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Back to Nature
June wasn’t exactly ideal for insect photography up here in Saddleworth. The temperatures were high, but so were the winds and finding a calm day was a real struggle. So, I decided to return to photographing small birds in the garden for a couple of days. I started to feed the birds a few years ago. At first, the food wasn’t taken…for two reasons, I think. First, the feeders were not sited in the right place and second, the birds didn’t much like the food mix I was offering. I now feed almost entirely sunflower hearts, which I buy in bulk at half the price of the local supermarket and…
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Langdale in Winter
As I revisit this scene, photographed from Blea Tarn, memories of that day come flooding back—along with the challenges I put myself through. I had been judging for the Scottish Photographic Federation near Bridge of Allen, battling through relentless winter weather and dangerous driving conditions. By Monday morning, I was making my way home, driving down the M6 in yet another downpour and contending with the spray from the endless lines of lorries making their way south. Approaching Shap, the rain finally relented, and patches of blue sky began to break through over the Lake District off to my right. On an impulse, I took the next motorway exit, determined…
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The Grenadier Guards Band Visits Uppermill
A visit to Uppermill by the Grenadier Guards Band has become a familiar welcome sight over the years. This year, 2025, they visited on 4th April and were greeted by thousands of visitors on the best day of the year for weather (if not for photography!). Bandsmen who haven’t been to the village before are always a bit surprised at the thousands of spectators who line the High Street to welcome and applaud them. After the band has marched up and down the High Street, the crowd follow the band onto King George VI Playing Fields, where they give a concert, sometimes with the crowd singing along…and ending with their…
