Sitting lonely on a plastic chair.....

white chair
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

Songs are walking amongst us.

All I want is a photograph.......

Serial offender that I am I've put together a new website of my photographs. Much as I like flickr etc I wanted something to show them in a more controlled individual way . If you interested please do pop over

Things you only see in the country.....pylons

bluetower
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

I know it's odd but one refreshing thing I've found since moving up North is seeing pylons. Not entirely sure why except they are striking things. I got up close to one for the first time in years yesterday. In the bright blue spring sunshine they are oddly threatening as if all those volts are eagerly waiting the pounce and then there's the threat of someone pulling on the wires and them toppling over like the tripods at the end of war of the worlds.

I know we supposed to dislike their march across the landscape but I'm tapping away on pc fuelled by their electrical current and the field I was in was filled with GM wheat most likely next to an old canal, between two muck stacks, in sight of  a sulfurous coking plant so why not have this giant Angels of the South Riding gentle humming over head on this bright spring afteron. Here's some more pics

In praise of Tat.

Mass of humanity
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

I was wandering back through town this week and it was flea market day in Barnsley and was pleased to find a good supply of tat.

It's a bit more formal than Deptford no big mounds of old clothes or really broken bric and brac. But stalls with books and comics, football programmes, one bloke selling piles of those easy listening book sets which always look better than they sound.

I suppose I like tat (some say tut) partly because it's kitsch and nostalgic but also because it's not tasteful and has an exuberance and a faded vitality that stuff cloggingup the shelves in Next interiors or worthy craft shops just doesn't have. Also there's the surprises you get, when were you last surprised in a regular shop? But almost weekly I'm cheered by some ancient badly cast cat come ships wheel tableaux or a mad C&W lp sleeve. Also snapping pictures means I don't fill my house with boxes of playmobile figures and can have the "beauty" without  the mounds of mouldy boxes and musty flysheets.

Beware lonely water

Beware lonely water
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

There's a wonderful stretch of reclaimed canal near our house , lovely except for the end bit that does't half remind me of this "scare the bejesus out of the kids just before Magpie " health and safety gone mad public info film classic

Madmen via the wonder years and beyond

Amazing archive of photos by Nick de Wolf here

Next up on Five..How to be Martin Parr

Channel 5 is often derided (mainly based on it's output from 10 years ago) but while the BEEB is showing the woeful One show, BBC2 has an antiques quiz, ITV is in the back of a squad car AGAIN and Channel 4 has the dog end of the news Channel 5 had this programme telling you how to be Martin Parr (no not that one) the one who takes photos .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byMEyumrwr8


Anway there's some tips and insight into MP's work, In the end I think the answer in the end that you need to be born a near genius and take 30 years worth of photos but well it's a fun 25 mins. I think next week they are off to Iraq with Don MCullin

Today's greatest book ever: and its full of rusty soviet junk!

Nostalgia for the Future: Ever right thinking person has a bit of love in their heart for things that are rusting or falling apart usually somewhere near the compartment marked "russian technology is way cool". We know day to day life was ropey  over there (and this is coming from someone  raised in a mining village in 80's) and we'd all get locked up. But much like dear old NASA there a was underlying hope to it all. Anyway it's all falling to bits and this lucky cove went and took photos!