A Week of Incredible Connections and Creative Collaborations

What a week it has been! As I sit down to reflect on the past seven days, I'm overwhelmed by the connections made, the art shared, and the wonderful response from people who have engaged with my work. From collaborative photoshoots to international publications, from academic presentations to gallery exhibitions, this week has been a beautiful reminder of why I fell in love with photography in the first place.

An Amazing Session with Laura Silverstone

The week began with an absolutely wonderful photoshoot with the talented Laura Silverstone. For those who may not know Laura, she's a remarkable singer-songwriter and traveling troubadour whose music weaves together stories and landscapes from around the world. Laura is a nomad musician and busker who has developed a live show that transports her audiences from tropical rainforests to motorway service stations alike. Her ability to capture the essence of place through song creates the perfect synergy with my visual storytelling.

Laura's latest work includes her song "Dream On," which speaks of finding light in moments of loneliness and exhaustion. As she puts it so beautifully: "You have to find your light and shine it. Because nobody else is going to shine it for you." This philosophy resonated deeply with me during our shoot, and I believe we captured some truly authentic moments that reflect both her musical journey and her artistic spirit. And the light truly did shine for about 90 minutes!!

Working with Laura was an absolute joy, although we were both worried about the weather, we needn't have. As we both arrived at the chosen location, the rain stopped, and the clouds shifted giving us the perfect light for a great shoot. Her natural ease in front of the camera and her storyteller's instinct for finding meaning in moments made for some truly special images. The collaboration felt effortless, and I'm excited to see positive results for the shots shared so far.

Laura getting cold feet for the sake of a good photograph!

Professor Mark Horton and the Calanais Lunar Standstill

One of the most exciting developments this week was learning that Professor Mark Horton used my images in his presentation about the Calanais Lunar Standstill at the Gloucester History Festival. Professor Horton is an archaeologist with global interests and a passion to understand and communicate how the modern world was formed through historical processes.

The stone monument at Calanais is world-famous for marking an extraordinary natural phenomenon that happens every 18.6 years, at the time of the moon's Major Standstill, when its rising and setting positions are at their southernmost point and furthest apart. To have my photographs contribute to the academic discussion of this incredible ancient site is both humbling and thrilling.

There's something particularly meaningful about seeing my work used to help communicate the wonder of these ancient stones and their astronomical alignments. Photography, at its best, can bridge the gap between past and present, helping us see the world through different eyes and understand our place within the grand sweep of time.

https://www.gloucesterhistoryfestival.co.uk/

Featured in Portuguese Travel & Safaris Magazine

International recognition came this week in the form of my images being featured in the Portuguese publication "Travel & Safaris" magazine. There's always something special about seeing your work in print, especially when it reaches an audience that might discover new places and perspectives through your lens.

Each photograph tells a story, and magazines like Travel & Safaris help those stories reach beyond their original context to inspire wanderlust and appreciation for the world's diverse landscapes and cultures.

"Spindrift" Exhibition Opening at Dusgadh

The highlight of the week was undoubtedly Thursday's opening night for the "Spindrift" exhibition at Dusgadh, Baile na Cille, featuring my work alongside that of Fiona Simes. The evening was everything we could have hoped for and more.

The turnout was wonderful, with visitors ranging from family, friends, artists, tourists, friends of friends, all united by their appreciation for the visual storytelling of the exhibition, and tempted by the drinks and nibbles!! What struck me most was the genuine engagement people had with the work. Conversations flowed easily, with visitors sharing their own connections to the images and landscapes we'd captured.

Even more gratifying has been the response since opening night. We've had a steady stream of visitors throughout the week, and I'm delighted to say that many have made purchases. There's something deeply satisfying about knowing that your photographs will find homes where they'll be appreciated and lived with daily.

The collaboration with Fiona has been particularly rewarding. Her artistic vision complements my own beautifully, and together we've created an exhibition that feels cohesive while celebrating our individual perspectives. "Spindrift" captures something essential about our relationship with the coastal landscape; that sense of being between elements, caught in the spray where sea meets sky.

Special thanks must go to Fiona and my Mum for putting together the "drinks and nibbles" which went down extremely well. Mum even created (at my insistence!) a cheese and pineapple hedgehog 70s retro creation which was stripped bare within a short time!

Gratitude and Looking Forward

As I wrap up this incredible week, I'm filled with gratitude for everyone who has engaged with and supported my work. From Laura's creative collaboration to Professor Horton's academic application of my images, from the international reach of Travel & Safaris to the local community that filled Dusgadh on Thursday night; each interaction reminds me of photography's power to connect us.

To everyone who visited the exhibition, made purchases, shared conversations about the work, or simply took the time to really look at the images: thank you. Your engagement is what transforms photographs from mere documentation into living art that continues to evolve through each viewing.

This week has been a beautiful reminder that photography is ultimately about relationships between photographer and subject, between image and viewer, between moment and memory. Here's to many more weeks of creative connection and visual storytelling.

The "Spindrift" exhibition continues at Dusgadh, Baile na Cille, for the rest of this week. If you haven't had a chance to visit yet, I encourage you to stop by and experience these images in person. There's nothing quite like standing before a print or one of Fiona's wonderful paintings and letting it speak to you directly.

Until next time, keep looking for the light (even when the clouds appear!)