. So watch this space...

On Running...

"Every Morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.

It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up.
It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve.
It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle
- when the sun comes up, you better be running."

Roger Bannister
First man in history to run a mile in less than four minutes

I enjoy running, even though I am neither a lion or a gazelle! This year my aim is to run a half marathon. I am barely three weeks into my training programme and have already been derailed by a nasty cough which is currently stopping me running at all. But distance running is about perseverance and time. You can't gain enough fitness in just a couple of weeks to run 13 miles. It's about sticking to the training programme when really you'd rather not! And about getting back to it when you've taken a knock.

I'm not aiming for a fast half marathon. For me it will be a major achievement to complete the distance having run all the way. Some are lions, some are gazelles. And some are tortoises! But even a tortoise would need to train for a half marathon...

Book Review: The Silent Governess

Julie Klassen's third novel is definitely her best yet. Olivia Keene is a runaway with a big secret, who blunders across Edward Bradley's own secret with life-changing consequences for them both (not just in the obvious or expected ways!). A multi-layered 'mystery romance', with lots of twists and turns and a whole host of great characters.

Olivia Keene flees her home after a violent incident there. She finds herself on the Brightwell Court estate, where she overhears a highly sensitive conversation. A conversation which, if circulated, could have devastating effects for Lord Bradley. When Olivia's presence is discovered, Lord Bradley gives her little choice but to accept a post as under nurse at Brightwell Court, effectively imprisoning her on the estate, in order to ensure she cannot spread what she has heard.

Positives:

• Engaging and likable lead characters, with plenty of light and shadow in their personalities, especially in the case of Edward Bradley.
• A good 'cast' of supporting characters who are well-defined, well-rounded people.
• Subtle romance - did not dominate the story.
• Plenty of mysteries! Not just Olivia and Edward, but several others, big and small. Great for this reader who likes mysteries and rarely reads romances.

Negative:

• I found the vicar's conversations with Olivia about God and faith a bit strong, and the approach in these seemed a bit too 20th/21st century for a historical novel. But it wasn't enough to be off-putting.

This book passed a long transatlantic flight enjoyably. I have to say that by the end of the book I still hadn't quite worked out why a three month period to Olivia's employment was significant - maybe I was just jet-lagged - but I really liked this story anyway.

Rating: 4/5


Price: £8.99
ISBN: 9780764207075
Published by: Bethany House (Distributed in the UK by Lion Hudson)
Available through any good bookshop, online, or via Baker Publishing Group UK:
http://tiny.cc/sgov

Review copy supplied by Bethany House/Lion Hudson.

Aiming for an 'L' - After the Advisory Day!

Three weeks and three days until 'D (distinctions) Day'!

You might think it wouldn't be difficult to finalise a panel, given that there were fairly few 'action points' resulting from the Advisory Day... But you'd be wrong.

I'm worried about the adjustment I've made on the image which was commented on from a technical perspective (too much/too little? Right/wrong?), I'm still undecided as to the final print sizes for the images on the 'bottom row', and I'm edgy about ensuring the final standard of presentation is spot on.

It's a bit worrying that I can be this neurotic...! But I am going to be very, very disappointed if I miss the mark.

With an business trip and conference coming up before my assessment, all decisions on my panel must be made within a week. Otherwise there won't be time to put everything together before the 'big day'. EAK!

Book Review: Eye of the God

The story opens with Dr Abby Mitchell finding herself caught in the middle of an armed robbery at the Chacara do Ceu Museum in Brazil. The robbery has been carefully planned on behalf of a shadowy organisation known as 'The Collectors', and the robbers' next target is the Hope Diamond. This is a priceless stone, believed to be cursed, and Abby is its curator at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington.

The opening pace is maintained throughout the book, which manages to tell two stories convincingly interwoven - the story of the Hope Diamond itself, and the story of the attempt to steal it and the consequences.

There is plenty of suspense and tension, and some nice twists. I wasn't totally convinced by the resolution to Alex & Abby's relationship at the end of the book, especially Alex's responses but I could suspend my skeptiscism! Mainly because the author knows how to tell a story well!

As a mystery/suspense novel it works very well. Enjoyable, pacy reading with engaging characters and enough complication to keep it all interesting, without it becoming impossible to hold on to all the threads.

However, the 'Christian bit' just doesn't work for me. It feels 'bolted on' and superficial. In fact, the faith element is really condensed into just one paragraph where Abby verbalises her prayer, which I feel adds nothing whatsoever to the story. It's like the book suddenly becomes a 'christian novel' well over 300 pages in. For me, the faith elements need to be woven in all the way through or not at all. There are references to church from time to time, but not in a way which made me think of Abby as believing in God.

The back cover copy refering to Abby's faith being put to the test therefore to me seems rather misleading as I wouldn't have said that Abby appears to have any kind of faith through most of the book.

That said, this is one of Abingdon Press' first fiction offerings, and on the strength of this one, I would happily look at more - especially from this author.

Rating: 4/5

Price: £7.99
ISBN: 9781426700682
Published by: Abingdon Press (Distributed in the UK by Alban Books)
Available through any good bookshop, online, or via Alban Books: http://tiny.cc/eog760

Review copy supplied by Alban Books, with thanks.

Aiming for an 'L' - Advisory Day Report

Last Sunday was the day of my Advisory Day, in Amersham. I finished preparing my proposed panel the day before, when I discovered that the prints I'd mounted earlier had 'cockled'. Very annoying, but too late to do anything about it.

On arrival at the venue, I handed over my images to join the line of panels waiting. It was nice to meet Shirley Hollis who was in the queue with me, and who has already passed her 'L' and was at the day for feedback relating to her 'A'. Her friendliness was a nice 'extra' to the day. After handing over my work I was very grateful for two cups of tea, after which I began to feel a bit more normal!

The day started sharp to time, with two sample panels, an 'L' panel and an 'A' panel. The reasons for their success was discussed before moving on to looking at the print panels brought for comment.

The panels were put up one by one, laid out as per the photographer's designated order, with any 'spare' images put up on a second rack. Comments were made on each panel, from technical to presentation aspects, and in some cases images from the 'spares' were moved into the main panel. It was very interesting to see how the assessors moved images around and what their reasons were for doing so. For the printed panels a lot of the comments related to the 'look' of the panel, which pictures had been selected, and what order they were placed in. It was interesting that the assessors didn't always agree! There seemed to be more 'technical' comment on the projected images, but this may have been just the way it went 'on the day'. The panels varied enormously in content and style so it was also interesting to see other photographers' work.

Several panels were shown before mine was put up, by which time I was very nervous indeed. I was very relieved when my panel received some positive comments with one image requiring some technical tidying up and a couple of others needing to be reprinted at a smaller size to better balance the presentation. Quite straightforward adjustments, so I am on course for submitting my final panel for assessment in March at Focus on Imaging at the NEC.

I would definitely recommend attending an advisory day for anyone who is considering an RPS distinction. It was a very interesting, informative and enjoyable day.

Aiming for an 'L' - Part 2

My Advisory Day is now less than a week away (if the weather cooperates). All but two of my prints have arrived, including some extras which I ordered after I received the first batch & immediately decided that some weren't good enough. I've never cut a single mount, and decided that this particular project wasn't the one to start on. So I followed the recommendation of some professional photographers and ordered them, all cut to size. They arrived in a HUGE box - fortunately much of the size was the careful packaging, so I won't need to be a weight lifter to carry my panel after all.

I suppose it's also inevitable that now I've spent most of yesterday mounting all my prints - panel contenders and 'extras' as requested for the Advisory Day - I am not all that pleased with the result. The very first thing I should've realised BEFORE I ordered the mounts (or the prints, probably), was that on big prints you really need more than a 25mm overlap of mount to image. (Especially as the framer who mounted and framed my exhibition prints last year also mentioned this...) On some of my prints this isn't a problem, but there are four where it was a particular nuisance, and I suspect that at least these larger images will need to be dry mounted for the actual assessment day in March. I guess the feedback this weekend will let me know whether or not that's true.

I have ordered all my prints in a matt finish. It seems to suit them all, thankfully. The mounts are all 'old ivory' - off white. All the same overall size, which I hope will give my panel a tidy and professional look. I think it does, but then I know all too well how little 'what I like' counts sometimes!

Another cost - although not strictly necessary - was the purchase of a portfolio bag. I've had to compromise a bit because the cost of 'proper' portfolio boxes or cases was too much on top of the cost of the prints and mounts, so I've bought a 'designer case' (as in, a case used by designers, rather than one with jewels set in the handle). At least this time I can tell myself that it will get regular use, and not just for this one-off event.

So now I am almost prepared for the Advisory Day - just two more prints to mount. Here's hoping it's all going to be worth the time and effort!

Flowers in Stony Places

Flowers blooming in stony places, in old walls, on building sites, in desolate urban landscapes, are strangely uplifting. Somehow their splashes of colour or delicacy of form against drab, unfriendly backgrounds seem joyously defiant. A reminder of beauty in broken-ness. Or of the resilience of something as simple as a daisy.

Late last summer in a huge heap of broken concrete at the edge of a car park a sunflower bloomed. It cared not that it wasn't in a garden. No-one had carefully planted and watered and nurtured this seed. Somehow it had ended up amongst the broken slabs, and found just enough space to germinate. It grew straight and tall and vigorous, formed a flower 'sun' and turned it towards the sky. Mum passed it one day when she was feeling particularly sad and lonely. It's cheerful simplicity lifted her mood and restored something to her soul.

A sunflower isn't a complicated plant. Nor is a daisy or a gerbera. They are the kinds of flowers children might easily draw. The more beautiful in broken places because of their simple forms.

There's a poem by John Masefield which I like very much. It's very short, yet thought-provoking:

I have seen flowers come in stony places
And kind things done by men with ugly faces,
And the gold cup won by the worst horse at the races,
So I trust, too.

It's that last line which makes the poem complete. Trusting through difficult, distressing, disappointing, or dispiriting times.
Trusting that a flower will bloom again in a stony place.

Review: Lowepro Off Trail 1

When my camera kit was stolen from a plane in Amsterdam one of the items I was most annoyed to lose was my camera bag. It was a CCS bag. My kit fitted into it perfectly. So naturally it was no longer available and I couldn't replace it.

Buying camera bags is a bit like searching for the Holy Grail, and I suspect most photographers have several bags, using different ones for different purposes. A quick count tells me that I have no fewer than eight! Of that eight, one is never used (it holds my old film gear which I've used once in the last couple of years), one is rarely used (it holds everything, and I rarely need everything all at once), one was bought for a wedding (I must've had a 'funny turn' when I did that), and one was bought to replace my most used bag, but in practice it hasn't. So my most used bag is still the Lowepro Off Trail 1.

The Off Trail works really well for me. It is a 'belt pack' bag. The main compartment fits either of my Nikons (D7000/16-85 lens or D60/50mm lens) comfortably. Both cameras have Op/tech wrist straps attached. When in the bag I cover the camera's review screen with a lens cloth and lay the wrist strap on top. This seems to work as I've never had a scratch on either camera.

There are two supplied side pockets/lens cases. One usually contains my SB400 flash plus other small bits and pieces, the other my keys and phone. I usually work with one camera/one lens, so rarely carry a second lens. If I do, I juggle the stuff in the existing cases so as to accommodate it, or swap out one of the smaller cases for a slightly bigger one containing my 55-200 zoom if necessary. You can buy a number of Lowepro accessories which can be attached using their Sliplock system, or even attach smaller camera cases. I sometimes add the case containing my Coolpix compact, for example.

The belt is wide and easily adjusted, and the pack has compression straps which make it easily adjustable to suit whatever I'm wearing. I tend to end up with the main compartment on my hip, but can easily move the bag to adjust the weight. Wearing it this way means I can also wear a small backpack if I want to. Personally I prefer this arrangement than carrying one bigger backpack with 'general' gear and photo kit in it. (Edit, July 2013: this was written before I discovered the excellent Lowepro Photo Sport 200, which is now my most used bag. However, the Off Trail still gets lots of use too.)

An advantage of a small bag is that it is impossible to carry lots of clobber in it, and this means it is comfortable to wear for long walks or events as the capacity restricts the weight it carries. The top loading main compartment means it is easy to get at my camera, & I never have to put down the bag to get at my kit. If I am walking and carrying the camera, I often rest the camera holding hand on the bag, thus saving my arm the weight.

I have personalised my bag by adding a key ring loop to one of the fixed loops built in, and clipping to it a filter pouch, lens cloth and a sandisk case containing spare memory cards and the remote which operates either camera.

I would definitely recommend this bag for anyone with a small DSLR kit. It is compact, comfortable, practical, easy to use, and perfectly suited for its purpose.

Question: What's your most used camera case and why?

Aiming for an 'L' - Part 1

Now that we're in 2010, my 'L' (Licentiateship of the Royal Photographic Society) assessment in March feels scarily close. Last year I picked up a copy of the RPS's 'Distinctions Handbook' and over the holidays I took time to read it carefully. It has been very useful and I hope will mean I'll avoid failing on something really stupid and easily avoidable. It is permanently on my desk at the moment, with scrappy bits of paper & various notes & highlights within.

For the last couple of months I've been looking at my work and putting together some provisional panels. Applying for an 'L' is proving a useful stage in my photographic journey already because it's making me look at my photography with a far more fussy eye. Making sure all the technical aspects are spot on is one thing, but creating a 'cohesive panel' is something else, and is proving a serious challenge.

Looking at other photographers' successful panels creates a mixture of inspiration and petrification. I think I've now reached the stage where I could find myself de-railed by too much examination of any more panels. After all, my 'L' needs to be about MY work, and my own style.

Aiming for an 'L' has had another side effect too. Really helpful input from other photographers who are more experienced than I am and who have walked this path before me! It's easy to get tunnel vision when looking at your own work. Having some other eyes (not those of friends & family!) looking at what I do & how I present it has been very helpful, and certainly affected what I consider to be my stronger work. Again, it has also been an area where I've had to filter the advice and while taking on board various helpful comments, the end decisions on what I present and how are still down to me and it's important that I own them and feel that the panel I finally present represents me in a true and fundamental way, so that in future when I look back I can genuinely see how my work has progressed.

Although my assessment is in March, I have booked to attend an Advisory Day later this month. I am hoping the feedback from this will tell me if I'm going the right way with my idea of a 'cohesive panel'! The bottom line too of course is simply whether I am good enough to apply... I'm looking forward to meeting other photographers at the event, and to seeing what they're putting together.

All but four of the prints I've selected for the advisory day have arrived. I've carefully examined them for technical quality (as what you see 'in print form' isn't always what you see on screen), and already rejected one. Presenting them is now occupying my mind, as I have a mix of formats to deal with. It's a good thing I took some extra time off after Christmas/New Year as this sort of thing takes an inordinate amount of time to work through (for me anyway). Still, with the snow falling outside it is useful to have a project to make my enforced time at home profitable. Later on though I shall forget about panels and projects, wrap up and venture forth with my camera for some more 'snow photos'. Although perhaps I will take my compact as falling over on slippery surfaces & smashing up my DSLR doesn't top my list of 'things to do while on holiday'!

More to come in due course on 'Aiming for an 'L''.