A sequence of photographs is begun when the first participant chooses an image, then emails it to the next. That participant chooses an image that picks up on an element suggested in the first, then emails the second photo (only) to the next participant. Each subsequent participant does the same in turn. There are usually two sets of 4 or 5 images that follow the first. We view them at the next HFF meeting.
december 2025
Brian started and sent this image to Kate and to Mark
This scene is in London’s Leicester Square where they appeared to be setting up for an event of some sort. I liked the colourful images of pencils against the dark background but to this day I have no idea what the event was promoting. I did ask a couple of the workmen but they seemed baffled too!
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Kate sent this image to David
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David sent this image to Austin
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Austin sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Duncan
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Duncan ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Brian’s image completely stumped me! So I did other things for a few days, and thought about it from time to time. This photo of mine came to mind. The highly coloured, brightly lit crayons are dominant in Brian’s picture. So what about crayons being used (and leave the other ideas alone)? This little boy is actually using a pencil – but he may have some colours in his bag or the pencil case near his feet. There’s plenty of colour in the mat he’s lying on, and on the bag and pencil case. He is in the North of Sikkim in North East India, near the frontier with China/Tibet. He’s at a small school, run by our host from his home, to teach local children literacy, and probably a bit of English as well as their own version of Tibetan. Our host also ran the town’s post office, and was quite a figure locally. Rather a long way from Brian’s image, but there are some links.
David ~ Following on from Kate’s lovely image of a child engrossed in their reading – here is a rather obvious link.
This is a picture of my Grandson sharing in the joy of book. Even if this one is a rather modern re-telling of the Thomas the tank engine stories – complete with added engine sounds!
Austin ~ Following on from David’s image, pictures of cute kids can be used in various productive ways, and this is one example!
Hady ~ Austin sent me a photo of an underground train in Mornington Crescent station on the Northern line. There was only one person sitting at the far end of the platform. The light in the platform has a yellow tone.
My response image has converging lines similar to those in Austin’s image, but with very different and contrasting content. The beach huts have cheerful blue and white stripes to match the amazing blue colour of the sea and sky. The image was taken last February during a visit to Hastings while taking part in Wabi Sabi Photography Exhibition in the artistic coastal town. The exhibition was a joint venture between Photo Hastings and Crouch End Group of LIP.
Duncan ~ Beach huts. The sunny image from Hady reached me whilst I was away in the Yorkshire Dales. Not an area with many beach huts or sun at this time of year so this was taken inside the place I was staying.
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Following on from Brian, Mark sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mark ~ Here is my response to Brian’s picture. I found my eye fought to stay on the red pencils, bouncing back there from attempts to look at other elements. I decided that, for me, the key was ‘red’ and so went for an abstract image that included a prominent red element. I also decided to add a reference to the worker in Brian’s picture and the ladder cutting the image in two. The verticals in my image play with those dividing Brian’s image and I have attempted to unify the divide by adding a tiny figure which appears to be scaling the verticals from darker to lighter to achieve some undefined destination. Is the figure carrying someone or something? Perhaps.
Bunshri ~ Having received a thought provoking image from Mark, I sent this to Colin. This is taken at Henry Moore House – one of his sculptures. I loved the texture and the muted colours of the abstract view.
Colin ~ The ‘look’ of Bunshri’s image had some features of sculpture by Henry Moore – there is just a trace that could be parts of a reclining figure beyond. I have chosen to up on the Henry Moore clue with this image from a wide range of his sculpture that was in Kew Gardens in 2008. The curves in it reflect what looks like the part of a neck and shoulder in Bunshri’s picture.
Rashida ~ Colin sent me an image of a close up of a Henry Moore Sculpture. My response is an image of a piece of fabric randomly arranged which seems follow the curves of the sculpture in Colin’s image.
november 2025
Mermie started and sent this image to Duncan and to Hady
This tree stump stands in a field between the London Road and the A41 which itself is parallel to the railroad beyond the trees that runs along the Grand Union Canal then usually stops at the Hemel Hempstead station. We often walk the mile from our house to visit the field. On this day, the autumn light was so dramatic, it gave me great pleasure in choosing the angle for the image. Taken a year ago in late October.
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Duncan sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to David
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David sent this image to Colin
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Colin ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Duncan ~ Mermie sent an image of the trunk of a dead tree, with an eye near its top. The picture was taken in the warm light of a low sun with a peaceful ambience. Although I have several pictures of dead tree trunks I decided to go with the sentinel nature of the tree trunk. On seeing the image I immediately thought of a standing stone.
My image of standing stones was taken at Callanish II (there are 4 sets of standing stones at Callanish). The stones stand sentinel over the landscape. Squally, dramatic weather in black and white contrasting with the peaceful warm image from Mermie.
Kate ~ I found it very challenging to work out how to follow Duncan’s beautiful standing stones. I ended up with this view of the fell behind our Yorkshire house – level upland, like Duncan’s. No focus like his stones, just sheep wandering in the direction of their food trough. This is about the clouds (Duncan has good clouds), in colour to catch the evening light. The best I could do!
Rashida ~ Kate sent me a lovely image of a UK country landscape scene captured in the late afternoon with beautiful lighting, dramatic skies and sheep grazing.
My response is an image taken in South Africa at the Pilanesberg National Park which is located in an extinct volcanic crater about a 3 hour drive from Johannesburg. It is malaria free and home to the Big Five. I enjoyed watching the rhinos grazing while having lunch on the patio at the hotel we stayed in.
David ~ Rashida’s image was nicely confusing – I couldn’t work out where we were and what the animals were in the middle distance. I thought it might be an alpine scene until I zoomed in and saw the rhinoceros! So in return I thought you might enjoy this surprise encounter with some cows in Morrisons car park!
Colin ~ My image was taken in Andalusia in 2008 when I was on a Naturetrek holiday. I felt that the three cattle looked fairly aggressive, so a suitable stand-off was needed. The alternative was some Belted Galloways on Boxmoor, but they were mainly interested in eating grass, which didn’t give the right message…
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Following on from Mermie,
Hady sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Brian
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Brian sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Austin
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Austin ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Mermie sent me a fascinating image that puzzled me. The image was of a “dead” tree likely to be in England. I responded with a contrasting image that I took back in 2018 in a stunning location, Spectacle Lake in Ontario, Canada. The image is of a single “healthy” tree in a very small island in the middle of the beautiful lake. I thought the contrast between both images and their locations adds to the interest.
Jim ~ Again, a fairly direct response. Water, evening light, reflections…. Mine was taken in Vancouver a few years ago. I just liked the rather pristine green shed in the middle of the lake. Not much more to say.
Brian ~ I enjoyed receiving Jim’s peaceful image of a cabin on a lake in what looks like an idyllic location. But what if you found that the location wasn’t so perfect after all? Well, the Canadian answer is to rent a tug and move the cabin across the water, as seems to be happening in this shot from Vancouver.
Bunshri ~ Having received a thought provoking image from Brian. I followed up with this aerial shot of Malé in the Maldives. This was shot recently in December. I was drawn to the two different colours of the water.
Austin ~ Bunshri sent me an image of blue and turquoise seas with alternate strips of land, one with new apartment blocks and more construction in progress while the other seems to be awaiting development. I’ve aimed to maintain much of the composition, with two land areas and a bright, azure sea, although mine might be colder as it was taken in the Norwegian port of Narvik, 220 km above the Arctic Circle. My image inverts some of Bunshri’s elements by showing low rise buildings and a large ship. Narvik is an ice-free port due to the Gulf Stream, and an important outlet for iron ore mined in Sweden. These factors led to the fjord and town being the scene of naval and infantry battles between April and June 1940, won by allied forces before major events elsewhere forced them to withdraw. The ship was one of the smaller members of the 90-strong Berge fleet at 91,000 tons gross, before being scrapped in 2022.
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october 2025
Avril started and sent this image to Kate and to Mary
Leon Nero in Florence. We ate lunch nearby and curiosity took us through this passageway where we found an apothecary which had been part of a monastery and was now a museum of past medicine.
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Kate sent this image to Austin
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Austin sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Mark
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Mark sent this image to Brian
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Brian sent this image to David
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ I took this picture a couple of days ago from the Church Hall at St Mary’s, Ware; not because I had Avril’s lovely Consequences image in mind, but because I was struck by the way that the view from the open door centres on an 18th century gravestone nicely lit by the afternoon sunshine. When I looked at the image later, I realised how important the side of the car and the door are in leading the eye towards the gravestone – and how lucky that I caught the passerby whose profile I rather like. Then later my husband noted that the word EXIT on the door points aptly towards the graves on the other side of the path. The picture follows from Avril’s in that we are looking through an open door or gate towards sunlight.
Austin ~ I received an image of a doorway out into a graveyard. I soon found a view I had taken through cemetery gates, but I thought I could perhaps lighten the tone while maintaining something of the original composition. This led me to a view taken some years ago of a display at Glastonbury festival in an area filled with campaigning stands. I’m not sure what this one was hoping to achieve, other than filling a muddy space, but perhaps its very existence was “enough”.
Rashida ~ Austin sent me an image of an installation of a riotous array of objects, colours, text and the general spoils of over consumerism. In the middle was a suited skeleton with the word “ENOUGH ” above him as well as circling him.
My response is also of an installation of a woman made up of mosaics and clay, with her hands together in prayer. She is surrounded by nature. To me it was an antidote to Austin’s image. It was taken outside a restaurant in a park with a lake known as Zoo Lake in Johannesburg. The place holds special memories for me growing up as a child and as a young adult.
Mark ~ Rashida’s image looks like a garden with sculptural figures decorated highly colourfully, using mosaics. The foreground figure has a solemn expression and is possibly shown in a worship context. The plants look like agave although there are also nasturtiums in the foreground, perhaps a semi-arid location.
My image features a sculptural woman shown in a garden dressed in a classical style. The lush garden surroundings are reminiscent of a hotter but moist environment. This is in a garden on the Amalfi coast.
Brian ~ I enjoyed seeing Mark’s image of a statuesque young woman looking rather weary from gardening. Now, here she is taking a well-earned steam bath afterwards.
David ~ This is a picture of two figures from Niccolo dell’Arca’s group sculpture The Lamentation – made in 1463 and now housed in a chapel of Santa Maria della Vita in Bologna – where I was on holiday last month. The figures are life size and the whole group of 6 weeping over the dead body of Christ has enormous impact even today – and must have been really shocking when they were first created. They are made of terracotta so it’s amazing that they have survived unbroken for 550 years. The chapel is small and rather dimly lit so it’s difficult to photograph the complete scene but these two Marys give an impression of the whole.
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Following on from Avril, Mary sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Colin
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Colin ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mary ~ This image is similar to Avril’s in that it is looking through shadows into the light. My image is looking through the window of an information centre into the forest beyond. The darker reflections in the window are of the forest behind me. Both images have the impression of going into the light which is the reason behind my choice of image.
Hady ~ Mary sent an image that seemed to be constructed of two layers, one of them was what appeared to be an ICM image and the other shows what seems to be a reflection on a glass surface showing a window and a ‘call for artists’ flyer from Creative Cairngorms.
In response to the unusual image, mine is a contrasting very colourful image, also made of two layers combining a building structure and nature, both in focus. I thought it would bring in more colourful and cheerful images to the following consequences images.
Bunshri ~ I received a beautiful thought provoking multi exposure image from Hady. I was searching through my archive and came across this image in my book, Silent Voice, about making visible the invisibility of my mother-in-law’s Alzheimer’s.
Upon seeing this image, my mother-in-law said to me: ‘This is all the way from Jaipur. I had to fix all the insides of them with a hammer. I was so lucky. He took me away for a whole year.’
My footnote explains: In 1966, the table with matching stools had arrived in London from India via Kenya. They were not all quite intact. She cherishes them dearly, particularly as her late husband had bought them during their world tour.
Jim ~ I am afraid it doesn’t have the sophistication or mystery of Bunshri’s image, but I have simply followed on in an abstract manner. Mine is a rusting car abandoned in Nova Scotia, rather than what looks like family embroidery!!
Colin ~ Jim’s picture I guess is water on a rusty steel sheet forming an abstract pattern. My picture was taken on a walk locally during Covid, where some clearing had been done in a local woodland. Somebody appeared to have made several attempts to decide where to start with their chainsaw, which had uncovered some interesting colour in the wood beneath the bark of the tree trunk. It contrasted with the bark and green algae on its surface. It seems to me that my image moves on from Jim’s image as an effective consequence.
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september 2025
Austin started and sent this image to Hady and to Colin
I may have been trying to channel Martin Parr on the day I took this on the seafront at Hunstanton, Norfolk. The “tattoos and straps” look caught my eye, and I contemplated who might find it appealing and who might see it differently. Perhaps it says something about the choices people make and how these either divide opinion, perhaps intentionally, or demonstrate conformity within a peer group. I also thought that having taken the time, pain and cost involved in having the tattoos done, it was understandable that she would wish to show them off. My later reflections were that perhaps her child might express rebellion in the years to come by having few or no tattoos, and that the beach, and indeed town, were surprisingly empty for a sunny day in August.
Hady sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Brian
Brian sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to David
David ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Austin’s image brought back the memory of my response image. I went to The National Portrait Gallery in the afternoon of a nice warm spring day in 2016. Suddenly I found three smartly and colourfully dressed ladies coordinated with their hair, handbags and shoes right in front of me. They moved together looking at the exhibits. They were interesting enough to photograph. So as not to disturb them, I photographed their backs, but not their fronts or faces. Two of them had a lot of tattoos, but the one with her back to us had more tattoos. The three friends could’ve made interesting models. In hindsight I should have asked them for a photo session.
Colin ~ Hady’s image was rather dominated by polka dots. However, I decided that something with a number of patterned fabrics might be a ‘consequence’ even if not including any polka dots.
I found this among pictures I took a few years back at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which had a display of modern fashion on at the time – multi-coloured and some pattern in both the display and those viewing it.
Brian ~ I enjoyed seeing Colin’s image of visitors enjoying an exhibition of clothes in mannequins. In response I’ve chosen this photograph (taken in May this year at the NPG’s Edvard Munch exhibition). Similarly to Colin’s image it shows viewers enjoying, or being intrigued by, the exhibits but here one of the exhibits appears to be viewing us the viewers whilst I imagine the couple in the other painting to be thinking “We’ll carry on this conversation once those people have moved.”
Rashida ~ Brian’s quietly calming image was taken in an Art Gallery of two viewers in deep contemplation of the man and woman in the painting in front of them while another painting to the right is that of a standing gentleman who seems to be observing the scene (my interpretation, of course).
I followed with an image taken at the Southbank Centre Art Complex under the building where people paint graffiti and others practice their skateboarding skills. There is a mirroring of colours as well as that of shapes. The graffiti artist was finishing the mural of a nude woman in grey which is similar to the viewer in a grey jacket and also to the posture of the man in the painting on the right. The other colours in my image can also be found in Brian’s image.
David ~ I was looking at Rashida’s image and thinking particularly about representations of women in street art when I came across a recent contribution to the Glasgow mural trail. It’s called the Keeper of Light by Australian street artist Sam Bates. I wanted to frame it from this road junction so you could get a sense of the scale but the angle means it’s a bit difficult to see that she is holding a candle as well as martini glass. I think it’s a really interesting female street portrait and makes a powerful introduction to the Merchant City area as well as being a highlight of the Glasgow mural trail for me.
Following on from Austin, Mary sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to Jim
Jim ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mary ~ My image mirrors certain elements of Austin’s picture…a day at the seaside. My image was taken on Deal pier where there were people fishing and others just looking on. Only one person using a phone at the time! The rails on the pier make a satisfying shape as does the shoreline and path in Austin’s image.
Bunshri ~ In response to a thought provoking image from Mary with people fishing, I send you this image of people sitting by the marina in Mumbai, as they do for leisure. I like the simplicity of their leisure time during early evening. It is such a contrast to the hustle and bustle of city life in Mumbai city during the day with people travelling to and fro in taxis, scooters, rickshaws with the sounds of hooting every minute blaring from the cars.
Kate ~ Bunshri’s picture has four (or possibly 5) horizontal sections – the sharply focused brightly coloured patterned wall; the sand, with the two poles and the groups of people looking out over the water; the sea; and the dim misty outline of the city fading into the grey sky. I have chosen this to follow, a view over Malaga harbour from a position very near our Parador hotel. It can be divided into sections – the shadowed bush in the foreground; the boys sitting on the sand (rolling a joint or just a cigarette?) one of them with a red cap echoing the red jacket of one of the people on Bunshri’s beach; the misty evening view over the bullring towards the harbour and the sea beyond. A crowded picture of an amazing view, taken in February this year.
Jim ~ I was struck by the almost biblical nature of Kate’s scene – it also rather reminded me of a painting by JMW Turner in the style of Claude. But my image is a bit of departure. It does have people in the foreground and a vista disappearing in the distance – and I think it has something of the same feel. Kate’s must have been taken in Spain (bullring in evidence), while mine was taken in Sulawesi, Indonesia.
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august 2025
Rashida started and sent this image to Mark and to Colin
My image was captured on one of our many trips to New York City before Covid and lockdown. I enjoy walking around the streets of NYC at night as the city is so atmospheric then. I was totally in a “noir state of mind” when I came across this scene. The message on the floor, the two strangers, one standing, the other walking by, with Matilda being truly revolutionary conjured up all sorts of interesting scenarios………
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Mark sent this image to Austin
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Austin sent this image to Brian
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Brian sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Hady
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Hady ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mark ~ Rashida’s image looked like a travel hub at first. Second thoughts it may be a theatre land environment. The reflection is advertising Matilda the Roald Dahl story where a girl discovers her telekinesis powers – moving things remotely. The pedestrian also seems to have a stomach that travels ahead of him. In this case, towards the bike. The projection on the pavement suggests returning: ‘been there’, ‘going there still’ but leaving the standing figure who has chosen to go there by phone.
My image is from a structure built in the 1800’s to transport stuff. In my case, ‘going there’ is by narrow boat on a canal (through Kings Cross). The narrow boats now take pleasure boaters and visitors to the Canal Museum through the tunnel. My slow shutter speed tried to lend a little magical mystery to the journey towards the end – the boat has been there many times and is still going there, in my image. Matilda used telekinesis. The old boaties lay on the boat’s roof and walked on the tunnel walls to propel the boat along. Not quite telekinesis, still motion created unusually.
Austin ~ This was taken within an installation by Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliason, titled ‘Your Blind Passenger’. It was part of an exhibition at Tate Modern and consisted of a tunnel 39 metres long and filled with orange fog. I stood and photographed people as they made their way through towards the exit.
Brian ~ Austin’s image looks like Olafur Eliasson’s Your Blind Passenger, or if not then something similar. The composition is simultaneously vibrant and disconcerting. Look at that colour popping and yet who is that in silhouette and what happens next?! A cracking photo. My response is, I think, a little more soothing: a black and white shot of my wife at Ballintoy in Antrim contemplating the sea mist rolling in.
Kate ~ Here is my response to Brian’s thoughtful black and white image of a woman in a striking broad brimmed hat, contemplating the sea and cloudy misty sky. I call it ’The Old Man and the Sea’ – my 88 yr old brother on the Northumberland coast. He’s untidy, in his warm jacket, and contemplates an untidy beach, tide half out against a cloudy sky. I feel that in a way he represents old age, standing firm with his walking stick, gazing at the world in his baggy clothes…
Hady ~ Kate’s image is of a walker standing alone with a hiking stick in a grassed land gazing at the landscape of water and stormy sky. My response on the other hand is an urban contrast of a street artist standing on the pavement finishing his painting, looking at it with a critical eye and adding the last touches to the painting.
I thought the contrast between the different locations and what the men are doing is interesting.
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Following on from Rashida, Colin sent this image to David
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David sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ I decided that while I was aware of a geometrical quality of Rashida’s image, as well as some script, that I would keep the geometrical effects, but add some colour, as what I was going through as candidates really did not suit a black & white treatment, especially with the foreground notice that probably was not placed there to relate to the parking of cars some way beyond.
David ~ Looking at Colin’s image I was drawn to the stadium, the blocks of colour, and the potential for speed in the line of cars, (and also the lovely notice). Looking back through my archive I found this from 2017 which seemed to have a few links in colour and subject. Although it’s from the London Olympic stadium rather than Wembley!
Bunshri ~ In response to David’s image in colour, I send this monochrome one with an image of the racer’s back.
Jim ~ In response to Bunshri’s photo of a young boy jumping over an object, mine is similarly of a boy (or boys) striding forward into the future.
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June 2025
David started and sent this image to Kate and to Rashida
I’ve chosen something with lots of different elements in it so people can travel onward in many different directions.
This is the window of Arjuna wholefoods on Mill Road in Cambridge – a shop I first knew as a student more than 45 years ago! The posters in the window remind me of how many similarities there are between then and now – the quality of the printing may have improved since the days of hand-drawn flyers and black and white photocopies but many of the sentiments are the same. As you can see it is also a reflective self-portrait.
And yes I did place the toy globe amongst the apples myself!
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Kate sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Austin
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Austin sent this image to Mark
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Mark ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ David’s image is mostly about the reflections in the shop window, and the written notices – ‘workers’ cooperative, organic fruit etc’. Mine is all about the grocer’s apostrophes (in contrast to the workers’ coop), the chairs in front, and there is a good reflection in the window. The light isn’t good, but it was a snatched snap….
Colin ~ I’ve just sent Austin the image. It picks up on the incorrect use of apostrophes in the lettering on the shop. This is paralleled by a missing R and an extra S in the sign on the gate. It was taken near to Perkiomen Creek PA, at the entrance to a site being worked on.
Austin ~ I had to think for a while as I would normally try to avoid having tractors etc in my images, but eventually I remembered a view I had taken of an item of heavy machinery within cleared greenery! This is the T-34 tank which was placed on an empty plot at Mandela Way, Bermondsey, South London. The owner was blocked by the local council from developing the land, and applied instead to install a “tank”, which was approved as it was assumed to be a septic one. This tank had apparently served in the occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968 before being brought to England for use in a 1990s film of Richard III and then being sold for scrap. The plot owner bought the tank and placed it on the vacant site, with the gun turret pointed at the council’s planning offices. It was regularly repainted in different schemes by local graffiti artists.
Mark ~ This image was a real challenge. I researched how it came about. Very funny particularly as planning permission was given for a tank assuming it to be holding fluid, not being a Russian Remould. As it had returned recently from renovation because the added graffiti was a little much, I decided that it needed some more graffiti. First time I have experimented with this approach so something new for me. Hopefully Austin and others won’t be offended by my light hearted approach and somewhat simplistic approach.
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Following on from David, Rashida sent this image to Brian
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Brian sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ I immediately spotted the globe in David’s image as he had spoken about using AI creatively. Unfortunately lack of AI knowledge and other commitments did not allow me to be as creative at this time. So my response was to use a similar image of a small business. Mine was taken while doing a project named 94oGram wishing Nelson Mandela a Happy 94th Birthday organised by Ubuntu Help Portrait (gifting free portraits to people in need). This gave people an opportunity to share their good wishes with Madiba. I then inserted an image of a decorated stone that was one amongst hundreds placed by people offering condolences outside Mandela’s home in Johannesburg when he died. The stone image I inserted in the window of the shop.
Brian ~ Seeing Rashida’s image made me feel like celebrating too but, alas, it is not my birthday. So, with a nod to the South African greengrocer’s stall, I channelled Magritte who, in the art world, was indeed a great man.
Hady ~ I received a mysterious image from Brian, which seems to be of an unhappy selfie with a screen showing an apple, a South African flag and a comment in French that translates as “It is not my birthday / anniversary”.
I thought I would respond with the opposite. My image was taken in 2017 in a cafe. It shows the back of a fundraiser for “Smile For a Child” Charity. The jacket displays the charity’s logo; a large smile. I used generative AI to add a comment on the coat “it’s ya birthday”. My image celebrates the charitable nature of the British people and the cafe culture, which is now a commonplace, with coffeeshops spreading everywhere.
Bunshri ~ Hady’s photo literally made me smile, the big smile on the tee shirt emulating the big open toothless burger.
I followed with this image at The Flowers Exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery. Did this viewer dress in a flowery outfit deliberately. I also thought the colour palette of the artwork and the viewer’s outfit went well together.
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may 2025
Brian started and sent this image to Jim and to Austin
During a recent holiday to Costa Rica (recommended if you haven’t been) I was strolling through the small town of Quepos and spotted this odd arrangement of ladder and crash helmet. Oddly, there was no one around either in need of a ladder or lacking cranial protection. With Herts Foto Forum seldom being far from my thoughts, my immediate reaction was “that looks like an intriguing Consequences starter image.” So, here it is and Pura Vida!
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Jim sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Mark
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Mark sent this image to Hady
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Hady ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ I think Brian’s image is great and intriguing, with great colour and begging lots of questions (why is there a helmet on the ladder etc etc). Mine is a rather obvious follow on, referencing the ladder, although I do think my colours and tones relate to Brian’s original.
Bunshri ~ Having received a thought provoking image from Jim, I think this image of mine relates to it- reaching for greater heights physically and metamorphicly.
Mark ~ My interpretation of Bunshri’s image: Wind-blown Sand – hilly. Dry. Rust red clothing, following what looks like a familiar route. Carrying large shallow metal containers like bowls. This looks like subsistence rather than ceremony.
My image – subsistence but surrounded by water. Reds prominent. Rust colour tinging the roof. No pots but a dug-out boat to transport stuff. Person was barefoot and elderly – still working away.
Hady ~ Mark’s image is a colourful one of a boat in water with a person leaving it, with side colourful sun shades. My response image is of a house on the bank of the River Lea in Hertford, which has a small boat docked by its side and a red letter box and old telephone box in its garden. The image displays an unusual house in the middle of town with bright colours, interesting lines and angles and reflections in the water.
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Following on from Brian,
Austin sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to David
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David ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Austin ~ This was taken at a stunt bike display at a country fair. It uses the helmet element from Brian’s image, and some metal fencing, while the fiery scaffold happens to bear some resemblance to a ladder.
Colin ~ Taken at Cape Kennedy on a Rolls-Royce Owners Club event in 2010. They played a video of a rocket launch which showed enough flames to reflect Austin’s image, with a fairly similar colour scheme of orange and blue.
Rashida ~ Colin sent an interesting image from what I can make out is in an observation room with a place for people to visit and watch. Multiple computer screens and computers etc. I could make out IBM jackets. I look forward to hearing more about the image. My response is an image captured at the Royal Festival Hall at a Cirque de Soleil performance. It mirrors Colin’s image but is from the art world.
David ~ Rashida’s image made me think of pictures of audience reactions. I’ve got a few pictures of audiences at concerts and other music events – but then I remembered this picture from an athletics meeting at the Olympic stadium in 2018. It was Greg Rutherford’s last jump competition in the UK – and all the crowd were willing him to win – he didn’t!
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April 2025
Jim started and sent this image to Rashida & to Hady
My image is of the faithful and accurate reconstruction of Francis Bacon’s studio in Dublin. After his death, his entire estate was passed on to a man called John Edwards who gifted the contents of his studio to the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin. The original studio was on the first floor of a mews building in South Ken and it was described as “a compost heap of inspiration”!!
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Rashida sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Brian
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Brian ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Jim sent a beautiful calm image of an artist’s studio/workspace. My response was from the other end of the spectrum – a somewhat manic, chaotic and colourful artist’s studio/workspace. Both spaces have their own charm and tell their own stories. My image was taken in Shoreditch, London.
Kate ~ Rashida’s picture of the amazing artist’s studio (on the street? somewhere in Jo’burg?) knocked me sideways. I had in my archive some quite interesting and colourful graffiti taken years ago in Northern Spain. However, on looking at them again they weren’t so interesting – and horribly obscene. So I went out around quiet Welwyn Garden with my phone, and found this collection of bright objects outside a pound store. Not so exciting, but the pile of children’s plastic chairs almost resembles a face – and there is the cat in sunglasses on the right hand side. So it will have to do!
Brian ~ When I saw Kate’s shot my immediate thought was how colourfully tempting the display would be to a passer-by. That in turn made me reach for this shot taken in January this year of one such passer-by in London’s Chinatown district. Whether the grey and black clad man was tempted to add a splash of colour we’ll never know!
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Following on from Jim,
Hady sent this image to Mark
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Mark sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Austin
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Austin ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ The image Jim sent me was of what looked like an artist studio/workshop, with a lot of intricate small items, wall space and ceiling with skylight.
It happened that a few days earlier I was at an arts and antiques shop in Johannesburg, South Africa. I had taken a photo of a general view of the store, which I thought had things in common with Jim’s image and would be a suitable response. My image has a similar look with many small items all over the shop, some wall space and ceiling lights that mimic the skylight. Although the images are thousands of miles away, they share a beautiful artistic feel.
Mark ~ The image from Hady brought to mind Artisan/folk art and tourist attractions/ephemera. Scouring my archives, failing to find a particular image that had jumped to mind, I rediscovered some from a trip to Cambodia. This prompted a different connection with Hady’s image. Somebody has manufactured all this tourist/Artisan stuff under completely unknown circumstances. My Cambodian image is from a workshop, I think, casting and decorating Buddhist copper vessels. I suspect, the chap in the image is heating an animal-derived glue used in the manufacturing process. Rather the opposite of the sanitised folk art tourist trap. The drawback with being a human bellows is you must breathe in to start with. There is no space in this environment for questioning what the chap was breathing in.
Colin ~ Mark’s showed a fairly chaotic workshop. About the only one that I remember taking equivalent pictures in was Aldermaston Pottery. This was the shot I chose: decorating a casserole dish.
Austin ~ Another artist in action, this time painting within the parkland behind the stages at the Cambridge Folk Festival.
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march 2025
Colin started and sent this image to Austin & to Brian
I looked through some pictures and this cropped up as a shot I took quite a long time ago when on Mersea Island for a fish lunch with friends at the Company Shed in 2005.
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Austin sent this image to Mark
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Mark sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Kate
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Kate ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Austin ~ Following on from Colin’s orderly row of boots I thought I would share this image of guitars carefully displayed on a stand at the Cambridge Folk Festival. They made me wish I had more skills… There is also a face hidden among the instruments which I thought of removing but decided it might offer another option for the next image in the sequence.
Mark ~ First sight, this is a guitar shop. Perhaps it is more than that. They seem to be mostly acoustic guitars with the occasional ukulele and banjo. There are almost as many mandolins as there are guitars. One guitar even has a resonator, more associated with bluegrass and folk music. This might be a shop with a specialism.
Curiously, the instruments are hung inside some sort of cage, each on a special hanger. Are they being held in? Or maybe the inside is where the person is. Maybe the instruments are watching the shoppers not the other way around. Perhaps this is all part of the instrument and the instrumentalist forming a relationship.
“You have nice fingers – have a strum”.
Sometimes relationships are strengthened by a simple touch.
Rashida ~ Mark sent a moody image of hands playing a musical instrument. I could “hear” the music while looking at the image. I responded with an image taken in December 2024 of a vibrant installation outside Annabel’s, a private club in Berkeley Square, London. The elegance of the peacock mirrors the hands in Mark’s image.
Jim ~ Rashida’s image is a bit mysterious, with an exotic creature trapped in a spherical dome. There is a wash of blue but also some orange / gold colours. Mine was taken last week at Kilmainham Goal in Dublin. It is the entrance to a cell in which prisoners (certainly not exotic creatures) were “trapped” in dreadful conditions. They could be viewed by warders through this circular spy hole. I thought the circular hole referenced the spherical dome and the orange tones reflected the orange / gold.
Kate ~ Jim sent a picture of a round black hole apparently in a frame or container made of some kind of pottery, worn to a warm orange colour round the rim. I took it to be a rather special drain, and went looking for a drain to follow it. Our local drain covers are marked with splashes of bright red or blue paint, maybe to make sure that they are not missed when repairs or other work is being done. This one had more paint sploges that others along the road. And I was puzzled that it seemed to have something to do with a Quaker – until I looked more carefully and saw ‘Aqua Kerb’.
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Following on from Colin,
Brian sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to David
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David sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Brian ~ As soon as I opened Colin’s image it made me chuckle, so what else could I do but respond with this image of, well, The Boot and a chuckle!
Hady ~ I received a very colourful Christmas image from Brian. My response image is a similarly colourful image I took in a theatre when I attended the Christmas pantomime Dick Whittington in 2018.
David ~ The connections to Hady’s picture of the Dick Whittington pantomime are visual with a similar lighting and colour palette and a ‘pantomime’ like theme – but here most of the figures are projections rather than actors on a stage. The scene is an Oxford college ball – with a ‘Son et Lumière’ projection in full swing – photographed from the top of the college clock tower. I’m interested in how the lighting designers have incorporated 17C statues and architecture into their design
Bunshri ~ After David’s colourful image I was drawn to work by Rachel Jones. Her fiery reds collide with fleshy pinks with sharp lines against a soft background. This composition includes outline of teeth. She is interested in how colour and form communicate- it’s about emotion and inciting feelings that don’t need to be explained.
Mermie ~ As I was organising the Consequences photos, I realised that one group had 5 people and the other 4, so I had a look for something colourful enough to follow Bunshri’s image. This place mat was part of the table setting when we joined Colin’s family for lunch on Boxing Day.
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december 2024
Duncan started and sent his image to Hady & to Bunshri
A shop window and reflected buildings in Santillana del Mar, Northern Spain taken whilst on holiday (not with a Kodak but another make of camera). The shop sold a very varied collection from old photographs to tourist tat.
It will be interesting to see if people follow with geometry, reflections of buildings, the women ‘looking out of a window’ or ‘on a balcony’, or just Kodak!
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Hady sent this image to Mark
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Mark sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to David
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David ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Duncan sent me an unusual image that showed an image of part of the exterior of a house with what looked like superimposed image of an interior wall at the bottom of the image. In addition there is an advert for Kodak screwed on another part of the image. It looked like the whole image is an advert for Kodak.
In response I chose an image from our home taken while we were having some building work done and the balcony door sealed from the inside using a plastic sheet. This created “another layer” partly concealing what is behind it and adding an atmospheric feel to the image.
Mark ~ Bare room. Threadbare curtain. Scrabble and TV. Truckle bed but gaily decorated throw. Breakfast time – BBC Breakfast on the TV. Waking state in a bare room with light filtering in through a net curtain. In transition – either arriving or leaving.
Following on from waking comes doing. I had a choice – looking backwards or forwards. Waking demands action – getting up and responding to the day. Alternatively, waking might be an interruption to a restless interlude. The empty room left little to be enjoyed other than thoughts and waiting for the day to start. My image is from a dawning day at St Albans Station suggesting to me hints of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis or Dickensian London – trudging to the desk. Have things really changed?
Kate ~ Sunsets are corny – this is actually a sunrise, just as bad. But it came to mind as a follow on from Mark’s interesting picture of early evening at the station. No curving road, and the only traffic in mine is the bin lorry, making a dreadful noise but colourful like the sky. I took it last month from my bedroom window at my brother’s house in Warkworth Northumberland.
Jim ~ Kate’s looks like early morning (or perhaps evening). Lovely colours of the sky cleverly reflected in the colours of the lorry in the foreground. I can’t find a direct equivalent but I thought that this one taken off the coast of Queensland had some connection. Instead of the lorry there is a child playing in the sea near the fishermen. I think he is just playing but he almost looks like a fish caught on a line. So I hope that works.
David ~ I trawled back through my files to find something that had a combination of a river theme and a relation to the gorgeous glowing colour of the sunset in Jim’s image.
This is from the front court of Oriel College Oxford. I just like the contrast of light and dark – with the reversal from the more common colours of glowing yellow sandstone and dark windows you see in many Oxford college photos. It’s very grainy but I think that helps with a sense of age – and perhaps an air of mystery. Maybe it could be the opening shot of an episode of Morse / Lewis with the body just out of the picture!
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Following on from Duncan
Bunshri sent this image to Austin
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Austin sent this image to Brian
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Brian sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Colin
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Colin ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Bunshri ~ Having received a fun and thought provoking image from Duncan, I decided to follow with this. We can’t see their faces, we have a hint of where they are but where are they off to and why dressed that way?
Austin ~ I’m rarely inspired on tube platforms and tried to think of other crowded moments with something unusual happening. My image was taken during the “confetti storm” at the end of The Killers’ show at Hyde Park in 2017. I had enjoyed a good view of the band but suddenly the big screen commanded the most attention.
Brian ~ I enjoyed receiving Austin’s image with its energy and colour palette. Is it Ian Hunter, of Mott the Hoople? Playing a Gibson Explorer? Anyway, in response here is a shot with broadly similar colouring over a smaller crowd gathered in front of Sophie’s Bar (at the Dean Hotel in Dublin) with its theatrically arranged stock. Cheers!
Rashida ~ Brian sent me an indoor image with a striking colour palette of gold, yellow and purple and graphic lines. A bar or a pub (lots of bottles showcasing a variety of alcoholic drinks) in a large open plan space with lots of seated patrons.
My response is an image taken at the Southbank in December, mainly picking up on the colours and lines in Brian’s image. Wishing everyone well over the Holidays.
Colin ~ My image is a composite of about 5 pictures that were taken on an evening visit to Waddesdon Manor around Christmas in 2023. It includes effects similar to what Rashida’s picture managed in one shot….
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november 2024
Kate started and sent this image to Austin & to Colin
I thought this image might offer possibilities for those following. Taken this August, here is a rather ordinary field on the route of one of our favourite local walks. Grey clouds, no livestock, nothing much – except this flipped over young creature… She’s my granddaughter, Lulú, age 14, who consented to come for a walk with us. We came into this field, and suddenly she started her exercises – handstands, cart wheels etc. She plays Volleyball at home in quite a competitive team, and was reporting to her coach that she was keeping up with her exercise regime during her holidays.
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Austin sent this image to David
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David sent this image to Brian
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Brian sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Austin ~ Kate’s picture reminded me of some photographic course homework for which I had to shoot images a few years ago. The idea was to present a series showing someone in an environment closely associated with them but without revealing their face. Hiding or cropping the face was supposed to draw the viewer’s attention towards the features of the environment itself. My series, including this one, featured my grandson in a park. He could also be seen struggling to ride and manoeuvre his bike through dips and bumps in the terrain and over fences, small obstacles to us but challenges to a small person. These became the subject rather than the rider.
David ~ Austin’s image led me in many different directions. I was intrigued by the story of the boy and his bike – still with stabilisers on the bike but old enough to launch himself wildly on the swing. I also like the formal contrast of greens and oranges which always jump out in a colour image.
In the end the green colours and the foreground bicycle led me to this image of a (motor) bike that is being slowly enveloped by greenery – abandoned and burnt out perhaps by the folly of an older boy. When I first came across this bike by a railway cycle track, I found the sight quite upsetting. But walking past it over many months and seeing it rapidly disappear in the undergrowth led me to reflect on how quickly nature can thrive and overtake the relics of human activity – which was somehow reassuring.
Brian ~ I was in Ireland when I received David’s intriguing image and my immediate thought was “Look Mum, no hands!” I went in search of a consequential image and decided on this one from the National Botanic Garden at Glasnevin, Dublin. Here we have bare earth instead of overgrowth, a painted metal floor instead of the stripped and rusted frame, and “Look Mum, gloves for hands!”
Mermie ~ I photographed this camel in 2011 while we were in Morocco on a nature trip. When I noticed it while looking among many others for another purpose, I decided to use it to follow the curve of the pipe in Brian’s image.
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Following on from Kate, Colin sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When
Colin ~ Taken in Kew Gardens during a show of Henry Moore sculpture in 2008. Kids love interacting with sculpture that you could get into or climb on. The sculpture reflects the shape of the arched body in Kate’s picture, and the young girl is running back to her family.
Rashida ~ What a lovely sunny day to be out visiting the Henry Moore Foundation where Colin captured the lovely image of 2 majestic bronze sculptures with a tiny little person with outstretched arms mirroring the sculptures. I responded with an image taken in Hertford during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022. The Hertford Yarn Bombers had created amazing displays and this was one of them. It mirrors the circles and a little person also dressed in red as in Colin’s image.
Mermie ~ I photographed these prayer flags in 2012 while we were in Yunan on a nature trip. When I noticed it while looking among many others for another purpose, I decided to use it to follow both the curve of the girl’s back in Rashida’s image and the many colours overall.
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October 2024
Mermie started and sent this image to Mark & to Hady
I chose this Sainsbury’s car park for my starter image because I liked its collage of shapes and heights, and because I thought there were a large number of possibilities for the following Consequences players.
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Mark sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Brian
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Brian sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mark ~ Mermie’s opening picture had echoes, for me, of both commerce today and back through history. The shopping trolleys could be called tools for hunter gathering, in the supermarket context. The church spire has long been a way for people to navigate between villages and towns, and markets. The church spire was like a beacon, visible in the landscape.
Both were, at different times, part of the local supply chain. Part of the means of getting goods from supplier to consumer.
I have responded with an image showing a different part of that supply chain. My supply chain is stretched beyond national borders. The dockside cranes like beacons for freighters. The mobile container transporters “stacking” the goods for onward movement. I might suggest that the shipping container is like a shopping trolley but with bigger wheels.
Rashida ~ Mark’s image I am guessing was taken at a port where containers were being loaded in preparation for shipping. My response is in keeping with the vertical theme and picking up on the vibrant orange pops of colour in Mark’s image. Mine was taken in New York City.
“Almost as representative of New York City as skyscrapers—though probably not as iconic—are the plumes of steam rising from beneath the ground. Sometimes they come out of the manhole covers; other times, they blow from giant white and orange tubes, like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. Walking by them evokes a mix of curiosity and disgust.”
The above quote from this article has a summary: Why Steam Rises from the New York City Pavement – Bloomberg
Colin ~ My image this month is Cornelia Parker’s Psycho House when installed at Burlington House. I have used it before in Consequences, but had forgotten that I had done so. Rashida’s image had a lot of red in the foreground and multi-storied buildings beyond, with a few people visible. My image seemed to suit a number of components of Rashida’s.
Brian ~ I enjoyed receiving Colin’s shot of Cornelia Parker’s Transitional Object (PsychoBarn): a great shot of a great piece of art inspired by one of Hitchcock’s masterpieces. I decided to follow up with my own small homage to Psycho and set up my shot in the shower at home using a digital camera and a couple of video lights. No guests were harmed in the creation of this image and all the ketchup was cleaned up promptly afterwards!
Jim ~ This is my rather direct take on Brian’s dark, foreboding, cinematic image. I created it during lockdown but have modified it a bit for consequences. Mine is more reminiscent of Hitchcock’s shower scene from Psycho – strong black and white but I have taken the liberty of adding a splash of red!
Following on from Mermie,
Hady sent this image to Austin
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Austin sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Mermie’s image of mundane subjects has interesting lines and angles. When I saw it I immediately remembered an image I took on 07 January 2024, the last day of Hiroshi Sugimoto’s exhibition “The Machine” at the Hayward Gallery in London’s South Bank. Both images have similar lines and angles, with a very different subject and feel.
Austin ~ Following on from Hady’s image, I found myself looking at numerous pictures I had taken in galleries and including sculptures/people and trying to choose one. Eventually I decided to broaden the scope of the game by offering an image of a sculpture within a gallery but looking outside rather than across the room. This was taken in the Estorick Gallery at Islington, which specialises in 20th Century Italian art. The sculpture is called Acrobats by Guiditta Scalini (1912-1966) and the window faces Canonbury Square.
Kate ~ Not being able to go out and take a new picture to follow Austin’s fascinating ‘climbing frame’ in front of a window with a view of a misty street, I resorted – again – to the archive. I took this picture at Kettle’s Yard in 2010 – a long time ago, and I contributed another picture from that memorable visit in one of our recent rounds. I chose this rather than quite a few other possibilities, because it echoes Austin’s by being a museum object of a similar colour in front of a window. I do rather like this tattered lampshade, with it’s very utilitarian bulb shining bright, against the mysterious dark window. It’s great to have a reason for digging up one’s forgotten pictures!’
Bunshri ~ Having received a beautiful image of an illuminated bulb touched my soul – and then there was light!!!
I followed with this image of Mahavir to whom we ask for forgiveness if we have harmed anyone unknowingly. This is a festivity that takes place in August. Some people even fast for 7 days, only taking water during that time.
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september 2024
Bunshri started and sent this image to Brian & Avril.
This image was taken in Bristol – a city I fell in love with. I loved the slower pace of life.
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Brian sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Brian ~ I enjoyed Bunshri’s amusing image of best friends napping on a lawn. My response is in colour (contrasting with Bunshri’s monochrome) and is all at sea instead of dry land. It is, however, also of friends relaxing together. Whether the paddles are being used for air-guitar unlike the real thing in Bunshri’s shot I really don’t know!
Kate ~ I thought of various ways of following, and ended up with this – a contrast. ’The old man and the sea’. It’s my brother on the Northumberland coast, at Boulmer, in July last year. The wind was cold-ish, the sun not shining, the sea flat and the tide out. But worth watching – and he really enjoyed the walk.
Jim ~ Kate’s image has a “man of a certain age” looking out to sea, I think just enjoying the view. Mine is also of a “man of a certain age” but he is looking up to the mountains, and is anxious. The photo is taken in a small village called Manang in Nepal, in 1978. The village is at an altitude of 11,500 feet and is the last town before the Thorung La pass (17,700 feet) which takes you over to the main Jomsom trail to Tibet. This man’s young son (or grandson?) had set off on horseback to help some people who were in difficulty on the pass, and the man was concerned for the young lad’s safety. The next day, Lynda and I walked for two days to get up to and over the pass, and were pleased to encounter the man’s son en route – he had completed his task and was returning back home to his father.
Rashida ~ Jim’s image taken in the late afternoon creates a wonderful glow to the scene which looks like possible working factory or construction site somewhere in the Far East with a snow-capped mountain in the background. The shapes created reminded me of an image I took in the Canadian Rockies but showing nature with a lake and the two trees mirroring Jim’s mid and foreground as well as having snow on the mountains.
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Following on from Bunshri, Avril sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Austin
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Austin ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~ Not taking pictures of people I was a bit stuck. I have birds, I have runners, but that involves my daughter, so a park at night in the autumn was the best I could do. Empty. No people or birds.
Hady ~ Avril’s image is of a sea of autumn leaves covering the ground in a park glistening under bright street light.
My response, in contrast, is an image of autumn leaves in daylight taken on a bright October afternoon. It highlights more details and variety of colours and shades of the beautiful departing leaves.
Colin ~ Taken while waiting in the garden at Hatfield Registry Office while Mermie was about to get British citizenship, this was part of a bench with a perforated seat which had caught some sycamore seeds. Hady’s image was of fallen leaves: I have a lot of fallen leaf pictures, but why virtually copy Hady’s when autumn has other effects to see.
Austin ~ Following Colin’s cross-hatch image was a challenge. Much as I was tempted to compile something featuring the sleeve of the original ‘Tommy’ album by The Who, I found instead a well-known location (The British Museum) with a suitably-matching roof design.
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august 2024
Colin started and sent this image to Hady and to Kate
The opportunity to take interesting pictures when in a hospital bed is limited. This was at night when one of the ward occupants had an emergency, so the bed was screened off. There was a fairly powerful light that cast this shadow of a Zimmer frame, which gave a contrast to the concertina folds of the screen.
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Hady sent this image to Mark
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Mark sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ I received a rather mysterious image from Colin, probably of a walker with something attached on top of it and their shadow behind a blue hospital screen, with the strips of its slats.
It was a challenge finding a suitable response. I then remembered this image of a self portrait of me standing in a balcony with my shadow and that of the building and some trees on the newly mowed lawn with stripes mimicking those of the stripes in Colin’s image.
Mark ~ Hady’s photograph is, for me, distinctive with its well tended lawn, parallel lines cut in the grass, and the building shadow superimposed. The building shadow suggests an old building with a chimney and balconies, possibly with one shadow, the viewer. Prominent in the garden border, what appears to be the bare trunk of a tree but which might have top growth, out of the picture frame but visible from the cast shadow in the background. Circles also suggested from the small manhole cover in the foreground to the large curves defining the border edges.
I have responded with shadows, straight lines both in the cast shadow and the background, an old building and curves which are, in my image, more prominent than in Hady’s.
Jim ~ Strong, curved, interlocking shadows seemed to be the theme, as well as staircases. This is of a window in a house in Fayence in southern France as the sun was going down. Not much more to add really!
Bunshri ~ Having received Jim’s image with beautiful obvious reflection, I was drawn to juxtapose with my inner reflections – ones flooding my mind. This is an image of my mixed media work. Eve Arnold represents my mother looking on. She in real life looks so like her. I think the image speaks for itself.
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Following on from Colin, Kate sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Austin
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Austin sent this image to Brian
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Brian sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Colin’s wonderful picture of the dark shape of his walking frame through the bright blue blinds made me think of this phone picture I took in Girona, Catalonia, last summer. The strong street lamps cast this shadow of a large leafed tree against the building on the other side of the pavement. I love silhouette shadows…
Rashida ~ Kate sent me a gentle calm meditative image playing with light and shadows cast on a wall by nature. My response is an image I took in Johannesburg in 2016 in a hospital car park building during a stressful time when my mother was in hospital. I went back to the car and spent a few minutes collecting myself and just deep breathing. As I looked out of the car window I was greeted by the scene I captured. Seeing the calm and beauty in what was a generic stark concrete structure transformed by the sun and shadows created lifted my spirits and filled me with hope.
Austin ~ This has similarities with Rashida’s composition along with the benefit of a Japanese garden, something I always find attractive. It was taken in the Honmaru Palace (a slightly flattering word albeit worth visiting) within the castle site at Kawagoe, an Edo era town near Tokyo.
Brian ~ I really like Austin’s peaceful image of what seems to be a Japanese house interior looking through or out to a garden. As it happened the day after receiving Austin’s photo I was on a family photo-walk of Vancouver’s University of British Columbia (UBC) campus so I set out with the intention of shooting a bespoke consequential image. UBC’s botanical garden has many Asian influences and this Moon Gate really caught my eye. It is a Chinese design and whilst outside it invites the viewer to look or walk through to a garden within a garden.
Mermie ~ Taken from our bathroom window during the seemingly never ending work being done on our roof. I thought it an appropriate apposite to Brian’s lovely image.
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June 2024
Len started and sent this image to Mark and to Brian
Way back in 2007/2008 my wife and I were fortunate in taking a few holidays in pre-Brexit continental Europe. I noticed that many passenger hubs featured life-size plaster or fibreglass cows as a promotional gimmick. I always liked the surreal effect they created.
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Mark sent this image to David
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David sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mark ~ Len’s image appears to be a model of a cow reclining, presumably chewing the cud. It is clearly an international cow, decorated as it is by numerous national flag symbols. The environment looks like some form of departure lounge or waiting area. As is often the case with “consequences”, I was challenged. However, my image shares some characteristics.
My model is a succubus, originally part of the Christopher Inn, in St Alban’s. Cows are slaves to lactation. The succubus feeds on men, is a seductress and is usually shown with massive mammaries. This one has her cloven feet securely chained to the wall. This was to show the Christopher Inn clients that they would be safe from demons within the Inn. Clients could recline safely although, as a brothel in the 1500s, there were risks that the clients had little understanding of, at that time.
David ~ Mark’s picture was quite a challenge to follow – the fisheye distortion and the movement put everything nicely off kilter and the Succubus carving was strange and disturbing. I’m currently on holiday in NYC and though I thought I wouldn’t find many medieval gargoyles on buildings here, in fact there is a lot of rather gothic decoration when you look up at some older skyscrapers. However the image I chose was from a fountain in Central Park. I couldn’t decide if the woman was dancing or falling – but the colours and shapes (as well as the subject) resonated with Mark’s image and the foreground stone carving had an appropriately menacing face too.
Bunshri ~ Having received a sculpture image from David, I was intrigued – thinking how the work came about. I follow with this image taken in Aldgate. It is history that was the inspiration for Goodman’s Field Horses. The artist, Harish Mackie wanted to portray the unbridled joy of horses being released from the toil of working in the London Streets.
Jim ~ Bunshri’s image is of a sculpture of two horses in wild unfettered motion. I happened to be at the “Now you see us” exhibition at Tate Britain and saw this painting, again wild horses in unfettered motion. I initially just took a photo of the painting when this lady in her wheelchair appeared. An extrovert lady, but one whose motion is clearly restricted. I was struck by the juxtaposition of the two.
Rashida ~ Jim’s image is a gentle study of beautiful art and quiet contemplation in an Art Gallery. My response is one of stark contrast to Jim’s image but equally contemplative. Graffiti art on the outside walls of a building. Loud, colourful, brash and very much in your face. It makes one stop and stare. To ponder and contemplate. The bicycle wheels echo the wheelchair wheels. My image was captured in Hackney Wick on the way back to the station after attending a pottery taster class.
Following on from Len,
Brian sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Austin
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Austin sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Mary
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Mary ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Brian ~ When I saw Len’s reclining Euro-Bovine in what looks like an airport duty-free shop I was immediately taken back to a Tyrolean hiking holiday encounter with an Austrian cow assertively out-staring my wife. No matter which way Jo moved, this cow shadowed her and continued staring her down: amusing, yes, but also a little Village of the Damned / Midwich Cuckoos creepy! The shot was taken over Jo’s shoulder on a Sony RX10 bridge camera 1/250s, f5.6 at ISO100, and of course it was my screen saver for a while after the holiday.
Kate ~ Brian’s picture shows a cow with fine yellow ear tags staring at the camera from behind a hedge. Hungry (there’s lots of green grass around) or just curious? My picture shows a crowd of sheep, most of them staring at me behind the camera. They are definitely hungry. The animal at the front has a blue ear tag. I was on the flank of Ingleborough behind our house, on a beautiful, very cold, day a few years ago. Clearly the farmer was late in filling up the food bin for the sheep.’
Austin ~ This is part of an installation called ‘Conversation Piece’, by Spanish artist Juan Munoz, located by the beach at South Shields, Tyneside. It consists of 22 bronze figures, each weighing a quarter of a tonne and standing 1.5 metres high, arranged as if they are in conversation with each other and with any visitors entering the scene.
Hady ~ Austin sent me a very interesting image of sculptures in a sculpture park.
In response I chose a photograph I took a while ago of a sculpture on the wall of The Hertford Castle Hall. The sculpture is called Five Bishops and commemorates the 13th Centenary of the First General Synod of All England Church which met in Hertford in 673 AD. The sculpture was designed by Ronald Pope in 1973.
Recently the Hertford Castle Hall got renovated and renamed Beam. The sculpture was removed from the wall during the renovation to be reinstated on a different wall of the renovated building the day after I sent my image to Mary.
Mary ~ As Hady’s image is a record shot of 5 metal figures on a wall with a few leaves in the foreground I decided to reduce my image to just the number 5. This is a shot taken on a street walk in the city – I deliberately didn’t include people in this shot. The image is simply of a metal wall with the number 5 which represents the 5 metal figures.
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MAY 2024
Kate started and sent this image to David and to Rashida
I took this picture in the Museum of Catalan Art in Barcelona. I was sitting on a seat on the top floor of this large prestigious building, quietly looking at the large picture of bird like creatures painted by Joan Miró, squared as though a design for a tiled wall or floor. It was bathed in strong sunlight coming through a window above our heads. All of a sudden this family group appeared and threw themselves down on the floor, arranging themselves rather nicely as silhouettes in front of the picture, I thought. I wonder if they will remember their visit to the museum when they are 50 years old!’
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David sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Austin
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Austin sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
David ~ I really liked Kate’s image – the framing of the group of people within the circle of light was beautiful.
I took as my link people surrounded by art but not looking at it. My image is from the interactive David Hockney exhibition at the Lightroom gallery in Kings Cross. I was going to give it the title “it’s behind you” but that’s a bit unfair as there was another interesting image out of frame on the right which the people were looking at.
Jim ~ David’s photo was, I assume, taken at the David Hockney experience. In the background is one of his California swimming pool paintings, with the swimmer illuminated by the refracted light. Of course, none of it is real – it is a computer generated image and no one is actually in the water. So mine is about the reality of swimming, or in this case not swimming! The deck chair is isolated and on a rather uninviting paved area, and the steps down to the water look pretty uninviting as well. I think the chance of this sunbather actually swimming is pretty remote!
Austin ~ I observed this trio on the shore at Hunstanton, Norfolk, I don’t know if it was a scene from a real wedding day or a modelling shoot, but watched as the happy couple went through a range of poses while the photographer waded around them. I took some images with a zoom lens framing the people closely, but feel that this more distant shot conveys more joy and physical animation despite the subjects’ apparent isolation within their environment.
Hady ~ I received a very well composed image from Austin showing a woman photographing a couple on a beach.
My response is of a man photographing a woman in an interesting exhibition in the South Bank I attended about a year ago. There is similarity in the act but differences in the subjects and place.
Avril ~ Debris from 9/11. Hady’s image was of sculpture made of ‘wire’ ethereal, in contrast this is very solid but also in a gallery/museum a poignant reminder of what happened that day.
Sabes ~ This art work in a gallery reminded me of what I saw in the shape and colour of Avril’s image. Hers rises to the sky from the ground but this one hangs down from the ceiling. Hers is of metal; mine is of jute.
Following on from Kate, Rashida sent this image to Mark
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Mark sent this image to Brian
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Brian sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Mary
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Mary ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Kate sent a calming and gentle image of people sitting on the floor, some taking photographs, others enjoying the lattice of shadows created on a wall which has what appears to be colourful graffiti.
My response image follows the elements of people taking photographs while being drenched in colourful lights projected on the floor which also creates a lattice like effect. It was taken at the London Lumiere Light Festival in January 2016. Across 30 locations in London, the four-day festival brought together a spectacular array of artists whose work illuminated the city.
Mark ~ The image looks like projected light. The people have an expression of being bemused/not engaged with the light show. Not knowing what to make of the moment, perhaps.
This could be something strange happening to them (the participants) that they don’t quite know how to deal with.
It could be the superimposition of one image on another.
This was really challenging. I tried out a clutch of things but couldn’t get what I could see in my head. I resorted to borrowing an image from Unsplash, by Erez Attias.
This is a play of light with effects undoubtedly each unique to those experiencing it. But there is only one, or perhaps that should be two, witnessing the moment. Again, no sense of how engaged those present were.”
Brian ~ I really enjoyed receiving Mark’s photo: such a beautifully colourful yet peaceful image. In response I stay with Mark’s ecclesiastical and colour themes and present this somewhat busier image of renaissance paintings projected onto the walls of St Albans Cathedral. This is a digital image taken at night (no tripod, so braced against a wall) 20mm prime lens, f2, 1/60s.
Bunshri ~ Having received Brian’s image of an ornate oriental Archway taken from an angle, I followed with this painting of a dancer from Java – showing at Sargent and Fashion Exhibition and sent it to Mary.
In his attempt to capture the slow and elegant gestures of the dancer, Sargent rendered her left arm and hand twice. He suggests that it is an unfinished sketch for an unrealised composition.
Mary ~ Seeing Bunshri’s image of a colourful abstract painting hanging on a gallery wall inspired me to do my own ‘painting’. The picture of the Japanese figure is a postcard that my great grandmother sent to my relations while visiting Japan – its painted on wood. The remaining objects in the picture are random objects that I have lying around the house. The low-key lighting of the picture is intentional to add a little drama.
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APRIL 2024
Brian started and sent this image to Kate and to Austin
The photo was taken on a digital compact a few years ago during the Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art: always a fun event and I recommend it to anyone who hasn’t yet attended. Sadly I have lost and now can’t recall the name of the artist of this intriguing installation in the city’s Chinatown quarter. It remains one of my favourite photos and I couldn’t believe my luck when the rather fed up looking passer-by added some motion to the scene.
Kate sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri sent this image to Mark
Mark sent this image to David
David ended with this image
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ I was rather stumped by Brian’s fascinating image. Never mind all the questions I thought of. How to follow? Something jammed down in a weird place? Something Japanese? I came up with a picture taken 10 years ago in Tokushima, when we were visiting Shikoku. We were aiming to walk up a wooded path to a viewpoint, and at first had to pass through some streets at the edge of town. There was this extraordinary dump of the beautiful models in glass cases sold everywhere – many of them seemed hardly damaged. So here is something oriental, jammed down in an unexpected place….
Jim ~ Kate’s image is of some dolls of women in traditional Far Eastern dresses (Japanese?). I have seen Chinese Opera in Singapore and Malaysia and I am struck by the doll like faces and smooth white make up. My photo is of a performer in a Chinese Opera applying that make up (I think I took it in Malaysia where a small travelling troop had arrived and the local villagers were very much enjoying the performance). I managed to persuade them to allow me to join them back stage. Also, I have just come back from the Saul Lieter exhibition, so my framing, etc., is inspired by what I saw.
Bunshri ~ Having received Jim’s enigmatic image I followed with this image of Frank Auerbach’s drawing of his cousin Gerda. I believe it conveys a feeling of introspection. His cousin had carried a melancholic sense of her previous life in pre war Berlin when she was forced to flee to London to avoid Jewish prosecution.
Auberbach would work on a piece 40/50 times erasing and redrawing. The charcoal would be heavily worked on to create a raw form of portrait.
Mark ~ My image is from Gloucestershire, high common ground shrouded in mist, a large puddle in a layby. Texture comes from disturbing the underlying image with the texture of leaves plus, as far as I can recall, a touch of solarisation. There is a hint of blue beyond the raggedy barrier perhaps suggesting something better beyond but with the slightly threatening unknown to navigate in the foreground before confronting the barrier for a way through.
David ~ Mark’s image was fascinating – dreamlike in many ways. I could see leaves, and perhaps reflections in the surface of water or ice, but the fractured colours were what drew me in most. It initially took me to photographs I’ve taken of reflections from ponds and puddles – but in the end I’ve chosen an image from a series I took in 2019 – 20 on the beach at Sunderland. This beach is very near where I was born and just over the road from the wonderful care home where my mother lived out the last years of her life. I always took a walk along the shore as part of my regular trips to see her – and the views were full of memories. I processed this one using an Ektachrome film simulation to give it a slightly surreal quality – the resulting gradations of colours from bronze to blue seemed to strike an chord with Mark’s image – I’d be interested to hear what others think.
Following on from Brian
Austin sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Hady
Hady ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Austin ~ Here is my image for Consequences. I chose this image since it shows an individual enclosed by urban architecture, while adding some further elements which others might work from. The incorporation of the grille bars adds a dark aspect to the portrait, suggestive of robotic science fiction along with the extractor fan and security alarm; by contrast, the painted bird reminds me of Hummingbird Bakery! The image was taken by Hoxton tube station, and the girl’s face was mirrored within an adjacent arch. The area is a popular canvas for street art, although when I visited the station again recently the artwork had been covered up by plain white paint, a disappointing moment for me but I expect the area will soon display something new.
Colin ~ Austin’s image had a large number of relatively random and weird features making up the image. It looks to be built within a railway viaduct arch, but the majority of my shots around a local arched passageway feature graffiti, which have had rather much exposure at HFF, so I limited myself to brickwork as the continued theme, with some notices on it, as there were some in Austin’s image.
This was taken at Fawley Hill at Lord MacAlpine’s garden railway. I think he had chosen most of the signs as featuring his name: Bill.
Rashida ~ Colin’s image of multiple signs in a small space was sending a strong message to the public and was attractive as an art installation in its own right. Or as a gallery wall. My response is an image taken outside Johannesburg when we were on our way to a Game Park. The Construction Company doing roadworks spelled out very clearly with signs, etc what motorists were expected to do at the roadblock. The sign on the left is in English and Afrikaans. The “Please Don’t Kill Us” sign is South African humour about road rage and irresponsible drivers.
Hady ~ My image in response to Rashida’s image mirrors the multiple road signs in hers. Rashida’s image shows road works signs in English and Afrikaans. Although the signs in my image are not “road signs’ they refer to clear road, walkers and even an image of people crossing a road on a zebra crossing. The signs were in the burial grounds of St Andrew Church in Hertford. The signs were to recruit walkers to walk for Christian Aid.
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March 2024
Bunshri started and sent this image to Jim and Rashida
Bunshri ~ I was helping a friend who was making a film about our migration from India to Kenya and then to London. Together we had spent a month in India filming in Gujarat. Now the film is finished and called ‘Threads that Tie Us’.
I had created this hand made book in 2014. I hope it poses questions touching on diaspora, culture and how we came to be where we are.
Jim sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Brian
Brian sent this image to Mermie
Mermie ended with this image
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Bunshri’s photographs a document registering the birth (of her father?) in 1950 and the certificate provided by the Registrar General in Kenya. It got me to look at my own birth certificate which was registered in Maracaibo, Venezuela in 1948, in Spanish. At one time, I had two passports, one Venezuelan and one British, and my image is an in-camera merge of three of my passport photos, with the Venezuelan stamps evident. A different experience from an Indian family in a British colony, but my experience nonetheless.
Austin – I took this at an exhibition, and the image combines two separate displays; the ‘galactic’ video backdrop and the robotic head. I assume the latter is from the movie Ex Machina, but am not certain of this. I think the two elements seem to belong together though.
Avril ~ My image is from Wynwood Walls. Austin’s image had what appeared to be a robotic figure with light above it, this has painted shafts of light going across the face so a combination of the two.
Hady ~ Avril sent me an unusual image of a face with colourful ‘segmentation’. Trying to find a suitable response to the image, I recalled this image taken a few years ago at The Aga Khan Centre in London’s Kings Cross. The image is of an art installation in an internal space within this amazing building. The image displays a variety of colours and shapes that match those in Avril’s image.
Brian ~ When I saw Hady’s image of the Rasheed Araeen sculpture at the Aga Khan Centre I was struck by the vivid colours (dare I say, a “Rhapsody”!) and the geometric precision. I initially thought about shooting some other Islamic art work, perhaps in a single colour. However, the repeated diamond pattern reminds me of the card suit and with ten diamonds being visible in Hady’s shot I decided to focus on that. Note: Given that my image responds to modern Islamic art it is hopefully helpful to say that I am aware that gambling is haram, although card games may be played for fun, but there was no gambling going on here with the shot set up for fun only.
Mermie ~ Brian’s hand and his ten of diamonds card led me first to try to photograph my own hand in relation to a pattern. It was a bit too tricky to hold the iPhone with one hand while photographing the other. I didn’t really like the wrinkly look of my hand either. Eventually, while doing something else, I thought ‘glove, use a glove!’ The pattern is laid into our table. Many years ago, Colin had carefully decided which ceramic squares should go where.
Following on from Bunshri,
Rashida sent this image to Duncan 
Duncan sent this image to David
David sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Mark
Mark sent this image to Kate
Kate ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Bunshri sent me a beautiful image of a birth certificate stitched with red thread to a portrait of a young man as well as 2 other images of a marriage ceremony, perhaps completing a family circle. People who have these photographs and documents of loved ones are the lucky ones.
Millions of people globally are not privileged to have such precious items. In fact many do not even have one good photograph of themselves. Maybe just a mugshot for an Identity Card, and one that is rarely flattering.
My response is an image from my “What If” project. The images and 3D installations were part of a group exhibition with the theme “Photography Matters” at Espacio Gallery in London. “What If” you had no photos of yourself, your frames are empty, you lose your memory and what if the only image you have of yourself is what you see when you look into a mirror? Between 2009-2015 Hady and I were two of the 380 or so volunteers with Ubuntu Help Portrait in South Africa. The group gifted 78,160 portraits taken during 380 events to people who otherwise did not have any photos of themselves. Joining Ubuntu Help-Portrait was life-changing and life-enhancing experience. The joy of giving portraits for free was so incredibly powerful. The photographs that were gifted were never shared in the media nor exhibited anywhere. They were beautiful portraits taken, printed and gifted with love.
Duncan ~ Rashida sent an enigmatic image of three empty picture frames in a sunny room. Were the pictures removed or have the frames always been empty and awaiting the photos of loved ones?
I contemplated responding with images of stacked empty frames or the marks on a wall where a picture had been. Both were from clearing my parents house and spoke of absence and loss. However, I eventually decided upon something more abstract. A wall under a railway bridge where three bits of graffiti (images) have been painted over by workmen.
David – I was in two (or more) minds as to where to go from Duncan’s lovely image. In the end I followed the form and monochrome palette of his image to a picture I took at the National Gallery of Art in Washington of a trio of Rothko paintings last May. It was near the end of the day and I was lucky enough to be by myself in the room with them for quite a while – which I found a strangely moving experience. I tried a few colour pictures with my camera but felt I really couldn’t do justice to the scene. I then took this image using a new app on my phone called ‘Hypocam’ which claims to emulate various types of B&W film stock. I chose Kodak 400TX for this image. I personally feel that the overall effect captures something more of the ethereal quality of the whole gallery, with the bench, the flooring, and the ceiling lights all adding to the effect of the Rothko paintings.
I’ll be interested to hear what HFF members who are much more experienced than me at processing and printing from B&W film stock think of this digital simulation.
Colin ~ An installation in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 2016.
The pattern in the top of David’s picture to me linked to the pattern of coat hangers, if a bit less geometric. It clearly was in an art museum, but I hadn’t anything quite so geometric as David’s, even if I do have quite a lot of shots of Rothkos.
Mark ~ Colin’s image at first appeared like chaotic shadows cast by multiple lights from a bleached coat hanger mobile. Then I revised my thought to an ordered mobile raising from and above a tangle. This led me to some recent images from the Reena Begum works in the Museum and Gallery. I arrived at an image of some life emerging from a tangle of lines which seemed to be reluctant to let the figure go. The figure still was getting away from the tangle towards something perhaps calmer. Curiously despite Reena’s work being sharply defined structures made with industrial mesh, sharpness reflected in Colin’s image, only the lines moving out of my image are sharper.
Kate ~ This is my answer to Mark’s interesting and slightly scary monochrome picture of a man hurrying past a very spiky looking screen or some kind of barrier. It will be interesting to hear his explanation. My picture is more straightforward, taken at a small market in Girona, Catalonia last summer. I rather liked the view through the gauzy material at the back of the stall, and silhouettes are always fun.
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february 2024
Mermie started and sent this image to Mark and Duncan.
The framework above, the trees outside, and the reflections of people enjoying lunch, seemed to have lots of possibilities for Consequences.
Mark sent this image to Sabes
Sabes sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Brian
Brian sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mark ~ In Mermie’s image I saw facets, structures and lines. Whilst looking for something else, I came across my image from 2013 which started as a photograph of bike frames in my brother’s workshop. I liked this as a contrast to the straight lines in your image but in harmony with the structural integrity and utility in your structural subject.
Sabes ~ A challenging image came from Mark. This is the best I could do as a response.
Hady ~ I received an unusual image from Sabes, possibly constructed from two images. It had unusual lines, shapes, colours and textures.
My response is an image of a wall painting of a woman’s portrait that caught my attention in a restaurant in London. It shows several textures, shapes, brighter colours and straight lines in various directions that frame the portrait.
Jim ~ This is my nephew Matthew, one of the kindest men you could meet – and great fun. He is always the Dame in the local amateur panto. He was married to Andrew last year in a Quaker Meeting for Worship with more than 150 witnesses.
I was struck by the red lips in Hady’s photos and immediately thought of this image.
Brian ~ Jim’s photo (of someone I feel I ought to recognise) is so vital and lively, full of movement and popping colour that I thought I’d offer a counterpoint. This is Harry, my Dad, once a party animal himself, but seen here older and in a contemplative mood perhaps looking back at the character in Jim’s shot and thinking, “oh my, I used to have that much life and energy!”
Bunshri ~ Following on from Brian’s powerful image of his father depicting his presence, this image of Marina Abramovic came to mind. This is a photograph of Marina’s 3D sculpture. I believe it speaks a 1000 words. She captivates her audiences by pushing the limits of her body and mind. I find her work radical yet inspiring.
Following on from Mermie,
Duncan sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to David
David sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Austin
Austin ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Duncan ~ Taken from inside a glass house with similarities of architecture, glass, trees and seating.
Colin ~ Taken at the village church in the grounds of Stowe. It looks through a window carrying engraved buildings in the landscape into the landscape itself. I felt it achieved the combination print effect of Duncan’s picture, but without itself being one.
The affectionate gift of the people of the parish of Stowe; in memory of May Close-Smith; grand-daughter of the last Duke of Buckingham 1886/1972; who loved & cared for this church.
Kate ~ Colin’s image was quite a challenge! I thought hard, and remembered a rather nice burial ground I’d photographed in Germany with bright light and lots of lichen covered headstones. Not really appropriate, but I went through my Lightroom collections searching and found this, a window in Kettle’s Yard gallery years and years ago. Nothing like as bright as Colin’s image, but it is a kind of memorial too.
David ~ I loved Kate’s image from Kettle’s Yard – the window bringing the outside in, the religious image in the cut glass, the dedication to Jim and Helen Ede, but most of all the deep blue glass globe with its bubbles and highlights. I looked through lots of images I’d taken of windows from churches and chapels but none quite caught the spiritual aspects I saw in Kate’s image – and so in the end I made the cobalt blue glass the connection. I’ve done a few glass blowing 1-day courses in my time, making baubles and paperweights and this is a close up image of one of these. I like the way the air bubbles are caught in the glass and the way the light shines through them. Here the clear bubble at the top of the image somehow echoes the reverse of the dark blue sphere in Kate’s image. I saw a connection in it anyway!
Rashida ~ My response to the colours, shapes and bubbles in David’s beautiful abstract image is one with a rather apocalyptic version in keeping with my feelings about the tragic current events in the world as well more locally with the inclement weather and storms the UK has been experiencing.
Austin ~ I was in Vienna last week and went to the Upper Belvedere Palace to see ‘The Kiss’ and other art from the same era. It was a snowy morning and I also took some appealing images of the gardens, Lower Palace and city skyline, although I was just as interested in the same views out through the icy windows when focused on the glass surfaces. I had a feeling that Saul Leiter might approve…
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January 2024
Because of the various festive holidays, we divided into three groups so that each participant would have ample time to choose and send an image.
Mary started and sent this image to Jim, Austin and Kate.
I was in Plymouth and while walking around with my camera I saw this image – to me it really does look like the stickman is about to lie down! Also the wall has wonderful colour and texture. It is just a bit of fun.
Jim sent this image to David
David sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Hady
Hady ended with this image
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
~ Jim I enjoyed the humour in Mary’s image and started looking for some photos I had taken of street works, and associated signage. Then I came across this image I had taken in 2014. The men are cleaning a large yacht moored in the Thames, which I assumed was owned by some Russian oligarch. So rather than diagrammatic workmen, here are some real life ones in action. I also thought the triangulated array of brushes mimicked the triangular shape of the sign. There is also a splash of yellow. I hope it captured a bit of Mary’s humour as well.
~ David Jim’s image was intriguing. It made me think of dancers or gymnasts twirling long sticks – I liked the fact that they seemed to be performing for the camera but all looking in different directions. I decided in the end that it was probably a team of men cleaning some sort of boat – so I went with that.
So my linked image is of five women from the Oriel college 1st boat having just had a successful ‘bumps race’ on the Thames in Oxford. The oars replace the mops, its women rather than men, and the boat is a lot smaller but lots of nice visual links with the colours and the reflections on the water.
~ Avril I was on my way to Tate Gallery and crossing the bridge I saw the racing shells coming down the river, they appeared to be on a practice run. Watching and waiting the four shells were neatly framed by the bridge structure.
~ Hady I received from Avril an image, which appears to have been taken from the top of a bridge, showing some canoes and parts of the bridge. It reminded me of a slow shutter speed image of canoes in the River Lea in Hertford I had taken a while ago. I found the similarity of the subject and different settings and photography approaches interesting.
Following on from Mary, Austin sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Mark
Mark’s ending image will be posted soon.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
~ Austin It’s neither a stick figure or a wall but the elements in this image bear some resemblance to both. A woman waits patiently for a shop to open; we can only speculate on her story and what the day holds. I took this in Istanbul in July 2023.
~ Rashida Austin sent me a minimalist image of a shop entrance with shutters down and a lady squatting and facing the store. An image that throws up many questions and has many stories that could be told. My response was to follow the lines and geometry in Austin’s image. My image was taken at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. Separate entrances. The door to the right was the one I used. This was my reality of growing up in Johannesburg during the Apartheid years. Also has many stories to tell………………
~ Colin Rashida’s picture has a very straight on viewpoint. It also comments silently on the features of apartheid.
My image, reflects that viewpoint. It is of graffiti in a local subway, which has some unusual effects arising from more than one artist overlapping. ‘COLOUR’ backwards adds another dimension, while there are other figures in a mixture of black and colour. ‘SAFE U MAN’ is another puzzle – should it be SAVE HUMAN or SAVE YOU MAN?
Following on from Mary, Kate sent this image to Brian
Brian sent this image to Mermie
Mermie ended with this image.
Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
~ Kate Mary’s little stickman put me in mind of a visit to Berlin years ago. I collected lots of pictures of graffiti, and other street ‘art’. I thought this one sort of follows Mary’s little man.
~ Brian On receiving Kate’s image I was drawn, as a cyclist, to the cycling friendly light-controlled crossing signal and then to the bus (or tram perhaps) in the background. My immediate thought was, ah ha, sustainable urban transport. To continue the theme I decided to photograph one of my own bikes at a light-controlled crossing with a bus in the background. So far, so similar, but I needed something consequential too: hence the luminous no. 7. “No.7” being a track by the band Black Born Phoenix who have a flyer posted to the traffic signals in Kate’s image. I wonder if Kate went to the gig?
~ Mermie My image is a seasonal response to the stance of the red ‘don’t walk’ man in Brian’s image.
~~~~~~~~
december 2023
Avril started and sent this image to Mark and Jim
Place Masséna, Nice, at night – with water jets.
Mark sent this image to Sabes
Sabes sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Duncan
Duncan sent this image to Brian
Brian sent this image to David
David sent this image to Dawn
Dawn ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mark ~ I think Avril’s picture is amazing. My unworthy offering plays with the gravity in Avril’s picture – water that is up will want to come down to its uneasy equilibrium. This resonated with my picture of the water at the Devils Bridge in Ceredigion hurling itself downward but still staying water.
This doesn’t do anything with the colours or the shapes that looked like mystical penitential forms or twirling dancers, formed then changed and morphed back to flowing forms only to be thrown upward again a moment later.
Sabes ~ When water runs out all that is left is light.
Rashida ~ Sabes’s intriguing minimalist image created an interesting horizontal shape to which I responded with an image taken at St John at Hackney Churchyard Gardens. ‘Twas late at night on a cold and wet winter’s evening in January. The shape created by the streetlights on the paving echoed that in Sabes’s image but in vertical format.
Duncan ~ Rashida’s image has several elements. The figure(s) on the receding path of wet flagstones in the dark and streetlamps. Although I have quite a few images of people walking away on footpaths and of rain on flagstones none had the right emotion to connect to this dark scene.
The hint of the window frame in Rashida’s picture gives the scene a different feel. Eventually I chose an image accentuating the looking through glass element rather than the figure in the receding space.
Brian ~ In Duncan’s shot I was drawn to wonder who the person was that can be seen through the broken glass and that got me thinking about looking through and not just at. I am in Southwold at the moment (or, by the time of our next meeting, I was in Southwold!) and have been enjoying wandering along the seafront and around the harbour.
It was there that I found myself looking at so many things through nets, chains, rigging, etc. Hence, looking at this trawler through the net-like fence on a harbour footbridge.
David ~ Brian’s beautiful image took me down so many different associations with the foreground grid, and the lovely black and white textures he had captured in the landscape. But in the end I settled on the subject matter of boats and fishermen heading out to their nets.
I made this image on the west coast of Scotland a few years ago – I was experimenting with compositions drawn from Japanese woodblock prints and the framing of the branches, the dark blue of the water and the fisherman seemed to work well – the red highlights were a lucky bonus!
Dawn ~ This photo follows the boat theme but there is only one boat. There is no reflection of the trees but quite a good reflection of the sail.
Following on from Avril,
Jim sent this image to Len
Len sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Austin
Austin ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ I guess my response is simply to find an image that features water, bright lights and night skies.
Len ~ I received Jim’s striking image of a light show or something at, I believe, Sydney harbour.
What struck me most about his image was the spectacular illuminated chandelier in the foreground. I’m guessing that this was some sort of laser or holographic projection, but to me it looked almost like a spaceship from a sci-fi film, rather than a crystal lighting feature.
Many years ago, when I was employed part time to do condition surveys of properties rented out, I was carrying out one such job when I saw this plastic ball catching the light by the bay window in the living room of the property I was attending. To me it looked like an alien spaceship had just landed and I photographed it as such. It became part of a small series I called “Alien Invasion”. If I had taken Jim’s photo myself, I might well have included that as well.
So, the link between my image and Jim’s is through the perceived commonality of a flight of fancy, rather than the more usual photographic style similarities.
Colin ~ My photo was taken in Southern Ireland in the grounds of the Curragh racing stables. As Len’s image was taken from a series about aliens, the Zodiac chimes with it slightly.
Bunshri ~ Colin’s image of the sculptural piece representing our horoscope signs set me thinking. I followed by this image – symbolic of our pure soul. The outer brown husk represents the body, the hard shell inside: 8 karmas body, the brown skin inside is Bhav Karma (emotions of the body), the white and sweet coconut is the pure soul signified by white purity and the sweet water by happiness in the soul.
Jains believe that karma is a physical substance that is everywhere in the universe. Jiva – soul; Shiva – non living matter; Punya – results of good deeds; Asrava – influx of karmas; Samvar – stoppage of karmas; Bandh – bondage of karmas; Nirjara – eradication of karmas; Moksha – liberation. The idea is to reach liberation.
Kate ~ I love Bunshri’s inspiring and thought provoking image. I couldn’t possibly follow in kind! So I have found something much more literal, taken on the common land near our house in Yorkshire. Is there a message here? Writing in the heavens, looming clouds, a dying tree… Or just an interesting picture?..
Hady ~ My response to Kate’s landscape is with an image I took in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2016. The photo shows a silhouette of some palm trees standing proud over a low rise building of town houses. The scattered fluffy dark clouds decorated the sunset sky.
Austin ~ My street faces directly west, providing a clear view for occasional spectacular sunsets; this was one such early evening. I also took this picture to show how many homes (including mine) are connected from a single pole; it also shows a solitary TV aerial which may or may not still be in use, given various technological developments.
Communications security has since been enhanced by trimming the tree…
~~~~~~~~~~~~
November 2023
Duncan started and sent this image to Hady and Avril
Taken at Blenheim Palace. Painting with reflection including a nod to Vermeer ‘woman reading at window’. Picture within a picture. Warm but enigmatic.
By most rules of composition this picture shouldn’t work but for me it does. Even the strip of frame on the left I feel is important although many would crop it out!
Hady sent this image to David
David sent this image to Brian
Brian sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Rashida
Rashida ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Duncan sent me an interesting image of reflection of a strip of light coming from a leaded window with a person standing in front of the window reflected on a painting of a sitting man, whose face is also visible in a shaded part of the frame.
The shape of the reflected light in Duncan’s image reminded me of an image I took on 11 November 2018. The image includes a very long strip of poppies crocheted and sewn together by a group of women from Hertford called “The Hertford Yarn Bombers” to form the very long piece draped over Hertford Castle to celebrate Remembrance Day 2018. There was also a small installation of two persons at the bottom of the image. The similarity between Duncan’s image and mine is uncanny.
David ~ Hady’s image of poppies cascading from a redbrick tower was a poignant one. I looked for thematic connections to remembrance which took me to many images of poppies and of the red hearts drawn on the national covid memorial wall. But the rusty colour of the brick also reminded me of a picture I took in the rain in at Seaham harbour near to Sunderland where I grew up. This iron sculpture of a soldier is by local artist and steel worker Ray Lonsdale – it was built for a temporary exhibition in 2014 but the people of Sunderland took it to their hearts and raised the money to make it a permanent part of the sea front. I particularly like the way the colours change and run in the rain.
Brian ~ I was really struck by the soulfulness of David’s image, with the soldier I imagined deep in thoughts of his lost pals. We hope that those lost in sacrifice may always be remembered and memorials are erected to help us do just that. But, with a sigh of regret, life moves on all too swiftly and it becomes more difficult to stop, think, remember and continue to honour the sacrifice of others. My image from New York, taken in 2014, of people rushing past the fallen firefighters’ 9/11 memorial is intended to illustrate that.
Colin ~ Taken at Chanticleer garden in the outskirts of Philadelphia. On a windy day, one of the plants overhanging a paved area gave a similar combination of blurry and sharp to Brian’s shot. I had earlier tried shooting blurred figures while waiting in one of Heathrow’s passenger lounges, without being satisfied with the result. This shot moves things on a bit from Brian’s.
Rashida ~ Colin sent me a beautiful and intriguing image. I look forward to hearing how it was created. My response is an image captured on a bitterly cold winter night in London on 16 January 2016 at Oxford Circus. It was of a mesmerising and stunning sculpture which moved gently to and fro with changing colours of lights suspended over Oxford Circus.
Lumière London 2016: “Taking the West End and King’s Cross by storm, Lumière London invited audiences to see the city in a new light as visitors were treated to 30 light installations across the city.
At Oxford Circus, closed to traffic for the event, people lay on their backs gazing up at 1.8 London, Janet Echelman’s beautifully illuminated aerial sculpture that was strung between buildings.”
Following on from Duncan, Avril sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri sent this image to Mark
Mark ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~ From a young hand in paint to an old woman’s hand in stone. I’ll try to find a translation of the Spanish label about who she was.
Kate ~ Avril’s photo – a detail of a sculpture – shows the knuckles and fingers of an older person’s left hand, slightly arthritic, beautifully carved. I knew at once how to follow it! This is a picture of my mother’s hands, taken when she was in her late 90s. She was teaching my daughter how to make marmalade, and here is cleaning a jar to hold the jam. I’m afraid the picture is more than 20 years old – but I felt the left hand particularly echoes the hand in Avril’s photo. I took it on my old EOS film camera, and the light wasn’t too good, so the image lacks the sharpness that you would get with an iPhone picture now. How things have changed!
Austin ~ This is a cast of the joined hands of the artist George Frederic Watts (1817-1904) and his wife, Mary (1849-1938), an artist and designer in her own right. It was part of a display attached to the Watts Gallery in Surrey, which is well worth visiting along with the nearby house and memorial chapel.
Bunshri ~ Having received the emotive hands image from Austin, I followed with this image.
I couldn’t help but notice the hand gestures at the Frans Hal’s Exhibition at the National Gallery. I began to see the portraits in a new way. I found this image so powerful – the way the skull is held in the hand strongly suggests transience of life and inevitability of death.
The other hand looks so forceful, almost bursting out of the canvas. – the strength of hand gestures….
Mark ~ Bunshri’s image is from the allegorical painting by Frans Hals showing a young man holding a scull but in animated conversation with someone out of the picture to the right. However, we can just see the scull and conversational hand gesture in Bunshri’s extract although this communicates a similar message to the full painting.
The scull signified that life was precarious and death inevitable although the wealthy speaker (young man with long fingernails therefore not a labourer), typical of younger people, seems, through their gesticulations, oblivious to the significance.
The image put me in mind firstly of a trip to Cambodia and Vietnam which included the Khmer Rouge Killing Fields and countless collections of skulls, however I found this still too raw to progress with.
Instead I have shown a young child photographed on the same trip, oblivious to his likely future, who was absorbed munching his biscuit, accompanying his mother who was working in a mill making mats. The sixteenth century scull tradition in the Netherlands painting I projected onto the loom. The dusty powered loom could symbolise for this child a future risking being more akin to Victorian times than today albeit with similar life jeopardy depicted in the Hals painting. The boy, along with many, lives only a few metres above sea level and by 2050 double the numbers now affected by flooding in Cambodia will be vulnerable to major flood events.
~~~~~~
October 2023
Mark started and sent this image to Dawn & Colin
Unsuccessful de-cluttering is an analogue of procrastination. Amongst the signs that procrastination is in progress are eating crisps and becoming engrossed in something that has failed to grab my attention previously. My attention has been grabbed by all the interesting shapes, colours, textures and thoughts prompted by looking afresh at even mundane stuff. My image is inside a crisp packet. You might call this a crisped potato view of the world (before being munched). Why the bag has a mirror finish inside I don’t know but perhaps it just wants its moment on the red carpet, or perhaps some crisps are just vain.
At least the image is non-fattening.
Dawn sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Brian
Brian sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to Kate
Kate ended with this image.
Group one: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Dawn ~ I had a choice of colour or close up so I chose colour.
It was taken at the Chelsea Flower Show and the decorations were attached [to] trees but it is not as colourful or bright as I had hoped.
Avril ~ I received Dawn’s image while away and had thought of a complimentary image to send to Brian but that evening I went into the hotel bar for the first time and the first thing I saw was this sculpture/artwork suspended on a wall. It was probably 5 or 6 metres in diameter and made of what I can only imagine was drawn steel and wire. I thought it quite beautiful in its simplicity, my only regret was not finding the artist’s name. It hadn’t been publicly credited to anyone.
Brian ~ On receiving Avril’s shot my first thought was “I might frame this.” My second thought was “Hang on, I’m meant to be getting my thinking cap on!”
My first decision was to follow Avril’s black & white lead, albeit through Lightroom rather than a darkroom. Avril’s image made me think about all sorts of connections: networks, roads, nerves, and, hence my photo, cabling, created for this challenge. Are there beginnings and ends? There must be but where? I’m always fascinated by how electrical or computer experts can look at network diagrams or masses of cabling and go “Ah yes, of course” and unravel seemingly entangled messes. So here’s my simple homage, or challenge, to them.
Rashida ~ Brian’s image was one of made-made items in some kind of intertwined chaos and confusion. My response was to counterbalance with calm and beauty. I take no credit for this image. This is God’s artistry and beauty in nature. So, so very grateful to have spotted this plant when we were on one of our walks. I have no idea what the name is.
Austin ~ Earlier this year I was asked to provide a new cover image for the guide to the two mile long tree trail in Highfield Park, an 82 acre community space in St Albans. I provided a shortlist of images and they made a choice; the guide has now been published. They contacted me again as they were preparing a feature on the trail’s Copper Beech tree, which led to my taking more images. I felt this one particularly met the brief since as well as highlighting the colourful foliage. The inclusion of the bench helped to place the image within the park.
Kate ~ Austin’s picture looks out through sunlit leaves to an enticing view of a bench in summer sunshine. I’m following it with a view through a window partly blocked by backlit leaves. I took it in Léon in Northern Spain. We were staying in a hotel in the converted mediaeval monastery of the beautiful church of San Isidoro. The hotel rooms had been monks’ cells. The church continues very much in use, and this view is of the cloister, generally closed to the public. I’m glad the hotel had the plants in front of the window rather than a curtain like other windows looking towards the church.
Following on from Mark, Colin sent this image to David
David sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to Mermie
Mermie ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ Taken on one of our regular visits to Chanticleer garden near Philadelphia. It specialises in changing displays, often based on plants with ornamental leaves such as Cannas.
David ~ I liked the formal qualities of Colin’s picture. Whilst it was recognisably a set of leaves it evoked ideas of flames and camouflage to me. It also contained a lot of movement with the interplay of reds and greens, light and dark. That set me thinking about still life pictures of nature that also contained movement – and so I chose this picture of Magnolia flower from our garden. This flowers in April or May each year – but usually too early for the prevailing weather around here and so more often than not the blooms get killed by a late frost within a day or so. Its transient beauty pulls me up short every year. At first I used to try to save it with rolls of fleece and insulation but now I just enjoy it while it lasts. I tried to capture this fleeting feeling last year in a series of pictures using a combination of intentional camera movement and in-camera multi-exposure shots.
I think this one was probably best and has some links in colour and mood to Colin’s picture – in my mind at least!
Hady ~ I received an interesting square image of beautiful purple flowers from David. They seem to have been part of a bigger collection.
David’s image reminded me of some earlier work I did at the beginning of the first COVID lockdown in April 2020. COVID lockdown saw the beginning of a change in my photography interest and style. I started looking differently into nature and “painting with the camera”. The result is a new style of photography for me; poetic fine art photography.
My chosen image is high key and shares David’s square format image and its purple colour.
Jim ~ Hady has clearly taken a photo of a flower and manipulated it in Photoshop to create a rather surreal image with slightly unearthly colours. So mine is also of a flower, a rose from my garden, which I have also manipulated. Not nearly as abstract but I hope it complements Hady’s image to some degree.
Mary ~ When I saw Jim’s lovely image I was drawn to the delicate flower and the colour palette. My image is a close-up of a dandelion clock with some of the seeds falling out and the colour palette is similar to Jim’s. Dandelion clocks are a perfect circular shape before the seeds are blown away, either by the wind or human, destroying the fragile and beautiful clock. The tips of the seeds mirror the water drops that appear in Jim’s image.
Mermie ~ Stiff stems in opposition to the softness of Mary’s. The blue of the stems helped me know that my cataract removal was successful as blue is known to become more intense.
~~~~~
september 2023
Mermie started and sent this image to Kate and Bunshri
This elephant at Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire is one of over 50 animal sculptures, handmade from natural materials. The sponsor, Animal Ark, honours the life’s work of the late Mark Shand, the founder of the NGO Elephant Family, brother of HM Queen Camilla and a regular visitor to Sudeley Castle which had been home to his uncle the late Lord Ashcombe.
Kate sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to David
David sent this image to Avril
Avril ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Mermie sent me an elephant, mainly an elephant’s ear and eye, under some trees. I went out looking for a response in our local woods, and found this beautiful young man. He is in a glade of large trees on the large green area called the Campus in Welwyn Garden City (actually a very large roundabout leading to the town centre). The sculpture dates from 1938 and is by Kathleen Scott, widow of Robert Scott of the Antarctic and mother of Peter Scott, artist and conservationist. It was originally called ‘England’ (no idea why) but the name was changed to ‘Ad Astra’ a couple of years later when it was given to Welwyn Garden City. I think its optimism suits the Garden City (in a rather dated way), and the statue sits very well under the trees shielding it from the constant stream of cars driving past.
Hady ~ I received from Kate an image of a statue of an athletic young man showing him from his legs up. It reminded me of an image I took a few years ago of a statue of an upside down man with his head buried in the ground, neck on the ground and the rest of the body up in the air.
I took this image on 02 July 2019 at St Pancras’s Church, near St Pancras, London where this sculpture was installed.
This enormous upside down man with his head “buried” in the ground was originally installed in the middle of Lower Grosvenor Gardens at the heart of Mayfair in 2013. His upside down body, five times the size of a human was only visible from the neck down — or up you might say — and the body sticking up into the air. In September 2015 the sculpture was moved to the National Trust property of Mottisfont in Hampshire. I am not sure of the statue’s current location.
The sculptor, David Breuer-Weil, named it “Alien,” a nod to his grandfather who fled Nazi-run Vienna in 1938 and who, upon his arrival in England, was labeled “enemy alien”.
Austin ~ I don’t have many images of people or human figures posed upside down but recalled this one I took near Brick Lane about three years ago. The painted slogan was a topical one at the time, and the solo fitness routine could well have been a consequence of lockdown. Given these factors I think the image says much about that time, as well as showing that there is usually some open space to be enjoyed near to London’s busy streets.
David ~ I was very struck by the text in Austin’s image with its connotations of the Black Lives Matter movement and of breath/inspiration – and then also the shape of the person in the foreground – in a powerful yoga pose but also looking bent/contorted.
It resonated with an image I saw on a photo walk I took along the Canal St Martin in Paris this month. There were lots of examples of interesting street art relating to immigration alongside people enjoying stretching out by the canal but I thought this one in particular was related to Austin’s both in body shapes and text. (I’ve put a selection of other pictures at https://photodka.tumblr.com/post/725113224304918528/a-few-pictures-from-a-photo-walk-along-the-canal)
Avril ~ These posters are located at Wynwood Walls, Miami’s original Street Art Museum.
Following on from Mermie, Bunshri sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Len
Len sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Jim
Jim ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Bunshri ~ Elephants are very dear to me. For me they signify Ganesh- a protector for good health, joy and new openings in life. To me the eye in the portrait looks quite sad. When I saw this at the Wolff Gallery, I was drawn to photograph it. Gluckstein speaks of sustainability- using cardboard to make the portrait. He touches on how to his dismay people poach these animals- he worries about extinction.
Rashida ~ Bunshri sent an intriguing image of a sculpture of an elephant, showing part of the face and one ear. It seems to be very creatively created using paper and cardboard. The intentional blurring around the periphery of the image was to emphasise mainly the eye and also a bit of the surrounding area. I picked up on the focal point of the eye and responded with an image taken in The Palm Court Restaurant at The Ritz Hotel in London. The nymph seems to be enjoying some private thoughts gazing into the far distance. The grimacing face of the river-god carved in the short surface of wall by the grotto seems to be staring at the nymph in horror. As if he was able to read her thoughts? Who knows? It matters not.
Len ~ If this were a social/psychological discussion group rather than a photo group, we might debate the content of Rashida’s photograph even more extensively than I am going to here. But I can’t resist making some non-photographic observations.
The grotesque face, reminiscent of a gargoyle, stares hungrily with his mouth open at the semi-nude reclining female. Is this just a chance juxtaposition of two pieces of statuary or is their positioning permanent and intentional? And what about her expression? Is it the beginning of pleasure or of fear at this encounter?
Consider also the male carving. It seems to be common to many cultures to want to depict that which they might find frightening. Why is that? Is it to exert control by fear as for example when it occurs in a religious setting, or do we simply enjoy being safely frightened, or seeing others frightened, as in a horror film?
Back to photography now. Rashida has certainly created an interesting and well composed image for me to follow. Even the plant leaves which traditionalists might prefer to be absent add an aggressive suggestion of knives threatening the vulnerable woman.
I know that Rashida has a close connection with South Africa, so it was to my collection of images taken on a holiday there that I looked to for something with which to follow hers. I found this beautifully carved and, I think, frightening mask. It’s every bit as fierce as the stone carving and perhaps even more scary. But no female counterpart this time.
Colin ~ Taken at the Oceania exhibition at the Royal Academy in 2018 – one of several amazing heads from the different indigenous peoples. Its relation to Len’s image is really that it is just another face… I resisted finding a similar looking emoji instead…
Jim ~ I did this in lockdown. It is supposed to be my take on Man Ray’s “Noir et Blanche” – Man Ray did one in positive format and also one in negative format (as is mine). In Man Ray’s image there is an African mask in the upright position with a beautiful woman’s face resting on the table. During lockdown I had an African mask but no beautiful female model. So instead I wore a beautiful male Balinese mask, and rested my masked face on the table. I took Colin’s large colourful mask and did the opposite with my black and white masks.
~~~~~
July 2023
David started and sent this image to Dawn and Bunshri
My image is from a series I started making in 2022 of people standing near London landmarks but with all their attention on looking at their ‘phones – the working title is ‘Neither here nor there’.
I like this one because the action is happening ‘off camera’ outside the frame and also the sense contrast between the movement of the car and the stillness of the people taking a picture. I hope it has enough intrigue in it to set people off in different directions for this round of Consequences.
Dawn sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Mark
Mark ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Dawn ~ This is a photograph of Catherine’s palace in St Petersburg. As in David’s there is a building and people. The people here are queuing to see the Palace when is opens not taking photos on phones of something ahead of them, perhaps an emergency Both buildings are large but very different.
Kate ~ I’ve chosen this picture to follow Dawn’s picture – I ought to know where it is. First I looked for another baroque facade, or of crowds of tourists. That didn’t yield anything. I liked this one of a sitting room in a minor stately home (or country house as the people living there call it). The colour of the fireplace echoes the blue of the palace facade, and the style is sort of baroque. I also rather like the contrast between the beautifully painted palace and its formal garden, with the clearly lived-in sitting room – the wonky lampshade, magazines piled on to a side table etc.
Mary ~ Kate’s image is a colourful interior shot of an English period home with furniture and paintings to match the period. A very cosy, warm and welcoming room.
Although the headline in the FT – ‘tabloid newsroom paralysed by siege mentality’ leaped out at me as being the focal point of the image, I decided to go in the opposite direction. So my image is the opposite – it shows a Japanese ‘period home’ which is very different – the room is very carefully laid out and seemingly, to my Western eye, a cool and distant welcome for any visitor. The only real time similarity to Kate’s is that the window to the right of my image is not a reflection.
Hady ~ Mary’s image is of a Japanese room most likely in a Japanese temple. It is very orderly with Tatami mats on the floor and several wall and ceiling silk screens/panels. It is serene and calming.
In response, my image is of a dividing screen, something used frequently in Japanese rooms. The screen in my image was in a bedroom in a delightful B&B Hotel in Faversham, where we stayed a few years ago. It reminded me of Japanese screens.
Mark ~ Hady’s picture reminded me of my attached image. Sun, shadow, mine with curves rather than straight lines but textural just the same. The barrow seemed to be paying homage to the sun just as the screen was playing a role in the brightly lit room in Hady’s picture.
Following on from David, Bunshri sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Len
Len sent this image to Austin
Austin ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Bunshri ~ Having received an image from David about everyone in the image being preoccupied on their own mobile phones, the viewer has difficulty with what bit of the image to focus on.
I chose to show this image – where one’s eyes flutter from the painting in colour to the chairs in black and white. Why is it behind the black fenced area? Does the image depict Africa in any way? For me the image raises many questions.
Jim ~ Here is my image that I have sent to Avril, following on from Bunshri.
A difficult image to follow on from, but I guess I saw a confident young woman of colour and decided to show another confident young woman of colour, although in a far more expressive mode. This is Lianne La Havas (Greek father, Jamaican mother), an indie folk / soul singer. I photographed her at Latitude Music Festival, possibly singing her hit of the time “Is your love big enough?”!
Avril ~ This image won’t stand being blown up as the print is only 2 x 2 3/4 inches. I can’t find a larger print of it, and I don’t particularly want to start making a larger print in the time left. I think it’s sufficient for Len to cope with.
Len ~ When Avril sent me her image she apologised for it being so small. But I love the way her presentation echoes the feeling of informal music making that’s going on between these two young people.
I had a hard job finding something to follow on from that – I hardly ever photograph musicians. Finally, I came across this photograph, taken in Barcelona in 2009, of a gentleman playing his guitar and hoping for a few coins from the tourists.
Apart from Avril’s and my photos both including musical instruments there is really no photographic link between them, not in colour or form, and scarcely in subject. But my photo made me wonder if, many years ago, my guitar player had also been a youngster learning his instrument and enjoying making music with it, like Avril’s subjects, with no idea of how his future life would evolve.
Austin ~ I have many images of varying quality of live music performances, and guitars are always eye-catching, but I thought that in keeping with Len’s image mine should show someone performing alone. This is Richard Thompson performing at the Cambridge Folk Festival, and shows him in isolation with just his guitar, a spotlight and a water bottle. I had managed to take in a better camera than usually permitted at concerts, and positioned myself at a good angle for photography.
~~~~~~~~~
June 2023
Hady started and sent this image to Duncan and to Jim and Mark
My image was taken in August 2017 at London’s South Bank, one of my favourite areas in London. It usually has a lot of activities going on. On that day, a bright warm Sunday afternoon outside the ground floor of The Royal Festival Hall, there was a gathering of a large number of people socialising around tables with snacks and drinks. Viewing them from the first floor above showed their interesting distribution. I thought the unusual view from above was worth sharing.
Jim sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to David
David sent this image to Mary
Mary ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Hady’s array of round tables and crowds of people enjoying themselves is great. I have replicated the circular them but just one piece of furniture and just one solitary individual. Taken from the top like Hady’s image. I like the fact that the image on her phone screen mimics the circular theme. Taken at the Guggenheim Art Gallery in Bilbao.
Rashida ~ Jim sent an image with a limited palette of neutral colours enhancing the gentleness and stillness of his image. I responded to the stillness, colours and circles created in Jim’s image. Mine is of a clock where time has been frozen at almost 11.15. If you look carefully you see part of my reflection in the chrome surround of the clock. It is a personal and poignant image for me. I was given the clock by a Pharmaceutical Company while working as a newly-qualified doctor and I gifted it to my mother who kept it on her bedside table. This image was taken after my mother’s death in September 2017 while I was clearing her home. The clock now sits on my bedside table. It still keeps perfect time. Cherished memories.
Austin ~ This is perhaps following Rashida’s image rather literally, although timepieces are quite a wide-ranging subject and in addition to the watch face I liked the bold colours; I was also pleased with the impression of margins provided by the spaces above and below, and the capturing of the shadow from the street lamp which made me think of a thin robot checking the time! The watch image is street art in Shoreditch produced as advertising, and part of a wider vista; there was a heading with the words “Big” and “Bold” beside the watch, and additional red and white imagery of sunbathers on loungers with red and white umbrellas and bikes. One of my other images taken there included a man in a matching red tee shirt photographing his dog on the kerb in front of the watch!
David ~ Austin’s picture of the Swatch wall art led me immediately to some pictures I took in Glasgow a couple of years ago where they have a great wall art trail through the city. I thought this one of another type of ‘clock’ was particularly appropriate in the circumstances.
Mary ~ To me, David’s image is about time and people walking past seemingly oblivious to what is around them. The time element is the dandelion clock being blown away.
My image has the elements of time with the clock in the background. The giant bubble, although not blown, still reminds me of blowing bubbles. The little girl is totally engaged with the bubbles while someone is striding past not taking much notice of what is going on.
Technically its not a good image but it was a grab shot with my camera – I would have liked the background to be a little more in focus.
Following on from Hady, Mark sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Kate
Kate ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mark ~ Hady’s image put me in mind of ants round sweet food or bees tending to grubs in a hive, both images of creatures following invisible pheromones or subtle movements. Very busy. Highly active exchanging invisible information in the moment.
My image appears to show light beams emanating from shadowy figures. The light beams reaching out as though to communicate something we may not fully understand and don’t normally see. The image is my reinterpretation of a work by the artist, Spencer Finch (British Museum, 2020) who visited the plain of Troy to see the dawn light and was moved to think that this same light may have been seen by Achilles 3000 years before. Finch measured the light and created the exact light quality in his installation. The light quality therefore was the invisible information absorbed by the historical Achilles and my passing figures, in the moment.
Anne ~ Following on from Mark, I looked for light and silhouettes and found them both here although the subject is different from Mark’s.
Avril ~ The uses to which net curtains can be put to cover furniture. Taken in Corfu.
Colin ~ Taken in 2011 in the Philadelphia Art Museum of part of their display of modern furniture. The ‘robot’ is a cabinet with a shelf and drawers. Avril’s picture features an armchair, and as I hadn’t a suitable high key picture to hand with similar soft tones, I decided to go for the furniture aspect.
Kate ~ I scratched my head about how to follow Colin’s picture of a display shelf, showing an arrangement of presumably small models of modern style chairs with, in the centre part, a robot like character in front of and an abstract painting with a large prominent eye. The best I can do is echo the rectangular framing of the objects. This picture was taken on my phone, in the cold snap before Christmas. With icy winds and snow on the ground, all our windows were ripped out and replaced with new plastic framed ones, better for keeping out the cold, and easy to open in warmer weather. I was fascinated by these frost patterns which formed overnight (showing that there was moisture trapped between the double glazing). I just wish I had paused for long enough to include all three horizontal window panes in the picture – but this was difficult to achieve at the same time as capturing the detail of the frost.
~~~~~
May 2023
Rashida started and sent her image to Duncan and to Kate
A row of silos on Granville Island is among the most photographed things in Vancouver. The six towers, each 70 feet tall, were once a dull gray, but now feature a colourful crew of giants. Half of them face the boats on False Creek, and the other three look inward, towards the Ocean Concrete plant.
The silos are the work of Brazilian twins Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo, known collectively as OSGEMEOS (Portuguese for THE TWINS).
In 2014 the Vancouver Biennale commissioned the twins to bring their ongoing mural series “Giants” to British Columbia. OSGEMEOS chose the silos on Granville Island to add depth to the two-dimensional pieces they normally create.
Ocean Concrete, which is still a fully operational business, has a long history of community participation and happily offered a medium for the twins.
This is an interesting article about the creation of the artwork:
https://www.designboom.com/art/os-gemeos-vancouver-biennale-21-08-2014/
Duncan sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Mark
Mark sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Jim
Jim ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Duncan ~ Thanks Rashida! A slightly odd scene and image. It made me immediately think of a response image. However, I then started to think about industry being disguised, the scale of industrial architecture and a few other things but I kept returning to my initial reaction and this image. The reason being the colourful and slightly over the top characters cheering up an otherwise grim scene. In my image (not one of my best) the colourful, slightly over the top character is part of a drive-in opera in that otherwise grim scene: the Covid restrictions in 2020. That both images have vehicles and industrial architecture is very secondary.
Anne ~ Here is the photo I have sent to Mark this morning. I decided to hone in on the Man in costume with his back to us in Duncan’s image. I got drawn into the anti Brexit march immediately after the vote that was going down Piccadilly . The man in my picture is also dressed up but it is the little girl with her sensible boots and drooping wings and closeness to her father that touched me. Perhaps she will be part of getting back into the EU?
Mark ~ For me, Anne’s picture summed up making a statement of principle in the face of alternative views to benefit ourselves and our dependents. My picture came quickly to mind. It was taken at a large Arla dairy in North London (March 2020) following picketing promoting plant-based diets to benefit ourselves and initially the bull calves which are surplus to milk production except by being born. Visually I liked the similarity between the observer’s hair and the chalk artist’s depiction of the cow. Like the subject of Anne’s picture and the Arla protest, this was a momentary statement of principle that materialised and disappeared as quickly.
Avril ~ Aberdeen Angus on the land by Loch Lomond. I don’t choose to involve myself with political arguments. They would not be roaming this landscape if the farmer did not take bales of hay up to keep them alive through the winter. It’s very hard work and he has to make a living. Without milk without meat these animals would be dead anyway and our landscape bare of them all.
Jim ~ I am afraid that I have had to resort to my archive for this one. The only real connection is domesticated cattle. Avril’s looks like Scotland, mine is Agra, India on the north bank opposite the Taj Mahal. My wife Lynda and I borrowed bicycles from my cousin and went for an early morning cycle ride and saw this woman herding her cattle. It has been one of my favourite images from our six month overland trip in 1978 / 79.
Following on from Rashida, Kate sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to David
David ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Rashida’s opening picture was quite a challenge. Then I focused on the dressed up silos or whatever they are behind the trucks. Giant dolls!
So here is a picture of part of my 10 year old granddaughter, Florence’s, doll collection, lined up on her bedroom floor. They are all characters from musicals, stories etc which she loves and I know nothing about – except for the larger doll on the right, which I made for her some years ago. In the world Florence has invented, this doll is the boss, the teacher who keeps all the others in order.’
Austin ~ This was taken during a walk in London’s Chinatown during January 2023 and maintains both the “group” and “catering” elements. The original image included more of the food prep and service areas; it was close to Chinese New year and these featured lanterns and string lights as well as numerous screens and display boards, filling the area with colour and reflected light. I have cropped the image while continuing to centre on the chefs; I also tried to keep a hint of the tables and chrome chairs at the front as these provided additional context. Finally I added a vignette to place the chefs in the spotlight and reduce the background distractions.
Colin ~ Taken recently by the Grand Union canal. Volunteers of the Boxmoor Trust were doing a six monthly check in a chalk stream for traces of latrines used by Water Voles that have been reintroduced.
The three people reflected the three people making what was probably sushi.
Hady ~ I received an image from Colin showing three people standing in shallow water wearing water protecting clothing and footwear. The image was unusual enough to make me think of the consequent image I sent to David. This was of puppets in the yard of St Andrew’s Church in Hertfod. The puppets were of biblical characters and sheep made by local artists in celebration of of Christmas. I thought the installation was unusual enough to warrant documentation.
David ~ Hady’s image of the nativity scene in the churchyard opened up many paths to follow. I’ve taken a lot of pictures in churchyards over the years but looking at them, they mostly had a gothic / melancholic style which didn’t seem to suit to sequence – so instead I opted for this one. It features an earthly choir rather than a heavenly one but has a similar playful tone. It was taken in an Oxford college where my wife and I lived for several years. I became the unofficial photographer for various student events including recordings and performances of the college choir – and so when I saw them running into the quad after a rehearsal to play in the snow I had to grab my camera to take a few pictures – this one caught the delight of the occasion just right.
~~~~~
April 2023
Colin started and sent this image to David and to Austin
Colin ~ I was flicking through stuff I had taken at the back end of 2022, mainly in the garden or on a walk. This was when it snowed in mid-December at the point before the sun had caused the snow to start dropping off the branches. While it could make a good black & white picture, the brown stems contrast the blue sky colour, while the snow emphasises the thorns.
The rose is Rosa sericea ‘Pteracantha’, the winged thorn rose, whose spring shoots have bright red thorns. It has single white flowers and grows about 2 metres tall. We saw it in flower in Yunnan on our trip to China in 2012.
David sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Len
Len sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to Hady
Hady ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
David ~ Colin’s snow covered thorns set me off thinking in many wintery directions – especially with snow in the forecast for the week ahead. In the end I settled on this image from January 2021 at a time when we were all suffering from the impact of Covid and not being able to visit friends and family. I started having dreams of portals, wormholes, and magic doors through which we could travel into different worlds – and so I decided to create one in the garden. This image is one of a series of images of a door in strange and unexpected settings. I thought this one worked well in building on the snow and the impenetrable thorn bush in Colin’s picture as perhaps another frame in a fairy tale.
Rashida ~ David sent a lovely image of what appears to be a door standing on its own in an open space. Beautiful and intriguing. I was tempted to open the door and go through it into a magical world. I hope my response shows just that with a photograph taken at the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul. The inscription above the door is a verse from the Quran written in gold. The image attached shows the verse and an English translation underlined in red. Stunning architecture.
Len ~ I contrasted Rashida’s striking image of receding doorways with its very elaborate traditional decoration with this view along multiple train carriages which is no doubt familiar to all of us. In my image the design emphasis is on smooth undecorated curves and of course, in modern trains, the previously present doors have been removed, although the impression of receding doorways remains, for me, anyway.
Jim ~ Len’s image is striking. There is a distinct coolness and, of course, the total absence of human life. The blue is very striking but is complemented by the desaturated greys with a splash or two of red. There is a sense of order and design. At first glance, my image could even be an array of designer lipsticks on a shelf at Boots. It is of course completely different and is the bombs found in Flanders fields from WW1. Taken at the Passendale Museum in Belgium just last week I felt it reflected some of the qualities and tones of Len’s picture.
Mary ~ When I saw Jim’s image I could see very vertical lines in it of the shelves of ‘shells’ – all very in focus. Although my image isn’t of shelves it does reflect the verticals in the ICM technique I employed while taking this at Greenich. As it is an ICM the picture is blurred but the viewer can still work out what the image is of – people in a building.
Hady ~ I received an image from Mary, that at first sight appeared blurred. It transpired that it was an ICM image. It brought to mind an image I took recently of beautiful double rainbow that we saw after heavy rain recently. Sharing double arches, I thought it was a perfect fit to Mary’s image.
Following on from Colin, Austin sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Mark
Mark sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to Sabes
Sabes sent this image to Avril
Avril ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Austin ~ Colin sent me an image of closely-tangled thorny branches covered in snow, against an equally wintry background. I thought of forwarding a similar composition but in red, a close-up of branches and bloom within a Japanese acer tree; I decided instead to retain the elements of snow and foliage within a more open view which hopefully has more potential for further interpretation. I took this picture in Highfield Park, St Albans, in December 2022.
Anne ~ My image follows on from Austin’s woodland scene. Mine is a much wilder scene but I like the vibrant, fresh daffodils near the rotting tree trunk.
Mark ~ For me Anne’s image is not life springing from death but life springing from change. The dry and withered undergrowth, unloved fence, rotting tree. Within and beneath all this, life goes on – handed to different organisms such as the flowering bulbs, adapted to a different but complementary set of rules. Different growing, adapted organisms and change is what I saw for my photograph of man-made concrete becoming host to micro-aquatic forms clinging on the margins of wet and dry, always subject to nature’s changing nature yet surviving in their way. My subject was at Customs House on the Thames.
Kate ~ Mark’s very interesting image stumped me! I couldn’t think of anything in the archive to match it. I didn’t have my camera available, so I tried various ideas with my phone – but none of them was any good.
I looked at the picture – there are fascinating patterns on the wall above the water; a lot of straight horizontal lines, except for the very curvy reflection of the railings in the water at the bottom; and bits of moss plus a tiny plant struggling to survive in the wet stones or concrete at the top.
My response picks up on the horizontal lines, with railings, and reflections (but not of the railings) in water at the food of the picture. There are also some plants, but not struggling like the moss and the weed in Mark’s.
I took the photo in the beautiful garden of the Alcázar in Córdoba in February a few years ago.’
Sabes ~ In Kate’s photograph I saw the suggestion of a tree on the wall with wirey climbers. In my image I decided to respond to this suggestion – water seeping through the roof of the London underground rail tunnel has created an image that suggests a tree. Where the water dripped straight down, a stem of the ‘tree’ has formed. The horizontal line at the top edge in my photograph and a line in Kate’s photograph have some resemblance. The visual associations between the two photographs stop here.
In other respects my images work in a contrasting direction: The objects in Kate’s – ropes and planters – are to prevent people from accidentally falling into what appears to be a swimming pool in the foreground. Danger and alert are incorporated. My image is void of any warning despite a train track between me and the wall.
With doors, arches, balcony and shadows there is a lot happening in Kate’s. Thinking of the underground station, all the activity was behind and besides me, until the next train arrived, when I myself got into the activity.
Avril ~ My answer to Sabes. I had another which was nearly the same shape but it was very literal whereas this is rather more random. Seen in Miami which I think must be graffiti central.
~~~~~~~~
march 2023
Jim started and sent this image to Rashida and Hady
Jim ~ I took this image last spring in Nova Scotia, Canada. My work is typically fairly straightforward, not on the “arty” side. But when I was walking up in Cape Breton I experimented with photographing streams at a slow shutter speed as well as Intentional Camera Movement as is the case here. But I think it captures some of the feeling of spring.
Rashida sent this image to David
David sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to Avril
Avril ended with this image
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Jim has created a beautiful painterly image of trees in the woods using ICM (Intentional Camera Movement). My response is a NCM (No Camera Movement) image capturing an unintentional imitation of nature created by rust and paint covering a corrugated iron sheet on the side of a building. I came across this while exploring the Granville Island Public Market in Vancouver.
David – It’s the real thing?
I’m pretty sure that the white on red background is from an old Diet Coke advert. I’ve taken lots of pictures of peeling billboards over the years as I love the sense of something being revealed whilst something else is fading away. This one was from December 2021 on a billboard by the skew bridge in Harpenden / Southdown. I found Rashida’s image of corrugated iron being transformed by moss and rust very thought provoking – it led me down many paths of images of nature growing back to take over human endeavours but eventually I settled on pictures showing many layers of historical traces – hence the billboards. I hope it gives Mary something to work with.
Mary – When I saw David’s picture of a very distressed board/ wall my series of Hidden London came to mind – a few years ago I went on a photography tour of the un-used underground stations. The 2 images are similar in the fact the posters that were on them are peeling off with only the letter ‘e’ visible in David’s image while the wording is very clear in the centre of my underground image. The rest of the poster in my image has peeled and the wall can be seen behind it.
Colin ~ Mary’s image shows what happens in UK when a wall gets neglected, but as I hadn’t any old posters, I decided to look through my graffiti pictures. This appealed to me, largely because someone had proof-read it…
Kate ~ Colin’s picture put me in mind of some rather well drawn graffiti we saw in Lugo – a lovely small city with a complete Roman wall around it, in Galicia, NW Spain, where we stayed eight years ago. The artist seemed to specialise in cats and some other weird things. I think the little pig and the writing are by a different hand, but never mind.’ I’m adding in case there is time to look at them another of his cat drawings, and another message I saw in Malaga, not long after Trump’s election. (I think my first picture may be the answer to the question in the second “Where is the king of the cats”)’
Avril ~ I could have followed Kate’s picture with more graffiti but decided this handsome boar would outface the pig. This was taken in the Loggia del Mercator Nuovo in Florence (New Market Square). I don’t know who the sculptor was but it was a beautiful work of bronze.
Following on from Jim, Hady sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to Dawn
Dawn sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri sent this image to Sabes
Sabes ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ I received from Jim a delicate image of trees taken using ICM (Intentional Camera Movement). It brought back memories of a long time ago when I was trying out ICM photographing nature producing images similar to Jim’s image and others. My image, also taken at that time, however is using ICM in an urban environment.”
Anne ~ I was intrigued by Hady’s image and it made me think of a series of pictures I made , trying to capture movement. This one is where I moved the camera but the subject was still. It was an interesting project as one had no idea what would be on the negative. There were lots of disappointments but some surprises.
Austin – No motion blur here, but an upright figure with a statement to make. This is from a memorial outside the shipyard at Gdansk, Poland, remembering the victims of state reprisals against protestors. The plaque in this image highlights the casualties which followed a revolt against steep increases in the price of food and fuel in December 1970, particularly during a massacre known as “Black Thursday”. The phrases shown include “gave their lives” and victims of cruelty”. Plaques from other uprisings, some featuring quite powerful imagery, are mounted nearby.
Dawn ~ I thought Austin’s image was memorial so I have also chosen one with a more abstract design representing countless people who died during the Second World War. It is the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. The symbolic tombs are grey, the paint is graffiti resistant. The lab that make the paint is the same one that developed the gas for the concentration camps. When I took the photograph it had been raining when suddenly the sun came out. The red umbrella is still up, the only sign of life, perhaps in that brief moment it seemed to symbolise hope.
Bunshri ~ Having received image of a half ambiguous figure within what seemed like a cemetery, I decided to go completely ambiguous. This an image taken in my late mum-in-law’s bedroom. What do you think it is?
Sabes ~ I was wondering where the red patch came from in Bunshri’s photo. Doesn’t matter about its source. Without light nothing is visible.
~~~~~~~~
february 2023
Austin started and sent this image to Kate and Avril
Austin ~ The Egyptian sculptures in front of this terrace in Richmond Avenue, Islington, appear to commemorate Nelson’s victory at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, even though the houses were built over forty years later. This is an example of a quirkily historical London street and of Victorian Egyptomania, although the styling of the figures has also drawn comparisons with Las Vegas! I hope the lines and shapes shown provide a helpful basis for more images.
Kate took two images and one went to Anne
Anne sent this image to Sabes
Sabes sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Rashida
Rashida ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Austin’s amazing row of sphinxes – like many Consequences images – made me work hard to find my sequel. I ended up with one of the Sphinxes under Cleopatra’s needle on the Embankment. Only one sphinx. There are just two with the needle one on either side. Apparently they were supposed to be facing forward, rather than facing the monument. Taking both of them did not compose into an interesting picture for me.
Quite a story attaching to the taking of it. I decided that the Cleopatra’s needle sphinxes would be the answer to Austin’s picture. First of all I took a version with my lovely new (pre-loved) camera. Then I went to Waterstone’s cafe in Trafalgar Square for a coffee and snack. I was immersed in a book, with my backpack, containing camera, lenses, etc. When I got up to go, the backpack had vanished! Stolen! (Fortunately my handbag, which had been on my lap, was not taken – it contained wallet and phone) My camera and the morning’s photos were gone forever! Very upsetting and aggravating. Waterstone’s were very helpful, and I now have a police crime number etc. I went back and took more pictures on my phone.
I can’t resist adding the inscription in the second photograph. John Dixon, the civil engineer who worked out how to bring the monument to London, and designed the iron cylinder which it was floated in, was my grandfather’s uncle. Not surprisingly, he became a family legend, and I proudly own a nice watercolour painting and a few drawings by him. The cylinder became detached from the towing ship during a storm in the Bay of Biscay, and six men were sent out in a small boat to try to retrieve it. They all drowned, and the cylinder was found floating in the sea several days later. I don’t know who was responsible for ordering the men out, but John Dixon is said to have been haunted by their deaths for the rest of his life.’
Anne ~ I read about the obelisk from Alexandria and thought of the current discussion of things that have been brought here from ancient civilisations. I thought this statue in the British Museum was so beautiful but regret that I didn’t make a note of where it came from. (Note: There was a mixup by Mermie in sending Kate’s 2nd image to Anne instead of her first, but Anne rose to the occasion.)
Sabes ~ I found the missing bust of Anne’s lady – in Mickelepage in Horsham where Jill Stapleton of IPSE ran residential photography workshops.
Jim ~ Sabes’ photo is slightly mysterious. The figure appears to be religious while mine is not. But I was struck by the fact that the face is not fully in focus but the fabric is. In mine the man’s face is also somewhat obscured, this time by plastic which is there to protect the statues during the harsh Canadian winter weather (I went in early spring). My image is also largely monochrome.
Rashida ~ Jim’s arresting image in muted tones threw up many questions such as “why? how? where? where to?”.
My response was somewhat similar to the installation I photographed at the Rockefeller Plaza in NYC in 2019. This is the work of Jaume Plensa, a Spanish artist. It stands just under 7.5 metres tall. To quote the artist, “Sometimes, our hands are the biggest walls. They can cover our eyes, and we can blind ourselves to so much of what’s happening around us.”
To see the installation, visit https://umma.umich.edu/exhibitions/2020/jaume-plensa-behind-the-walls
Following on from Austin,
Avril sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Dawn
Dawn ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~As you can see, my 2009 image of the Chicago Art Institute complements Austin’s in several ways.
Colin ~ Avril’s image was the façade of the Chicago Art Institute, of which I had a very similar shot. I thought I might put in a ‘magic hour’ picture which included some of the skyscrapers in the background of Avril’s picture. However, I explored other art museums in USA, but felt the one I had of the Metropolitan Museum in New York City was too similar to Avril’s in style. I had this shot taken at the Museum of Modern Art from the rear courtyard, and chose it partly as it had Mary-esque qualities…
Mary ~ I have responded to Colin’s lovely image of glass with this one.
Hady ~ I received a beautiful image from Mary of the reflection of the sky and some reeds on what appears to be a shiny glass sphere.
It made me think of the reflection on a small, usually flooded area on the bank of the River Lea (one of my favourite walks). I thought this was similar in reflection, though it is natural.
Dawn ~ My picture follows Hady’s quite well with the trees and reflections. It was quite windy so the reflection of the trees across is not so sharp but the reflections in the foreground are clear.
~~~~~~~
january 2023
Jim started and sent this image to Avril and Anne.
Taken in the turbine hall at Tate Modern, I loved the slow controlled movement of the artists and the slight asymmetry produced as one of the dancers takes over from the other.
Avril sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Sabes
Sabes ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~ In reply to Jim’s picture which I, at first, thought was a form of martial arts I have sent a picture of Morris dancers, the connection being the staves. A friend who is an authority on Japanese martial arts tells me it is not as I thought but could offer no clue. The Morris dancers were in St Christopher’s Place, St. Albans, one summer’s day. The children I observed did not seem impressed, it was either too noisy for them or too frightening.
Bunshri ~ Having received a colourful thought provoking image from Avril, I followed with this image and sent it to Colin. Avril’s image was colourful but I listened to my intuition and was drawn to muted colouring – changing the mood from fun to contemplation of mortality.
I call it the ‘Void’. Missing her from our extended family, been an emotional week and I was drawn to this.
Colin ~ Taken at Chanticleer Garden near Philadelphia in USA, this is in what is notionally the bathroom in a deliberately ruined house within the garden. Water continuously pours into a rectangular basin in which several marble masks are immersed.
Rashida ~ Colin sent me an image that transfixed me in a haunting, morbid sort of way and left me speechless. My imagination went into overdrive. The only word to describe the image that came to mind was “macabre”. It is a visually arresting image. On one of my walks in the woods during lockdown I was looking down at the ground. Nature had created some amazing artistry with rocks and stones which now on reflection could convey the same feel as in Colin’s image.
Sabes ~ I like the moments when animals pause and look at you. The pause can be to being startled, curiosity or confrontational. This frog was disturbed and startled as I was digging the earth in my alotment. In Rashida’s image rock and soil merge so an image where rock, soil and animal merging is an apt response. Frog emerging from the earth is a metaphor for life in earth and soil.
Following on from Jim, Anne sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Len
Len sent this image to Kate
Kate ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ Doing a Room. Ten minutes of spit and polish, putting up the cushions, fresh flowers – when I look back from the doorway, it’s as good as a Spring-clean!
Austin ~ Continuing from how Anne’s image captures “a job well done”, I took this picture of a runner who had just completed the Brighton half marathon, happy to be photographed along with his celebratory drink! It was a very hot day.
Hady ~ I received an image from Austin of a man wearing a finisher’s medal and holding a celebratory drink. My response image was taken earlier this year of a lady at the Colour Walk in Old Spitalfields Market in London’s East End. It shows a lady in a beautiful celebratory outfit that celebrates the New York Metro Card. Here is a link to the Colour Walk: https://oldspitalfieldsmarket.com/events/colour-walk
Len ~ I could not find anything to echo Hady’s picture of a cheerful sales promoter, either in terms of colour or content. But although she superficially seemed happy enough, I began to reflect on how awful it was to have to submit yourself to the public gaze in such an ugly outfit – all marketing and no style.
I’ve contrasted that with this image of a haute couture wedding gown being studied by the public whose reflections are visible in the showcase. True, one is real life and the other fantasy, but maybe the real-life woman might also sometimes dream of wearing Dior?
Kate ~ I was quite stumped about how to follow Len’s mysterious picture of a dressmaker’s dummy with an amazing pleated gown tacked together on it, with shadowy figures on the other side of the glass case behind it. I thought at first that they must be reflected in the glass, but there are no reflections over the dress – it is all very mysterious. Then, after the theatre I went to a Taz restaurant. The walls are decorated with large monochrome pictures of figures in presumably old Turkish costumes. They have no explanation attached. They are covered by very reflective glass. I photographed them discreetly on my phone, and I thought this image might do as a sequel to Len’s.
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December 2022
Len started and sent this image to Colin & Mermie
I was struck by what seemed to me to be the perfect graphic balance of this image of a fire hose reel and also by the stark contrast of the red against the white background. I took this image over 20
years ago, when I was still photographing on film and then scanning the negative roll. I’ve since
photographed other fire hose reels but like none of them as much as this one.
Colin sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Kate
Kate ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ Taken on a natural history holiday in the Cevennes in the South of France in the month of May. The directional quality of the blown snow was intriguing, while not totally obscuring the road sign. It picks up the circular shape and colour of Len’s image…
Rashida ~ Colin sent me a delightfully quirky image of a road sign covered with windswept snow icicles making an eye catching sculpture. The sharpness and icy cold oozes from the image! I have responded with an image that mimics the icicles in shape only. Mine is a close up of an ostrich feather. Fuzzy, soft and warm to the touch. The feathers were made into dusters in South Africa when I was growing up.
Avril ~ The leaves on these palm trees, taken in Florida in a storm, looked like feathers. If you look closely in the sky, you might see Orion.
Hady ~ Avril sent me an image of fronds of a palm tree with sky background that included some clouds and a large number of white dots that could have been stars. It reminded me of one of my images that show some tree branches with autumn leaves and fluffy clouds in the background. I thought my image was suitable follower to Avril’s.
Kate ~ Hady’s image shows twigs, grasses and leaves against a beautiful sky. This my response – an evening sunset picture on the common near our house in Ingleton. The tree silhouetted against the bright cloud. The poor tree is suffering very badly from the ash dieback disease which is badly affecting the many ashes in the area.
Following on from Len,
Mermie sent this image to Sabes
Sabes sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mermie ~ Taken in 2013 in Hanger 7 at the Salzburg Airport. The structure is an oval rather than a circle, but the pattern of wires recall the squares of the tiles of the wall in Len’s image.
Sabes ~ Strange that Mermie’s image of the steel and glass hanger should evoke a response that is organic in nature. There are repeating oval steel frames that pull our attention to the circle in the centre like the cavity around the eye gradually pulling you into the pupils. Then there are the bolts or connectors looking like human figures. Architecture adopts its shapes from the nature. All in the looking and taking in.
Anne ~ The picture from Sabes was full of movement and going round and I thought this very different image repeated that.
Jim ~ I really loved Anne’s image of the two dancing girls which is brilliant. So an impossible act to follow but I was immediately reminded of this image. I took it at a wedding and this girl was one of the bridesmaids who liked running. One of the key differences (other than the fact that there is only one girl and not two) is that I have panned the camera blurring the background, while in Anne’s image the background is sharp and only the girls are blurred.
Bunshri ~ Following on to Jim’s thought provoking image I follow on with this one I took in Porto. I loved how the slow exposure caught this girl in the waterfall. It follows on from Jim’s movement shot in black and white – though mine is in colour – but muted meditative colours too.
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November 2022
Duncan started and sent this image to Bunshri & Hady
This starting image is from my recent trip. I was bored waiting for a train in Turin.
A bit daunting providing the first image for consequences. Hopefully this image has a few motifs that could spark a response. Geometry, shadows, being nearly monochrome but for a splash of colour or possibly a sense of enigma.
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Bunshri sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Bunshri ~ Receiving Duncan’s emotive image drew me to dig out this image I had captured in Douro Valley. I loved the rustic uneven floor with weird lines and a lot of feet, including the legs of the table and chair.
Rashida ~ Bunshri sent an unusual image of people who appear to be standing in a circle, showing only their lower legs and feet with a low table and chair at the top left hand of the image. There is an interesting stone floor. Could this be a seance, meditation session, exhibition tour or anything else where your imagination takes you? My response is from a delightful exhibition called “Sense of Space” in Bishopsgate in 2018. This image was taken in “The Doodle Room” created by Sam Cox aka Mr Doodle. He bought a large house and completely covered it with doodles. Attached are links to the exhibition as well as info about the artist:
https://news.artnet.com/market/mr-doodle-profile-auction-sales-1947142/amp-page
Sense of Space: A sensory experience of mindful art | Broadgate
https://www.housebeautiful.com/uk/lifestyle/property/a41557616/doodle-house-kent-sam-cox-artist/
Colin ~ I was at a study day about Oriental carpets in 2007. By contrast with Rashida’s very black & white image, this one has an area of colourful patterns, and I also decided that at minimum the speaker’s legs were needed to relate it to Rashida’s picture.
Avril ~ Colin’s picture presented me with a conundrum, I rarely take pictures of people and carpets? My only response was to take a picture of my own hallway, the existing carpet is modern, though hand woven, those that had been in my home for years having been relegated to the attic as too worn for use having passed through a few generations. The trunk belonged to my grandmother and acted as a toy box for my brother and myself when young. Everything has a history.
Jim ~ I have concentrated on the patterned rug which runs at a diagonal. Here are a series of colourful saris laid out to dry after having been washed, and also seem running diagonally. Taken in South India many years ago. The people in the image also partly reflect the portrait in Avril’s photo, but mine is outside in bright sunlight rather than indoors in subdued filtered lighting.
Following on from Duncan,
Len sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Anne
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Anne ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Len ~ As soon as I saw Duncan’s image I knew exactly which of mine I wanted to follow it. Unfortunately my image isn’t quite sharp. That’s because I took it as a grab shot while walking along with my camera in my hand by my side. But not being as sharp as it should be is perhaps forgivable within the Consequences context.
There are obvious content and form similarities but, more importantly, I think both mine and Duncan’s image pose the same question to the viewer “What’s the story here?”, and that, for me at any rate, is their main attraction and link.
Mary ~ When I first saw Len’s image I was struck very much with the mysterious aspect to the image – what was in the box and what was the person doing? My image reflects the same sense of mystery with the steps, empty shoes and the open door leading to where?? I will let the viewer decide for themselves the narrative!
Kate ~ This follows Mary’s lovely mysterious picture of brightly lit steps with a walking stick and shoes on top steps leading into an unseen out of doors. You can see what’s outside the door in my picture – Plaza Abastos, supplies place, rather mundane. It is the entrance to a castle in a small town in Andalucía, you can see part of the wooden place where you buy your ticket on the right. I was captivated by the way the light through the old door falls on the wheelchair ramp. I wonder how the wheelchair is supposed to get in through the door? Maybe someone comes out of the wooden structure on the right and opens the whole door…?
Hady ~ I received an image from Kate that shows the sunlight coming through an open door, revealing a glimpse of a shop/restaurant outside. The rest of the image of the inside of the building is in relative darkness.
Kate’s image reminded me of a photograph I took of the gate of a villa on The Bishops Avenue in London. My image shows the sun shining through the closed gate producing attractive shapes, lines and curves of light and shadows.
Anne ~ My gate picture is rough & ready and inviting, in contrast to Hady’s elegant one.
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october 2022
Mary started and sent this image to Anne and Hady
This starting image is one of an on-going series with the Art Deco theme which I really enjoy putting together. Thinking about how to put the props together is quite a challenge but when it works I am very happy! It is all about shapes, space and the relation they all have. I hope the viewer finds them calm and thoughtful?
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Anne sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ My offering for the October Consequences follows on from Mary’s images of shapes and light that I saw in the architecture of the National Theatre.
Jim ~ Anne’s image is clearly taken inside the National Theatre on South Bank – designed by Denys Lasdun – one of the five most hated as well as one of the five most loved buildings in England! Termed brutalist architecture its walls are of exposed board-formed concrete. Some critics likened it to a nuclear bunker. For me, the exposed concrete works very well in interior spaces (it is almost cosy) but less well externally. However overall I admire the design of the building. I thought that this photo of the exterior with dramatic lighting shows the exposed concrete to best effect.
Bunshri ~ Having received Jim’s beautiful image in blue with one subject who is a silhouette – so quite ambiguous – I decided to show this image where there is a lot of blue. It is at an exhibition at the Royal Academy called Silent Fall. Can you make out what is happening???
Rashida ~ Bunshri’s evocative image is of a little boy transfixed and seemingly mesmerised by what looks like an indoor light/art installation. My image in response is from the Lumiere London Light Festival in January 2016. The light installations reimagine London’s architecture, transforming it into a dazzling nocturnal exhibition.
Mermie ~ When the opportunity arose for me to participate, I looked through some images from our recent trip to the Hudson River Valley in New York State. This view inside part of the Tibetan Buddhist Monastery near Woodstock includes many of the elements in Rashida’s picture – faces, balconies, arches, pillars – that are all much, much more saturated in colour than Rashida’s nighttime view.
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Following on from Mary, Hady sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Len
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Len ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ The image I received from Mary was an interesting one of objects with geometric shapes , straight lines, acute angles and a circle.
Mary’s image reminded me of an image I took in 2017 at Ground Zero in New York City. Although my image is architectural, it shares the straight lines, acute angles and curves.
Kate ~ I couldn’t match the strength and impact of Hady’s picture of amazing architecture. But I think this one taken on the Embankment going towards the Oxo tower echoes its composition – a tall building reaching for the sky, with another structure reaching across it, and reflections in glass beneath. It was taken on a lovely day in April, seeing London our two teenage granddaughters.’
Avril ~ My Consequences image follows Kate with these railings of the Millennium Bridge and the pattern of scullers passing underneath.
Colin ~ My picture was taken at the back of Wadworth’s Brewery in Devizes, when on a visit there – the colours of the scaffolding plank ends and the poles reflected the colour of the Kayaks and the geometry of the footbridge across the Thames by Tate Modern (which I am pretty sure it is).
Len ~ As soon as I saw Colin’s image of stacked scaffolding boards I knew I had nothing in my archives that I could relate to it. Then I remembered that I had recently purchased a bundle of strips of wood for a DIY project which turned out not to need them.
I thought I could photograph them as planks of wood with no indication of their scale although in fact they are barely 1cm wide.
I also decided to present the image as a high contrast black/white photograph, to further emphasise the stacked form, although Colin’s is of course a colour image and, in his case, the different coloured board ends are an important factor in his picture.
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September 2022
Mermie started and sent this image to Kate and Anne.
During a short walk while waiting for a meeting to begin, I saw this cemetery and liked the regular rows with the tree behind.
The cat enjoying the shade of the tree appealed also.
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Kate sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Mermie’s sunny picture of regimented headstones with the big yew standing over them like a sergeant major got me collecting lots of my quite recent pictures of headstones, graveyards etc. I didn’t think until later that a picture of soldiers or demonstrators marching might have been a good sequel. I ended up with another sunny picture, taken in the churchyard at Ayot St Peter last year.
I think you can guess that it is a churchyard if the writing on the stone monument is visible – ‘In my end is my beginning’. Maybe the gate also suggests a beginning, inviting you to go through it into a new world…
Colin ~ This was taken in Angers in France when we were on a trip to sing with a local choir. The lump of stone in the distance picked up on the obelisk in Kate’s picture. Although a more formal setting, grass and trees also featured.
I rather liked the two girls relaxing, probably a lunch break from the office or college.
Mary ~ Colin’s image is about 2 people chatting on a stone wall with someone walking around in the background.
My image reflects the people sitting on a stone wall but instead of talking to each other they are communicating on their phones. Also the 2 people walking in the background could be meeting up for a chat??!
Avril ~ When I received Mary’s image my immediate thought was the seating looked like a submarine. Hence my picture, a WWII sub the USS Becuna moored alongside a Spanish/American War era cruiser the USS Olympia, part of the Independence Seaport Museum at Penn’s Landing on the Delaware River in Philadelphia.
I went on board the Becuna and appreciated the courage of those who served on her during the war. I’m not sure which was worse serving in tanks or in submarines – neither for the claustrophobic.
Sabes ~ I am in Canada. I thought I’d send a picture in quick response to Avril’s picture. This is what I found out of my bedroom window.
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Following on from Mermie, Anne sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ Here is the image I have sent to Bunshri. Another graveyard; a jewish cemetery in Germany, just along the road from where my sister lives. It is peaceful and having to be extended because of the influx of Jewish people moving into Germany. It seems so extraordinary that, while terrible things were being inflicted on Jewish people in the thirties and forties this place was looked after by a local non jewish man. He is remembered with a plaque on the cemetery wall.
Bunshri ~ Following on to Anne’s image of the graveyard, this image came to mind. I had taken it last week at St. Albans Cathedral.
I loved the light and can imagine a doorway to Nirvana.
Rashida ~ Bunshri’s image is of a stunning interior of a church with magnificent arches with a lovely feeling of calmness. In response, my image from Istanbul is of very small mosque, the Imperial Sofa Mosque in the fourth courtyard of the Topkapi Palace built by Sultan Mahmud II. The windows overlooking the sea have shapes similar to the arches in Bunshri’s image. The woman in the image of was doing her prayers.
The mosque is very small and simple and exuded a feeling of peace and calmness.
Hady ~ I received an image from Rashida of a woman performing her prayers in a seaside mosque with blue carpet and blue sea water showing through a couple of windows.
Rashida’s image reminded me of an image I took of the inside of a dome of a small building that supplies free drinking water outside and close to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul and clear blue sky showing through two arches.
Jim ~ Hady’s image appears to be from a mosque with glimpses of tall, slim minarets and the ornate patterning of the underside of the vaulted ceiling. My image is only of the vaulted ceiling taken at the Alhambra, Grenada, Spain.
I was fascinated with the complex layering and its almost organic feel – it feels like a mythical sea creature.
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Note: There was no August meeting.
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July 2022
A blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Avril started and sent this image to Kate and to Hady.
Avril ~ Anicka Yi: In Love With The World. A vision of a new ecosystem, floating in the air, her machines – called – aerobes – reimagine artificial intelligence and encourage us to think about new ways machines might inhabit the earth.
An exhibition shown in the Turbine Hall Tate Modern last year.
They were quite fascinating as they ‘floated’ around like giant soap bubbles with legs, each one had a tiny motor attached.
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Kate sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Duncan
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Duncan ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Avril’s picture looks down from a great height on a large space (maybe Tate Modern entrance area). Tiny people looking up at strange bright coloured floating balloon like floating things. The other day I was just outside the Hayward Gallery and saw the bright coloured installation – another work of art in a large space. My people are not looking at the art (though the pigeon just behind them is). They are photographing the name of the artist on a yellow pillar. I failed to do this, so I can’t report who it is.
Sabes ~ Pigeon and Robin. The bird in Kate’s photograph is out of the view of those in the frame. The bird in my photo takes the centre stage on the side mirror of the car. It occasionally looked at itself on the mirror assuring its identity. Shame they are not the same kind.
Rashida ~ Sabes’s image for me was about shapes and lines with a Robin sitting on the wing mirror of the car in the foreground, making it the focal point. My response is an image playing with these components. A solitary pigeon in the foreground (focal point), making a triangular shape with two other pigeons in the background, two people on a wall and the grey patio paving sort of mirroring the two cars and the grey tarmac and the splash of greenery in both images.
Mary ~ What’s for lunch? People and bird in foreground – red umbrellas.
Duncan ~ A very quick scrabble to find a response to Mary’s beach image with the somewhat malevolent eye of the seagull. Here the eye is part of the ironwork of a lamppost at a rather busy Margate.
Following on from Avril, Hady sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Avril’s image was of the big hall at the Tate Modern with some colourful installations. It immediately reminded me of an image I took recently of some very colourful light fittings in a Turkish restaurant we frequent sometimes. I am not sure if the light fittings are Turkish or Moroccan. Both images share colourful installations, although of different nature, but I thought the similarities and the differences between the images are worth celebrating.
Anne ~ Hady’s image of colourful globes reminded me of the beautiful arrangements at our local market of fruit and vegetables. They look enticing and taste good too.
Colin ~ Anne’s picture contains a group of rectangular shapes holding different coloured fruit. I decided to choose a picture that maintained the rectangular shapes and at least some of their colours. I had thought of using a photograph I had taken at MOMA of a Rothko, but felt that that had no personal input, so I chose this Rolls-Royce car rear light cluster instead.
Len ~ Colin’s graphic photo is based on a luxury mode of transport – one of the Rolls-Royce Flying Spur series motor cars. I went up to London by train recently and during that journey looked for a follow-on image. I saw these railway buffers at Clapham Junction Overground Station that seemed to echo some of the shapes and colour in Colin’s image, albeit at the other end of the transport hierarchy.
Jim ~ Here is my consequences image following on from Len. I think the geometrical parallels are obvious and I have clearly gone from bright, shiny and colourful metal to eroded and desaturated timber.
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June 2022
A blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Bunshri started and sent this image to Jim and to Mary.
Bunshri ~ Who helps whom? The innocence of a child or the wisdom of the next generation. Who brings joy – to whom??? Love the simplicity of this image. This was taken in my home.
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Jim sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Bunshri has an image of two hands, a child’s and an adult’s, while mine is also of two hands but belonging to the same person. The thread in the cloth is reflected in the piece of extruded gold being wound around the ring being made by my friend who is a goldsmith. Also B&W and sharing something of the atmosphere of Bunshri’s image.
Colin ~ The picture was taken in 1985 at a car club conference: the number of different hand poses chimed with Jim’s more detailed study of hands. Here they are gesturing in explanation, rather than showing fine work in progress.
Kate ~ Colin’s picture of three grey heads in deep discussion over a machine – presumably a very special car engine – immediately put me in mind of pictures I took years ago at various sheep shows in the Yorkshire Dales. Some HFFers may remember this one which was part of my LRPS panel. It was taken at the Tan Hill show. Three men are studying the nose of one of the sheep. Unlike Colin’s men, these ones are surrounded by onlookers, maybe adding their opinions, maybe listening to the wisdom the experts are uttering. I didn’t find out whether this sheep won any of the coveted prizes.
Avril ~ In answer to Kate’s image. I had another but it is a print and my scanner will not connect to my computer at the moment and then I found this. It is a sheep, but in Covent Garden.
Rashida ~ Avril’s image of a Candy Baa is delightful and humorous. The shapes and colours reminded me of an image I took of the ladies washroom in a restaurant in Johannesburg in 2019 which makes me smile as does Avril’s image.
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Following on from Bunshri, Mary sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Hady
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Hady ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mary ~ My picture links to the old and the new of the hands of the adult and the baby. The tines of the fork also echo the shape of the baby’s fingers.
Anne ~ I was looking for an autumn leaf photo and found this image with many autumn leaves and even a sort of fork in the leaning rake.
Len ~ Anne’s image is of a beautiful garden scene, probably in autumn judging by the abundance of leaves. It called to mind a contrasting photo I took way back in the spring of 2005, in the famous tulip park in Holland called the Keukenhof. Both images are quintessentially about their locations – Anne’s an English garden and mine Dutch.
Hady ~ Len’s image of vividly coloured flowers reminded me of an image of a photo of a shop window of a delicatessen I took in Toronto, Canada in October 2018. The window was decorated for the occasion of Hallowe’en. The vivid colours of my image are reminiscent of those in Len’s image.
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May 2022
A blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Avril started and sent this image to Len and to Mermie
Avril ~ My image is of my garden table with reflections in the granite, I took it during the summer last year, one of a series of shadows and reflections.
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Len sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Colin
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Colin ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Len ~ With my follow-up to Avril’s picture I have tried to capture a similar mood as well as relating to a similar subject. Both pictures show trees indistinctly seen. In Avril’s case they appear to be reflected in a broken sheet of glass, in mine they are seen through a window behind the slats of a venetian blind. In both, the sunlight shines back at the viewer and adds a haze which contributes to the feeling of mystery.
For once, I didn’t go to my archives but made this image specifically as my response.
Anne ~ Len’s picture to me was of a venetian blind and I had this picture with the shadows of a blind in my sister’s bathroom. I liked the contrast between the straight lines of the blind and its shadows and the tangled leaves of the plant and my sister doing her hair.
Rashida ~ Anne sent an evocative image of a lady doing up her hair, a plant and some shadows cast by a blind in the foreground. My response is an image taken of a Harrods window display which mimics the shapes created in Anne’s image but in a more chaotic graphic way.
Mary ~ Rashida’s image is reminiscent of the surrealist photographers…..shape and shades of monochrome inviting the audience to imagine what it is. My response was this image which although one can see the objects it still has an air of mystery and it is also reminiscent of the ’30’s photographers.
Colin ~ Mary’s picture featured circles and curves, as well as a straight line between black and white areas. The sphere gave some interesting optical effects. I was looking through some pictures of bits of cars and felt that this followed on some of Mary’s picture theme. I did have to remove a large area of red from mine, but left other colour present.
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Following on from Avril, Mermie sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Gordon
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Gordon ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mermie ~ The straight lines of the tall plant ending in Vs on a background of early spring residue from last year’s meadow echo several elements in Avril’s image.
Hady ~ The image I received from Mermie showed widespread dry brown reeds, with a little thicker, darker and taller one in the middle.
It reminded me of an image I took last year during lockdown walks on the bank of River Lea in Hartham Common in Hertford. Mine shows a long structure of a dry brown plant against clear blue sky. I thought it was an ideal follow to Mermie’s image.
Kate ~ I thought first of following Hady’s two teasel heads against a beautiful blue sky with another picture of flowers or trees. But then the teasels began to seem like two people, one leaning affectionately towards the taller one behind. And the two prominent spikes on the sides looked rather like raised arms. This reminded me of Stephen doing his TaiChi exercise in the garden with friends during lockdown. Rather a change in direction from the teasels – I wonder what will follow!
Bunshri ~ Having received Kate’s image of the 3 doing TaiChi, I found this image of 3 peacocks which brings me calm.
Jim ~ As you know I am in Canada. And when I saw Bunshri’s photo of the peacock with its beautiful plumage (well, the male peacock at least) then I thought of this image that I took on my walk in Cape Breton (the relatively remote northern part of Nova Scotia). This species of butterfly is a migrant to the UK and is very rare in the UK. It was named the “Camberwell Beauty” when two specimens were caught in Cold Arbour Lane near Camberwell in 1748. It is known as Mourning Cloak in the US and Canada. They overwinter as butterflies: spring is much later in this part of Canada compared with the UK which may account for the fact that this is the only butterfly I have seen in my three weeks here in Canada.
Gordon ~ This was a photo I made as part of a group project on ‘Coast’. The butterfly’s wings reminded me of this tent on the beach, and the person emerging is a sort of reverse metamorphosis.
april 2022
A blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Anne started and sent this image to Rashida & Jim
Anne ~ I took this photo of a street in Cromarty leading down to the Firth with an oil rig that had been brought in for repair from the North Sea. It seemed to show two different ways of life – a little fishing village and a giant 20th century engineering monster.
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Rashida sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Hady
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Hady ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Anne’s image was most intriguing and somewhat surreal. An idyllic country setting with beautiful homes on either side of the road leading to a lake or river. There is even a bench at the waters edge to relax. Then there is the strange construction balanced on pillars in the water and on it or on the land behind something that looks like a UFO and a crane to one side. I look forward to finding out what those contraptions could be. So my response was to show a leaning part of an old wall surrounded by greenery and modern buildings as the opposite to Anne’s image. My image is of an art installation on the High Line in New York City.
Colin ~ The picture I received featured both ruined brickwork and more modern buildings, plus a lot of vegetation. What I chose has apparently ruined stonework and a lot of vegetation: two out of the three features.
It is at Chanticleer garden near Philadelphia – what was a house within the estate grounds was deliberately made ruined as a setting for gardening. This shot includes reflections in the water of the ‘billiard table’, adding something a bit weird to the view.
Mary ~ When I saw Colin’s picture it reminded me very much of the image that I have replied with – while Colin’s image is of a double archway with a landscape behind them, my image is a double exposure of windows and landscape. Both have nature and human hands at work.
Len ~ I was flummoxed by Mary’s image. I couldn’t work out whether it was a double exposure or a partial reflection and couldn’t think of a directly related response.
So I cheated with my follow up and fabricated this seaside fantasy in Photoshop. The dress is by Dior btw.
Bunshri ~ After Len’s surreal image of a mannequin in the sea I came up with this image of a leg of a mannequin in a little roadside shack in Dominican Republic.
Hady ~ Bunshri’s image reminded me of one I took in London’s South bank in August 2017. There was a festival going on. There were people having fun all over the place. Included in these were people (children and adults) having fun in a water fountain. The blue colour of the corrugated iron shack in Bunshri’s image reminded me of the colour of the water fountain. The care free feel in my image also relates to the tropical look in Bunshri’s image.
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Following on from Anne, Jim sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes sent this image to Avril
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Avril ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Anne’s image is of a North Sea drilling platform at the end of a domestic street in open water, slightly obscured. So mine is also industrial in nature, also somewhat obscured but with the same flash of red as in Anne’s image.
Dawn ~ Mine follows Jim’s reflection picture. It was taken in Egypt on the river where we were staying in a hotel. The rope on which the bird is sitting was tied to a boat with a very colourful awning and is reflected in the water. It is distorted by the ripples on the water.
Kate ~ How to follow Dawn’s water bird against the amazing reflections in the water below? I have no satisfactory bird picture, but I love reflections. This one is on the river at Tübingen near Stuttgart in Germany. The reflections of the old houses are wonderful – and much photographed by tourists including me. I rather liked the row of moored punts on the surface above the reflections.
Sabes ~ A rather quick response to Kate’s image as I am travelling. It’s the cars represented in the reflected texture of buildings for me.
Avril ~ I couldn’t find the picture I really wanted but I did think if all those cars in the picture Sabes sent had been stacked in this car park a great deal of land would have been saved.
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March 2022
A blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Colin started and sent this image to Dawn and Hady
Colin ~ Taken while waiting for the train into London, apart from the back light that emphasised textures, there is the message that anyone travelling in London is familiar with. Possibly a little blur of movement might have helped…
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Dawn sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Len
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Len ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Dawn ~ Colin’s picture is of boots and walking between two lines. The children’s legs are on the beam at their gymnastics class. It sort of follows the theme.
Sabes ~ It’s the colours that made me choose this photograph to respond to Dawn’s. But it’s more than the colour that is at work. Dawn’s photograph creates a sense of joy. With that sense, when I move to my image that experience persists. I don’t know if it is because of the movement of memory from one to the other despite the absence of people in mine. Whatever the reason I see harmony between the two.
Jim ~ I didn’t spend long thinking about how to follow on from Sabes but I was struck by the angle of the shot and the fact that the glasses and cups looked like people standing next to each other. My image also has the red. Taken in Granada in southern Spain – appears to be a christening (or is it a wedding?).
Rashida ~ Jim shared an interesting image of an elegant lady seen from the back in a stunning red dress and with a hand which seems to be reaching out to a young child. The man looks dapper and handsome in a blue suit and matching suede shoes and is protectively carrying a baby in his arms. The baby is in what looks like a christening gown. So I am assuming the photo was outside a church. And then there is pair of feet at the top of the photo, in casual shoes.
My response was to focus on elements such as the colour red, the ladies’ hand, the feet and the carrying of something valuable. These elements are present in my image taken at an exhibition at the Blain|Southern Gallery in Hanover Square, London showing the work of Chiharu Shiota titled “Me Somewhere Else”.
Anne ~ I have sent the attached photo to Len today. It follows on from Rashidas image with a figure – either a model or a visitor – in a gallery. I took my photo at an exhibition of. Chinese art at the Hayward Gallery some years ago. Both figures are alive.
Len ~ Most of us have probably taken photographs of visitors to exhibitions while we were visiting the exhibition ourselves.
The more enigmatic the exhibition, then the more one tries to imagine what the viewer might be thinking and placing both the viewer and the object within the photographic frame allows this conjecture to flourish.
My photo was taken in 2019 at the Haywards Gallery where there was an exhibition of the work of an artist called Kader Attica. I had actually gone to see another exhibition altogether at the same location – a wonderful show of Diane Arbus’s work – but this arrangement of people looking at the seated prosthetic legs and video screens in an adjacent gallery really caught my attention. I have no idea what it was about.
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Following on from Colin, Hady sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
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Kate sent an alternative image to follow Hady
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Colin’s image was unusual enough to make me think out of the box.
The shape of the legs reminded me of an image I took a few years ago to some new buildings in NYC near Ground Zero. Besides sharing the shape, the subject is completely different and I thought it would add a new spin to Colin’s image.
Kate ~ I took this picture while staying in Zuheros, a small village in the mountains south-east of Córdoba. It was in April and there was heavy rain in the night – rare in that very dry region. In the morning there was a thick mist over the hills above the village. I walked up the track towards the mountains and gradually the sun broke through the cloud. It was marvellous! Hady’s image looks up at amazing structures against a blue sky, gleaming in the sunlight. I thought my picture could follow his, because it is also looking up – towards two strange shaped trees, the cliffs with the cross on top – a man-made structure.
Bunshri ~ Having received the emotive image from Kate, showing there is light seeping through during the conflict, I dug out this image taken whilst walking in Regents Street just before Christmas. The white cloud is seeing us through- bringing light come what May, into our everyday lives during this pandemic.
Avril ~ Following on from Bunshri’s image of Christmas decorations I thought I would follow with the bizarre image of shoes hanging from wires in Swallow Street which I saw on an occasion when I had been to the Huxley Parlour photo gallery. The puzzle is, who threw them there and why?
Mary ~The 2 elements that stand out for me from Avril’s are shoes and pavement-like texture of the wall. My image is of shoes being worn walking on the pavement so these 2 elements in my image echoes the ‘shoes over the wires’.
Mermie ~A few years ago I was watching these sheep and took a few photos because I liked the way they had lined themselves up comfortably in the sun – except for one. Having seen a lot of feet in Mary’s image, I chose this set.
Kate ~ I am also sending my second choice picture taken in Olite, near Pamplona. This is looking up at a turret of the splendid much-restored medieval castle, a gift for period film makers and a great tourist attraction. The structure in the foreground is the top of an old ice-house. They also make very nice wine locally.
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February 2022
Back to a blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Dawn started and sent this image to Avril and Len
Dawn ~ This has been done in rather a hurry, however I chose this photograph because it was such grey rainy day in January and in the picture the rhododendrons are in full boom in May showing the promise of spring when every thing comes to life again and the bright days return. The photograph was taken at RHS Wisley. It was quite early in the day so there is a haze on the trees with fresh green leaves that contrast with the colour in the foreground.
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Avril sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~ I was a bit stumped as to how to follow Dawn. I had plenty of flower images but Boston, Patriot’s Day and the marathon had been on my mind recently and this incorporated those thoughts and flowers.
Bunshri ~ I chose this image to send to Hady, as it mirrored Avril’s 3/4 layers from front to back.
My image was shot in Kent from a hide where people go bird watching. I wanted to describe through the delicate image – how light I felt being away in nature. It was my first time camping since I was a teen and I was excited like a child.
Hady ~ Bunshri’s image was rather unusual. It reminded me of a photo I took not long ago during a walk in Hartham Common of a little pond. The image has a similar “structure” of bands of water, land and sky.
Jim ~ My response to Hady’s is quite straight forward, namely evening light reflected in the water. In my case the water is the sea off the north east coast of England rather than what appears to be a small lake in the countryside.
Anne ~ Jim’s was a surprisingly difficult image to follow. I eventually chose this sky scape with the sun just showing through.
Mermie ~ This sunset occurred about a week ago. I was overawed by its intensity and couldn’t not go outdoors to photograph it.
Following on from Dawn, Len sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Len ~ Dawn’s flowers looked very fitting in their setting. By way of contrast, my picture shows a few poppies growing naturally on a small grassy area and a greater variety of cut flowers left on the various memorials far removed from where they originally grew, all in a totally different sort of location.
The reason I took this photo was not because of the flowers but because of the grotesque cement works poised as if ready to advance on, and then devour, this small cemetery, were it not restrained from so doing by the power of the cross in the foreground.
Colin ~ Taken from the High Line in New York City in 2016. I admit that I hadn’t noticed the relation between the eyes on the end of the building and the sign on the taxi when I took it.
Anyway, this was the consequence of my looking at Len’s picture – a sense of incongruity in the scene. Enough colour in foreground to go with the flowers and the grey tarmac, although the road works don’t quite equate with the industrial plant in Len’s, nor the buildings with the stonework of the cemetery…
Mary ~ Colin’s image is taken from above the road….my image is taken from the Millenium bridge. It has a similar geometric shape to Colin’s image and few people. It has been pointed out that the oval structure the 2 girls are sitting on echos the yellow van in Colin’s.
Kate ~ Mary’s picture shows a paved area, outside a large evidently elegant building, with a wall and steps descending on the other side. Four people are ignoring each other, two walking by, two of them sitting well apart on a stone seat. All viewed from above.
My picture is also of people seen from above: old men sitting by a road on a pair of benches. They might well be spending most of the day there. The old men may be ignoring each other, but two of them are engaged in conversation with passers by – and a dog. They are by a road, and there is a wall and trees behind them. In fact it is a very steep drop, down to the river Tajo, which runs round Toledo.
Rashida ~ Kate’s delightful image seems to be of a “walk, talk, sit and then talk some more group” with a fur-friend in tow and a younger person observing them, sitting on/standing near benches in front of a beautiful wall with trees beyond. My response was the opposite with a broken wall in front of the Petit Palais in Paris with people walking by having minimal social interaction. The wall was an art installation best described in the accompanying image.
Sabes ~ In Rashida’s photograph the built structure appears to be destroyed and people in the background are passing. Here dismantled wood materials are placed. Although it appears messy there is some tidiness in the way they are placed there. The people are replaced by graffiti. It’s equally as busy as Rashida’s picture but in different ways.
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January 2022
This set of Consequences was intended to be easy for everyone during the festive season, so Mermie sent her starting image to all HFF members.
Mermie: I enjoy taking pictures as we pass vans and lorries on our drive along the A303 towards Devon. This image, taken in early November 2021, was especially fortuitous in its colours and shapes.
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Rashida: Matching colours at a festival in New York City.
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Hady: Colours that match and shapes that accentuate the curves.
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Bunshri: After the glow of colours on a passing van, and the reflection in the car’s side mirror, my image is juxtaposed as a static self portrait.
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Colin: My Consequences picture reflects the colour and shape of the ‘crown’ of the starting picture and its darker background.
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Kate: The Crown colours on the van stumped me for a while. Then I thought “Colours?” “Crown?” A king? And I remembered the old Russian wooden painted ninepins which had come to me from my mother. The children still love playing with them on the sitting room carpet. I’ve done what I could with hopeless light. And I was in a rush – as always!
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Here are the ninepins arranged on the floor ready for a game.
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Len: Here’s my image – at least there’s a van in it.
It was taken a few years ago at a vintage event held at Granary Square, just by King’s Cross Station. That event had lots of stalls selling bric-a-brac, a brace of 60s, 70s, 80s vehicles, and some guys on penny farthing cycles, all of which provided me with a few subjects for my camera.
This portrait of a ‘decorated’ camper van and its proud owner and his dog is one of my favourites from that day.
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Anne: Similar colours and pointed shapes in the garden.
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Jim: These are cycle rickshaws (known as a becak). Photo taken in Salawesi, an Indonesian island. The becak drivers are waiting in the shade for customers. I thought the bespoke decoration reflected Mermie’s image.
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Good News Guy, South Africa via Rashida:
December 2021
Bunshri started and sent her image to Kate, Colin and Hady.
This image is part of my series of ‘Silent Voice’ – about my mother-in-law’s Alzheimer’s. It is from my working project before I chose the images for the final book.
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Kate sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Anne
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Anne ended with this image
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Bunshri’s picture said so much to me. The world is fading away, becoming distant and confused – with bright, dazzling elements. The past is still just visible, in the photos, and the tiny corner of something else at the top right. There is also some happiness alongside the confusion and sadness. Surely the young girl with long hair is smiling?
I am following with more confusion. We see the wet garden through a misty window. The regular circles (something to do with the reinforced double glazing) could represent order and reason; but what does the snail’s trail say? Is it a cross, meaning “No, you can’t get out there?
Rashida ~ Kate’s intriguing image of patterns created on a patio glass door covered with condensation is full of mystery as one tries to see beyond to part of the house on the side and beyond to the landscape of trees and what I can imagine is a garden. My response is an equally foggy image of an imagined landscape but it is truly and completely synthetic created with upholstery fabric while a sofa was being dismantled.
Jim ~ Rashida’s image is ethereal and enigmatic in very de-saturated colours. It is also in square format, which I have replicated. So I have tried to emulate that with this image which I think conjures up a land or seascape. It is in fact the light falling on the stainless steel backsplash behind my cooker, with lights reflected off various jars and bowls. Not my usual style, but I guess that is what consequences is all about!
Anne ~ Jim’s was a surprisingly difficult image to follow. I eventually chose this skyscape with the sun just showing through.
Kate was moved to send two additional images
Bunshri’s picture suggests that we are seeing how the viewer views her life – she is the young girl and the older woman. This set me thinking about looking at records of our past. The first picture is of my daughter and family enjoying looking at my wedding pictures – my past in an old black and white print in a falling to pieces album.
This view is of the house where I lived as a child – my bedroom window is under the eaves at the top right. But I can’t get near it now (there’s a high fence and locked gates round the garden). I can only see it through the trees which have grown up over the years. My view, like my memories of childhood, is obscured by all the other memories and experiences which get in the way…
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Following on from Bunshri, Colin sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ Based on Bunshri’s, which I guess was from her expression of images gradually escaping comprehension, this is based on maintaining vision while being compromised by cataracts and having to find the right glasses for particular tasks.
Avril ~ The books were published in 1849: my own and read. The monocle belonged to my father. How old, I have no idea, but he did wear it.
Sabes ~The old books with gold embossed decoration on their spine on a wooden table and a monocle sitting on top of them are subjects on Avril’s photograph. The platted lanyard of the monocle is tied with a knot on the end stopping the platte unfurling further. My image is an extract from a response by Barrie Tullette (1989) to a poem “I Found Myself Within a Forest” by Dante, shown at the Ashmolean Museum. I have presented the curator’s caption next to the print in full:
‘As the letters take on the layered colours and shadows on the dark wood in which Dante is lost, they lose coherence and conventional meaning. A graphic designer working here with letterpress, Barrie Tullette responds to the experience of reading a poem, which is made up of text but rich in visual imagery. The unique images of his Typographic Dante capture certain responses of the words. They bridge the conventional gap between text and illustration.’ I present this image and the curator’s text for us to ponder – savour.
Mermie ~ To follow Sabes, I looked through some early images in my Photos library. How could I not choose curious Paddington Bear? (2007).
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Following on from Bunshri, Hady sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Bunshri’s photograph was a blurred image with poorly visible fuzzy images of people, which was titled “Her world”. It reminded me of an image I took not long ago of in focus rain droplets on the glass of our balcony, with an out of focus background skyline. I imagined Bunshri’s mother-in-law’s world to be like the background of my image.
Len ~ Hady’s photo of a rain splattered window was presumably made from the comfort of a dry interior.
By contrast, this photo was taken outdoors on a very wet evening in Venice in 2007. I was lucky to have my camera ready when I saw these two people with their red and blue umbrellas in compositionally just the right place. Exposure was handheld at half a second at ISO1600. I think the consequent blurring suits the weather.
Mary ~ My image reflects Len’s image with the rain and umbrellas but Len’s image raises questions about what is happening in the image – very mysterious! My image has a figure of a smiling girl on her phone – oblivious maybe to the rain.
Mermie ~ Mine’s about the shoes!
consequences November 2021
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Rashida sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Colin
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Colin ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Rosemary started the November Consequences with an enchanting photograph with multiple layers and untold stories. Beautiful lighting, a woman sitting and waiting in the cafe or perhaps she is having a quiet moment in solitude. The image also has lovely shapes, ovals and curves. I responded with a photograph I took in Barcelona at Gaudi’s iconic Casa Batlló. The curves are there in the windows as is the mystery but this time two people silhouetted. Strangers passing by.
Hady ~ When I saw Rashida’s image, I recognised it. It reminded me of an image taken in our kitchen, with the sun falling on our kitchen unit doors with some shadows falling on them. Converting the image to monochrome, it was an excellent match to Rashida’s. The shadows in the image show different shapes, open for interpretation.
Mary ~ Hady’s image of the shadow of leaves in monochrome – my image is in colour and is of leaves through a window so it is a direct opposite but still very similar.
Colin ~ I saw this a couple of days ago – a reflection in, not through, a window. I decided trying to do something like Mary’s, which was possible, but did not reflect my style.
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Following on from Rosemary, Kate sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Here is my offering in response to Rosemary’s evocative picture.
Avril ~ I had a bit of a problem with Kate’s picture as I so rarely take pictures of people but the window presented an opportunity. The image I sent Bunshri was taken in Fort Myers through the fly screen of the apartment I was staying in and it was the nearest I could accomplish unless I picked up the theme of red, white and blue.
Bunshri ~ After I received an enigmatic image from Avril, I chose this image taken in New Quay outside our house where we stayed. The play of sunlight and wind helped create this image I so love.
Sabes ~ Bunshri’s image was challenging. There are the three branches of the small plant, its shadow, three stripes on the cushion, and the haze caused as a result of shooting into the sun through the glass window. All these elements are present representing fullness of life. I see a similar essence of life and sun in the picture I made at Oxhey Park. I am glad that it’s similar to Bunshri’s. I did not drag the dehaze button to get a ‘perfect picture’. I don’t like perfect pictures.
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Following on from Rosemary, Anne sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ Here is the image I sent to Jim. The links are the black and white photo, a woman alone in a large space. It is from a series I did at Girton College.
Jim ~ Anne’s image is very calm and elegant. It has quite a formal geometry; trees are visible through one window, and the light through both windows create clear geometric shadows. It is a timber-panelled, timeless space, a place of study and learning. Mine is of Winchmore Hill Quaker Meeting, which is also timber-panelled and space for contemplation. Here also the light from the adjacent window creates strong geometric shadows, and trees are visible through the window in front of us. Timeless in some ways but the clicking clock helps tell the elders when the Meeting has finished.
Len ~ My image relates to the window part of Jim’s. The white cross in the highlighted section of the frame in his image particularly caught my eye and is echoed by the cross in the main part of the window in mine.”
Mermie ~ I looked for a specific image of heavy rain on a window to follow Len’s and found this image to instead. Its straight fence boards and nearly straight stems with blossoms are reminiscent of Len’s hanging beads and medallions.
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consequences October 2021
Sabes started and sent this image to Derek, Hady and Kate
Unaware to me a man behind me photographing out of the cafe window caused this photograph. I saw the lady in red pointing at me. I was holding the same colour drink as she was holding. So I walked towards her. She clarified that she was pointing at the man behind me. We agreed that whatever the reason was, it was good to connect. We exchanged the story of how she ended up in Nottingham via Greece from South Africa and me from Malaysia through Ceylon to Watford.
Later when I posted this image on Instagram saying ‘meeting strangers’, Tanya responded ‘not strangers any more’. The following day I posted the full portrait of her and her husband with this title:
‘When do strangers stop being strangers?’
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Derek sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Mary
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Mary ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Derek ~ As a consequence of seeing Sabes image I thought well, it is not only the young that enjoy themselves – so here are two ladies who are enjoying themselves in a different way at a hog roast I attended. It became more animated when the entire wine bottle was consumed.
Rashida ~ Derek’s image evokes a sense of celebration with 2 ladies chatting, one of them eating an asparagus spear, with a Union Jack flag, flowers and wine/champagne visible on what I assume is an outdoor picnic table. A very British Summer Celebration. My response is an image from across the pond, with a couple going to/coming from a celebration of some kind. A moment caught after a summer rainfall one evening on 5th Avenue, NYC.
Anne ~ This is the picture I have sent to Mary today. It follows on from Rashida’s image of two people in front of a large building, perhaps having been to a celebration (the balloons) but alone, together. I remember these children, separated from the main party and engrossed in the view of Tower Bridge.
Mary ~ This image to me is a perfect follow-on to Anne’s picture where 2 people are looking at a famous London landmark – Tower Bridge. My image is an ICM image of 2 people looking at another famous London landmark – ST Pauls. I took this image at the end of the day after attending a workshop on ICM – Intentional Camera Movement. It is a very hit and miss way of taking images and is always great when it works!
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Following on from Sabes, Hady sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn ended with this image
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Dawn also sent this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ The image I received from Sabes is of two people sitting, showing only their legs and feet in shoes. It reminded me of a selfie I had taken of myself showing only my feet on my prayer mat just before I started performing my prayer (this prayer is one of the five prescribed daily prayers Muslims perform). As I could not locate the image, I took this one to replace it. The light was perfect and it was easy to replicate the missing original.
My image is the opposite of Sabes’ in several ways: His is of people relaxing and having a drink in a public place, while mine is a spiritual very special moment standing in humility before Allah (God) at the beginning of my prayer in the privacy of my own home.
Despite the differences, I thought my image was the perfect following to Sabes’.
Bunshri ~ Hady’s image was of carpet and feet. It could have a religious connotation but I chose something light hearted.
I have two sets of feet here, a pair looking on and baby’s partly hidden feet. Like the carpet, the baby’s play mat is on the floor.
There are 3 things happening here in my living room: the bear looking at the baby, the baby looking at the adult and another person looking on – but only the feet visible.
Colin ~ Bunshri’s picture shows a small child with a teddy bear looking on. I couldn’t find anything that had a similar watcher of the event, but chose this – indicating that as you grow up, other things attract more than teddy bears…
Dawn ~ This month’s picture was taken after our son had his Morris Traveller (1968) restored. He inherited it from his grandfather and it is older than he is. It was rather a wreck when he got it but it’s now in perfect condition and well looked after. He was keen to have it restored as it reminds him of all the good times the family went on fishing trips with all their gear packed in the car and all the fun they had.
As well as the detail I have sent a picture showing the car restored to its former glory.
Bessie has taken several friends to the church.
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Following on from Sabes, Kate sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image
Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ You don’t need to have a picture of the whole person – or the top half – to tell you a lot about the subjects; and to make a lovely picture. Sabes’ picture reminded me of a series of pictures I made when we were in Japan a few years ago. Exaggerated platform shoes were the rage then, and I became fascinated to see girls wearing them elegantly even though I was sure they were horribly restricting and uncomfortable. I thought this image echoed Sabes’ – the couple have come away from the party and are going home on the train, with their bag of buns. No bright reds or pinks here, but there is a shiny plastic umbrella and a plastic bag …
Len ~ At first glance my photo may seem a surprising follow-on to Kate’s image.
Hers shows a man and woman’s legs seated in what may be a train or other public interior space. The small notice suggests that this may be somewhere in the Far East.
My photo shows a beach sea view with tree trunks in the foreground. It was in fact taken in Barbados.
But once you get past the very different subjects there are many similarities. The colour tones of grey/blue and beige/brown are not unlike each other. In Kate’s photo the woman has white trousers and a white rolled up feminine umbrella. Mine shows a white delicate net blowing in the wind.
The people’s legs in Kate’s image divide the photo with vertical repetitions. The tree trunks in my picture do the same. Kate chose just to show the legs, not the whole body, I chose just to show the lower parts of the trees.
Put these pictures side by side and they seem to me to rhyme. They also look as if they could have been taken by the same person and would not be out of place together in a book.
Avril ~ I could have used the trees and the sea having similar pictures near the lochs but my eye kept returning to the nets slung over the tree and in this image there are nets at the window but also nets slung over the chair as a cover. This was in the house of a friend who used it for guests and it was moat effective.
Jim ~ The parallels with Avril’s image are obvious although my scene is one of dereliction. Taken on a walk in La Gomera in the Canary Islands. I just poked my nose into this distressed building and liked the way the shaft of light illuminated the chair. What has happened? Is the room still being used? What image has been removed from the frame on the wall?
consequences September 2021
Avril started and sent this image to Jim, Len and Dawn.
London’s Millennium Bridge. At the time, the shadows appealed to me. They still do and I managed to avoid people which always pleases me unless they improve the image rather than distract.
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Jim sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary ended with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Avril’s image is of the Millenium Bridge which takes lots of people to Tate Modern, where I volunteer.
There is currently an exhibition called “Please Draw Freely” and this is an image of young people doing just that.
I like the way they take the opportunity to cover every surface. Also I felt that the inverted T-shaped timber frame reflected the T-shaped steel and concrete supports to the Millenium Bridge, the shape of which was developed with input from sculptor Sir Anthony Caro.
Anne ~ This followed Jim’s image to me of a band of children decorating a wooden erection. I love seeing the total concentration and, I think, enjoyment that children experience painting and drawing – before there is a right or wrong way of doing things.
Kate ~ Anne’s picture is a study of concentration – the little girl is fiercely gripping the brush, holding on to the paper and doing her painting. I think it must be Christmas time – the red jumper links with the flower and wreath on the counter behind. I had to follow with a picture of my granddaughter wielding a coloured pen with similar concentration, also at our kitchen table. She is now a very bouncy 8 year old. I wish they didn’t grow up so fast!’
Rosemary ~ I have managed to find something vaguely suitable. He is a young Spanish boy that I spotted on the streets of Palma. While he is developing the skills for The Beautiful Game, Kate’s young grand-daughter has more academic ideas!
Following on from Avril,
Len sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Len ~ Avril’s photograph immediately reminded me of this iPhone snap I took earlier this year in Brighton Marina.
It shares the elements of a foreground barrier, a boat, and tall buildings as backdrop, but the boat itself is a rich person’s plaything unlike the passenger boat going along the Thames.
When I reviewed my image later I saw that it would have been better had I not truncated the bow of the boat. In fact it was so sunny that I could hardly see the iPhone screen image so the composition was mainly guesswork.
I should of course have held the phone horizontally, not vertically, but although I am constantly amazed by other people’s smart phone images I still find it a very awkward device to use for photography.
Bunshri ~ Having received a thought provoking image from Len, I found this handmade book in my archive. Len’s yacht takes you on a journey and I was on my late father’s journey, metaphorically speaking, to discover why I was having so much trouble getting over my father’s sudden death at his young age of 55. This was part of an installation for my degree show in 2015.
Hady ~ The image Bunshri sent me was of a concertina book that she had hand made. The open pages of the book reminded me of an image I made recently showing a colourful structure that has folds similar to those of Bunshri’s book.
Sabes ~ Hady’s photograph suggested a rainbow and a circle. As soon as I saw it, this photograph I made behind Watford Hospital a few weeks ago came to mind as the match for Hady’s photograph: a rainbow-like fan or paper fold up. There are similarities and contrasts between the two.
Yellow, green and orange are similar. The yellow fencing in the foreground suggested the fan in Hady’s image spreading from the centre.
There are many aspects of contrasts between the two. One is wide the other is close up. The rainbow over Bushey is calm but close up of colours in Hady’s gives a busy feel. However the bottom third foreground with cars, houses and fences gives the feeling of being busy in my photograph.
Following on from Avril,
Dawn sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Avril
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Avril (even though she had started) ended with this image
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Dawn ~ Here is my image following Avril’s. It was taken in Amsterdam a few years ago. It picks up some of the elements of Avril’s – the river, the boats, and the railings in the fore ground. It is a view from the bridge, not under the bridge.
Colin ~ Taken when in London for a two-day weekend stay in an hotel to maximise time wandering about. I think this was what had been a ‘Boris Bike’ stand before sponsorship changed. Rather more bikes, but no more people than Dawn’s.
Rashida ~ Colin’s image of a group of London Santander bicycles with one sporting a dapper yellow moustache reminded me of a photograph I took in Johannesburg in a store called “Art Africa”, a treasure trove of stunning and colourful African crafts. A selection of incredibly beautiful and tactile Kaross hand embroidered cushion covers were lined up like the bicycles and in a few you can spot the famous “Poirot” moustache like the one in Colin’s image. The one hanging upside down in the top row right hand side travelled back to London with us.
Embroidery is a traditional skill for most Vatsonga and Northern Sotho people. Kaross revived this skill by making it commercially viable and has grown into a South African success story that now employs around 1300 embroiderers in the Letsitele/Giyani area in Limpopo.”
Avril ~ I had a great many thoughts when I received Rashida’s image but then I noticed the elephants at the top of the picture and this seemed to fit: elephants and the riot of colour in the picture on the scarves and in the background. My picture was taken in Miami – in Wynwood Walls, a rundown area now a popular tourist destination with graffiti at its best by amateurs and professionals alike.
consequences August 2021
Colin started and sent this image to Hady, Bunshri and Kate.
Taken at one of the first RREC rallies possible in 2021. I think the car owner’s socks were what attracted me to take the shot – apart from the intriguing fact that an owner of an old Rolls-Royce reads ‘The Mail on Sunday’.
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Hady sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn ended with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ I received an image from Colin showing a man sitting in a very nice classic car reading a newspaper and wearing colourful socks. Everything looked so organised. I thought I would respond with exactly the opposite. My image was taken from inside my car of the cars in the car park with the heavy rain distorting the shapes of all cars. A contrast of Colin’s orderly image.
Rosemary ~ My offering was captured in Italy, very fashion conscious gentleman. HADY’S image was taken I assume in the torrential rain somewhere. My gentleman has decided to open his umbrella although there appears to be not a drop of rain in sight.
Avril ~ Having received the image from Rosemary and there having been so much rain I felt it would be a nice contrast to have a child running in the fountains of the Place de General de Gaulle, Nice in order to cool down from the summer heat particularly as at the time we hadn’t seen much of the sun. I enjoy watching the children play here, and adults as well, never knowing which fountain will come to life or when and their squeals of joy as they either hit or miss.
Dawn ~ This image is the most suitable I have for following Avril’s picture. It was taken in St Petersburg at the Summer Palace. It is beautifully restored and fully open to the public. I chose to follow the water theme and fountains.
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Following on from Colin, Bunshri sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Derek
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Derek ended with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Bunshri ~ I loved Colin’s image. When I zoomed in on the newspaper article, the word ‘Silent’ is where my eye went t. It is somewhat hidden, partly covered. An immediate thought jumped to my mind: the title of my limited edition book, ‘ Silent Voice.’ The idea of the radical design is that it arouses curiosity as to what lies under cover.
Len ~ Here at last is my contribution for next month’s Consequences. As you probably expected, Bunshri’s contribution was a bit surprising to receive but an interesting challenge! Should be an interesting series…
Rashida ~ My image in response to Len’s represents the chaos and confusion it created in my brain. I found it difficult to switch from my medical neurology understanding of blindsight and marry it with the image and text Len created. There are many interpretations and variations of expression of blindsight, a complicated medical condition. My image has a central “eye”, the closest connection to the blurred glasses in Len’s image. Well done Len, I was flummoxed but not blindsighted.
Derek ~ Rashida’s fine abstract image appeared to show what I saw as an elephant. As a consequence I thought it time I did something to support this highly persecuted animal. I attach a picture of an elephant in battle with a lion and looking like winning. It is part of a Mosaic I came across in my travels, probably the work of some demented Roman.
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Following on from Colin, Kate sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ How could I follow Colin’s wonderful, witty picture? No possibility of a sumptuous car, or a show ground. But someone of a certain age reading a newspaper… A few years ago I took a fortnight’s Spanish language course at a school in central Córdoba. Every morning I took the bus from my daughter’s house into the town centre, and walked down a wide pedestrianised street. My route took me past a news vendor’s kiosk, just as the old men were buying their morning papers and settling down to read them. I made a little collection of shots. This is one of them. I don’t know what the man is looking at, and he’s a bit glum – maybe the bullfighting results were bad. But he has white hair like the person in Colin’s picture, he’s relaxing, and there is a car in the background. The fountain introduces a new subject. I wonder if that will be taken up.
Mary ~ This image is of a rainy rush hour at Angel, Islington. In Kate’s image water is represented by the waterfall behind the man sitting down – he didn’t look too happy! In looking at my image carefully I have just noticed on the left hand side the profile of a man coming into view who doesn’t look too happy either. Both pictures sum up how uncomfortable a wet day can be.
Anne ~ Here is my offering – an image full of signs like Mary’s. Her picture is bustling and full of vigour; mine is sad. It was a busy little corn chandler and is now a smart estate agent. I preferred the former but at least the pretty building hasn’t been pulled down.
Mermie ~ Anne’s house with the red post box led me to this house with Adam, our cheerful postman.
consequences JuLY 2021
Mary started and sent this image to Duncan, Colin and Anne.
This is a ‘Found Still-life’ which I noticed the other day while waiting to enter Wigmore Hall for a socially-distanced concert. I was drawn to the random way the core had been left there, by itself, amongst the railings. To me it is a metaphor for the social distancing we all practice at the moment.
That is the intellectual reason – but emotionally I just enjoy the colour of the apple core amongst the grey palette of the railings and pavement.
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Duncan sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Derek
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Derek sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Duncan ~ I apologise if this seems to bear little relationship to Mary’s intriguing image but let me explain my
madness. The two main elements that struck me from Mary’s picture were the strong geometry, in particular the window bars, and the remains of food, an apple core. It was tempting just to use the geometry and bars but I wanted to include both elements.
This image is the remains of some food packaging someone had ditched and I picked up from the ground on a walk. Although the overall appearance is soft the one section with strong geometry is of bars with food, or at least the title onion rings, above.
If anyone is wondering, it was a multiple exposure shot on one frame of film.
Dawn ~ Here is my picture for this month. I did find Duncan’s picture a challenge but followed the colour theme with rocks, and onions hanging by the door. It is a reproduction of a country cottage built for the Chelsea Flower Show with a wild garden.
Derek ~ I tried to maintain Dawn’s colour theme not in a garden but in a woodland setting as a triptych instead of a panorama although the end result is very similar.
Hady ~ I received a triptych from Derek. This was of three images in a forest with trees and bluebells.
I did not want to follow Derek’s triptych with another triptych. I thought an interesting alternative would be an image made of three exposures, showing trees, wild rhododendrons from the same wood and the sky above.
Mermie ~ I took this photo of the approximately 180 year old Scots Pine in our back garden: it seemed a narrow one-layered alternative to Hady’s combination of trees, flowers and sky.
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Following on from Mary,
Colin sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ Mary’s image was largely shades of grey, but with a small touch of colour of the decaying apple core. Mine is a picked Buttercup that you had put into a shot glass in the kitchen, but it had dropped its petals. The vertical perspective reflected Mary’s image as well.
Jim ~ I felt Colin’s was quite a forlorn image with the remains of the flower head once all the petals have fallen. So I picked a rose from my garden and created the scene when the first petal had fallen, but some of the buds are still to open. This is a bit of a departure for me in terms of images as I tend to go for “grab shots” in natural light.
Kate ~ What do I say about it? ‘First of all I thought of following on from Jim’s beautiful rose, almost but not quite monochrome, with a flower in a vase. I looked at what I have in stock – but nothing so subtle or thoughtful. Then on one of our very damp mornings recently I noticed this spray of Solomon’s Seal leaves, with one turned over showing it’s silver underside. It kind of echoes Jim’s rose…’
Rosemary ~ An obvious response this one. Blushed by the sun, refreshed by the rain but fading nevertheless.
Following on from Mary,
Anne sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida ended with this image
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ Mary’s image is of a severe fence; my fence is battered by time and the weather but has the same grey colours.
Len ~ The English countryside is full of barriers. Some are natural, some are manmade, some are both. This photo was taken in East Sussex in 2005 but could have been almost anywhere in this country and in any year.
Avril ~ Len’s picture of a field and gate looked very neglected and one would be tempted to ignore the sign and see what was beyond. Mine is, I think, the antithesis of this. I took it in a back street of Sheffield and I’m not sure one would want to enter even if it were possible. It has a forbidding air about it and would suit the cover of a thriller involving murder and drug dealers. Probably just a derelict building awaiting demolition and regeneration but the mind can play wonderful tricks.
Bunshri ~ Having got Avril’s enigmatic image about no 33, I decided to go for this one taken in Margate. The place has like stopped in time. Having suffered from a fall and a bad back, I would stop now and again for a rest- this time in front of this façade.
The mystery of no 33 – juxtaposed with this regal name – drove me to take it. What does indeed lie behind the front door?
Rashida ~ Bunshri’s image evoked a sense of “coming out” as lockdown rules were relaxed. As June Pride Month 2021 was coming to an end when I received Bunshri’s contribution, I am responding to her image with one taken in New York on 20 June 2019. We have many happy and joyful memories of taking part in celebrations both in New York and London.
consequences June 2021
Avril started and sent this image to Kate, Len and Hady.
A rather more simple doorway in the Bahia Palace in Marrakesh. A magnificent building which belonged to the Grand Vizier until his death in 1900 when it was looted by the Royal family of any and all valuables. The Vizier’s wives had to flee for their lives. One had the impression that the Vizier was not popular.
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Kate sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Duncan
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Duncan ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ ‘Avril’s picture tells a story. There are two characters, tourists in an old, Moorish building, must be in Spain. A man looking across a passage with rectangular tiled/mosaic pattern on the floor, and tiles on the lower part of the wall. He is looking through a doorway and an arch into bright light, where there is a woman, seen from behind. What are his thoughts? About the woman, moving away from him? or about the building, the place, it’s beauty or its history?… I couldn’t match this story, but I found some people under an arch in old Spain. Two young girls, slightly leaning towards each other, in the evening light, looking towards the Giralda tower of Seville cathedral, once the great minaret of the mosque on that site. They may be looking at the couple walking towards them – or just admiring the view. The squared pattern in the paving echoes the squared pattern on the floor in Avril’s picture.’
Rashida ~ “Kate’s image I am guessing was taken in Seville. An archway looking out to a courtyard/street lined with orange laden trees and a church steeple and people in twos. My response to the lovely image is a photograph I took at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Chinatown, Vancouver B.C. Canada. It is the first of the Chinese or “scholars” garden built outside of China. The wooden archway frames the view of the garden, with a pavilion and people sitting inside or walking about enjoying the beautiful space.”
Anne ~ Rashida’s picture of the Japanese garden made me think of my Japanese
maple that so lifted my spirits one dreary morning in the lockdown when I
opened the back door.
Duncan ~ Struck by the way the foliage of one tree stood out and dominated Anne’s garden picture. The other vegetation and garden walls and slabs are very much secondary in the image but add a wet gloom to contrast with the bright foliage of the maple.
Perhaps it is because I took this image earlier in the day that I received the one from Anne, I thought it compliments and contrasts the Maple picture. It was taken on a walk through the huge Dinorwic slate quarry whist waiting for the clouds to lift from the walk we wanted to do, which they did despite their gloomy presence in this picture. I was struck by the light hitting the tree, so its foliage stuck out in the gloom.
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Following on from Avril, Len sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Mary
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Mary ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Len ~ I trawled my archive looking for something with an atmosphere that echoes Avril’s image and with a similar formal structure.
In Avril’s photo we see a man watching/following the indistinct figure of a woman. We do not know whether his intent is benign or malign.
In my image there is an indistinct reflection of a man who may be watching/following someone who is using a mobile phone. If indeed he is watching/following the man on the phone, we cannot tell if he intends him harm or not.
These uncertainties add tension and interest to both images.
Jim ~ Len’s image is great and has a certain mystery and intrigue. There are also various planes of light, reflections and a grainy texture. I don’t think my image matches the intrigue but I have tried to emulate the other facets with a deliberate use of grain and a similar relationship between the main figure and the light behind.
Colin ~ Taken at Prideaux Place, Padstow. Art Nouveau light switches.
I feel it has some of the Baroque atmosphere of Jim’s picture.
Mary ~ It took me a few moments to work out what I was looking at with Colin’s image – a rather beautiful metallic row of light switches. Very Art Nouveau depicting a girl with long hair and some musical instruments. The image that I have responded with is one that I have taken recently – of an old fire-grate with a mirror and a crystal ball. The knob of the grate resonates with the light switches in Colin’s image and is reflected in the mirror. Although the grate is old – about 50/60’s – it still has a beauty in it that is rare to find these days as modern houses don’t have fireplace anymore. Similar to the beautiful light switch which I assume to be older than the grate.
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Following on from Avril, Hady sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn ended with this image.
Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ I received an image from Avril showing a man in a room looking towards its door, that shows another opening through which comes a bright light and a man coming through it.
Avril’s image reminded of of an image of a graffiti showing a head with a large eye on a column supporting a bridge over a river looking towards a bright light. The similarity was uncanny and I thought it would be a good one to follow Avril’s and to inspire the following image.
Bunshri ~ In response to a challenging image of Hady’s of a bridge, graffiti and water in shadow, I decided to do a juxtaposition of a tall facade with graffiti and the clear blue sky as a backdrop.
I kept in the heads to show the scale of the facade. This image I took in Warren Street.
Rosemary ~ As a response to Bunshri’s image this one of mine came immediately to mind. It was the focus on the bottom centre couples in each from which I drew the similarity. My image was taken at the Henley regatta a few years ago now. Michael de Ruyter Schat, now deceased was at the time a member of HFF. He was also a member of the Leander club there and very generously invited myself plus two other members of HFF, Helen Brown and Peter Brindley (both now also deceased) to accompany him as his guests. It was a perfect summer’s day at one of the season’s well known events. A most memorable day.
Dawn ~ Where did you get those hats?
I am following Rosemary’s theme an occasion for dressing up.
This is the second day of the Chelsea Flower Show when I saw this group out for the day in their new clothes among the crowds of people.
consequences May 2021
Dawn started and sent this image to Derek, Kate and Hady.
I took this photograph in one of the palaces in India that was being restored. I liked the colours and the back of the woman in a sari going to climb the stairs. It looks very serene but it is not as it seems. The large bowl is to collect rubble from the building works and bring it downstairs. It was 11 o’clock in the morning and already very hot.
This was her job all day and was exhausting. In spite of this I do like the picture.
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Derek sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Derek ~ Dawn’s image made me think about what other strange things I have seen people wear on their heads. It shows the chief Lama at Labrang Monastery in Tibet who was officiating at a devil dancing ceremony of the Yellow hat sect of Buddhism, the annual mask dance to banish evil spirits and bring enlightenment. Pat and I were on a tour of Tibetan Monasteries and later the Forbidden City of China. And before you ask, no I am not a Buddhist, although I am relatively peaceful if lacking in enlightenment, just an enthusiastic amateur photographer.
Anne ~ Here is my offering for the April Consequences. I surmise that the two men are similar in age and build and are both wearing clothes that are significant – one ceremonial and one workwear. My image is part of the series I have done of Chesham people. Mr. Dell had worked since childhood on a local farm.
Colin ~ Taken on an old car trip in Wales during a stop on the Llanberis pass. I was reflecting on Anne’s being a portrait in the subject’s normal environment.
Rashida ~ My response to Colin’s image of a beautifully backlit seagull standing on rocks with a stunning countryside view behind it, was to contrast it with a stark urban nighttime image taken in London during the Lumière Festival of Light in January 2016
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Following on from Dawn, Kate sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Here is my response to Dawn’s lovely picture of (according to her file title) ‘Woman’s work’. I looked hard for a suitable picture of a figure in front of a wall, but without success. And I could not think of setting something up in Welwyn Garden City! So I ended up with an interesting wall, red/orange in colour not too far from the colours in Dawn’s picture. And instead of a person, I have a flower pot on the left hand side!
Avril ~ Kate’s image of flowers in a planter against a beautiful wall gave me a bit of a problem. I finally decided on the view through at archway at Uppingham School. The walls are stone not brick, and the plant in flower is in a garden but I hoped that the whole would provide inspiration for the follow on. For a few summers I attended residential courses at the school, the equipment they had was phenomenal though it wasn’t so much the teaching as being in Rutland to photograph on my own and at the time I was obsessed with parish churches. Still am if truth be told. It was wonderful to just give myself over to photography with no responsibilities to anyone.
Bunshri ~ After Avril’s mysterious image I went for this one taken in Trent Park. The beginning of Spring. Where will this take us? Nature has been keeping me sane and joyful during my daily walks during lockdown. The future is still unknown. Are we safe from being in lockdown yet again?
Sabes ~ I wanted to respond to the presence of the branch and shadow of it. The texture of the blossom also played in my mind. I chose the image of the net curtain. I think the textures and the slant in both photographs are trying to respond to each other in their own ways. They end up as opposite in tone. One lighter the other darker. One softer the other starker. The shadow in my photograph is there only in photographic terms as in shadow and highlight. What lurks in the shadows behind the curtain?
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Following on from Dawn, Hady sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image.
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Dawn’s “Woman’s work 4” is an interesting image. It shows an Indian woman carrying a large ceramic bowl. It reminded me of similar situations in other countries. I thought of this piece of artwork made of chicken wire and beads we have hanging in our garden. It shows an African woman carrying a child in a traditional African way and a jar on her head. Taken from a certain angle you would imagine her walking on our lawn.
In Johannesburg we have seen and met many artists making these beautiful and creative pieces of artwork and selling them to make a modest living.
I thought this would make a good response to Dawn’s image.
Rosemary ~ I found Hady’s most imaginative piece of artwork quite difficult to follow until I remembered what an exceptionally skilled needlewoman my mother had been. Among the pieces that I possess is this handcrafted pair of hessian figures, mother and child. I dusted it down and took a picture (not black and white). The image I received is of a mother and child but from another continent.
Mary ~ The image from Rosemary was quite hard to follow on from – the only thing that connects the 2 images are the fact that there are 2 characters, mother and child in one while in the other 1 man standing and another seated.
Jim ~ I had a number of thoughts but I guess it was the bare chested male that was the trigger for my photo. While punting in Cambridge we passed under this bridge where the local youth seemed to enjoy doing ‘bombs’ off the bridge and soaking the posh punters. I thought they were going to do this to us, but maybe the fact that they saw me photographing stopped them from doing so! We passed under the bridge without getting wet.
Extras from Kate
Kate ~ In my searches for a suitable ‘working woman’ picture I found these two images from our amazing visit to North East India 9 years ago. We’d walked up a steep track to visit a family who our travelling companions had made contact with on a previous visit. On the way back we met various people toiling back home with things bought from the village market at the bottom of the hill. This girl and her mother were particularly sweet and friendly, though their heavy loads meant they couldn’t stop and talk.
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consequences April 2021
Jim started and sent this image to Mary, Rashida and Rosemary
Taken in the northwest highlands of Scotland, I liked the array of diagonal lines, the rusty corrugated roof and the way the birds are spaced out. I hope the photographers can get some inspiration from it.
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Mary sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Hady
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Hady ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mary ~ Jim’s picture is about texture and lines. In his, the overhead wires form triangles and the Shard in my picture is definitely a triangle and the string of bulbs also form a triangle while the bulbs represent the birds. The roofs (the floor of each balcony) in my picture echo the colour of the corrugated roof in Jim’s picture.
Colin ~ Taken in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC, my image reflects the people facing in differing directions in Mary’s image with the Shard on the right as a dark triangular wall in mine. The helicopter is incidental.
Anne ~ Following on from Colin’s entry, I have chosen a view from above of people. I would have liked to match Colin’s curves and height, but….
Hady ~ The image is a night photograph of a shopping centre and an office building in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Although Anne’s and my images are of completely different subjects, They share a similar lighting atmosphere and lines. You’d feel that they were taken at the same time.
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Following on from Jim, Rashida sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Jim’s minimalist image of 5 birds sitting on a roof with power lines above is graphic with lovely zigzag lines. My image mirrors that in reverse and with a bit of imagination. It is a view of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan taken from Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn.
Kate ~ This is the mighty Guadalquivir at Seville. I was there in February a few years ago, and the weather was cloudy and chilly, not what one expects there even in the winter. And the light is disappointingly dull, unlike the lovely light in Rashida’s picture. However, I couldn’t resist snapping the chap with his guitar, seemingly just strumming for his own enjoyment. There were very few tourists around. Even though I was on a fortnight of Spanish classes, I didn’t have the confidence to ask him. I like the way he is looking over the river, and the sculls have just appeared on the river. I thought it linked with Rashida’s picture – a bridge over a big river, with a view of the city beyond. I wish I could go back there now!
Dawn ~ We were with friends and decided to see Venice by night using the Vaporetto. It was quite magical approaching the Rialto Bridge, and we had the boat almost to ourselves. It lasted for about an hour, I can recommend it.
Bunshri ~ Dawn’s beautifully lit image brought back memories of being in Chile. Although this is a different palette, I chose this image on a boat, taking in the beautiful view.
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Following on from Jim, Rosemary sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Derek
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Derek sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rosemary ~ I searched for a picture of a row of people watching the world go by which I would have liked as a response to Jim’s very simple but appealing picture. Sadly I don’t seem to have one. This roof scape was taken in a small village in north Derbyshire. As we approached the village taking a scenic route home from Sheffield one time, the view was really atmospheric. I originally captured the whole village street which has long been a favourite, but then I zoomed in on the roofs. No birds but the telegraph wires are there, maybe not as pristine as Jim’s. The light on the slates contrasting well with the foreboding hills beyond adds to the general atmosphere of a Derbyshire village of the time.
Avril ~ When I saw Rosemary’s picture I wasn’t sure whether it was snow or rain or the rooftops but it all looked very wintery and I was looking forward to the warmer weather. My immediate thoughts jumped to Florence and this image, taken from the roof of the hotel looking across to the Duomo and the Medici Chapel during the early evening with the low light of a summer’s evening.
Derek ~ My response to Avril’s picture of beautiful Florence is a family that I thought might just fit into renaissance Florence. It was taken in Essex during a costumed event.
Mermie ~ All of the Consequences pictures come to me, and I admire them as they arrive. It had crossed my mind to choose a picture based somehow on all of them, or maybe on Jim’s. When Derek’s arrived for me to follow, I had recently taken a picture of this peaceful deity in the long boat moored on the nearby Grand Union Canal. I took this particular one, keeping in mind the lines to the shore and the patterns in the long boat across the canal.
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consequences March 2021
For March, Hady sent his starting image to each lead recipient who then sent a Consequence image to the next person in a group of three or four. In the usual fashion, those recipients each sent a Consequence on to the next person in the group.
We met, as one does these days, by Zoom, on 4 March, at the usual meeting time.
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Hady started and sent this image to Avril, Jim and Mary
I took this image a few weeks ago during another lockdown walk in Hertford. I try to change my route from time to time. That day I found a short tunnel under a small bridge.
The tunnel was unusual, with a very interesting steel roof that has an amazing structure, which seems to have come from a bygone age.
I found the symmetry of the black steel structure and the brick sides of the tunnel contrast nicely with the light streaming from the end of the tunnel. I just had to take the photo.
I hope it will provoke some interest.
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Avril sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Colin
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Colin ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~ I thought Hady’s image could be a tunnel. With the lights reflected and the direction going forward, I thought of an image I took in Grand Central Station NY. The RSJ’s all move forward to the tunnels and the bright lights with people all walking towards the tunnels leading to the trains. It’s a bright image as compared to Hady’s rather dark and mysterious one.
Mary ~ Avril’s image was of a busy subway in New York – here is an equally busy promenade in Marseilles.
There was a huge metal canopy made of very shiny metal which gave a wonderful reflection. There is a blue Metro sign which ‘mirrors’ the subway in Avril’s image.
Dawn ~ Mary’s was so difficult to follow, I will be interested to what Mary has to say.
Mine was taken in a cave in Lanserotte.
The people in the cave are looking in and those outside looking out.
Colin ~ Inside Luray caverns in April 2012. It was my thought that Dawn’s picture was of people going down into a cavern, so this might be a potential consequence.
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Following on from Hady, Derek sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Derek ~ Hady’s image to me was intriguing and suggested that even in the most functional man made fabrications one could find both craftsmanship and a kind of beauty of form.
My photo shows a storm battered breakwater on the East Coast that with the play of light and crashing waves echoed both function as a preventer of erosion and a monochromatic beauty.
Rashida ~ Derek’s sublimely beautiful image is all about light, darkness, shapes and negative space. It reminded me of an image of mine which also plays on light and darkness with mirroring shapes and is also minimalist but in an indoor space.
Bunshri ~ Rashida’s image of lines and light led me to this image of my grandson behind open door – isolating. I took the idea of lines but opened it up more.
Rosemary ~ After much deliberation I have settled on the attached but I am not exactly happy about it.
Regarding the man slumped on the floor we have no idea what has befallen him. Has he had an accident, has become ill or perhaps even worse. What we do know is that he is not in control and is endeavouring to regain his composure. All of this is glimpsed through a half open door. I have chosen a half open door (it is there somewhere I promise you) and we have a limited view of a man I feel to be totally in control of whatever is his current business. He is seated at his desk, glasses on, identity strung around his neck and determined to achieve I think.
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Following on from Hady, Anne sent this image to Jim.
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Jim sent this image to Kate.
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Kate ended with this image.
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ Hady’s image made me think of coming-out of the dark places we have all been in in the past year into the light. This picture was of a dark corner at Sissinghurst with the steps going up to to the Spring sunshine.
Jim ~ When I received Anne’s image I immediately thought of this one, even though it was taken so many years ago: the sunshine on the steps and the open characterful door. My photo was taken in 1979 in Cairo with Lynda wearing a colourful waistcoat and sporting a perm.
Kate ~ Here is my response to Jim’s fine picture of a striking looking woman in shadow at the foot of some just visible stone steps.
It lacks the mystery and exotic feel to Jim’s picture. But I think my lady is, in her way, quite striking. Her little dog shines out in his red jacket, her face is hidden behind a decorated mask, not mysterious, just an example of ’these strange times’. A little bit of the exotic maybe leaks from the Chinese Acupuncture centre behind her.
She was very nice, and happy for me to take her picture.
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For January, Bunshri sent her starting image to each lead recipient who then sent a Consequence image to the next person in a group of three or four. In the usual fashion, those recipients each sent a Consequence on to the next person in the group.
We met, as one does these days, by Zoom, on 4 February, at the usual meeting time.
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Bunshri started and sent this image to Colin, Jim and Mary
During this pandemic, after a quick walk we head home to self-isolate behind closed doors!!!
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Colin sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary sent this image to Kate
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Kate ended with this image, the first of two.
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Kate also ended with this image, the second of two.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ Taken at a closed down shop in Totnes, it reflected the frame and out of focus background of Bunshri’s picture, but I took the picture because the signs had appealed to me.
Rashida ~ Colin’s image fascinated me but in the end I had to admit I was flummoxed. There are the coexisting closed and open signs with a glimpse of what looks like a large bag hanging on a wall. The car and road I first thought were a reflection on a mirrored shop window with the vertical lines. But then I was not sure………..so I am looking forward to the reveal.
I decided to play with the words of closed and open, the vertical lines and the seen and unseen. It reminded me of an image I took at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. It is of the entrance to the Museum. Closed and open spaces co-existing side by side created by man to separate based on the colour of one’s skin. Entrance open for one colour, closed for the other. The vertical lines in Colin’s image are echoed in my image.
Rosemary ~ The fierce southern Spanish sun had caused the stark contrast of the shadow on the white outside wall of a bullring.
I can only imagine that the shaded seating on the inside came at a premium! I have always liked the fact that the metal ring with its shadow holds the gaze within the picture.
Kate ~ As I am the last I am taking the liberty of sending two pictures, following on from Rosemary’s really lovely Sombra picture (she called it light and shade).
The zigzags on the steps is a direct response – Light and shade, in Spain, these are shadows of a railing on the lovely small cobbles they have in Andalucia.
The second moves on from Rosemary’s subject, this one also taken in Córdoba. There is light and shade, though the shade is not all that deep, and there is a white wall. But the wall is defaced by a graffito, which the cleaning lady is scrubbing away. It is actually outside a police station, but I cropped off the sign on the wall to show the lady and her paint bucket, etc., more clearly. Not such a good picture, but in a way more fun than zig-zaggy steps, I thought.
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Following on from Bunshri, Jim sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Avril
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Avril ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Bunshri’s image shows a scene visible through obscured glass – possibly a front door – with a person visible plus some greenery to one side. So my thought is to remove the glass, and any distortion, entirely with the vegetation clearly visible. Photo taken in Norfolk on an old RAF airfield with some abandoned buildings. I just liked the combination of the framing of the tree, the texture of the wall and the diagonally aligned shadows.
Hady ~ Jim’s image was of a derelict building wall with an opening showing overgrown grass, hedge and tree.
It brought to mind a photo I took of a window with Halloween decorations around its outside sill, but it does not show anything inside the house. It is the opposite of Jim’s image.
Avril ~ The picture shown was prompted by the pumpkin wearing glasses not that I am suggesting my daughter is a pumpkin, far from it but she does enjoy fun things.
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Following on from Bunshri, Mary sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Anne
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Anne ended with this image.
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mary ~ When I saw Bunshri’s image I immediately thought of this image that I have sent. The person behind the frosted glass door is echoed by the flower hidden in the ice and the colour is also echoed. There is a sense of mystery in Bunshri’s image but I hope there is a slight sense of mystery in my image – I know what it is but someone seeing it for the first time might need a second or two to work out what it is.
Dawn ~ Here is my picture for Consequences, not quite what I intended but time is running out. I tried to follow Mary’s theme and froze the rose but it didn’t turn out as I expected!
Anne ~ Here is my image for consequences, following on from Dawn’s. The unusual colour of the rose in her picture drew me to this photo of a mauve coat in a garden.
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CONSEQUENCES January 2021
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Bunshri ~ Having received an image from David about everyone in the image being preoccupied on their own mobile phones, the viewer has difficulty with what bit of the image to focus on.
I chose to show this image – where one’s eyes flutter from the painting in colour to the chairs in black and white. Why is it behind the black fenced area? Does the image depict Africa in any way? For me the image raises many questions.
Jim ~ Here is my image that I have sent to Avril, following on from Bunshri.
A difficult image to follow on from, but I guess I saw a confident young woman of colour and decided to show another confident young woman of colour, although in a far more expressive mode. This is Lianne La Havas (Greek father, Jamaican mother), an indie folk / soul singer. I photographed her at Latitude Music Festival, possibly singing her hit of the time “Is your love big enough?”!
Avril ~ This image won’t stand being blown up as the print is only 2 x 2 3/4 inches. I can’t find a larger print of it, and I don’t particularly want to start making a larger print in the time left. I think it’s sufficient for Len to cope with.
Len ~ When Avril sent me her image she apologised for it being so small. But I love the way her presentation echoes the feeling of informal music making that’s going on between these two young people.
I had a hard job finding something to follow on from that – I hardly ever photograph musicians.
Finally, I came across this photograph, taken in Barcelona in 2009, of a gentleman playing his guitar and hoping for a few coins from the tourists.
Apart from Avril’s and my photos both including musical instruments there is really no photographic link between them, not in colour or form, and scarcely in subject. But my photo made me wonder if, many years ago, my guitar player had also been a youngster learning his instrument and enjoying making music with it, like Avril’s subjects, with no idea of how his future life would evolve.
Austin ~ I have many images of varying quality of live music performances, and guitars are always eye-catching, but I thought that in keeping with Len’s image mine should show someone performing alone. This is Richard Thompson performing at the Cambridge Folk Festival, and shows him in isolation with just his guitar, a spotlight and a water bottle. I had managed to take in a better camera than usually permitted at concerts, and positioned myself at a good angle for photography.
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June 2023
Hady started and sent this image to Duncan and to Jim and Mark
My image was taken in August 2017 at London’s South Bank, one of my favourite areas in London. It usually has a lot of activities going on. On that day, a bright warm Sunday afternoon outside the ground floor of The Royal Festival Hall, there was a gathering of a large number of people socialising around tables with snacks and drinks. Viewing them from the first floor above showed their interesting distribution. I thought the unusual view from above was worth sharing.
Jim sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to David
David sent this image to Mary
Mary ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Hady’s array of round tables and crowds of people enjoying themselves is great. I have replicated the circular them but just one piece of furniture and just one solitary individual. Taken from the top like Hady’s image. I like the fact that the image on her phone screen mimics the circular theme. Taken at the Guggenheim Art Gallery in Bilbao.
Rashida ~ Jim sent an image with a limited palette of neutral colours enhancing the gentleness and stillness of his image. I responded to the stillness, colours and circles created in Jim’s image. Mine is of a clock where time has been frozen at almost 11.15. If you look carefully you see part of my reflection in the chrome surround of the clock. It is a personal and poignant image for me. I was given the clock by a Pharmaceutical Company while working as a newly-qualified doctor and I gifted it to my mother who kept it on her bedside table. This image was taken after my mother’s death in September 2017 while I was clearing her home. The clock now sits on my bedside table. It still keeps perfect time. Cherished memories.
Austin ~ This is perhaps following Rashida’s image rather literally, although timepieces are quite a wide-ranging subject and in addition to the watch face I liked the bold colours; I was also pleased with the impression of margins provided by the spaces above and below, and the capturing of the shadow from the street lamp which made me think of a thin robot checking the time! The watch image is street art in Shoreditch produced as advertising, and part of a wider vista; there was a heading with the words “Big” and “Bold” beside the watch, and additional red and white imagery of sunbathers on loungers with red and white umbrellas and bikes. One of my other images taken there included a man in a matching red tee shirt photographing his dog on the kerb in front of the watch!
David ~ Austin’s picture of the Swatch wall art led me immediately to some pictures I took in Glasgow a couple of years ago where they have a great wall art trail through the city. I thought this one of another type of ‘clock’ was particularly appropriate in the circumstances.
Mary ~ To me, David’s image is about time and people walking past seemingly oblivious to what is around them. The time element is the dandelion clock being blown away.
My image has the elements of time with the clock in the background. The giant bubble, although not blown, still reminds me of blowing bubbles. The little girl is totally engaged with the bubbles while someone is striding past not taking much notice of what is going on.
Technically its not a good image but it was a grab shot with my camera – I would have liked the background to be a little more in focus.
Following on from Hady, Mark sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Kate
Kate ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mark ~ Hady’s image put me in mind of ants round sweet food or bees tending to grubs in a hive, both images of creatures following invisible pheromones or subtle movements. Very busy. Highly active exchanging invisible information in the moment.
My image appears to show light beams emanating from shadowy figures. The light beams reaching out as though to communicate something we may not fully understand and don’t normally see. The image is my reinterpretation of a work by the artist, Spencer Finch (British Museum, 2020) who visited the plain of Troy to see the dawn light and was moved to think that this same light may have been seen by Achilles 3000 years before. Finch measured the light and created the exact light quality in his installation. The light quality therefore was the invisible information absorbed by the historical Achilles and my passing figures, in the moment.
Anne ~ Following on from Mark, I looked for light and silhouettes and found them both here although the subject is different from Mark’s.
Avril ~ The uses to which net curtains can be put to cover furniture. Taken in Corfu.
Colin ~ Taken in 2011 in the Philadelphia Art Museum of part of their display of modern furniture. The ‘robot’ is a cabinet with a shelf and drawers. Avril’s picture features an armchair, and as I hadn’t a suitable high key picture to hand with similar soft tones, I decided to go for the furniture aspect.
Kate ~ I scratched my head about how to follow Colin’s picture of a display shelf, showing an arrangement of presumably small models of modern style chairs with, in the centre part, a robot like character in front of and an abstract painting with a large prominent eye. The best I can do is echo the rectangular framing of the objects. This picture was taken on my phone, in the cold snap before Christmas. With icy winds and snow on the ground, all our windows were ripped out and replaced with new plastic framed ones, better for keeping out the cold, and easy to open in warmer weather. I was fascinated by these frost patterns which formed overnight (showing that there was moisture trapped between the double glazing). I just wish I had paused for long enough to include all three horizontal window panes in the picture – but this was difficult to achieve at the same time as capturing the detail of the frost.
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May 2023
Rashida started and sent her image to Duncan and to Kate
A row of silos on Granville Island is among the most photographed things in Vancouver. The six towers, each 70 feet tall, were once a dull gray, but now feature a colourful crew of giants. Half of them face the boats on False Creek, and the other three look inward, towards the Ocean Concrete plant.
The silos are the work of Brazilian twins Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo, known collectively as OSGEMEOS (Portuguese for THE TWINS).
In 2014 the Vancouver Biennale commissioned the twins to bring their ongoing mural series “Giants” to British Columbia. OSGEMEOS chose the silos on Granville Island to add depth to the two-dimensional pieces they normally create.
Ocean Concrete, which is still a fully operational business, has a long history of community participation and happily offered a medium for the twins.
This is an interesting article about the creation of the artwork:
https://www.designboom.com/art/os-gemeos-vancouver-biennale-21-08-2014/
Duncan sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Mark
Mark sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Jim
Jim ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Duncan ~ Thanks Rashida! A slightly odd scene and image. It made me immediately think of a response image. However, I then started to think about industry being disguised, the scale of industrial architecture and a few other things but I kept returning to my initial reaction and this image. The reason being the colourful and slightly over the top characters cheering up an otherwise grim scene. In my image (not one of my best) the colourful, slightly over the top character is part of a drive-in opera in that otherwise grim scene: the Covid restrictions in 2020. That both images have vehicles and industrial architecture is very secondary.
Anne ~ Here is the photo I have sent to Mark this morning. I decided to hone in on the Man in costume with his back to us in Duncan’s image. I got drawn into the anti Brexit march immediately after the vote that was going down Piccadilly . The man in my picture is also dressed up but it is the little girl with her sensible boots and drooping wings and closeness to her father that touched me. Perhaps she will be part of getting back into the EU?
Mark ~ For me, Anne’s picture summed up making a statement of principle in the face of alternative views to benefit ourselves and our dependents. My picture came quickly to mind. It was taken at a large Arla dairy in North London (March 2020) following picketing promoting plant-based diets to benefit ourselves and initially the bull calves which are surplus to milk production except by being born. Visually I liked the similarity between the observer’s hair and the chalk artist’s depiction of the cow. Like the subject of Anne’s picture and the Arla protest, this was a momentary statement of principle that materialised and disappeared as quickly.
Avril ~ Aberdeen Angus on the land by Loch Lomond. I don’t choose to involve myself with political arguments. They would not be roaming this landscape if the farmer did not take bales of hay up to keep them alive through the winter. It’s very hard work and he has to make a living. Without milk without meat these animals would be dead anyway and our landscape bare of them all.
Jim ~ I am afraid that I have had to resort to my archive for this one. The only real connection is domesticated cattle. Avril’s looks like Scotland, mine is Agra, India on the north bank opposite the Taj Mahal. My wife Lynda and I borrowed bicycles from my cousin and went for an early morning cycle ride and saw this woman herding her cattle. It has been one of my favourite images from our six month overland trip in 1978 / 79.
Following on from Rashida, Kate sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to David
David ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Rashida’s opening picture was quite a challenge. Then I focused on the dressed up silos or whatever they are behind the trucks. Giant dolls!
So here is a picture of part of my 10 year old granddaughter, Florence’s, doll collection, lined up on her bedroom floor. They are all characters from musicals, stories etc which she loves and I know nothing about – except for the larger doll on the right, which I made for her some years ago. In the world Florence has invented, this doll is the boss, the teacher who keeps all the others in order.’
Austin ~ This was taken during a walk in London’s Chinatown during January 2023 and maintains both the “group” and “catering” elements. The original image included more of the food prep and service areas; it was close to Chinese New year and these featured lanterns and string lights as well as numerous screens and display boards, filling the area with colour and reflected light. I have cropped the image while continuing to centre on the chefs; I also tried to keep a hint of the tables and chrome chairs at the front as these provided additional context. Finally I added a vignette to place the chefs in the spotlight and reduce the background distractions.
Colin ~ Taken recently by the Grand Union canal. Volunteers of the Boxmoor Trust were doing a six monthly check in a chalk stream for traces of latrines used by Water Voles that have been reintroduced.
The three people reflected the three people making what was probably sushi.
Hady ~ I received an image from Colin showing three people standing in shallow water wearing water protecting clothing and footwear. The image was unusual enough to make me think of the consequent image I sent to David. This was of puppets in the yard of St Andrew’s Church in Hertfod. The puppets were of biblical characters and sheep made by local artists in celebration of of Christmas. I thought the installation was unusual enough to warrant documentation.
David ~ Hady’s image of the nativity scene in the churchyard opened up many paths to follow. I’ve taken a lot of pictures in churchyards over the years but looking at them, they mostly had a gothic / melancholic style which didn’t seem to suit to sequence – so instead I opted for this one. It features an earthly choir rather than a heavenly one but has a similar playful tone. It was taken in an Oxford college where my wife and I lived for several years. I became the unofficial photographer for various student events including recordings and performances of the college choir – and so when I saw them running into the quad after a rehearsal to play in the snow I had to grab my camera to take a few pictures – this one caught the delight of the occasion just right.
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April 2023
Colin started and sent this image to David and to Austin
Colin ~ I was flicking through stuff I had taken at the back end of 2022, mainly in the garden or on a walk. This was when it snowed in mid-December at the point before the sun had caused the snow to start dropping off the branches. While it could make a good black & white picture, the brown stems contrast the blue sky colour, while the snow emphasises the thorns.
The rose is Rosa sericea ‘Pteracantha’, the winged thorn rose, whose spring shoots have bright red thorns. It has single white flowers and grows about 2 metres tall. We saw it in flower in Yunnan on our trip to China in 2012.
David sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Len
Len sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to Hady
Hady ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
David ~ Colin’s snow covered thorns set me off thinking in many wintery directions – especially with snow in the forecast for the week ahead. In the end I settled on this image from January 2021 at a time when we were all suffering from the impact of Covid and not being able to visit friends and family. I started having dreams of portals, wormholes, and magic doors through which we could travel into different worlds – and so I decided to create one in the garden. This image is one of a series of images of a door in strange and unexpected settings. I thought this one worked well in building on the snow and the impenetrable thorn bush in Colin’s picture as perhaps another frame in a fairy tale.
Rashida ~ David sent a lovely image of what appears to be a door standing on its own in an open space. Beautiful and intriguing. I was tempted to open the door and go through it into a magical world. I hope my response shows just that with a photograph taken at the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul. The inscription above the door is a verse from the Quran written in gold. The image attached shows the verse and an English translation underlined in red. Stunning architecture.
Len ~ I contrasted Rashida’s striking image of receding doorways with its very elaborate traditional decoration with this view along multiple train carriages which is no doubt familiar to all of us. In my image the design emphasis is on smooth undecorated curves and of course, in modern trains, the previously present doors have been removed, although the impression of receding doorways remains, for me, anyway.
Jim ~ Len’s image is striking. There is a distinct coolness and, of course, the total absence of human life. The blue is very striking but is complemented by the desaturated greys with a splash or two of red. There is a sense of order and design. At first glance, my image could even be an array of designer lipsticks on a shelf at Boots. It is of course completely different and is the bombs found in Flanders fields from WW1. Taken at the Passendale Museum in Belgium just last week I felt it reflected some of the qualities and tones of Len’s picture.
Mary ~ When I saw Jim’s image I could see very vertical lines in it of the shelves of ‘shells’ – all very in focus. Although my image isn’t of shelves it does reflect the verticals in the ICM technique I employed while taking this at Greenich. As it is an ICM the picture is blurred but the viewer can still work out what the image is of – people in a building.
Hady ~ I received an image from Mary, that at first sight appeared blurred. It transpired that it was an ICM image. It brought to mind an image I took recently of beautiful double rainbow that we saw after heavy rain recently. Sharing double arches, I thought it was a perfect fit to Mary’s image.
Following on from Colin, Austin sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Mark
Mark sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to Sabes
Sabes sent this image to Avril
Avril ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Austin ~ Colin sent me an image of closely-tangled thorny branches covered in snow, against an equally wintry background. I thought of forwarding a similar composition but in red, a close-up of branches and bloom within a Japanese acer tree; I decided instead to retain the elements of snow and foliage within a more open view which hopefully has more potential for further interpretation. I took this picture in Highfield Park, St Albans, in December 2022.
Anne ~ My image follows on from Austin’s woodland scene. Mine is a much wilder scene but I like the vibrant, fresh daffodils near the rotting tree trunk.
Mark ~ For me Anne’s image is not life springing from death but life springing from change. The dry and withered undergrowth, unloved fence, rotting tree. Within and beneath all this, life goes on – handed to different organisms such as the flowering bulbs, adapted to a different but complementary set of rules. Different growing, adapted organisms and change is what I saw for my photograph of man-made concrete becoming host to micro-aquatic forms clinging on the margins of wet and dry, always subject to nature’s changing nature yet surviving in their way. My subject was at Customs House on the Thames.
Kate ~ Mark’s very interesting image stumped me! I couldn’t think of anything in the archive to match it. I didn’t have my camera available, so I tried various ideas with my phone – but none of them was any good.
I looked at the picture – there are fascinating patterns on the wall above the water; a lot of straight horizontal lines, except for the very curvy reflection of the railings in the water at the bottom; and bits of moss plus a tiny plant struggling to survive in the wet stones or concrete at the top.
My response picks up on the horizontal lines, with railings, and reflections (but not of the railings) in water at the food of the picture. There are also some plants, but not struggling like the moss and the weed in Mark’s.
I took the photo in the beautiful garden of the Alcázar in Córdoba in February a few years ago.’
Sabes ~ In Kate’s photograph I saw the suggestion of a tree on the wall with wirey climbers. In my image I decided to respond to this suggestion – water seeping through the roof of the London underground rail tunnel has created an image that suggests a tree. Where the water dripped straight down, a stem of the ‘tree’ has formed. The horizontal line at the top edge in my photograph and a line in Kate’s photograph have some resemblance. The visual associations between the two photographs stop here.
In other respects my images work in a contrasting direction: The objects in Kate’s – ropes and planters – are to prevent people from accidentally falling into what appears to be a swimming pool in the foreground. Danger and alert are incorporated. My image is void of any warning despite a train track between me and the wall.
With doors, arches, balcony and shadows there is a lot happening in Kate’s. Thinking of the underground station, all the activity was behind and besides me, until the next train arrived, when I myself got into the activity.
Avril ~ My answer to Sabes. I had another which was nearly the same shape but it was very literal whereas this is rather more random. Seen in Miami which I think must be graffiti central.
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march 2023
Jim started and sent this image to Rashida and Hady
Jim ~ I took this image last spring in Nova Scotia, Canada. My work is typically fairly straightforward, not on the “arty” side. But when I was walking up in Cape Breton I experimented with photographing streams at a slow shutter speed as well as Intentional Camera Movement as is the case here. But I think it captures some of the feeling of spring.
Rashida sent this image to David
David sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to Avril
Avril ended with this image
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Jim has created a beautiful painterly image of trees in the woods using ICM (Intentional Camera Movement). My response is a NCM (No Camera Movement) image capturing an unintentional imitation of nature created by rust and paint covering a corrugated iron sheet on the side of a building. I came across this while exploring the Granville Island Public Market in Vancouver.
David – It’s the real thing?
I’m pretty sure that the white on red background is from an old Diet Coke advert. I’ve taken lots of pictures of peeling billboards over the years as I love the sense of something being revealed whilst something else is fading away. This one was from December 2021 on a billboard by the skew bridge in Harpenden / Southdown. I found Rashida’s image of corrugated iron being transformed by moss and rust very thought provoking – it led me down many paths of images of nature growing back to take over human endeavours but eventually I settled on pictures showing many layers of historical traces – hence the billboards. I hope it gives Mary something to work with.
Mary – When I saw David’s picture of a very distressed board/ wall my series of Hidden London came to mind – a few years ago I went on a photography tour of the un-used underground stations. The 2 images are similar in the fact the posters that were on them are peeling off with only the letter ‘e’ visible in David’s image while the wording is very clear in the centre of my underground image. The rest of the poster in my image has peeled and the wall can be seen behind it.
Colin ~ Mary’s image shows what happens in UK when a wall gets neglected, but as I hadn’t any old posters, I decided to look through my graffiti pictures. This appealed to me, largely because someone had proof-read it…
Kate ~ Colin’s picture put me in mind of some rather well drawn graffiti we saw in Lugo – a lovely small city with a complete Roman wall around it, in Galicia, NW Spain, where we stayed eight years ago. The artist seemed to specialise in cats and some other weird things. I think the little pig and the writing are by a different hand, but never mind.’ I’m adding in case there is time to look at them another of his cat drawings, and another message I saw in Malaga, not long after Trump’s election. (I think my first picture may be the answer to the question in the second “Where is the king of the cats”)’
Avril ~ I could have followed Kate’s picture with more graffiti but decided this handsome boar would outface the pig. This was taken in the Loggia del Mercator Nuovo in Florence (New Market Square). I don’t know who the sculptor was but it was a beautiful work of bronze.
Following on from Jim, Hady sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to Dawn
Dawn sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri sent this image to Sabes
Sabes ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ I received from Jim a delicate image of trees taken using ICM (Intentional Camera Movement). It brought back memories of a long time ago when I was trying out ICM photographing nature producing images similar to Jim’s image and others. My image, also taken at that time, however is using ICM in an urban environment.”
Anne ~ I was intrigued by Hady’s image and it made me think of a series of pictures I made , trying to capture movement. This one is where I moved the camera but the subject was still. It was an interesting project as one had no idea what would be on the negative. There were lots of disappointments but some surprises.
Austin – No motion blur here, but an upright figure with a statement to make. This is from a memorial outside the shipyard at Gdansk, Poland, remembering the victims of state reprisals against protestors. The plaque in this image highlights the casualties which followed a revolt against steep increases in the price of food and fuel in December 1970, particularly during a massacre known as “Black Thursday”. The phrases shown include “gave their lives” and victims of cruelty”. Plaques from other uprisings, some featuring quite powerful imagery, are mounted nearby.
Dawn ~ I thought Austin’s image was memorial so I have also chosen one with a more abstract design representing countless people who died during the Second World War. It is the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. The symbolic tombs are grey, the paint is graffiti resistant. The lab that make the paint is the same one that developed the gas for the concentration camps. When I took the photograph it had been raining when suddenly the sun came out. The red umbrella is still up, the only sign of life, perhaps in that brief moment it seemed to symbolise hope.
Bunshri ~ Having received image of a half ambiguous figure within what seemed like a cemetery, I decided to go completely ambiguous. This an image taken in my late mum-in-law’s bedroom. What do you think it is?
Sabes ~ I was wondering where the red patch came from in Bunshri’s photo. Doesn’t matter about its source. Without light nothing is visible.
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february 2023
Austin started and sent this image to Kate and Avril
Austin ~ The Egyptian sculptures in front of this terrace in Richmond Avenue, Islington, appear to commemorate Nelson’s victory at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, even though the houses were built over forty years later. This is an example of a quirkily historical London street and of Victorian Egyptomania, although the styling of the figures has also drawn comparisons with Las Vegas! I hope the lines and shapes shown provide a helpful basis for more images.
Kate took two images and one went to Anne
Anne sent this image to Sabes
Sabes sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Rashida
Rashida ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Austin’s amazing row of sphinxes – like many Consequences images – made me work hard to find my sequel. I ended up with one of the Sphinxes under Cleopatra’s needle on the Embankment. Only one sphinx. There are just two with the needle one on either side. Apparently they were supposed to be facing forward, rather than facing the monument. Taking both of them did not compose into an interesting picture for me.
Quite a story attaching to the taking of it. I decided that the Cleopatra’s needle sphinxes would be the answer to Austin’s picture. First of all I took a version with my lovely new (pre-loved) camera. Then I went to Waterstone’s cafe in Trafalgar Square for a coffee and snack. I was immersed in a book, with my backpack, containing camera, lenses, etc. When I got up to go, the backpack had vanished! Stolen! (Fortunately my handbag, which had been on my lap, was not taken – it contained wallet and phone) My camera and the morning’s photos were gone forever! Very upsetting and aggravating. Waterstone’s were very helpful, and I now have a police crime number etc. I went back and took more pictures on my phone.
I can’t resist adding the inscription in the second photograph. John Dixon, the civil engineer who worked out how to bring the monument to London, and designed the iron cylinder which it was floated in, was my grandfather’s uncle. Not surprisingly, he became a family legend, and I proudly own a nice watercolour painting and a few drawings by him. The cylinder became detached from the towing ship during a storm in the Bay of Biscay, and six men were sent out in a small boat to try to retrieve it. They all drowned, and the cylinder was found floating in the sea several days later. I don’t know who was responsible for ordering the men out, but John Dixon is said to have been haunted by their deaths for the rest of his life.’
Anne ~ I read about the obelisk from Alexandria and thought of the current discussion of things that have been brought here from ancient civilisations. I thought this statue in the British Museum was so beautiful but regret that I didn’t make a note of where it came from. (Note: There was a mixup by Mermie in sending Kate’s 2nd image to Anne instead of her first, but Anne rose to the occasion.)
Sabes ~ I found the missing bust of Anne’s lady – in Mickelepage in Horsham where Jill Stapleton of IPSE ran residential photography workshops.
Jim ~ Sabes’ photo is slightly mysterious. The figure appears to be religious while mine is not. But I was struck by the fact that the face is not fully in focus but the fabric is. In mine the man’s face is also somewhat obscured, this time by plastic which is there to protect the statues during the harsh Canadian winter weather (I went in early spring). My image is also largely monochrome.
Rashida ~ Jim’s arresting image in muted tones threw up many questions such as “why? how? where? where to?”.
My response was somewhat similar to the installation I photographed at the Rockefeller Plaza in NYC in 2019. This is the work of Jaume Plensa, a Spanish artist. It stands just under 7.5 metres tall. To quote the artist, “Sometimes, our hands are the biggest walls. They can cover our eyes, and we can blind ourselves to so much of what’s happening around us.”
To see the installation, visit https://umma.umich.edu/exhibitions/2020/jaume-plensa-behind-the-walls
Following on from Austin,
Avril sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Dawn
Dawn ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~As you can see, my 2009 image of the Chicago Art Institute complements Austin’s in several ways.
Colin ~ Avril’s image was the façade of the Chicago Art Institute, of which I had a very similar shot. I thought I might put in a ‘magic hour’ picture which included some of the skyscrapers in the background of Avril’s picture. However, I explored other art museums in USA, but felt the one I had of the Metropolitan Museum in New York City was too similar to Avril’s in style. I had this shot taken at the Museum of Modern Art from the rear courtyard, and chose it partly as it had Mary-esque qualities…
Mary ~ I have responded to Colin’s lovely image of glass with this one.
Hady ~ I received a beautiful image from Mary of the reflection of the sky and some reeds on what appears to be a shiny glass sphere.
It made me think of the reflection on a small, usually flooded area on the bank of the River Lea (one of my favourite walks). I thought this was similar in reflection, though it is natural.
Dawn ~ My picture follows Hady’s quite well with the trees and reflections. It was quite windy so the reflection of the trees across is not so sharp but the reflections in the foreground are clear.
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january 2023
Jim started and sent this image to Avril and Anne.
Taken in the turbine hall at Tate Modern, I loved the slow controlled movement of the artists and the slight asymmetry produced as one of the dancers takes over from the other.
Avril sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Sabes
Sabes ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~ In reply to Jim’s picture which I, at first, thought was a form of martial arts I have sent a picture of Morris dancers, the connection being the staves. A friend who is an authority on Japanese martial arts tells me it is not as I thought but could offer no clue. The Morris dancers were in St Christopher’s Place, St. Albans, one summer’s day. The children I observed did not seem impressed, it was either too noisy for them or too frightening.
Bunshri ~ Having received a colourful thought provoking image from Avril, I followed with this image and sent it to Colin. Avril’s image was colourful but I listened to my intuition and was drawn to muted colouring – changing the mood from fun to contemplation of mortality.
I call it the ‘Void’. Missing her from our extended family, been an emotional week and I was drawn to this.
Colin ~ Taken at Chanticleer Garden near Philadelphia in USA, this is in what is notionally the bathroom in a deliberately ruined house within the garden. Water continuously pours into a rectangular basin in which several marble masks are immersed.
Rashida ~ Colin sent me an image that transfixed me in a haunting, morbid sort of way and left me speechless. My imagination went into overdrive. The only word to describe the image that came to mind was “macabre”. It is a visually arresting image. On one of my walks in the woods during lockdown I was looking down at the ground. Nature had created some amazing artistry with rocks and stones which now on reflection could convey the same feel as in Colin’s image.
Sabes ~ I like the moments when animals pause and look at you. The pause can be to being startled, curiosity or confrontational. This frog was disturbed and startled as I was digging the earth in my alotment. In Rashida’s image rock and soil merge so an image where rock, soil and animal merging is an apt response. Frog emerging from the earth is a metaphor for life in earth and soil.
Following on from Jim, Anne sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Len
Len sent this image to Kate
Kate ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ Doing a Room. Ten minutes of spit and polish, putting up the cushions, fresh flowers – when I look back from the doorway, it’s as good as a Spring-clean!
Austin ~ Continuing from how Anne’s image captures “a job well done”, I took this picture of a runner who had just completed the Brighton half marathon, happy to be photographed along with his celebratory drink! It was a very hot day.
Hady ~ I received an image from Austin of a man wearing a finisher’s medal and holding a celebratory drink. My response image was taken earlier this year of a lady at the Colour Walk in Old Spitalfields Market in London’s East End. It shows a lady in a beautiful celebratory outfit that celebrates the New York Metro Card. Here is a link to the Colour Walk: https://oldspitalfieldsmarket.com/events/colour-walk
Len ~ I could not find anything to echo Hady’s picture of a cheerful sales promoter, either in terms of colour or content. But although she superficially seemed happy enough, I began to reflect on how awful it was to have to submit yourself to the public gaze in such an ugly outfit – all marketing and no style.
I’ve contrasted that with this image of a haute couture wedding gown being studied by the public whose reflections are visible in the showcase. True, one is real life and the other fantasy, but maybe the real-life woman might also sometimes dream of wearing Dior?
Kate ~ I was quite stumped about how to follow Len’s mysterious picture of a dressmaker’s dummy with an amazing pleated gown tacked together on it, with shadowy figures on the other side of the glass case behind it. I thought at first that they must be reflected in the glass, but there are no reflections over the dress – it is all very mysterious. Then, after the theatre I went to a Taz restaurant. The walls are decorated with large monochrome pictures of figures in presumably old Turkish costumes. They have no explanation attached. They are covered by very reflective glass. I photographed them discreetly on my phone, and I thought this image might do as a sequel to Len’s.
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December 2022
Len started and sent this image to Colin & Mermie
I was struck by what seemed to me to be the perfect graphic balance of this image of a fire hose reel and also by the stark contrast of the red against the white background. I took this image over 20
years ago, when I was still photographing on film and then scanning the negative roll. I’ve since
photographed other fire hose reels but like none of them as much as this one.
Colin sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Kate
Kate ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ Taken on a natural history holiday in the Cevennes in the South of France in the month of May. The directional quality of the blown snow was intriguing, while not totally obscuring the road sign. It picks up the circular shape and colour of Len’s image…
Rashida ~ Colin sent me a delightfully quirky image of a road sign covered with windswept snow icicles making an eye catching sculpture. The sharpness and icy cold oozes from the image! I have responded with an image that mimics the icicles in shape only. Mine is a close up of an ostrich feather. Fuzzy, soft and warm to the touch. The feathers were made into dusters in South Africa when I was growing up.
Avril ~ The leaves on these palm trees, taken in Florida in a storm, looked like feathers. If you look closely in the sky, you might see Orion.
Hady ~ Avril sent me an image of fronds of a palm tree with sky background that included some clouds and a large number of white dots that could have been stars. It reminded me of one of my images that show some tree branches with autumn leaves and fluffy clouds in the background. I thought my image was suitable follower to Avril’s.
Kate ~ Hady’s image shows twigs, grasses and leaves against a beautiful sky. This my response – an evening sunset picture on the common near our house in Ingleton. The tree silhouetted against the bright cloud. The poor tree is suffering very badly from the ash dieback disease which is badly affecting the many ashes in the area.
Following on from Len,
Mermie sent this image to Sabes
Sabes sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mermie ~ Taken in 2013 in Hanger 7 at the Salzburg Airport. The structure is an oval rather than a circle, but the pattern of wires recall the squares of the tiles of the wall in Len’s image.
Sabes ~ Strange that Mermie’s image of the steel and glass hanger should evoke a response that is organic in nature. There are repeating oval steel frames that pull our attention to the circle in the centre like the cavity around the eye gradually pulling you into the pupils. Then there are the bolts or connectors looking like human figures. Architecture adopts its shapes from the nature. All in the looking and taking in.
Anne ~ The picture from Sabes was full of movement and going round and I thought this very different image repeated that.
Jim ~ I really loved Anne’s image of the two dancing girls which is brilliant. So an impossible act to follow but I was immediately reminded of this image. I took it at a wedding and this girl was one of the bridesmaids who liked running. One of the key differences (other than the fact that there is only one girl and not two) is that I have panned the camera blurring the background, while in Anne’s image the background is sharp and only the girls are blurred.
Bunshri ~ Following on to Jim’s thought provoking image I follow on with this one I took in Porto. I loved how the slow exposure caught this girl in the waterfall. It follows on from Jim’s movement shot in black and white – though mine is in colour – but muted meditative colours too.
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November 2022
Duncan started and sent this image to Bunshri & Hady
This starting image is from my recent trip. I was bored waiting for a train in Turin.
A bit daunting providing the first image for consequences. Hopefully this image has a few motifs that could spark a response. Geometry, shadows, being nearly monochrome but for a splash of colour or possibly a sense of enigma.
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Bunshri sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Bunshri ~ Receiving Duncan’s emotive image drew me to dig out this image I had captured in Douro Valley. I loved the rustic uneven floor with weird lines and a lot of feet, including the legs of the table and chair.
Rashida ~ Bunshri sent an unusual image of people who appear to be standing in a circle, showing only their lower legs and feet with a low table and chair at the top left hand of the image. There is an interesting stone floor. Could this be a seance, meditation session, exhibition tour or anything else where your imagination takes you? My response is from a delightful exhibition called “Sense of Space” in Bishopsgate in 2018. This image was taken in “The Doodle Room” created by Sam Cox aka Mr Doodle. He bought a large house and completely covered it with doodles. Attached are links to the exhibition as well as info about the artist:
https://news.artnet.com/market/mr-doodle-profile-auction-sales-1947142/amp-page
Sense of Space: A sensory experience of mindful art | Broadgate
https://www.housebeautiful.com/uk/lifestyle/property/a41557616/doodle-house-kent-sam-cox-artist/
Colin ~ I was at a study day about Oriental carpets in 2007. By contrast with Rashida’s very black & white image, this one has an area of colourful patterns, and I also decided that at minimum the speaker’s legs were needed to relate it to Rashida’s picture.
Avril ~ Colin’s picture presented me with a conundrum, I rarely take pictures of people and carpets? My only response was to take a picture of my own hallway, the existing carpet is modern, though hand woven, those that had been in my home for years having been relegated to the attic as too worn for use having passed through a few generations. The trunk belonged to my grandmother and acted as a toy box for my brother and myself when young. Everything has a history.
Jim ~ I have concentrated on the patterned rug which runs at a diagonal. Here are a series of colourful saris laid out to dry after having been washed, and also seem running diagonally. Taken in South India many years ago. The people in the image also partly reflect the portrait in Avril’s photo, but mine is outside in bright sunlight rather than indoors in subdued filtered lighting.
Following on from Duncan,
Len sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Anne
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Anne ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Len ~ As soon as I saw Duncan’s image I knew exactly which of mine I wanted to follow it. Unfortunately my image isn’t quite sharp. That’s because I took it as a grab shot while walking along with my camera in my hand by my side. But not being as sharp as it should be is perhaps forgivable within the Consequences context.
There are obvious content and form similarities but, more importantly, I think both mine and Duncan’s image pose the same question to the viewer “What’s the story here?”, and that, for me at any rate, is their main attraction and link.
Mary ~ When I first saw Len’s image I was struck very much with the mysterious aspect to the image – what was in the box and what was the person doing? My image reflects the same sense of mystery with the steps, empty shoes and the open door leading to where?? I will let the viewer decide for themselves the narrative!
Kate ~ This follows Mary’s lovely mysterious picture of brightly lit steps with a walking stick and shoes on top steps leading into an unseen out of doors. You can see what’s outside the door in my picture – Plaza Abastos, supplies place, rather mundane. It is the entrance to a castle in a small town in Andalucía, you can see part of the wooden place where you buy your ticket on the right. I was captivated by the way the light through the old door falls on the wheelchair ramp. I wonder how the wheelchair is supposed to get in through the door? Maybe someone comes out of the wooden structure on the right and opens the whole door…?
Hady ~ I received an image from Kate that shows the sunlight coming through an open door, revealing a glimpse of a shop/restaurant outside. The rest of the image of the inside of the building is in relative darkness.
Kate’s image reminded me of a photograph I took of the gate of a villa on The Bishops Avenue in London. My image shows the sun shining through the closed gate producing attractive shapes, lines and curves of light and shadows.
Anne ~ My gate picture is rough & ready and inviting, in contrast to Hady’s elegant one.
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october 2022
Mary started and sent this image to Anne and Hady
This starting image is one of an on-going series with the Art Deco theme which I really enjoy putting together. Thinking about how to put the props together is quite a challenge but when it works I am very happy! It is all about shapes, space and the relation they all have. I hope the viewer finds them calm and thoughtful?
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Anne sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ My offering for the October Consequences follows on from Mary’s images of shapes and light that I saw in the architecture of the National Theatre.
Jim ~ Anne’s image is clearly taken inside the National Theatre on South Bank – designed by Denys Lasdun – one of the five most hated as well as one of the five most loved buildings in England! Termed brutalist architecture its walls are of exposed board-formed concrete. Some critics likened it to a nuclear bunker. For me, the exposed concrete works very well in interior spaces (it is almost cosy) but less well externally. However overall I admire the design of the building. I thought that this photo of the exterior with dramatic lighting shows the exposed concrete to best effect.
Bunshri ~ Having received Jim’s beautiful image in blue with one subject who is a silhouette – so quite ambiguous – I decided to show this image where there is a lot of blue. It is at an exhibition at the Royal Academy called Silent Fall. Can you make out what is happening???
Rashida ~ Bunshri’s evocative image is of a little boy transfixed and seemingly mesmerised by what looks like an indoor light/art installation. My image in response is from the Lumiere London Light Festival in January 2016. The light installations reimagine London’s architecture, transforming it into a dazzling nocturnal exhibition.
Mermie ~ When the opportunity arose for me to participate, I looked through some images from our recent trip to the Hudson River Valley in New York State. This view inside part of the Tibetan Buddhist Monastery near Woodstock includes many of the elements in Rashida’s picture – faces, balconies, arches, pillars – that are all much, much more saturated in colour than Rashida’s nighttime view.
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Following on from Mary, Hady sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Len
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Len ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ The image I received from Mary was an interesting one of objects with geometric shapes , straight lines, acute angles and a circle.
Mary’s image reminded me of an image I took in 2017 at Ground Zero in New York City. Although my image is architectural, it shares the straight lines, acute angles and curves.
Kate ~ I couldn’t match the strength and impact of Hady’s picture of amazing architecture. But I think this one taken on the Embankment going towards the Oxo tower echoes its composition – a tall building reaching for the sky, with another structure reaching across it, and reflections in glass beneath. It was taken on a lovely day in April, seeing London our two teenage granddaughters.’
Avril ~ My Consequences image follows Kate with these railings of the Millennium Bridge and the pattern of scullers passing underneath.
Colin ~ My picture was taken at the back of Wadworth’s Brewery in Devizes, when on a visit there – the colours of the scaffolding plank ends and the poles reflected the colour of the Kayaks and the geometry of the footbridge across the Thames by Tate Modern (which I am pretty sure it is).
Len ~ As soon as I saw Colin’s image of stacked scaffolding boards I knew I had nothing in my archives that I could relate to it. Then I remembered that I had recently purchased a bundle of strips of wood for a DIY project which turned out not to need them.
I thought I could photograph them as planks of wood with no indication of their scale although in fact they are barely 1cm wide.
I also decided to present the image as a high contrast black/white photograph, to further emphasise the stacked form, although Colin’s is of course a colour image and, in his case, the different coloured board ends are an important factor in his picture.
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September 2022
Mermie started and sent this image to Kate and Anne.
During a short walk while waiting for a meeting to begin, I saw this cemetery and liked the regular rows with the tree behind.
The cat enjoying the shade of the tree appealed also.
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Kate sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Mermie’s sunny picture of regimented headstones with the big yew standing over them like a sergeant major got me collecting lots of my quite recent pictures of headstones, graveyards etc. I didn’t think until later that a picture of soldiers or demonstrators marching might have been a good sequel. I ended up with another sunny picture, taken in the churchyard at Ayot St Peter last year.
I think you can guess that it is a churchyard if the writing on the stone monument is visible – ‘In my end is my beginning’. Maybe the gate also suggests a beginning, inviting you to go through it into a new world…
Colin ~ This was taken in Angers in France when we were on a trip to sing with a local choir. The lump of stone in the distance picked up on the obelisk in Kate’s picture. Although a more formal setting, grass and trees also featured.
I rather liked the two girls relaxing, probably a lunch break from the office or college.
Mary ~ Colin’s image is about 2 people chatting on a stone wall with someone walking around in the background.
My image reflects the people sitting on a stone wall but instead of talking to each other they are communicating on their phones. Also the 2 people walking in the background could be meeting up for a chat??!
Avril ~ When I received Mary’s image my immediate thought was the seating looked like a submarine. Hence my picture, a WWII sub the USS Becuna moored alongside a Spanish/American War era cruiser the USS Olympia, part of the Independence Seaport Museum at Penn’s Landing on the Delaware River in Philadelphia.
I went on board the Becuna and appreciated the courage of those who served on her during the war. I’m not sure which was worse serving in tanks or in submarines – neither for the claustrophobic.
Sabes ~ I am in Canada. I thought I’d send a picture in quick response to Avril’s picture. This is what I found out of my bedroom window.
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Following on from Mermie, Anne sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ Here is the image I have sent to Bunshri. Another graveyard; a jewish cemetery in Germany, just along the road from where my sister lives. It is peaceful and having to be extended because of the influx of Jewish people moving into Germany. It seems so extraordinary that, while terrible things were being inflicted on Jewish people in the thirties and forties this place was looked after by a local non jewish man. He is remembered with a plaque on the cemetery wall.
Bunshri ~ Following on to Anne’s image of the graveyard, this image came to mind. I had taken it last week at St. Albans Cathedral.
I loved the light and can imagine a doorway to Nirvana.
Rashida ~ Bunshri’s image is of a stunning interior of a church with magnificent arches with a lovely feeling of calmness. In response, my image from Istanbul is of very small mosque, the Imperial Sofa Mosque in the fourth courtyard of the Topkapi Palace built by Sultan Mahmud II. The windows overlooking the sea have shapes similar to the arches in Bunshri’s image. The woman in the image of was doing her prayers.
The mosque is very small and simple and exuded a feeling of peace and calmness.
Hady ~ I received an image from Rashida of a woman performing her prayers in a seaside mosque with blue carpet and blue sea water showing through a couple of windows.
Rashida’s image reminded me of an image I took of the inside of a dome of a small building that supplies free drinking water outside and close to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul and clear blue sky showing through two arches.
Jim ~ Hady’s image appears to be from a mosque with glimpses of tall, slim minarets and the ornate patterning of the underside of the vaulted ceiling. My image is only of the vaulted ceiling taken at the Alhambra, Grenada, Spain.
I was fascinated with the complex layering and its almost organic feel – it feels like a mythical sea creature.
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Note: There was no August meeting.
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July 2022
A blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Avril started and sent this image to Kate and to Hady.
Avril ~ Anicka Yi: In Love With The World. A vision of a new ecosystem, floating in the air, her machines – called – aerobes – reimagine artificial intelligence and encourage us to think about new ways machines might inhabit the earth.
An exhibition shown in the Turbine Hall Tate Modern last year.
They were quite fascinating as they ‘floated’ around like giant soap bubbles with legs, each one had a tiny motor attached.
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Kate sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Duncan
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Duncan ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Avril’s picture looks down from a great height on a large space (maybe Tate Modern entrance area). Tiny people looking up at strange bright coloured floating balloon like floating things. The other day I was just outside the Hayward Gallery and saw the bright coloured installation – another work of art in a large space. My people are not looking at the art (though the pigeon just behind them is). They are photographing the name of the artist on a yellow pillar. I failed to do this, so I can’t report who it is.
Sabes ~ Pigeon and Robin. The bird in Kate’s photograph is out of the view of those in the frame. The bird in my photo takes the centre stage on the side mirror of the car. It occasionally looked at itself on the mirror assuring its identity. Shame they are not the same kind.
Rashida ~ Sabes’s image for me was about shapes and lines with a Robin sitting on the wing mirror of the car in the foreground, making it the focal point. My response is an image playing with these components. A solitary pigeon in the foreground (focal point), making a triangular shape with two other pigeons in the background, two people on a wall and the grey patio paving sort of mirroring the two cars and the grey tarmac and the splash of greenery in both images.
Mary ~ What’s for lunch? People and bird in foreground – red umbrellas.
Duncan ~ A very quick scrabble to find a response to Mary’s beach image with the somewhat malevolent eye of the seagull. Here the eye is part of the ironwork of a lamppost at a rather busy Margate.
Following on from Avril, Hady sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Avril’s image was of the big hall at the Tate Modern with some colourful installations. It immediately reminded me of an image I took recently of some very colourful light fittings in a Turkish restaurant we frequent sometimes. I am not sure if the light fittings are Turkish or Moroccan. Both images share colourful installations, although of different nature, but I thought the similarities and the differences between the images are worth celebrating.
Anne ~ Hady’s image of colourful globes reminded me of the beautiful arrangements at our local market of fruit and vegetables. They look enticing and taste good too.
Colin ~ Anne’s picture contains a group of rectangular shapes holding different coloured fruit. I decided to choose a picture that maintained the rectangular shapes and at least some of their colours. I had thought of using a photograph I had taken at MOMA of a Rothko, but felt that that had no personal input, so I chose this Rolls-Royce car rear light cluster instead.
Len ~ Colin’s graphic photo is based on a luxury mode of transport – one of the Rolls-Royce Flying Spur series motor cars. I went up to London by train recently and during that journey looked for a follow-on image. I saw these railway buffers at Clapham Junction Overground Station that seemed to echo some of the shapes and colour in Colin’s image, albeit at the other end of the transport hierarchy.
Jim ~ Here is my consequences image following on from Len. I think the geometrical parallels are obvious and I have clearly gone from bright, shiny and colourful metal to eroded and desaturated timber.
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June 2022
A blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Bunshri started and sent this image to Jim and to Mary.
Bunshri ~ Who helps whom? The innocence of a child or the wisdom of the next generation. Who brings joy – to whom??? Love the simplicity of this image. This was taken in my home.
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Jim sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Bunshri has an image of two hands, a child’s and an adult’s, while mine is also of two hands but belonging to the same person. The thread in the cloth is reflected in the piece of extruded gold being wound around the ring being made by my friend who is a goldsmith. Also B&W and sharing something of the atmosphere of Bunshri’s image.
Colin ~ The picture was taken in 1985 at a car club conference: the number of different hand poses chimed with Jim’s more detailed study of hands. Here they are gesturing in explanation, rather than showing fine work in progress.
Kate ~ Colin’s picture of three grey heads in deep discussion over a machine – presumably a very special car engine – immediately put me in mind of pictures I took years ago at various sheep shows in the Yorkshire Dales. Some HFFers may remember this one which was part of my LRPS panel. It was taken at the Tan Hill show. Three men are studying the nose of one of the sheep. Unlike Colin’s men, these ones are surrounded by onlookers, maybe adding their opinions, maybe listening to the wisdom the experts are uttering. I didn’t find out whether this sheep won any of the coveted prizes.
Avril ~ In answer to Kate’s image. I had another but it is a print and my scanner will not connect to my computer at the moment and then I found this. It is a sheep, but in Covent Garden.
Rashida ~ Avril’s image of a Candy Baa is delightful and humorous. The shapes and colours reminded me of an image I took of the ladies washroom in a restaurant in Johannesburg in 2019 which makes me smile as does Avril’s image.
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Following on from Bunshri, Mary sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Hady
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Hady ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mary ~ My picture links to the old and the new of the hands of the adult and the baby. The tines of the fork also echo the shape of the baby’s fingers.
Anne ~ I was looking for an autumn leaf photo and found this image with many autumn leaves and even a sort of fork in the leaning rake.
Len ~ Anne’s image is of a beautiful garden scene, probably in autumn judging by the abundance of leaves. It called to mind a contrasting photo I took way back in the spring of 2005, in the famous tulip park in Holland called the Keukenhof. Both images are quintessentially about their locations – Anne’s an English garden and mine Dutch.
Hady ~ Len’s image of vividly coloured flowers reminded me of an image of a photo of a shop window of a delicatessen I took in Toronto, Canada in October 2018. The window was decorated for the occasion of Hallowe’en. The vivid colours of my image are reminiscent of those in Len’s image.
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May 2022
A blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Avril started and sent this image to Len and to Mermie
Avril ~ My image is of my garden table with reflections in the granite, I took it during the summer last year, one of a series of shadows and reflections.
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Len sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Colin
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Colin ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Len ~ With my follow-up to Avril’s picture I have tried to capture a similar mood as well as relating to a similar subject. Both pictures show trees indistinctly seen. In Avril’s case they appear to be reflected in a broken sheet of glass, in mine they are seen through a window behind the slats of a venetian blind. In both, the sunlight shines back at the viewer and adds a haze which contributes to the feeling of mystery.
For once, I didn’t go to my archives but made this image specifically as my response.
Anne ~ Len’s picture to me was of a venetian blind and I had this picture with the shadows of a blind in my sister’s bathroom. I liked the contrast between the straight lines of the blind and its shadows and the tangled leaves of the plant and my sister doing her hair.
Rashida ~ Anne sent an evocative image of a lady doing up her hair, a plant and some shadows cast by a blind in the foreground. My response is an image taken of a Harrods window display which mimics the shapes created in Anne’s image but in a more chaotic graphic way.
Mary ~ Rashida’s image is reminiscent of the surrealist photographers…..shape and shades of monochrome inviting the audience to imagine what it is. My response was this image which although one can see the objects it still has an air of mystery and it is also reminiscent of the ’30’s photographers.
Colin ~ Mary’s picture featured circles and curves, as well as a straight line between black and white areas. The sphere gave some interesting optical effects. I was looking through some pictures of bits of cars and felt that this followed on some of Mary’s picture theme. I did have to remove a large area of red from mine, but left other colour present.
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Following on from Avril, Mermie sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Gordon
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Gordon ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mermie ~ The straight lines of the tall plant ending in Vs on a background of early spring residue from last year’s meadow echo several elements in Avril’s image.
Hady ~ The image I received from Mermie showed widespread dry brown reeds, with a little thicker, darker and taller one in the middle.
It reminded me of an image I took last year during lockdown walks on the bank of River Lea in Hartham Common in Hertford. Mine shows a long structure of a dry brown plant against clear blue sky. I thought it was an ideal follow to Mermie’s image.
Kate ~ I thought first of following Hady’s two teasel heads against a beautiful blue sky with another picture of flowers or trees. But then the teasels began to seem like two people, one leaning affectionately towards the taller one behind. And the two prominent spikes on the sides looked rather like raised arms. This reminded me of Stephen doing his TaiChi exercise in the garden with friends during lockdown. Rather a change in direction from the teasels – I wonder what will follow!
Bunshri ~ Having received Kate’s image of the 3 doing TaiChi, I found this image of 3 peacocks which brings me calm.
Jim ~ As you know I am in Canada. And when I saw Bunshri’s photo of the peacock with its beautiful plumage (well, the male peacock at least) then I thought of this image that I took on my walk in Cape Breton (the relatively remote northern part of Nova Scotia). This species of butterfly is a migrant to the UK and is very rare in the UK. It was named the “Camberwell Beauty” when two specimens were caught in Cold Arbour Lane near Camberwell in 1748. It is known as Mourning Cloak in the US and Canada. They overwinter as butterflies: spring is much later in this part of Canada compared with the UK which may account for the fact that this is the only butterfly I have seen in my three weeks here in Canada.
Gordon ~ This was a photo I made as part of a group project on ‘Coast’. The butterfly’s wings reminded me of this tent on the beach, and the person emerging is a sort of reverse metamorphosis.
april 2022
A blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Anne started and sent this image to Rashida & Jim
Anne ~ I took this photo of a street in Cromarty leading down to the Firth with an oil rig that had been brought in for repair from the North Sea. It seemed to show two different ways of life – a little fishing village and a giant 20th century engineering monster.
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Rashida sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Hady
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Hady ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Anne’s image was most intriguing and somewhat surreal. An idyllic country setting with beautiful homes on either side of the road leading to a lake or river. There is even a bench at the waters edge to relax. Then there is the strange construction balanced on pillars in the water and on it or on the land behind something that looks like a UFO and a crane to one side. I look forward to finding out what those contraptions could be. So my response was to show a leaning part of an old wall surrounded by greenery and modern buildings as the opposite to Anne’s image. My image is of an art installation on the High Line in New York City.
Colin ~ The picture I received featured both ruined brickwork and more modern buildings, plus a lot of vegetation. What I chose has apparently ruined stonework and a lot of vegetation: two out of the three features.
It is at Chanticleer garden near Philadelphia – what was a house within the estate grounds was deliberately made ruined as a setting for gardening. This shot includes reflections in the water of the ‘billiard table’, adding something a bit weird to the view.
Mary ~ When I saw Colin’s picture it reminded me very much of the image that I have replied with – while Colin’s image is of a double archway with a landscape behind them, my image is a double exposure of windows and landscape. Both have nature and human hands at work.
Len ~ I was flummoxed by Mary’s image. I couldn’t work out whether it was a double exposure or a partial reflection and couldn’t think of a directly related response.
So I cheated with my follow up and fabricated this seaside fantasy in Photoshop. The dress is by Dior btw.
Bunshri ~ After Len’s surreal image of a mannequin in the sea I came up with this image of a leg of a mannequin in a little roadside shack in Dominican Republic.
Hady ~ Bunshri’s image reminded me of one I took in London’s South bank in August 2017. There was a festival going on. There were people having fun all over the place. Included in these were people (children and adults) having fun in a water fountain. The blue colour of the corrugated iron shack in Bunshri’s image reminded me of the colour of the water fountain. The care free feel in my image also relates to the tropical look in Bunshri’s image.
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Following on from Anne, Jim sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes sent this image to Avril
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Avril ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Anne’s image is of a North Sea drilling platform at the end of a domestic street in open water, slightly obscured. So mine is also industrial in nature, also somewhat obscured but with the same flash of red as in Anne’s image.
Dawn ~ Mine follows Jim’s reflection picture. It was taken in Egypt on the river where we were staying in a hotel. The rope on which the bird is sitting was tied to a boat with a very colourful awning and is reflected in the water. It is distorted by the ripples on the water.
Kate ~ How to follow Dawn’s water bird against the amazing reflections in the water below? I have no satisfactory bird picture, but I love reflections. This one is on the river at Tübingen near Stuttgart in Germany. The reflections of the old houses are wonderful – and much photographed by tourists including me. I rather liked the row of moored punts on the surface above the reflections.
Sabes ~ A rather quick response to Kate’s image as I am travelling. It’s the cars represented in the reflected texture of buildings for me.
Avril ~ I couldn’t find the picture I really wanted but I did think if all those cars in the picture Sabes sent had been stacked in this car park a great deal of land would have been saved.
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March 2022
A blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Colin started and sent this image to Dawn and Hady
Colin ~ Taken while waiting for the train into London, apart from the back light that emphasised textures, there is the message that anyone travelling in London is familiar with. Possibly a little blur of movement might have helped…
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Dawn sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Len
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Len ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Dawn ~ Colin’s picture is of boots and walking between two lines. The children’s legs are on the beam at their gymnastics class. It sort of follows the theme.
Sabes ~ It’s the colours that made me choose this photograph to respond to Dawn’s. But it’s more than the colour that is at work. Dawn’s photograph creates a sense of joy. With that sense, when I move to my image that experience persists. I don’t know if it is because of the movement of memory from one to the other despite the absence of people in mine. Whatever the reason I see harmony between the two.
Jim ~ I didn’t spend long thinking about how to follow on from Sabes but I was struck by the angle of the shot and the fact that the glasses and cups looked like people standing next to each other. My image also has the red. Taken in Granada in southern Spain – appears to be a christening (or is it a wedding?).
Rashida ~ Jim shared an interesting image of an elegant lady seen from the back in a stunning red dress and with a hand which seems to be reaching out to a young child. The man looks dapper and handsome in a blue suit and matching suede shoes and is protectively carrying a baby in his arms. The baby is in what looks like a christening gown. So I am assuming the photo was outside a church. And then there is pair of feet at the top of the photo, in casual shoes.
My response was to focus on elements such as the colour red, the ladies’ hand, the feet and the carrying of something valuable. These elements are present in my image taken at an exhibition at the Blain|Southern Gallery in Hanover Square, London showing the work of Chiharu Shiota titled “Me Somewhere Else”.
Anne ~ I have sent the attached photo to Len today. It follows on from Rashidas image with a figure – either a model or a visitor – in a gallery. I took my photo at an exhibition of. Chinese art at the Hayward Gallery some years ago. Both figures are alive.
Len ~ Most of us have probably taken photographs of visitors to exhibitions while we were visiting the exhibition ourselves.
The more enigmatic the exhibition, then the more one tries to imagine what the viewer might be thinking and placing both the viewer and the object within the photographic frame allows this conjecture to flourish.
My photo was taken in 2019 at the Haywards Gallery where there was an exhibition of the work of an artist called Kader Attica. I had actually gone to see another exhibition altogether at the same location – a wonderful show of Diane Arbus’s work – but this arrangement of people looking at the seated prosthetic legs and video screens in an adjacent gallery really caught my attention. I have no idea what it was about.
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Following on from Colin, Hady sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
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Kate sent an alternative image to follow Hady
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Colin’s image was unusual enough to make me think out of the box.
The shape of the legs reminded me of an image I took a few years ago to some new buildings in NYC near Ground Zero. Besides sharing the shape, the subject is completely different and I thought it would add a new spin to Colin’s image.
Kate ~ I took this picture while staying in Zuheros, a small village in the mountains south-east of Córdoba. It was in April and there was heavy rain in the night – rare in that very dry region. In the morning there was a thick mist over the hills above the village. I walked up the track towards the mountains and gradually the sun broke through the cloud. It was marvellous! Hady’s image looks up at amazing structures against a blue sky, gleaming in the sunlight. I thought my picture could follow his, because it is also looking up – towards two strange shaped trees, the cliffs with the cross on top – a man-made structure.
Bunshri ~ Having received the emotive image from Kate, showing there is light seeping through during the conflict, I dug out this image taken whilst walking in Regents Street just before Christmas. The white cloud is seeing us through- bringing light come what May, into our everyday lives during this pandemic.
Avril ~ Following on from Bunshri’s image of Christmas decorations I thought I would follow with the bizarre image of shoes hanging from wires in Swallow Street which I saw on an occasion when I had been to the Huxley Parlour photo gallery. The puzzle is, who threw them there and why?
Mary ~The 2 elements that stand out for me from Avril’s are shoes and pavement-like texture of the wall. My image is of shoes being worn walking on the pavement so these 2 elements in my image echoes the ‘shoes over the wires’.
Mermie ~A few years ago I was watching these sheep and took a few photos because I liked the way they had lined themselves up comfortably in the sun – except for one. Having seen a lot of feet in Mary’s image, I chose this set.
Kate ~ I am also sending my second choice picture taken in Olite, near Pamplona. This is looking up at a turret of the splendid much-restored medieval castle, a gift for period film makers and a great tourist attraction. The structure in the foreground is the top of an old ice-house. They also make very nice wine locally.
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February 2022
Back to a blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Dawn started and sent this image to Avril and Len
Dawn ~ This has been done in rather a hurry, however I chose this photograph because it was such grey rainy day in January and in the picture the rhododendrons are in full boom in May showing the promise of spring when every thing comes to life again and the bright days return. The photograph was taken at RHS Wisley. It was quite early in the day so there is a haze on the trees with fresh green leaves that contrast with the colour in the foreground.
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Avril sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~ I was a bit stumped as to how to follow Dawn. I had plenty of flower images but Boston, Patriot’s Day and the marathon had been on my mind recently and this incorporated those thoughts and flowers.
Bunshri ~ I chose this image to send to Hady, as it mirrored Avril’s 3/4 layers from front to back.
My image was shot in Kent from a hide where people go bird watching. I wanted to describe through the delicate image – how light I felt being away in nature. It was my first time camping since I was a teen and I was excited like a child.
Hady ~ Bunshri’s image was rather unusual. It reminded me of a photo I took not long ago during a walk in Hartham Common of a little pond. The image has a similar “structure” of bands of water, land and sky.
Jim ~ My response to Hady’s is quite straight forward, namely evening light reflected in the water. In my case the water is the sea off the north east coast of England rather than what appears to be a small lake in the countryside.
Anne ~ Jim’s was a surprisingly difficult image to follow. I eventually chose this sky scape with the sun just showing through.
Mermie ~ This sunset occurred about a week ago. I was overawed by its intensity and couldn’t not go outdoors to photograph it.
Following on from Dawn, Len sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Len ~ Dawn’s flowers looked very fitting in their setting. By way of contrast, my picture shows a few poppies growing naturally on a small grassy area and a greater variety of cut flowers left on the various memorials far removed from where they originally grew, all in a totally different sort of location.
The reason I took this photo was not because of the flowers but because of the grotesque cement works poised as if ready to advance on, and then devour, this small cemetery, were it not restrained from so doing by the power of the cross in the foreground.
Colin ~ Taken from the High Line in New York City in 2016. I admit that I hadn’t noticed the relation between the eyes on the end of the building and the sign on the taxi when I took it.
Anyway, this was the consequence of my looking at Len’s picture – a sense of incongruity in the scene. Enough colour in foreground to go with the flowers and the grey tarmac, although the road works don’t quite equate with the industrial plant in Len’s, nor the buildings with the stonework of the cemetery…
Mary ~ Colin’s image is taken from above the road….my image is taken from the Millenium bridge. It has a similar geometric shape to Colin’s image and few people. It has been pointed out that the oval structure the 2 girls are sitting on echos the yellow van in Colin’s.
Kate ~ Mary’s picture shows a paved area, outside a large evidently elegant building, with a wall and steps descending on the other side. Four people are ignoring each other, two walking by, two of them sitting well apart on a stone seat. All viewed from above.
My picture is also of people seen from above: old men sitting by a road on a pair of benches. They might well be spending most of the day there. The old men may be ignoring each other, but two of them are engaged in conversation with passers by – and a dog. They are by a road, and there is a wall and trees behind them. In fact it is a very steep drop, down to the river Tajo, which runs round Toledo.
Rashida ~ Kate’s delightful image seems to be of a “walk, talk, sit and then talk some more group” with a fur-friend in tow and a younger person observing them, sitting on/standing near benches in front of a beautiful wall with trees beyond. My response was the opposite with a broken wall in front of the Petit Palais in Paris with people walking by having minimal social interaction. The wall was an art installation best described in the accompanying image.
Sabes ~ In Rashida’s photograph the built structure appears to be destroyed and people in the background are passing. Here dismantled wood materials are placed. Although it appears messy there is some tidiness in the way they are placed there. The people are replaced by graffiti. It’s equally as busy as Rashida’s picture but in different ways.
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January 2022
This set of Consequences was intended to be easy for everyone during the festive season, so Mermie sent her starting image to all HFF members.
Mermie: I enjoy taking pictures as we pass vans and lorries on our drive along the A303 towards Devon. This image, taken in early November 2021, was especially fortuitous in its colours and shapes.
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Rashida: Matching colours at a festival in New York City.
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Hady: Colours that match and shapes that accentuate the curves.
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Bunshri: After the glow of colours on a passing van, and the reflection in the car’s side mirror, my image is juxtaposed as a static self portrait.
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Colin: My Consequences picture reflects the colour and shape of the ‘crown’ of the starting picture and its darker background.
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Kate: The Crown colours on the van stumped me for a while. Then I thought “Colours?” “Crown?” A king? And I remembered the old Russian wooden painted ninepins which had come to me from my mother. The children still love playing with them on the sitting room carpet. I’ve done what I could with hopeless light. And I was in a rush – as always!
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Here are the ninepins arranged on the floor ready for a game.
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Len: Here’s my image – at least there’s a van in it.
It was taken a few years ago at a vintage event held at Granary Square, just by King’s Cross Station. That event had lots of stalls selling bric-a-brac, a brace of 60s, 70s, 80s vehicles, and some guys on penny farthing cycles, all of which provided me with a few subjects for my camera.
This portrait of a ‘decorated’ camper van and its proud owner and his dog is one of my favourites from that day.
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Anne: Similar colours and pointed shapes in the garden.
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Jim: These are cycle rickshaws (known as a becak). Photo taken in Salawesi, an Indonesian island. The becak drivers are waiting in the shade for customers. I thought the bespoke decoration reflected Mermie’s image.
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Good News Guy, South Africa via Rashida:
December 2021
Bunshri started and sent her image to Kate, Colin and Hady.
This image is part of my series of ‘Silent Voice’ – about my mother-in-law’s Alzheimer’s. It is from my working project before I chose the images for the final book.
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Kate sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Anne
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Anne ended with this image
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Bunshri’s picture said so much to me. The world is fading away, becoming distant and confused – with bright, dazzling elements. The past is still just visible, in the photos, and the tiny corner of something else at the top right. There is also some happiness alongside the confusion and sadness. Surely the young girl with long hair is smiling?
I am following with more confusion. We see the wet garden through a misty window. The regular circles (something to do with the reinforced double glazing) could represent order and reason; but what does the snail’s trail say? Is it a cross, meaning “No, you can’t get out there?
Rashida ~ Kate’s intriguing image of patterns created on a patio glass door covered with condensation is full of mystery as one tries to see beyond to part of the house on the side and beyond to the landscape of trees and what I can imagine is a garden. My response is an equally foggy image of an imagined landscape but it is truly and completely synthetic created with upholstery fabric while a sofa was being dismantled.
Jim ~ Rashida’s image is ethereal and enigmatic in very de-saturated colours. It is also in square format, which I have replicated. So I have tried to emulate that with this image which I think conjures up a land or seascape. It is in fact the light falling on the stainless steel backsplash behind my cooker, with lights reflected off various jars and bowls. Not my usual style, but I guess that is what consequences is all about!
Anne ~ Jim’s was a surprisingly difficult image to follow. I eventually chose this skyscape with the sun just showing through.
Kate was moved to send two additional images
Bunshri’s picture suggests that we are seeing how the viewer views her life – she is the young girl and the older woman. This set me thinking about looking at records of our past. The first picture is of my daughter and family enjoying looking at my wedding pictures – my past in an old black and white print in a falling to pieces album.
This view is of the house where I lived as a child – my bedroom window is under the eaves at the top right. But I can’t get near it now (there’s a high fence and locked gates round the garden). I can only see it through the trees which have grown up over the years. My view, like my memories of childhood, is obscured by all the other memories and experiences which get in the way…
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Following on from Bunshri, Colin sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ Based on Bunshri’s, which I guess was from her expression of images gradually escaping comprehension, this is based on maintaining vision while being compromised by cataracts and having to find the right glasses for particular tasks.
Avril ~ The books were published in 1849: my own and read. The monocle belonged to my father. How old, I have no idea, but he did wear it.
Sabes ~The old books with gold embossed decoration on their spine on a wooden table and a monocle sitting on top of them are subjects on Avril’s photograph. The platted lanyard of the monocle is tied with a knot on the end stopping the platte unfurling further. My image is an extract from a response by Barrie Tullette (1989) to a poem “I Found Myself Within a Forest” by Dante, shown at the Ashmolean Museum. I have presented the curator’s caption next to the print in full:
‘As the letters take on the layered colours and shadows on the dark wood in which Dante is lost, they lose coherence and conventional meaning. A graphic designer working here with letterpress, Barrie Tullette responds to the experience of reading a poem, which is made up of text but rich in visual imagery. The unique images of his Typographic Dante capture certain responses of the words. They bridge the conventional gap between text and illustration.’ I present this image and the curator’s text for us to ponder – savour.
Mermie ~ To follow Sabes, I looked through some early images in my Photos library. How could I not choose curious Paddington Bear? (2007).
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Following on from Bunshri, Hady sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Bunshri’s photograph was a blurred image with poorly visible fuzzy images of people, which was titled “Her world”. It reminded me of an image I took not long ago of in focus rain droplets on the glass of our balcony, with an out of focus background skyline. I imagined Bunshri’s mother-in-law’s world to be like the background of my image.
Len ~ Hady’s photo of a rain splattered window was presumably made from the comfort of a dry interior.
By contrast, this photo was taken outdoors on a very wet evening in Venice in 2007. I was lucky to have my camera ready when I saw these two people with their red and blue umbrellas in compositionally just the right place. Exposure was handheld at half a second at ISO1600. I think the consequent blurring suits the weather.
Mary ~ My image reflects Len’s image with the rain and umbrellas but Len’s image raises questions about what is happening in the image – very mysterious! My image has a figure of a smiling girl on her phone – oblivious maybe to the rain.
Mermie ~ Mine’s about the shoes!
consequences November 2021
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Rashida sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Colin
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Colin ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Rosemary started the November Consequences with an enchanting photograph with multiple layers and untold stories. Beautiful lighting, a woman sitting and waiting in the cafe or perhaps she is having a quiet moment in solitude. The image also has lovely shapes, ovals and curves. I responded with a photograph I took in Barcelona at Gaudi’s iconic Casa Batlló. The curves are there in the windows as is the mystery but this time two people silhouetted. Strangers passing by.
Hady ~ When I saw Rashida’s image, I recognised it. It reminded me of an image taken in our kitchen, with the sun falling on our kitchen unit doors with some shadows falling on them. Converting the image to monochrome, it was an excellent match to Rashida’s. The shadows in the image show different shapes, open for interpretation.
Mary ~ Hady’s image of the shadow of leaves in monochrome – my image is in colour and is of leaves through a window so it is a direct opposite but still very similar.
Colin ~ I saw this a couple of days ago – a reflection in, not through, a window. I decided trying to do something like Mary’s, which was possible, but did not reflect my style.
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Following on from Rosemary, Kate sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Here is my offering in response to Rosemary’s evocative picture.
Avril ~ I had a bit of a problem with Kate’s picture as I so rarely take pictures of people but the window presented an opportunity. The image I sent Bunshri was taken in Fort Myers through the fly screen of the apartment I was staying in and it was the nearest I could accomplish unless I picked up the theme of red, white and blue.
Bunshri ~ After I received an enigmatic image from Avril, I chose this image taken in New Quay outside our house where we stayed. The play of sunlight and wind helped create this image I so love.
Sabes ~ Bunshri’s image was challenging. There are the three branches of the small plant, its shadow, three stripes on the cushion, and the haze caused as a result of shooting into the sun through the glass window. All these elements are present representing fullness of life. I see a similar essence of life and sun in the picture I made at Oxhey Park. I am glad that it’s similar to Bunshri’s. I did not drag the dehaze button to get a ‘perfect picture’. I don’t like perfect pictures.
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Following on from Rosemary, Anne sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ Here is the image I sent to Jim. The links are the black and white photo, a woman alone in a large space. It is from a series I did at Girton College.
Jim ~ Anne’s image is very calm and elegant. It has quite a formal geometry; trees are visible through one window, and the light through both windows create clear geometric shadows. It is a timber-panelled, timeless space, a place of study and learning. Mine is of Winchmore Hill Quaker Meeting, which is also timber-panelled and space for contemplation. Here also the light from the adjacent window creates strong geometric shadows, and trees are visible through the window in front of us. Timeless in some ways but the clicking clock helps tell the elders when the Meeting has finished.
Len ~ My image relates to the window part of Jim’s. The white cross in the highlighted section of the frame in his image particularly caught my eye and is echoed by the cross in the main part of the window in mine.”
Mermie ~ I looked for a specific image of heavy rain on a window to follow Len’s and found this image to instead. Its straight fence boards and nearly straight stems with blossoms are reminiscent of Len’s hanging beads and medallions.
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consequences October 2021
Sabes started and sent this image to Derek, Hady and Kate
Unaware to me a man behind me photographing out of the cafe window caused this photograph. I saw the lady in red pointing at me. I was holding the same colour drink as she was holding. So I walked towards her. She clarified that she was pointing at the man behind me. We agreed that whatever the reason was, it was good to connect. We exchanged the story of how she ended up in Nottingham via Greece from South Africa and me from Malaysia through Ceylon to Watford.
Later when I posted this image on Instagram saying ‘meeting strangers’, Tanya responded ‘not strangers any more’. The following day I posted the full portrait of her and her husband with this title:
‘When do strangers stop being strangers?’
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Derek sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Mary
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Mary ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Derek ~ As a consequence of seeing Sabes image I thought well, it is not only the young that enjoy themselves – so here are two ladies who are enjoying themselves in a different way at a hog roast I attended. It became more animated when the entire wine bottle was consumed.
Rashida ~ Derek’s image evokes a sense of celebration with 2 ladies chatting, one of them eating an asparagus spear, with a Union Jack flag, flowers and wine/champagne visible on what I assume is an outdoor picnic table. A very British Summer Celebration. My response is an image from across the pond, with a couple going to/coming from a celebration of some kind. A moment caught after a summer rainfall one evening on 5th Avenue, NYC.
Anne ~ This is the picture I have sent to Mary today. It follows on from Rashida’s image of two people in front of a large building, perhaps having been to a celebration (the balloons) but alone, together. I remember these children, separated from the main party and engrossed in the view of Tower Bridge.
Mary ~ This image to me is a perfect follow-on to Anne’s picture where 2 people are looking at a famous London landmark – Tower Bridge. My image is an ICM image of 2 people looking at another famous London landmark – ST Pauls. I took this image at the end of the day after attending a workshop on ICM – Intentional Camera Movement. It is a very hit and miss way of taking images and is always great when it works!
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Following on from Sabes, Hady sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn ended with this image
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Dawn also sent this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ The image I received from Sabes is of two people sitting, showing only their legs and feet in shoes. It reminded me of a selfie I had taken of myself showing only my feet on my prayer mat just before I started performing my prayer (this prayer is one of the five prescribed daily prayers Muslims perform). As I could not locate the image, I took this one to replace it. The light was perfect and it was easy to replicate the missing original.
My image is the opposite of Sabes’ in several ways: His is of people relaxing and having a drink in a public place, while mine is a spiritual very special moment standing in humility before Allah (God) at the beginning of my prayer in the privacy of my own home.
Despite the differences, I thought my image was the perfect following to Sabes’.
Bunshri ~ Hady’s image was of carpet and feet. It could have a religious connotation but I chose something light hearted.
I have two sets of feet here, a pair looking on and baby’s partly hidden feet. Like the carpet, the baby’s play mat is on the floor.
There are 3 things happening here in my living room: the bear looking at the baby, the baby looking at the adult and another person looking on – but only the feet visible.
Colin ~ Bunshri’s picture shows a small child with a teddy bear looking on. I couldn’t find anything that had a similar watcher of the event, but chose this – indicating that as you grow up, other things attract more than teddy bears…
Dawn ~ This month’s picture was taken after our son had his Morris Traveller (1968) restored. He inherited it from his grandfather and it is older than he is. It was rather a wreck when he got it but it’s now in perfect condition and well looked after. He was keen to have it restored as it reminds him of all the good times the family went on fishing trips with all their gear packed in the car and all the fun they had.
As well as the detail I have sent a picture showing the car restored to its former glory.
Bessie has taken several friends to the church.
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Following on from Sabes, Kate sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image
Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ You don’t need to have a picture of the whole person – or the top half – to tell you a lot about the subjects; and to make a lovely picture. Sabes’ picture reminded me of a series of pictures I made when we were in Japan a few years ago. Exaggerated platform shoes were the rage then, and I became fascinated to see girls wearing them elegantly even though I was sure they were horribly restricting and uncomfortable. I thought this image echoed Sabes’ – the couple have come away from the party and are going home on the train, with their bag of buns. No bright reds or pinks here, but there is a shiny plastic umbrella and a plastic bag …
Len ~ At first glance my photo may seem a surprising follow-on to Kate’s image.
Hers shows a man and woman’s legs seated in what may be a train or other public interior space. The small notice suggests that this may be somewhere in the Far East.
My photo shows a beach sea view with tree trunks in the foreground. It was in fact taken in Barbados.
But once you get past the very different subjects there are many similarities. The colour tones of grey/blue and beige/brown are not unlike each other. In Kate’s photo the woman has white trousers and a white rolled up feminine umbrella. Mine shows a white delicate net blowing in the wind.
The people’s legs in Kate’s image divide the photo with vertical repetitions. The tree trunks in my picture do the same. Kate chose just to show the legs, not the whole body, I chose just to show the lower parts of the trees.
Put these pictures side by side and they seem to me to rhyme. They also look as if they could have been taken by the same person and would not be out of place together in a book.
Avril ~ I could have used the trees and the sea having similar pictures near the lochs but my eye kept returning to the nets slung over the tree and in this image there are nets at the window but also nets slung over the chair as a cover. This was in the house of a friend who used it for guests and it was moat effective.
Jim ~ The parallels with Avril’s image are obvious although my scene is one of dereliction. Taken on a walk in La Gomera in the Canary Islands. I just poked my nose into this distressed building and liked the way the shaft of light illuminated the chair. What has happened? Is the room still being used? What image has been removed from the frame on the wall?
consequences September 2021
Avril started and sent this image to Jim, Len and Dawn.
London’s Millennium Bridge. At the time, the shadows appealed to me. They still do and I managed to avoid people which always pleases me unless they improve the image rather than distract.
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Jim sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary ended with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Avril’s image is of the Millenium Bridge which takes lots of people to Tate Modern, where I volunteer.
There is currently an exhibition called “Please Draw Freely” and this is an image of young people doing just that.
I like the way they take the opportunity to cover every surface. Also I felt that the inverted T-shaped timber frame reflected the T-shaped steel and concrete supports to the Millenium Bridge, the shape of which was developed with input from sculptor Sir Anthony Caro.
Anne ~ This followed Jim’s image to me of a band of children decorating a wooden erection. I love seeing the total concentration and, I think, enjoyment that children experience painting and drawing – before there is a right or wrong way of doing things.
Kate ~ Anne’s picture is a study of concentration – the little girl is fiercely gripping the brush, holding on to the paper and doing her painting. I think it must be Christmas time – the red jumper links with the flower and wreath on the counter behind. I had to follow with a picture of my granddaughter wielding a coloured pen with similar concentration, also at our kitchen table. She is now a very bouncy 8 year old. I wish they didn’t grow up so fast!’
Rosemary ~ I have managed to find something vaguely suitable. He is a young Spanish boy that I spotted on the streets of Palma. While he is developing the skills for The Beautiful Game, Kate’s young grand-daughter has more academic ideas!
Following on from Avril,
Len sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Len ~ Avril’s photograph immediately reminded me of this iPhone snap I took earlier this year in Brighton Marina.
It shares the elements of a foreground barrier, a boat, and tall buildings as backdrop, but the boat itself is a rich person’s plaything unlike the passenger boat going along the Thames.
When I reviewed my image later I saw that it would have been better had I not truncated the bow of the boat. In fact it was so sunny that I could hardly see the iPhone screen image so the composition was mainly guesswork.
I should of course have held the phone horizontally, not vertically, but although I am constantly amazed by other people’s smart phone images I still find it a very awkward device to use for photography.
Bunshri ~ Having received a thought provoking image from Len, I found this handmade book in my archive. Len’s yacht takes you on a journey and I was on my late father’s journey, metaphorically speaking, to discover why I was having so much trouble getting over my father’s sudden death at his young age of 55. This was part of an installation for my degree show in 2015.
Hady ~ The image Bunshri sent me was of a concertina book that she had hand made. The open pages of the book reminded me of an image I made recently showing a colourful structure that has folds similar to those of Bunshri’s book.
Sabes ~ Hady’s photograph suggested a rainbow and a circle. As soon as I saw it, this photograph I made behind Watford Hospital a few weeks ago came to mind as the match for Hady’s photograph: a rainbow-like fan or paper fold up. There are similarities and contrasts between the two.
Yellow, green and orange are similar. The yellow fencing in the foreground suggested the fan in Hady’s image spreading from the centre.
There are many aspects of contrasts between the two. One is wide the other is close up. The rainbow over Bushey is calm but close up of colours in Hady’s gives a busy feel. However the bottom third foreground with cars, houses and fences gives the feeling of being busy in my photograph.
Following on from Avril,
Dawn sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Avril
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Avril (even though she had started) ended with this image
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Dawn ~ Here is my image following Avril’s. It was taken in Amsterdam a few years ago. It picks up some of the elements of Avril’s – the river, the boats, and the railings in the fore ground. It is a view from the bridge, not under the bridge.
Colin ~ Taken when in London for a two-day weekend stay in an hotel to maximise time wandering about. I think this was what had been a ‘Boris Bike’ stand before sponsorship changed. Rather more bikes, but no more people than Dawn’s.
Rashida ~ Colin’s image of a group of London Santander bicycles with one sporting a dapper yellow moustache reminded me of a photograph I took in Johannesburg in a store called “Art Africa”, a treasure trove of stunning and colourful African crafts. A selection of incredibly beautiful and tactile Kaross hand embroidered cushion covers were lined up like the bicycles and in a few you can spot the famous “Poirot” moustache like the one in Colin’s image. The one hanging upside down in the top row right hand side travelled back to London with us.
Embroidery is a traditional skill for most Vatsonga and Northern Sotho people. Kaross revived this skill by making it commercially viable and has grown into a South African success story that now employs around 1300 embroiderers in the Letsitele/Giyani area in Limpopo.”
Avril ~ I had a great many thoughts when I received Rashida’s image but then I noticed the elephants at the top of the picture and this seemed to fit: elephants and the riot of colour in the picture on the scarves and in the background. My picture was taken in Miami – in Wynwood Walls, a rundown area now a popular tourist destination with graffiti at its best by amateurs and professionals alike.
consequences August 2021
Colin started and sent this image to Hady, Bunshri and Kate.
Taken at one of the first RREC rallies possible in 2021. I think the car owner’s socks were what attracted me to take the shot – apart from the intriguing fact that an owner of an old Rolls-Royce reads ‘The Mail on Sunday’.
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Hady sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn ended with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ I received an image from Colin showing a man sitting in a very nice classic car reading a newspaper and wearing colourful socks. Everything looked so organised. I thought I would respond with exactly the opposite. My image was taken from inside my car of the cars in the car park with the heavy rain distorting the shapes of all cars. A contrast of Colin’s orderly image.
Rosemary ~ My offering was captured in Italy, very fashion conscious gentleman. HADY’S image was taken I assume in the torrential rain somewhere. My gentleman has decided to open his umbrella although there appears to be not a drop of rain in sight.
Avril ~ Having received the image from Rosemary and there having been so much rain I felt it would be a nice contrast to have a child running in the fountains of the Place de General de Gaulle, Nice in order to cool down from the summer heat particularly as at the time we hadn’t seen much of the sun. I enjoy watching the children play here, and adults as well, never knowing which fountain will come to life or when and their squeals of joy as they either hit or miss.
Dawn ~ This image is the most suitable I have for following Avril’s picture. It was taken in St Petersburg at the Summer Palace. It is beautifully restored and fully open to the public. I chose to follow the water theme and fountains.
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Following on from Colin, Bunshri sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Derek
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Derek ended with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Bunshri ~ I loved Colin’s image. When I zoomed in on the newspaper article, the word ‘Silent’ is where my eye went t. It is somewhat hidden, partly covered. An immediate thought jumped to my mind: the title of my limited edition book, ‘ Silent Voice.’ The idea of the radical design is that it arouses curiosity as to what lies under cover.
Len ~ Here at last is my contribution for next month’s Consequences. As you probably expected, Bunshri’s contribution was a bit surprising to receive but an interesting challenge! Should be an interesting series…
Rashida ~ My image in response to Len’s represents the chaos and confusion it created in my brain. I found it difficult to switch from my medical neurology understanding of blindsight and marry it with the image and text Len created. There are many interpretations and variations of expression of blindsight, a complicated medical condition. My image has a central “eye”, the closest connection to the blurred glasses in Len’s image. Well done Len, I was flummoxed but not blindsighted.
Derek ~ Rashida’s fine abstract image appeared to show what I saw as an elephant. As a consequence I thought it time I did something to support this highly persecuted animal. I attach a picture of an elephant in battle with a lion and looking like winning. It is part of a Mosaic I came across in my travels, probably the work of some demented Roman.
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Following on from Colin, Kate sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ How could I follow Colin’s wonderful, witty picture? No possibility of a sumptuous car, or a show ground. But someone of a certain age reading a newspaper… A few years ago I took a fortnight’s Spanish language course at a school in central Córdoba. Every morning I took the bus from my daughter’s house into the town centre, and walked down a wide pedestrianised street. My route took me past a news vendor’s kiosk, just as the old men were buying their morning papers and settling down to read them. I made a little collection of shots. This is one of them. I don’t know what the man is looking at, and he’s a bit glum – maybe the bullfighting results were bad. But he has white hair like the person in Colin’s picture, he’s relaxing, and there is a car in the background. The fountain introduces a new subject. I wonder if that will be taken up.
Mary ~ This image is of a rainy rush hour at Angel, Islington. In Kate’s image water is represented by the waterfall behind the man sitting down – he didn’t look too happy! In looking at my image carefully I have just noticed on the left hand side the profile of a man coming into view who doesn’t look too happy either. Both pictures sum up how uncomfortable a wet day can be.
Anne ~ Here is my offering – an image full of signs like Mary’s. Her picture is bustling and full of vigour; mine is sad. It was a busy little corn chandler and is now a smart estate agent. I preferred the former but at least the pretty building hasn’t been pulled down.
Mermie ~ Anne’s house with the red post box led me to this house with Adam, our cheerful postman.
consequences JuLY 2021
Mary started and sent this image to Duncan, Colin and Anne.
This is a ‘Found Still-life’ which I noticed the other day while waiting to enter Wigmore Hall for a socially-distanced concert. I was drawn to the random way the core had been left there, by itself, amongst the railings. To me it is a metaphor for the social distancing we all practice at the moment.
That is the intellectual reason – but emotionally I just enjoy the colour of the apple core amongst the grey palette of the railings and pavement.
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Duncan sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Derek
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Derek sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Duncan ~ I apologise if this seems to bear little relationship to Mary’s intriguing image but let me explain my
madness. The two main elements that struck me from Mary’s picture were the strong geometry, in particular the window bars, and the remains of food, an apple core. It was tempting just to use the geometry and bars but I wanted to include both elements.
This image is the remains of some food packaging someone had ditched and I picked up from the ground on a walk. Although the overall appearance is soft the one section with strong geometry is of bars with food, or at least the title onion rings, above.
If anyone is wondering, it was a multiple exposure shot on one frame of film.
Dawn ~ Here is my picture for this month. I did find Duncan’s picture a challenge but followed the colour theme with rocks, and onions hanging by the door. It is a reproduction of a country cottage built for the Chelsea Flower Show with a wild garden.
Derek ~ I tried to maintain Dawn’s colour theme not in a garden but in a woodland setting as a triptych instead of a panorama although the end result is very similar.
Hady ~ I received a triptych from Derek. This was of three images in a forest with trees and bluebells.
I did not want to follow Derek’s triptych with another triptych. I thought an interesting alternative would be an image made of three exposures, showing trees, wild rhododendrons from the same wood and the sky above.
Mermie ~ I took this photo of the approximately 180 year old Scots Pine in our back garden: it seemed a narrow one-layered alternative to Hady’s combination of trees, flowers and sky.
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Following on from Mary,
Colin sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ Mary’s image was largely shades of grey, but with a small touch of colour of the decaying apple core. Mine is a picked Buttercup that you had put into a shot glass in the kitchen, but it had dropped its petals. The vertical perspective reflected Mary’s image as well.
Jim ~ I felt Colin’s was quite a forlorn image with the remains of the flower head once all the petals have fallen. So I picked a rose from my garden and created the scene when the first petal had fallen, but some of the buds are still to open. This is a bit of a departure for me in terms of images as I tend to go for “grab shots” in natural light.
Kate ~ What do I say about it? ‘First of all I thought of following on from Jim’s beautiful rose, almost but not quite monochrome, with a flower in a vase. I looked at what I have in stock – but nothing so subtle or thoughtful. Then on one of our very damp mornings recently I noticed this spray of Solomon’s Seal leaves, with one turned over showing it’s silver underside. It kind of echoes Jim’s rose…’
Rosemary ~ An obvious response this one. Blushed by the sun, refreshed by the rain but fading nevertheless.
Following on from Mary,
Anne sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida ended with this image
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ Mary’s image is of a severe fence; my fence is battered by time and the weather but has the same grey colours.
Len ~ The English countryside is full of barriers. Some are natural, some are manmade, some are both. This photo was taken in East Sussex in 2005 but could have been almost anywhere in this country and in any year.
Avril ~ Len’s picture of a field and gate looked very neglected and one would be tempted to ignore the sign and see what was beyond. Mine is, I think, the antithesis of this. I took it in a back street of Sheffield and I’m not sure one would want to enter even if it were possible. It has a forbidding air about it and would suit the cover of a thriller involving murder and drug dealers. Probably just a derelict building awaiting demolition and regeneration but the mind can play wonderful tricks.
Bunshri ~ Having got Avril’s enigmatic image about no 33, I decided to go for this one taken in Margate. The place has like stopped in time. Having suffered from a fall and a bad back, I would stop now and again for a rest- this time in front of this façade.
The mystery of no 33 – juxtaposed with this regal name – drove me to take it. What does indeed lie behind the front door?
Rashida ~ Bunshri’s image evoked a sense of “coming out” as lockdown rules were relaxed. As June Pride Month 2021 was coming to an end when I received Bunshri’s contribution, I am responding to her image with one taken in New York on 20 June 2019. We have many happy and joyful memories of taking part in celebrations both in New York and London.
consequences June 2021
Avril started and sent this image to Kate, Len and Hady.
A rather more simple doorway in the Bahia Palace in Marrakesh. A magnificent building which belonged to the Grand Vizier until his death in 1900 when it was looted by the Royal family of any and all valuables. The Vizier’s wives had to flee for their lives. One had the impression that the Vizier was not popular.
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Kate sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Duncan
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Duncan ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ ‘Avril’s picture tells a story. There are two characters, tourists in an old, Moorish building, must be in Spain. A man looking across a passage with rectangular tiled/mosaic pattern on the floor, and tiles on the lower part of the wall. He is looking through a doorway and an arch into bright light, where there is a woman, seen from behind. What are his thoughts? About the woman, moving away from him? or about the building, the place, it’s beauty or its history?… I couldn’t match this story, but I found some people under an arch in old Spain. Two young girls, slightly leaning towards each other, in the evening light, looking towards the Giralda tower of Seville cathedral, once the great minaret of the mosque on that site. They may be looking at the couple walking towards them – or just admiring the view. The squared pattern in the paving echoes the squared pattern on the floor in Avril’s picture.’
Rashida ~ “Kate’s image I am guessing was taken in Seville. An archway looking out to a courtyard/street lined with orange laden trees and a church steeple and people in twos. My response to the lovely image is a photograph I took at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Chinatown, Vancouver B.C. Canada. It is the first of the Chinese or “scholars” garden built outside of China. The wooden archway frames the view of the garden, with a pavilion and people sitting inside or walking about enjoying the beautiful space.”
Anne ~ Rashida’s picture of the Japanese garden made me think of my Japanese
maple that so lifted my spirits one dreary morning in the lockdown when I
opened the back door.
Duncan ~ Struck by the way the foliage of one tree stood out and dominated Anne’s garden picture. The other vegetation and garden walls and slabs are very much secondary in the image but add a wet gloom to contrast with the bright foliage of the maple.
Perhaps it is because I took this image earlier in the day that I received the one from Anne, I thought it compliments and contrasts the Maple picture. It was taken on a walk through the huge Dinorwic slate quarry whist waiting for the clouds to lift from the walk we wanted to do, which they did despite their gloomy presence in this picture. I was struck by the light hitting the tree, so its foliage stuck out in the gloom.
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Following on from Avril, Len sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Mary
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Mary ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Len ~ I trawled my archive looking for something with an atmosphere that echoes Avril’s image and with a similar formal structure.
In Avril’s photo we see a man watching/following the indistinct figure of a woman. We do not know whether his intent is benign or malign.
In my image there is an indistinct reflection of a man who may be watching/following someone who is using a mobile phone. If indeed he is watching/following the man on the phone, we cannot tell if he intends him harm or not.
These uncertainties add tension and interest to both images.
Jim ~ Len’s image is great and has a certain mystery and intrigue. There are also various planes of light, reflections and a grainy texture. I don’t think my image matches the intrigue but I have tried to emulate the other facets with a deliberate use of grain and a similar relationship between the main figure and the light behind.
Colin ~ Taken at Prideaux Place, Padstow. Art Nouveau light switches.
I feel it has some of the Baroque atmosphere of Jim’s picture.
Mary ~ It took me a few moments to work out what I was looking at with Colin’s image – a rather beautiful metallic row of light switches. Very Art Nouveau depicting a girl with long hair and some musical instruments. The image that I have responded with is one that I have taken recently – of an old fire-grate with a mirror and a crystal ball. The knob of the grate resonates with the light switches in Colin’s image and is reflected in the mirror. Although the grate is old – about 50/60’s – it still has a beauty in it that is rare to find these days as modern houses don’t have fireplace anymore. Similar to the beautiful light switch which I assume to be older than the grate.
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Following on from Avril, Hady sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn ended with this image.
Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ I received an image from Avril showing a man in a room looking towards its door, that shows another opening through which comes a bright light and a man coming through it.
Avril’s image reminded of of an image of a graffiti showing a head with a large eye on a column supporting a bridge over a river looking towards a bright light. The similarity was uncanny and I thought it would be a good one to follow Avril’s and to inspire the following image.
Bunshri ~ In response to a challenging image of Hady’s of a bridge, graffiti and water in shadow, I decided to do a juxtaposition of a tall facade with graffiti and the clear blue sky as a backdrop.
I kept in the heads to show the scale of the facade. This image I took in Warren Street.
Rosemary ~ As a response to Bunshri’s image this one of mine came immediately to mind. It was the focus on the bottom centre couples in each from which I drew the similarity. My image was taken at the Henley regatta a few years ago now. Michael de Ruyter Schat, now deceased was at the time a member of HFF. He was also a member of the Leander club there and very generously invited myself plus two other members of HFF, Helen Brown and Peter Brindley (both now also deceased) to accompany him as his guests. It was a perfect summer’s day at one of the season’s well known events. A most memorable day.
Dawn ~ Where did you get those hats?
I am following Rosemary’s theme an occasion for dressing up.
This is the second day of the Chelsea Flower Show when I saw this group out for the day in their new clothes among the crowds of people.
consequences May 2021
Dawn started and sent this image to Derek, Kate and Hady.
I took this photograph in one of the palaces in India that was being restored. I liked the colours and the back of the woman in a sari going to climb the stairs. It looks very serene but it is not as it seems. The large bowl is to collect rubble from the building works and bring it downstairs. It was 11 o’clock in the morning and already very hot.
This was her job all day and was exhausting. In spite of this I do like the picture.
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Derek sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Derek ~ Dawn’s image made me think about what other strange things I have seen people wear on their heads. It shows the chief Lama at Labrang Monastery in Tibet who was officiating at a devil dancing ceremony of the Yellow hat sect of Buddhism, the annual mask dance to banish evil spirits and bring enlightenment. Pat and I were on a tour of Tibetan Monasteries and later the Forbidden City of China. And before you ask, no I am not a Buddhist, although I am relatively peaceful if lacking in enlightenment, just an enthusiastic amateur photographer.
Anne ~ Here is my offering for the April Consequences. I surmise that the two men are similar in age and build and are both wearing clothes that are significant – one ceremonial and one workwear. My image is part of the series I have done of Chesham people. Mr. Dell had worked since childhood on a local farm.
Colin ~ Taken on an old car trip in Wales during a stop on the Llanberis pass. I was reflecting on Anne’s being a portrait in the subject’s normal environment.
Rashida ~ My response to Colin’s image of a beautifully backlit seagull standing on rocks with a stunning countryside view behind it, was to contrast it with a stark urban nighttime image taken in London during the Lumière Festival of Light in January 2016
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Following on from Dawn, Kate sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Here is my response to Dawn’s lovely picture of (according to her file title) ‘Woman’s work’. I looked hard for a suitable picture of a figure in front of a wall, but without success. And I could not think of setting something up in Welwyn Garden City! So I ended up with an interesting wall, red/orange in colour not too far from the colours in Dawn’s picture. And instead of a person, I have a flower pot on the left hand side!
Avril ~ Kate’s image of flowers in a planter against a beautiful wall gave me a bit of a problem. I finally decided on the view through at archway at Uppingham School. The walls are stone not brick, and the plant in flower is in a garden but I hoped that the whole would provide inspiration for the follow on. For a few summers I attended residential courses at the school, the equipment they had was phenomenal though it wasn’t so much the teaching as being in Rutland to photograph on my own and at the time I was obsessed with parish churches. Still am if truth be told. It was wonderful to just give myself over to photography with no responsibilities to anyone.
Bunshri ~ After Avril’s mysterious image I went for this one taken in Trent Park. The beginning of Spring. Where will this take us? Nature has been keeping me sane and joyful during my daily walks during lockdown. The future is still unknown. Are we safe from being in lockdown yet again?
Sabes ~ I wanted to respond to the presence of the branch and shadow of it. The texture of the blossom also played in my mind. I chose the image of the net curtain. I think the textures and the slant in both photographs are trying to respond to each other in their own ways. They end up as opposite in tone. One lighter the other darker. One softer the other starker. The shadow in my photograph is there only in photographic terms as in shadow and highlight. What lurks in the shadows behind the curtain?
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Following on from Dawn, Hady sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image.
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Dawn’s “Woman’s work 4” is an interesting image. It shows an Indian woman carrying a large ceramic bowl. It reminded me of similar situations in other countries. I thought of this piece of artwork made of chicken wire and beads we have hanging in our garden. It shows an African woman carrying a child in a traditional African way and a jar on her head. Taken from a certain angle you would imagine her walking on our lawn.
In Johannesburg we have seen and met many artists making these beautiful and creative pieces of artwork and selling them to make a modest living.
I thought this would make a good response to Dawn’s image.
Rosemary ~ I found Hady’s most imaginative piece of artwork quite difficult to follow until I remembered what an exceptionally skilled needlewoman my mother had been. Among the pieces that I possess is this handcrafted pair of hessian figures, mother and child. I dusted it down and took a picture (not black and white). The image I received is of a mother and child but from another continent.
Mary ~ The image from Rosemary was quite hard to follow on from – the only thing that connects the 2 images are the fact that there are 2 characters, mother and child in one while in the other 1 man standing and another seated.
Jim ~ I had a number of thoughts but I guess it was the bare chested male that was the trigger for my photo. While punting in Cambridge we passed under this bridge where the local youth seemed to enjoy doing ‘bombs’ off the bridge and soaking the posh punters. I thought they were going to do this to us, but maybe the fact that they saw me photographing stopped them from doing so! We passed under the bridge without getting wet.
Extras from Kate
Kate ~ In my searches for a suitable ‘working woman’ picture I found these two images from our amazing visit to North East India 9 years ago. We’d walked up a steep track to visit a family who our travelling companions had made contact with on a previous visit. On the way back we met various people toiling back home with things bought from the village market at the bottom of the hill. This girl and her mother were particularly sweet and friendly, though their heavy loads meant they couldn’t stop and talk.
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consequences April 2021
Jim started and sent this image to Mary, Rashida and Rosemary
Taken in the northwest highlands of Scotland, I liked the array of diagonal lines, the rusty corrugated roof and the way the birds are spaced out. I hope the photographers can get some inspiration from it.
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Mary sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Hady
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Hady ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mary ~ Jim’s picture is about texture and lines. In his, the overhead wires form triangles and the Shard in my picture is definitely a triangle and the string of bulbs also form a triangle while the bulbs represent the birds. The roofs (the floor of each balcony) in my picture echo the colour of the corrugated roof in Jim’s picture.
Colin ~ Taken in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC, my image reflects the people facing in differing directions in Mary’s image with the Shard on the right as a dark triangular wall in mine. The helicopter is incidental.
Anne ~ Following on from Colin’s entry, I have chosen a view from above of people. I would have liked to match Colin’s curves and height, but….
Hady ~ The image is a night photograph of a shopping centre and an office building in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Although Anne’s and my images are of completely different subjects, They share a similar lighting atmosphere and lines. You’d feel that they were taken at the same time.
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Following on from Jim, Rashida sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Jim’s minimalist image of 5 birds sitting on a roof with power lines above is graphic with lovely zigzag lines. My image mirrors that in reverse and with a bit of imagination. It is a view of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan taken from Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn.
Kate ~ This is the mighty Guadalquivir at Seville. I was there in February a few years ago, and the weather was cloudy and chilly, not what one expects there even in the winter. And the light is disappointingly dull, unlike the lovely light in Rashida’s picture. However, I couldn’t resist snapping the chap with his guitar, seemingly just strumming for his own enjoyment. There were very few tourists around. Even though I was on a fortnight of Spanish classes, I didn’t have the confidence to ask him. I like the way he is looking over the river, and the sculls have just appeared on the river. I thought it linked with Rashida’s picture – a bridge over a big river, with a view of the city beyond. I wish I could go back there now!
Dawn ~ We were with friends and decided to see Venice by night using the Vaporetto. It was quite magical approaching the Rialto Bridge, and we had the boat almost to ourselves. It lasted for about an hour, I can recommend it.
Bunshri ~ Dawn’s beautifully lit image brought back memories of being in Chile. Although this is a different palette, I chose this image on a boat, taking in the beautiful view.
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Following on from Jim, Rosemary sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Derek
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Derek sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rosemary ~ I searched for a picture of a row of people watching the world go by which I would have liked as a response to Jim’s very simple but appealing picture. Sadly I don’t seem to have one. This roof scape was taken in a small village in north Derbyshire. As we approached the village taking a scenic route home from Sheffield one time, the view was really atmospheric. I originally captured the whole village street which has long been a favourite, but then I zoomed in on the roofs. No birds but the telegraph wires are there, maybe not as pristine as Jim’s. The light on the slates contrasting well with the foreboding hills beyond adds to the general atmosphere of a Derbyshire village of the time.
Avril ~ When I saw Rosemary’s picture I wasn’t sure whether it was snow or rain or the rooftops but it all looked very wintery and I was looking forward to the warmer weather. My immediate thoughts jumped to Florence and this image, taken from the roof of the hotel looking across to the Duomo and the Medici Chapel during the early evening with the low light of a summer’s evening.
Derek ~ My response to Avril’s picture of beautiful Florence is a family that I thought might just fit into renaissance Florence. It was taken in Essex during a costumed event.
Mermie ~ All of the Consequences pictures come to me, and I admire them as they arrive. It had crossed my mind to choose a picture based somehow on all of them, or maybe on Jim’s. When Derek’s arrived for me to follow, I had recently taken a picture of this peaceful deity in the long boat moored on the nearby Grand Union Canal. I took this particular one, keeping in mind the lines to the shore and the patterns in the long boat across the canal.
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consequences March 2021
For March, Hady sent his starting image to each lead recipient who then sent a Consequence image to the next person in a group of three or four. In the usual fashion, those recipients each sent a Consequence on to the next person in the group.
We met, as one does these days, by Zoom, on 4 March, at the usual meeting time.
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Hady started and sent this image to Avril, Jim and Mary
I took this image a few weeks ago during another lockdown walk in Hertford. I try to change my route from time to time. That day I found a short tunnel under a small bridge.
The tunnel was unusual, with a very interesting steel roof that has an amazing structure, which seems to have come from a bygone age.
I found the symmetry of the black steel structure and the brick sides of the tunnel contrast nicely with the light streaming from the end of the tunnel. I just had to take the photo.
I hope it will provoke some interest.
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Avril sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Colin
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Colin ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~ I thought Hady’s image could be a tunnel. With the lights reflected and the direction going forward, I thought of an image I took in Grand Central Station NY. The RSJ’s all move forward to the tunnels and the bright lights with people all walking towards the tunnels leading to the trains. It’s a bright image as compared to Hady’s rather dark and mysterious one.
Mary ~ Avril’s image was of a busy subway in New York – here is an equally busy promenade in Marseilles.
There was a huge metal canopy made of very shiny metal which gave a wonderful reflection. There is a blue Metro sign which ‘mirrors’ the subway in Avril’s image.
Dawn ~ Mary’s was so difficult to follow, I will be interested to what Mary has to say.
Mine was taken in a cave in Lanserotte.
The people in the cave are looking in and those outside looking out.
Colin ~ Inside Luray caverns in April 2012. It was my thought that Dawn’s picture was of people going down into a cavern, so this might be a potential consequence.
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Following on from Hady, Derek sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Derek ~ Hady’s image to me was intriguing and suggested that even in the most functional man made fabrications one could find both craftsmanship and a kind of beauty of form.
My photo shows a storm battered breakwater on the East Coast that with the play of light and crashing waves echoed both function as a preventer of erosion and a monochromatic beauty.
Rashida ~ Derek’s sublimely beautiful image is all about light, darkness, shapes and negative space. It reminded me of an image of mine which also plays on light and darkness with mirroring shapes and is also minimalist but in an indoor space.
Bunshri ~ Rashida’s image of lines and light led me to this image of my grandson behind open door – isolating. I took the idea of lines but opened it up more.
Rosemary ~ After much deliberation I have settled on the attached but I am not exactly happy about it.
Regarding the man slumped on the floor we have no idea what has befallen him. Has he had an accident, has become ill or perhaps even worse. What we do know is that he is not in control and is endeavouring to regain his composure. All of this is glimpsed through a half open door. I have chosen a half open door (it is there somewhere I promise you) and we have a limited view of a man I feel to be totally in control of whatever is his current business. He is seated at his desk, glasses on, identity strung around his neck and determined to achieve I think.
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Following on from Hady, Anne sent this image to Jim.
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Jim sent this image to Kate.
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Kate ended with this image.
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ Hady’s image made me think of coming-out of the dark places we have all been in in the past year into the light. This picture was of a dark corner at Sissinghurst with the steps going up to to the Spring sunshine.
Jim ~ When I received Anne’s image I immediately thought of this one, even though it was taken so many years ago: the sunshine on the steps and the open characterful door. My photo was taken in 1979 in Cairo with Lynda wearing a colourful waistcoat and sporting a perm.
Kate ~ Here is my response to Jim’s fine picture of a striking looking woman in shadow at the foot of some just visible stone steps.
It lacks the mystery and exotic feel to Jim’s picture. But I think my lady is, in her way, quite striking. Her little dog shines out in his red jacket, her face is hidden behind a decorated mask, not mysterious, just an example of ’these strange times’. A little bit of the exotic maybe leaks from the Chinese Acupuncture centre behind her.
She was very nice, and happy for me to take her picture.
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For January, Bunshri sent her starting image to each lead recipient who then sent a Consequence image to the next person in a group of three or four. In the usual fashion, those recipients each sent a Consequence on to the next person in the group.
We met, as one does these days, by Zoom, on 4 February, at the usual meeting time.
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Bunshri started and sent this image to Colin, Jim and Mary
During this pandemic, after a quick walk we head home to self-isolate behind closed doors!!!
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Colin sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary sent this image to Kate
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Kate ended with this image, the first of two.
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Kate also ended with this image, the second of two.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ Taken at a closed down shop in Totnes, it reflected the frame and out of focus background of Bunshri’s picture, but I took the picture because the signs had appealed to me.
Rashida ~ Colin’s image fascinated me but in the end I had to admit I was flummoxed. There are the coexisting closed and open signs with a glimpse of what looks like a large bag hanging on a wall. The car and road I first thought were a reflection on a mirrored shop window with the vertical lines. But then I was not sure………..so I am looking forward to the reveal.
I decided to play with the words of closed and open, the vertical lines and the seen and unseen. It reminded me of an image I took at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. It is of the entrance to the Museum. Closed and open spaces co-existing side by side created by man to separate based on the colour of one’s skin. Entrance open for one colour, closed for the other. The vertical lines in Colin’s image are echoed in my image.
Rosemary ~ The fierce southern Spanish sun had caused the stark contrast of the shadow on the white outside wall of a bullring.
I can only imagine that the shaded seating on the inside came at a premium! I have always liked the fact that the metal ring with its shadow holds the gaze within the picture.
Kate ~ As I am the last I am taking the liberty of sending two pictures, following on from Rosemary’s really lovely Sombra picture (she called it light and shade).
The zigzags on the steps is a direct response – Light and shade, in Spain, these are shadows of a railing on the lovely small cobbles they have in Andalucia.
The second moves on from Rosemary’s subject, this one also taken in Córdoba. There is light and shade, though the shade is not all that deep, and there is a white wall. But the wall is defaced by a graffito, which the cleaning lady is scrubbing away. It is actually outside a police station, but I cropped off the sign on the wall to show the lady and her paint bucket, etc., more clearly. Not such a good picture, but in a way more fun than zig-zaggy steps, I thought.
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Following on from Bunshri, Jim sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Avril
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Avril ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Bunshri’s image shows a scene visible through obscured glass – possibly a front door – with a person visible plus some greenery to one side. So my thought is to remove the glass, and any distortion, entirely with the vegetation clearly visible. Photo taken in Norfolk on an old RAF airfield with some abandoned buildings. I just liked the combination of the framing of the tree, the texture of the wall and the diagonally aligned shadows.
Hady ~ Jim’s image was of a derelict building wall with an opening showing overgrown grass, hedge and tree.
It brought to mind a photo I took of a window with Halloween decorations around its outside sill, but it does not show anything inside the house. It is the opposite of Jim’s image.
Avril ~ The picture shown was prompted by the pumpkin wearing glasses not that I am suggesting my daughter is a pumpkin, far from it but she does enjoy fun things.
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Following on from Bunshri, Mary sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Anne
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Anne ended with this image.
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mary ~ When I saw Bunshri’s image I immediately thought of this image that I have sent. The person behind the frosted glass door is echoed by the flower hidden in the ice and the colour is also echoed. There is a sense of mystery in Bunshri’s image but I hope there is a slight sense of mystery in my image – I know what it is but someone seeing it for the first time might need a second or two to work out what it is.
Dawn ~ Here is my picture for Consequences, not quite what I intended but time is running out. I tried to follow Mary’s theme and froze the rose but it didn’t turn out as I expected!
Anne ~ Here is my image for consequences, following on from Dawn’s. The unusual colour of the rose in her picture drew me to this photo of a mauve coat in a garden.
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CONSEQUENCES January 2021
Mark ~ Here is my response to Brian’s picture. I found my eye fought to stay on the red pencils, bouncing back there from attempts to look at other elements. I decided that, for me, the key was ‘red’ and so went for an abstract image that included a prominent red element. I also decided to add a reference to the worker in Brian’s picture and the ladder cutting the image in two. The verticals in my image play with those dividing Brian’s image and I have attempted to unify the divide by adding a tiny figure which appears to be scaling the verticals from darker to lighter to achieve some undefined destination. Is the figure carrying someone or something? Perhaps.
Bunshri ~ Having received a thought provoking image from Mark, I sent this to Colin. This is taken at Henry Moore House – one of his sculptures. I loved the texture and the muted colours of the abstract view.
Colin ~ The ‘look’ of Bunshri’s image had some features of sculpture by Henry Moore – there is just a trace that could be parts of a reclining figure beyond. I have chosen to pick up on the Henry Moore clue with this image from a wide range of his sculpture that was in Kew Gardens in 2008. The curves in it reflect what looks like the part of a neck and shoulder in Bunshri’s picture.
Rashida ~ Colin sent me an image of a close up of a Henry Moore Sculpture. My response is an image of a piece of fabric randomly arranged which seems follow the curves of the sculpture in Colin’s image.
november 2025
Mermie started and sent this image to Duncan and to Hady
This tree stump stands in a field between the London Road and the A41 which itself is parallel to the railroad beyond the trees that runs along the Grand Union Canal then usually stops at the Hemel Hempstead station. We often walk the mile from our house to visit the field. On this day, the autumn light was so dramatic, it gave me great pleasure in choosing the angle for the image. Taken a year ago in late October.
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Duncan sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to David
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David sent this image to Colin
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Colin ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Duncan ~ Mermie sent an image of the trunk of a dead tree, with an eye near its top. The picture was taken in the warm light of a low sun with a peaceful ambience. Although I have several pictures of dead tree trunks I decided to go with the sentinel nature of the tree trunk. On seeing the image I immediately thought of a standing stone.
My image of standing stones was taken at Callanish II (there are 4 sets of standing stones at Callanish). The stones stand sentinel over the landscape. Squally, dramatic weather in black and white contrasting with the peaceful warm image from Mermie.
Kate ~ I found it very challenging to work out how to follow Duncan’s beautiful standing stones. I ended up with this view of the fell behind our Yorkshire house – level upland, like Duncan’s. No focus like his stones, just sheep wandering in the direction of their food trough. This is about the clouds (Duncan has good clouds), in colour to catch the evening light. The best I could do!
Rashida ~ Kate sent me a lovely image of a UK country landscape scene captured in the late afternoon with beautiful lighting, dramatic skies and sheep grazing.
My response is an image taken in South Africa at the Pilanesberg National Park which is located in an extinct volcanic crater about a 3 hour drive from Johannesburg. It is malaria free and home to the Big Five. I enjoyed watching the rhinos grazing while having lunch on the patio at the hotel we stayed in.
David ~ Rashida’s image was nicely confusing – I couldn’t work out where we were and what the animals were in the middle distance. I thought it might be an alpine scene until I zoomed in and saw the rhinoceros! So in return I thought you might enjoy this surprise encounter with some cows in Morrisons car park!
Colin ~ My image was taken in Andalusia in 2008 when I was on a Naturetrek holiday. I felt that the three cattle looked fairly aggressive, so a suitable stand-off was needed. The alternative was some Belted Galloways on Boxmoor, but they were mainly interested in eating grass, which didn’t give the right message…
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Following on from Mermie,
Hady sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Brian
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Brian sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Austin
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Austin ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Mermie sent me a fascinating image that puzzled me. The image was of a “dead” tree likely to be in England. I responded with a contrasting image that I took back in 2018 in a stunning location, Spectacle Lake in Ontario, Canada. The image is of a single “healthy” tree in a very small island in the middle of the beautiful lake. I thought the contrast between both images and their locations adds to the interest.
Jim ~ Again, a fairly direct response. Water, evening light, reflections…. Mine was taken in Vancouver a few years ago. I just liked the rather pristine green shed in the middle of the lake. Not much more to say.
Brian ~ I enjoyed receiving Jim’s peaceful image of a cabin on a lake in what looks like an idyllic location. But what if you found that the location wasn’t so perfect after all? Well, the Canadian answer is to rent a tug and move the cabin across the water, as seems to be happening in this shot from Vancouver.
Bunshri ~ Having received a thought provoking image from Brian. I followed up with this aerial shot of Malé in the Maldives. This was shot recently in December. I was drawn to the two different colours of the water.
Austin ~ Bunshri sent me an image of blue and turquoise seas with alternate strips of land, one with new apartment blocks and more construction in progress while the other seems to be awaiting development. I’ve aimed to maintain much of the composition, with two land areas and a bright, azure sea, although mine might be colder as it was taken in the Norwegian port of Narvik, 220 km above the Arctic Circle. My image inverts some of Bunshri’s elements by showing low rise buildings and a large ship. Narvik is an ice-free port due to the Gulf Stream, and an important outlet for iron ore mined in Sweden. These factors led to the fjord and town being the scene of naval and infantry battles between April and June 1940, won by allied forces before major events elsewhere forced them to withdraw. The ship was one of the smaller members of the 90-strong Berge fleet at 91,000 tons gross, before being scrapped in 2022.
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october 2025
Avril started and sent this image to Kate and to Mary
Leon Nero in Florence. We ate lunch nearby and curiosity took us through this passageway where we found an apothecary which had been part of a monastery and was now a museum of past medicine.
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Kate sent this image to Austin
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Austin sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Mark
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Mark sent this image to Brian
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Brian sent this image to David
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ I took this picture a couple of days ago from the Church Hall at St Mary’s, Ware; not because I had Avril’s lovely Consequences image in mind, but because I was struck by the way that the view from the open door centres on an 18th century gravestone nicely lit by the afternoon sunshine. When I looked at the image later, I realised how important the side of the car and the door are in leading the eye towards the gravestone – and how lucky that I caught the passerby whose profile I rather like. Then later my husband noted that the word EXIT on the door points aptly towards the graves on the other side of the path. The picture follows from Avril’s in that we are looking through an open door or gate towards sunlight.
Austin ~ I received an image of a doorway out into a graveyard. I soon found a view I had taken through cemetery gates, but I thought I could perhaps lighten the tone while maintaining something of the original composition. This led me to a view taken some years ago of a display at Glastonbury festival in an area filled with campaigning stands. I’m not sure what this one was hoping to achieve, other than filling a muddy space, but perhaps its very existence was “enough”.
Rashida ~ Austin sent me an image of an installation of a riotous array of objects, colours, text and the general spoils of over consumerism. In the middle was a suited skeleton with the word “ENOUGH ” above him as well as circling him.
My response is also of an installation of a woman made up of mosaics and clay, with her hands together in prayer. She is surrounded by nature. To me it was an antidote to Austin’s image. It was taken outside a restaurant in a park with a lake known as Zoo Lake in Johannesburg. The place holds special memories for me growing up as a child and as a young adult.
Mark ~ Rashida’s image looks like a garden with sculptural figures decorated highly colourfully, using mosaics. The foreground figure has a solemn expression and is possibly shown in a worship context. The plants look like agave although there are also nasturtiums in the foreground, perhaps a semi-arid location.
My image features a sculptural woman shown in a garden dressed in a classical style. The lush garden surroundings are reminiscent of a hotter but moist environment. This is in a garden on the Amalfi coast.
Brian ~ I enjoyed seeing Mark’s image of a statuesque young woman looking rather weary from gardening. Now, here she is taking a well-earned steam bath afterwards.
David ~ This is a picture of two figures from Niccolo dell’Arca’s group sculpture The Lamentation – made in 1463 and now housed in a chapel of Santa Maria della Vita in Bologna – where I was on holiday last month. The figures are life size and the whole group of 6 weeping over the dead body of Christ has enormous impact even today – and must have been really shocking when they were first created. They are made of terracotta so it’s amazing that they have survived unbroken for 550 years. The chapel is small and rather dimly lit so it’s difficult to photograph the complete scene but these two Marys give an impression of the whole.
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Following on from Avril, Mary sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Colin
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Colin ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mary ~ This image is similar to Avril’s in that it is looking through shadows into the light. My image is looking through the window of an information centre into the forest beyond. The darker reflections in the window are of the forest behind me. Both images have the impression of going into the light which is the reason behind my choice of image.
Hady ~ Mary sent an image that seemed to be constructed of two layers, one of them was what appeared to be an ICM image and the other shows what seems to be a reflection on a glass surface showing a window and a ‘call for artists’ flyer from Creative Cairngorms.
In response to the unusual image, mine is a contrasting very colourful image, also made of two layers combining a building structure and nature, both in focus. I thought it would bring in more colourful and cheerful images to the following consequences images.
Bunshri ~ I received a beautiful thought provoking multi exposure image from Hady. I was searching through my archive and came across this image in my book, Silent Voice, about making visible the invisibility of my mother-in-law’s Alzheimer’s.
Upon seeing this image, my mother-in-law said to me: ‘This is all the way from Jaipur. I had to fix all the insides of them with a hammer. I was so lucky. He took me away for a whole year.’
My footnote explains: In 1966, the table with matching stools had arrived in London from India via Kenya. They were not all quite intact. She cherishes them dearly, particularly as her late husband had bought them during their world tour.
Jim ~ I am afraid it doesn’t have the sophistication or mystery of Bunshri’s image, but I have simply followed on in an abstract manner. Mine is a rusting car abandoned in Nova Scotia, rather than what looks like family embroidery!!
Colin ~ Jim’s picture I guess is water on a rusty steel sheet forming an abstract pattern. My picture was taken on a walk locally during Covid, where some clearing had been done in a local woodland. Somebody appeared to have made several attempts to decide where to start with their chainsaw, which had uncovered some interesting colour in the wood beneath the bark of the tree trunk. It contrasted with the bark and green algae on its surface. It seems to me that my image moves on from Jim’s image as an effective consequence.
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september 2025
Austin started and sent this image to Hady and to Colin
I may have been trying to channel Martin Parr on the day I took this on the seafront at Hunstanton, Norfolk. The “tattoos and straps” look caught my eye, and I contemplated who might find it appealing and who might see it differently. Perhaps it says something about the choices people make and how these either divide opinion, perhaps intentionally, or demonstrate conformity within a peer group. I also thought that having taken the time, pain and cost involved in having the tattoos done, it was understandable that she would wish to show them off. My later reflections were that perhaps her child might express rebellion in the years to come by having few or no tattoos, and that the beach, and indeed town, were surprisingly empty for a sunny day in August.
Hady sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Brian
Brian sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to David
David ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Austin’s image brought back the memory of my response image. I went to The National Portrait Gallery in the afternoon of a nice warm spring day in 2016. Suddenly I found three smartly and colourfully dressed ladies coordinated with their hair, handbags and shoes right in front of me. They moved together looking at the exhibits. They were interesting enough to photograph. So as not to disturb them, I photographed their backs, but not their fronts or faces. Two of them had a lot of tattoos, but the one with her back to us had more tattoos. The three friends could’ve made interesting models. In hindsight I should have asked them for a photo session.
Colin ~ Hady’s image was rather dominated by polka dots. However, I decided that something with a number of patterned fabrics might be a ‘consequence’ even if not including any polka dots.
I found this among pictures I took a few years back at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which had a display of modern fashion on at the time – multi-coloured and some pattern in both the display and those viewing it.
Brian ~ I enjoyed seeing Colin’s image of visitors enjoying an exhibition of clothes in mannequins. In response I’ve chosen this photograph (taken in May this year at the NPG’s Edvard Munch exhibition). Similarly to Colin’s image it shows viewers enjoying, or being intrigued by, the exhibits but here one of the exhibits appears to be viewing us the viewers whilst I imagine the couple in the other painting to be thinking “We’ll carry on this conversation once those people have moved.”
Rashida ~ Brian’s quietly calming image was taken in an Art Gallery of two viewers in deep contemplation of the man and woman in the painting in front of them while another painting to the right is that of a standing gentleman who seems to be observing the scene (my interpretation, of course).
I followed with an image taken at the Southbank Centre Art Complex under the building where people paint graffiti and others practice their skateboarding skills. There is a mirroring of colours as well as that of shapes. The graffiti artist was finishing the mural of a nude woman in grey which is similar to the viewer in a grey jacket and also to the posture of the man in the painting on the right. The other colours in my image can also be found in Brian’s image.
David ~ I was looking at Rashida’s image and thinking particularly about representations of women in street art when I came across a recent contribution to the Glasgow mural trail. It’s called the Keeper of Light by Australian street artist Sam Bates. I wanted to frame it from this road junction so you could get a sense of the scale but the angle means it’s a bit difficult to see that she is holding a candle as well as martini glass. I think it’s a really interesting female street portrait and makes a powerful introduction to the Merchant City area as well as being a highlight of the Glasgow mural trail for me.
Following on from Austin, Mary sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to Jim
Jim ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mary ~ My image mirrors certain elements of Austin’s picture…a day at the seaside. My image was taken on Deal pier where there were people fishing and others just looking on. Only one person using a phone at the time! The rails on the pier make a satisfying shape as does the shoreline and path in Austin’s image.
Bunshri ~ In response to a thought provoking image from Mary with people fishing, I send you this image of people sitting by the marina in Mumbai, as they do for leisure. I like the simplicity of their leisure time during early evening. It is such a contrast to the hustle and bustle of city life in Mumbai city during the day with people travelling to and fro in taxis, scooters, rickshaws with the sounds of hooting every minute blaring from the cars.
Kate ~ Bunshri’s picture has four (or possibly 5) horizontal sections – the sharply focused brightly coloured patterned wall; the sand, with the two poles and the groups of people looking out over the water; the sea; and the dim misty outline of the city fading into the grey sky. I have chosen this to follow, a view over Malaga harbour from a position very near our Parador hotel. It can be divided into sections – the shadowed bush in the foreground; the boys sitting on the sand (rolling a joint or just a cigarette?) one of them with a red cap echoing the red jacket of one of the people on Bunshri’s beach; the misty evening view over the bullring towards the harbour and the sea beyond. A crowded picture of an amazing view, taken in February this year.
Jim ~ I was struck by the almost biblical nature of Kate’s scene – it also rather reminded me of a painting by JMW Turner in the style of Claude. But my image is a bit of departure. It does have people in the foreground and a vista disappearing in the distance – and I think it has something of the same feel. Kate’s must have been taken in Spain (bullring in evidence), while mine was taken in Sulawesi, Indonesia.
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august 2025
Rashida started and sent this image to Mark and to Colin
My image was captured on one of our many trips to New York City before Covid and lockdown. I enjoy walking around the streets of NYC at night as the city is so atmospheric then. I was totally in a “noir state of mind” when I came across this scene. The message on the floor, the two strangers, one standing, the other walking by, with Matilda being truly revolutionary conjured up all sorts of interesting scenarios………
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Mark sent this image to Austin
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Austin sent this image to Brian
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Brian sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Hady
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Hady ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mark ~ Rashida’s image looked like a travel hub at first. Second thoughts it may be a theatre land environment. The reflection is advertising Matilda the Roald Dahl story where a girl discovers her telekinesis powers – moving things remotely. The pedestrian also seems to have a stomach that travels ahead of him. In this case, towards the bike. The projection on the pavement suggests returning: ‘been there’, ‘going there still’ but leaving the standing figure who has chosen to go there by phone.
My image is from a structure built in the 1800’s to transport stuff. In my case, ‘going there’ is by narrow boat on a canal (through Kings Cross). The narrow boats now take pleasure boaters and visitors to the Canal Museum through the tunnel. My slow shutter speed tried to lend a little magical mystery to the journey towards the end – the boat has been there many times and is still going there, in my image. Matilda used telekinesis. The old boaties lay on the boat’s roof and walked on the tunnel walls to propel the boat along. Not quite telekinesis, still motion created unusually.
Austin ~ This was taken within an installation by Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliason, titled ‘Your Blind Passenger’. It was part of an exhibition at Tate Modern and consisted of a tunnel 39 metres long and filled with orange fog. I stood and photographed people as they made their way through towards the exit.
Brian ~ Austin’s image looks like Olafur Eliasson’s Your Blind Passenger, or if not then something similar. The composition is simultaneously vibrant and disconcerting. Look at that colour popping and yet who is that in silhouette and what happens next?! A cracking photo. My response is, I think, a little more soothing: a black and white shot of my wife at Ballintoy in Antrim contemplating the sea mist rolling in.
Kate ~ Here is my response to Brian’s thoughtful black and white image of a woman in a striking broad brimmed hat, contemplating the sea and cloudy misty sky. I call it ’The Old Man and the Sea’ – my 88 yr old brother on the Northumberland coast. He’s untidy, in his warm jacket, and contemplates an untidy beach, tide half out against a cloudy sky. I feel that in a way he represents old age, standing firm with his walking stick, gazing at the world in his baggy clothes…
Hady ~ Kate’s image is of a walker standing alone with a hiking stick in a grassed land gazing at the landscape of water and stormy sky. My response on the other hand is an urban contrast of a street artist standing on the pavement finishing his painting, looking at it with a critical eye and adding the last touches to the painting.
I thought the contrast between the different locations and what the men are doing is interesting.
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Following on from Rashida, Colin sent this image to David
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David sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ I decided that while I was aware of a geometrical quality of Rashida’s image, as well as some script, that I would keep the geometrical effects, but add some colour, as what I was going through as candidates really did not suit a black & white treatment, especially with the foreground notice that probably was not placed there to relate to the parking of cars some way beyond.
David ~ Looking at Colin’s image I was drawn to the stadium, the blocks of colour, and the potential for speed in the line of cars, (and also the lovely notice). Looking back through my archive I found this from 2017 which seemed to have a few links in colour and subject. Although it’s from the London Olympic stadium rather than Wembley!
Bunshri ~ In response to David’s image in colour, I send this monochrome one with an image of the racer’s back.
Jim ~ In response to Bunshri’s photo of a young boy jumping over an object, mine is similarly of a boy (or boys) striding forward into the future.
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June 2025
David started and sent this image to Kate and to Rashida
I’ve chosen something with lots of different elements in it so people can travel onward in many different directions.
This is the window of Arjuna wholefoods on Mill Road in Cambridge – a shop I first knew as a student more than 45 years ago! The posters in the window remind me of how many similarities there are between then and now – the quality of the printing may have improved since the days of hand-drawn flyers and black and white photocopies but many of the sentiments are the same. As you can see it is also a reflective self-portrait.
And yes I did place the toy globe amongst the apples myself!
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Kate sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Austin
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Austin sent this image to Mark
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Mark ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ David’s image is mostly about the reflections in the shop window, and the written notices – ‘workers’ cooperative, organic fruit etc’. Mine is all about the grocer’s apostrophes (in contrast to the workers’ coop), the chairs in front, and there is a good reflection in the window. The light isn’t good, but it was a snatched snap….
Colin ~ I’ve just sent Austin the image. It picks up on the incorrect use of apostrophes in the lettering on the shop. This is paralleled by a missing R and an extra S in the sign on the gate. It was taken near to Perkiomen Creek PA, at the entrance to a site being worked on.
Austin ~ I had to think for a while as I would normally try to avoid having tractors etc in my images, but eventually I remembered a view I had taken of an item of heavy machinery within cleared greenery! This is the T-34 tank which was placed on an empty plot at Mandela Way, Bermondsey, South London. The owner was blocked by the local council from developing the land, and applied instead to install a “tank”, which was approved as it was assumed to be a septic one. This tank had apparently served in the occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968 before being brought to England for use in a 1990s film of Richard III and then being sold for scrap. The plot owner bought the tank and placed it on the vacant site, with the gun turret pointed at the council’s planning offices. It was regularly repainted in different schemes by local graffiti artists.
Mark ~ This image was a real challenge. I researched how it came about. Very funny particularly as planning permission was given for a tank assuming it to be holding fluid, not being a Russian Remould. As it had returned recently from renovation because the added graffiti was a little much, I decided that it needed some more graffiti. First time I have experimented with this approach so something new for me. Hopefully Austin and others won’t be offended by my light hearted approach and somewhat simplistic approach.
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Following on from David, Rashida sent this image to Brian
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Brian sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ I immediately spotted the globe in David’s image as he had spoken about using AI creatively. Unfortunately lack of AI knowledge and other commitments did not allow me to be as creative at this time. So my response was to use a similar image of a small business. Mine was taken while doing a project named 94oGram wishing Nelson Mandela a Happy 94th Birthday organised by Ubuntu Help Portrait (gifting free portraits to people in need). This gave people an opportunity to share their good wishes with Madiba. I then inserted an image of a decorated stone that was one amongst hundreds placed by people offering condolences outside Mandela’s home in Johannesburg when he died. The stone image I inserted in the window of the shop.
Brian ~ Seeing Rashida’s image made me feel like celebrating too but, alas, it is not my birthday. So, with a nod to the South African greengrocer’s stall, I channelled Magritte who, in the art world, was indeed a great man.
Hady ~ I received a mysterious image from Brian, which seems to be of an unhappy selfie with a screen showing an apple, a South African flag and a comment in French that translates as “It is not my birthday / anniversary”.
I thought I would respond with the opposite. My image was taken in 2017 in a cafe. It shows the back of a fundraiser for “Smile For a Child” Charity. The jacket displays the charity’s logo; a large smile. I used generative AI to add a comment on the coat “it’s ya birthday”. My image celebrates the charitable nature of the British people and the cafe culture, which is now a commonplace, with coffeeshops spreading everywhere.
Bunshri ~ Hady’s photo literally made me smile, the big smile on the tee shirt emulating the big open toothless burger.
I followed with this image at The Flowers Exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery. Did this viewer dress in a flowery outfit deliberately. I also thought the colour palette of the artwork and the viewer’s outfit went well together.
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may 2025
Brian started and sent this image to Jim and to Austin
During a recent holiday to Costa Rica (recommended if you haven’t been) I was strolling through the small town of Quepos and spotted this odd arrangement of ladder and crash helmet. Oddly, there was no one around either in need of a ladder or lacking cranial protection. With Herts Foto Forum seldom being far from my thoughts, my immediate reaction was “that looks like an intriguing Consequences starter image.” So, here it is and Pura Vida!
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Jim sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Mark
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Mark sent this image to Hady
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Hady ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ I think Brian’s image is great and intriguing, with great colour and begging lots of questions (why is there a helmet on the ladder etc etc). Mine is a rather obvious follow on, referencing the ladder, although I do think my colours and tones relate to Brian’s original.
Bunshri ~ Having received a thought provoking image from Jim, I think this image of mine relates to it- reaching for greater heights physically and metamorphicly.
Mark ~ My interpretation of Bunshri’s image: Wind-blown Sand – hilly. Dry. Rust red clothing, following what looks like a familiar route. Carrying large shallow metal containers like bowls. This looks like subsistence rather than ceremony.
My image – subsistence but surrounded by water. Reds prominent. Rust colour tinging the roof. No pots but a dug-out boat to transport stuff. Person was barefoot and elderly – still working away.
Hady ~ Mark’s image is a colourful one of a boat in water with a person leaving it, with side colourful sun shades. My response image is of a house on the bank of the River Lea in Hertford, which has a small boat docked by its side and a red letter box and old telephone box in its garden. The image displays an unusual house in the middle of town with bright colours, interesting lines and angles and reflections in the water.
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Following on from Brian,
Austin sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to David
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David ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Austin ~ This was taken at a stunt bike display at a country fair. It uses the helmet element from Brian’s image, and some metal fencing, while the fiery scaffold happens to bear some resemblance to a ladder.
Colin ~ Taken at Cape Kennedy on a Rolls-Royce Owners Club event in 2010. They played a video of a rocket launch which showed enough flames to reflect Austin’s image, with a fairly similar colour scheme of orange and blue.
Rashida ~ Colin sent an interesting image from what I can make out is in an observation room with a place for people to visit and watch. Multiple computer screens and computers etc. I could make out IBM jackets. I look forward to hearing more about the image. My response is an image captured at the Royal Festival Hall at a Cirque de Soleil performance. It mirrors Colin’s image but is from the art world.
David ~ Rashida’s image made me think of pictures of audience reactions. I’ve got a few pictures of audiences at concerts and other music events – but then I remembered this picture from an athletics meeting at the Olympic stadium in 2018. It was Greg Rutherford’s last jump competition in the UK – and all the crowd were willing him to win – he didn’t!
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April 2025
Jim started and sent this image to Rashida & to Hady
My image is of the faithful and accurate reconstruction of Francis Bacon’s studio in Dublin. After his death, his entire estate was passed on to a man called John Edwards who gifted the contents of his studio to the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin. The original studio was on the first floor of a mews building in South Ken and it was described as “a compost heap of inspiration”!!
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Rashida sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Brian
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Brian ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Jim sent a beautiful calm image of an artist’s studio/workspace. My response was from the other end of the spectrum – a somewhat manic, chaotic and colourful artist’s studio/workspace. Both spaces have their own charm and tell their own stories. My image was taken in Shoreditch, London.
Kate ~ Rashida’s picture of the amazing artist’s studio (on the street? somewhere in Jo’burg?) knocked me sideways. I had in my archive some quite interesting and colourful graffiti taken years ago in Northern Spain. However, on looking at them again they weren’t so interesting – and horribly obscene. So I went out around quiet Welwyn Garden with my phone, and found this collection of bright objects outside a pound store. Not so exciting, but the pile of children’s plastic chairs almost resembles a face – and there is the cat in sunglasses on the right hand side. So it will have to do!
Brian ~ When I saw Kate’s shot my immediate thought was how colourfully tempting the display would be to a passer-by. That in turn made me reach for this shot taken in January this year of one such passer-by in London’s Chinatown district. Whether the grey and black clad man was tempted to add a splash of colour we’ll never know!
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Following on from Jim,
Hady sent this image to Mark
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Mark sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Austin
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Austin ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ The image Jim sent me was of what looked like an artist studio/workshop, with a lot of intricate small items, wall space and ceiling with skylight.
It happened that a few days earlier I was at an arts and antiques shop in Johannesburg, South Africa. I had taken a photo of a general view of the store, which I thought had things in common with Jim’s image and would be a suitable response. My image has a similar look with many small items all over the shop, some wall space and ceiling lights that mimic the skylight. Although the images are thousands of miles away, they share a beautiful artistic feel.
Mark ~ The image from Hady brought to mind Artisan/folk art and tourist attractions/ephemera. Scouring my archives, failing to find a particular image that had jumped to mind, I rediscovered some from a trip to Cambodia. This prompted a different connection with Hady’s image. Somebody has manufactured all this tourist/Artisan stuff under completely unknown circumstances. My Cambodian image is from a workshop, I think, casting and decorating Buddhist copper vessels. I suspect, the chap in the image is heating an animal-derived glue used in the manufacturing process. Rather the opposite of the sanitised folk art tourist trap. The drawback with being a human bellows is you must breathe in to start with. There is no space in this environment for questioning what the chap was breathing in.
Colin ~ Mark’s showed a fairly chaotic workshop. About the only one that I remember taking equivalent pictures in was Aldermaston Pottery. This was the shot I chose: decorating a casserole dish.
Austin ~ Another artist in action, this time painting within the parkland behind the stages at the Cambridge Folk Festival.
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march 2025
Colin started and sent this image to Austin & to Brian
I looked through some pictures and this cropped up as a shot I took quite a long time ago when on Mersea Island for a fish lunch with friends at the Company Shed in 2005.
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Austin sent this image to Mark
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Mark sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Kate
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Kate ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Austin ~ Following on from Colin’s orderly row of boots I thought I would share this image of guitars carefully displayed on a stand at the Cambridge Folk Festival. They made me wish I had more skills… There is also a face hidden among the instruments which I thought of removing but decided it might offer another option for the next image in the sequence.
Mark ~ First sight, this is a guitar shop. Perhaps it is more than that. They seem to be mostly acoustic guitars with the occasional ukulele and banjo. There are almost as many mandolins as there are guitars. One guitar even has a resonator, more associated with bluegrass and folk music. This might be a shop with a specialism.
Curiously, the instruments are hung inside some sort of cage, each on a special hanger. Are they being held in? Or maybe the inside is where the person is. Maybe the instruments are watching the shoppers not the other way around. Perhaps this is all part of the instrument and the instrumentalist forming a relationship.
“You have nice fingers – have a strum”.
Sometimes relationships are strengthened by a simple touch.
Rashida ~ Mark sent a moody image of hands playing a musical instrument. I could “hear” the music while looking at the image. I responded with an image taken in December 2024 of a vibrant installation outside Annabel’s, a private club in Berkeley Square, London. The elegance of the peacock mirrors the hands in Mark’s image.
Jim ~ Rashida’s image is a bit mysterious, with an exotic creature trapped in a spherical dome. There is a wash of blue but also some orange / gold colours. Mine was taken last week at Kilmainham Goal in Dublin. It is the entrance to a cell in which prisoners (certainly not exotic creatures) were “trapped” in dreadful conditions. They could be viewed by warders through this circular spy hole. I thought the circular hole referenced the spherical dome and the orange tones reflected the orange / gold.
Kate ~ Jim sent a picture of a round black hole apparently in a frame or container made of some kind of pottery, worn to a warm orange colour round the rim. I took it to be a rather special drain, and went looking for a drain to follow it. Our local drain covers are marked with splashes of bright red or blue paint, maybe to make sure that they are not missed when repairs or other work is being done. This one had more paint sploges that others along the road. And I was puzzled that it seemed to have something to do with a Quaker – until I looked more carefully and saw ‘Aqua Kerb’.
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Following on from Colin,
Brian sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to David
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David sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Brian ~ As soon as I opened Colin’s image it made me chuckle, so what else could I do but respond with this image of, well, The Boot and a chuckle!
Hady ~ I received a very colourful Christmas image from Brian. My response image is a similarly colourful image I took in a theatre when I attended the Christmas pantomime Dick Whittington in 2018.
David ~ The connections to Hady’s picture of the Dick Whittington pantomime are visual with a similar lighting and colour palette and a ‘pantomime’ like theme – but here most of the figures are projections rather than actors on a stage. The scene is an Oxford college ball – with a ‘Son et Lumière’ projection in full swing – photographed from the top of the college clock tower. I’m interested in how the lighting designers have incorporated 17C statues and architecture into their design
Bunshri ~ After David’s colourful image I was drawn to work by Rachel Jones. Her fiery reds collide with fleshy pinks with sharp lines against a soft background. This composition includes outline of teeth. She is interested in how colour and form communicate- it’s about emotion and inciting feelings that don’t need to be explained.
Mermie ~ As I was organising the Consequences photos, I realised that one group had 5 people and the other 4, so I had a look for something colourful enough to follow Bunshri’s image. This place mat was part of the table setting when we joined Colin’s family for lunch on Boxing Day.
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december 2024
Duncan started and sent his image to Hady & to Bunshri
A shop window and reflected buildings in Santillana del Mar, Northern Spain taken whilst on holiday (not with a Kodak but another make of camera). The shop sold a very varied collection from old photographs to tourist tat.
It will be interesting to see if people follow with geometry, reflections of buildings, the women ‘looking out of a window’ or ‘on a balcony’, or just Kodak!
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Hady sent this image to Mark
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Mark sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to David
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David ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Duncan sent me an unusual image that showed an image of part of the exterior of a house with what looked like superimposed image of an interior wall at the bottom of the image. In addition there is an advert for Kodak screwed on another part of the image. It looked like the whole image is an advert for Kodak.
In response I chose an image from our home taken while we were having some building work done and the balcony door sealed from the inside using a plastic sheet. This created “another layer” partly concealing what is behind it and adding an atmospheric feel to the image.
Mark ~ Bare room. Threadbare curtain. Scrabble and TV. Truckle bed but gaily decorated throw. Breakfast time – BBC Breakfast on the TV. Waking state in a bare room with light filtering in through a net curtain. In transition – either arriving or leaving.
Following on from waking comes doing. I had a choice – looking backwards or forwards. Waking demands action – getting up and responding to the day. Alternatively, waking might be an interruption to a restless interlude. The empty room left little to be enjoyed other than thoughts and waiting for the day to start. My image is from a dawning day at St Albans Station suggesting to me hints of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis or Dickensian London – trudging to the desk. Have things really changed?
Kate ~ Sunsets are corny – this is actually a sunrise, just as bad. But it came to mind as a follow on from Mark’s interesting picture of early evening at the station. No curving road, and the only traffic in mine is the bin lorry, making a dreadful noise but colourful like the sky. I took it last month from my bedroom window at my brother’s house in Warkworth Northumberland.
Jim ~ Kate’s looks like early morning (or perhaps evening). Lovely colours of the sky cleverly reflected in the colours of the lorry in the foreground. I can’t find a direct equivalent but I thought that this one taken off the coast of Queensland had some connection. Instead of the lorry there is a child playing in the sea near the fishermen. I think he is just playing but he almost looks like a fish caught on a line. So I hope that works.
David ~ I trawled back through my files to find something that had a combination of a river theme and a relation to the gorgeous glowing colour of the sunset in Jim’s image.
This is from the front court of Oriel College Oxford. I just like the contrast of light and dark – with the reversal from the more common colours of glowing yellow sandstone and dark windows you see in many Oxford college photos. It’s very grainy but I think that helps with a sense of age – and perhaps an air of mystery. Maybe it could be the opening shot of an episode of Morse / Lewis with the body just out of the picture!
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Following on from Duncan
Bunshri sent this image to Austin
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Austin sent this image to Brian
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Brian sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Colin
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Colin ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Bunshri ~ Having received a fun and thought provoking image from Duncan, I decided to follow with this. We can’t see their faces, we have a hint of where they are but where are they off to and why dressed that way?
Austin ~ I’m rarely inspired on tube platforms and tried to think of other crowded moments with something unusual happening. My image was taken during the “confetti storm” at the end of The Killers’ show at Hyde Park in 2017. I had enjoyed a good view of the band but suddenly the big screen commanded the most attention.
Brian ~ I enjoyed receiving Austin’s image with its energy and colour palette. Is it Ian Hunter, of Mott the Hoople? Playing a Gibson Explorer? Anyway, in response here is a shot with broadly similar colouring over a smaller crowd gathered in front of Sophie’s Bar (at the Dean Hotel in Dublin) with its theatrically arranged stock. Cheers!
Rashida ~ Brian sent me an indoor image with a striking colour palette of gold, yellow and purple and graphic lines. A bar or a pub (lots of bottles showcasing a variety of alcoholic drinks) in a large open plan space with lots of seated patrons.
My response is an image taken at the Southbank in December, mainly picking up on the colours and lines in Brian’s image. Wishing everyone well over the Holidays.
Colin ~ My image is a composite of about 5 pictures that were taken on an evening visit to Waddesdon Manor around Christmas in 2023. It includes effects similar to what Rashida’s picture managed in one shot….
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november 2024
Kate started and sent this image to Austin & to Colin
I thought this image might offer possibilities for those following. Taken this August, here is a rather ordinary field on the route of one of our favourite local walks. Grey clouds, no livestock, nothing much – except this flipped over young creature… She’s my granddaughter, Lulú, age 14, who consented to come for a walk with us. We came into this field, and suddenly she started her exercises – handstands, cart wheels etc. She plays Volleyball at home in quite a competitive team, and was reporting to her coach that she was keeping up with her exercise regime during her holidays.
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Austin sent this image to David
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David sent this image to Brian
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Brian sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Austin ~ Kate’s picture reminded me of some photographic course homework for which I had to shoot images a few years ago. The idea was to present a series showing someone in an environment closely associated with them but without revealing their face. Hiding or cropping the face was supposed to draw the viewer’s attention towards the features of the environment itself. My series, including this one, featured my grandson in a park. He could also be seen struggling to ride and manoeuvre his bike through dips and bumps in the terrain and over fences, small obstacles to us but challenges to a small person. These became the subject rather than the rider.
David ~ Austin’s image led me in many different directions. I was intrigued by the story of the boy and his bike – still with stabilisers on the bike but old enough to launch himself wildly on the swing. I also like the formal contrast of greens and oranges which always jump out in a colour image.
In the end the green colours and the foreground bicycle led me to this image of a (motor) bike that is being slowly enveloped by greenery – abandoned and burnt out perhaps by the folly of an older boy. When I first came across this bike by a railway cycle track, I found the sight quite upsetting. But walking past it over many months and seeing it rapidly disappear in the undergrowth led me to reflect on how quickly nature can thrive and overtake the relics of human activity – which was somehow reassuring.
Brian ~ I was in Ireland when I received David’s intriguing image and my immediate thought was “Look Mum, no hands!” I went in search of a consequential image and decided on this one from the National Botanic Garden at Glasnevin, Dublin. Here we have bare earth instead of overgrowth, a painted metal floor instead of the stripped and rusted frame, and “Look Mum, gloves for hands!”
Mermie ~ I photographed this camel in 2011 while we were in Morocco on a nature trip. When I noticed it while looking among many others for another purpose, I decided to use it to follow the curve of the pipe in Brian’s image.
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Following on from Kate, Colin sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When
Colin ~ Taken in Kew Gardens during a show of Henry Moore sculpture in 2008. Kids love interacting with sculpture that you could get into or climb on. The sculpture reflects the shape of the arched body in Kate’s picture, and the young girl is running back to her family.
Rashida ~ What a lovely sunny day to be out visiting the Henry Moore Foundation where Colin captured the lovely image of 2 majestic bronze sculptures with a tiny little person with outstretched arms mirroring the sculptures. I responded with an image taken in Hertford during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022. The Hertford Yarn Bombers had created amazing displays and this was one of them. It mirrors the circles and a little person also dressed in red as in Colin’s image.
Mermie ~ I photographed these prayer flags in 2012 while we were in Yunan on a nature trip. When I noticed it while looking among many others for another purpose, I decided to use it to follow both the curve of the girl’s back in Rashida’s image and the many colours overall.
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October 2024
Mermie started and sent this image to Mark & to Hady
I chose this Sainsbury’s car park for my starter image because I liked its collage of shapes and heights, and because I thought there were a large number of possibilities for the following Consequences players.
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Mark sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Brian
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Brian sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mark ~ Mermie’s opening picture had echoes, for me, of both commerce today and back through history. The shopping trolleys could be called tools for hunter gathering, in the supermarket context. The church spire has long been a way for people to navigate between villages and towns, and markets. The church spire was like a beacon, visible in the landscape.
Both were, at different times, part of the local supply chain. Part of the means of getting goods from supplier to consumer.
I have responded with an image showing a different part of that supply chain. My supply chain is stretched beyond national borders. The dockside cranes like beacons for freighters. The mobile container transporters “stacking” the goods for onward movement. I might suggest that the shipping container is like a shopping trolley but with bigger wheels.
Rashida ~ Mark’s image I am guessing was taken at a port where containers were being loaded in preparation for shipping. My response is in keeping with the vertical theme and picking up on the vibrant orange pops of colour in Mark’s image. Mine was taken in New York City.
“Almost as representative of New York City as skyscrapers—though probably not as iconic—are the plumes of steam rising from beneath the ground. Sometimes they come out of the manhole covers; other times, they blow from giant white and orange tubes, like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. Walking by them evokes a mix of curiosity and disgust.”
The above quote from this article has a summary: Why Steam Rises from the New York City Pavement – Bloomberg
Colin ~ My image this month is Cornelia Parker’s Psycho House when installed at Burlington House. I have used it before in Consequences, but had forgotten that I had done so. Rashida’s image had a lot of red in the foreground and multi-storied buildings beyond, with a few people visible. My image seemed to suit a number of components of Rashida’s.
Brian ~ I enjoyed receiving Colin’s shot of Cornelia Parker’s Transitional Object (PsychoBarn): a great shot of a great piece of art inspired by one of Hitchcock’s masterpieces. I decided to follow up with my own small homage to Psycho and set up my shot in the shower at home using a digital camera and a couple of video lights. No guests were harmed in the creation of this image and all the ketchup was cleaned up promptly afterwards!
Jim ~ This is my rather direct take on Brian’s dark, foreboding, cinematic image. I created it during lockdown but have modified it a bit for consequences. Mine is more reminiscent of Hitchcock’s shower scene from Psycho – strong black and white but I have taken the liberty of adding a splash of red!
Following on from Mermie,
Hady sent this image to Austin
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Austin sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Mermie’s image of mundane subjects has interesting lines and angles. When I saw it I immediately remembered an image I took on 07 January 2024, the last day of Hiroshi Sugimoto’s exhibition “The Machine” at the Hayward Gallery in London’s South Bank. Both images have similar lines and angles, with a very different subject and feel.
Austin ~ Following on from Hady’s image, I found myself looking at numerous pictures I had taken in galleries and including sculptures/people and trying to choose one. Eventually I decided to broaden the scope of the game by offering an image of a sculpture within a gallery but looking outside rather than across the room. This was taken in the Estorick Gallery at Islington, which specialises in 20th Century Italian art. The sculpture is called Acrobats by Guiditta Scalini (1912-1966) and the window faces Canonbury Square.
Kate ~ Not being able to go out and take a new picture to follow Austin’s fascinating ‘climbing frame’ in front of a window with a view of a misty street, I resorted – again – to the archive. I took this picture at Kettle’s Yard in 2010 – a long time ago, and I contributed another picture from that memorable visit in one of our recent rounds. I chose this rather than quite a few other possibilities, because it echoes Austin’s by being a museum object of a similar colour in front of a window. I do rather like this tattered lampshade, with it’s very utilitarian bulb shining bright, against the mysterious dark window. It’s great to have a reason for digging up one’s forgotten pictures!’
Bunshri ~ Having received a beautiful image of an illuminated bulb touched my soul – and then there was light!!!
I followed with this image of Mahavir to whom we ask for forgiveness if we have harmed anyone unknowingly. This is a festivity that takes place in August. Some people even fast for 7 days, only taking water during that time.
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september 2024
Bunshri started and sent this image to Brian & Avril.
This image was taken in Bristol – a city I fell in love with. I loved the slower pace of life.
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Brian sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Brian ~ I enjoyed Bunshri’s amusing image of best friends napping on a lawn. My response is in colour (contrasting with Bunshri’s monochrome) and is all at sea instead of dry land. It is, however, also of friends relaxing together. Whether the paddles are being used for air-guitar unlike the real thing in Bunshri’s shot I really don’t know!
Kate ~ I thought of various ways of following, and ended up with this – a contrast. ’The old man and the sea’. It’s my brother on the Northumberland coast, at Boulmer, in July last year. The wind was cold-ish, the sun not shining, the sea flat and the tide out. But worth watching – and he really enjoyed the walk.
Jim ~ Kate’s image has a “man of a certain age” looking out to sea, I think just enjoying the view. Mine is also of a “man of a certain age” but he is looking up to the mountains, and is anxious. The photo is taken in a small village called Manang in Nepal, in 1978. The village is at an altitude of 11,500 feet and is the last town before the Thorung La pass (17,700 feet) which takes you over to the main Jomsom trail to Tibet. This man’s young son (or grandson?) had set off on horseback to help some people who were in difficulty on the pass, and the man was concerned for the young lad’s safety. The next day, Lynda and I walked for two days to get up to and over the pass, and were pleased to encounter the man’s son en route – he had completed his task and was returning back home to his father.
Rashida ~ Jim’s image taken in the late afternoon creates a wonderful glow to the scene which looks like possible working factory or construction site somewhere in the Far East with a snow-capped mountain in the background. The shapes created reminded me of an image I took in the Canadian Rockies but showing nature with a lake and the two trees mirroring Jim’s mid and foreground as well as having snow on the mountains.
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Following on from Bunshri, Avril sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Austin
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Austin ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~ Not taking pictures of people I was a bit stuck. I have birds, I have runners, but that involves my daughter, so a park at night in the autumn was the best I could do. Empty. No people or birds.
Hady ~ Avril’s image is of a sea of autumn leaves covering the ground in a park glistening under bright street light.
My response, in contrast, is an image of autumn leaves in daylight taken on a bright October afternoon. It highlights more details and variety of colours and shades of the beautiful departing leaves.
Colin ~ Taken while waiting in the garden at Hatfield Registry Office while Mermie was about to get British citizenship, this was part of a bench with a perforated seat which had caught some sycamore seeds. Hady’s image was of fallen leaves: I have a lot of fallen leaf pictures, but why virtually copy Hady’s when autumn has other effects to see.
Austin ~ Following Colin’s cross-hatch image was a challenge. Much as I was tempted to compile something featuring the sleeve of the original ‘Tommy’ album by The Who, I found instead a well-known location (The British Museum) with a suitably-matching roof design.
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august 2024
Colin started and sent this image to Hady and to Kate
The opportunity to take interesting pictures when in a hospital bed is limited. This was at night when one of the ward occupants had an emergency, so the bed was screened off. There was a fairly powerful light that cast this shadow of a Zimmer frame, which gave a contrast to the concertina folds of the screen.
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Hady sent this image to Mark
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Mark sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ I received a rather mysterious image from Colin, probably of a walker with something attached on top of it and their shadow behind a blue hospital screen, with the strips of its slats.
It was a challenge finding a suitable response. I then remembered this image of a self portrait of me standing in a balcony with my shadow and that of the building and some trees on the newly mowed lawn with stripes mimicking those of the stripes in Colin’s image.
Mark ~ Hady’s photograph is, for me, distinctive with its well tended lawn, parallel lines cut in the grass, and the building shadow superimposed. The building shadow suggests an old building with a chimney and balconies, possibly with one shadow, the viewer. Prominent in the garden border, what appears to be the bare trunk of a tree but which might have top growth, out of the picture frame but visible from the cast shadow in the background. Circles also suggested from the small manhole cover in the foreground to the large curves defining the border edges.
I have responded with shadows, straight lines both in the cast shadow and the background, an old building and curves which are, in my image, more prominent than in Hady’s.
Jim ~ Strong, curved, interlocking shadows seemed to be the theme, as well as staircases. This is of a window in a house in Fayence in southern France as the sun was going down. Not much more to add really!
Bunshri ~ Having received Jim’s image with beautiful obvious reflection, I was drawn to juxtapose with my inner reflections – ones flooding my mind. This is an image of my mixed media work. Eve Arnold represents my mother looking on. She in real life looks so like her. I think the image speaks for itself.
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Following on from Colin, Kate sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Austin
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Austin sent this image to Brian
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Brian sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Colin’s wonderful picture of the dark shape of his walking frame through the bright blue blinds made me think of this phone picture I took in Girona, Catalonia, last summer. The strong street lamps cast this shadow of a large leafed tree against the building on the other side of the pavement. I love silhouette shadows…
Rashida ~ Kate sent me a gentle calm meditative image playing with light and shadows cast on a wall by nature. My response is an image I took in Johannesburg in 2016 in a hospital car park building during a stressful time when my mother was in hospital. I went back to the car and spent a few minutes collecting myself and just deep breathing. As I looked out of the car window I was greeted by the scene I captured. Seeing the calm and beauty in what was a generic stark concrete structure transformed by the sun and shadows created lifted my spirits and filled me with hope.
Austin ~ This has similarities with Rashida’s composition along with the benefit of a Japanese garden, something I always find attractive. It was taken in the Honmaru Palace (a slightly flattering word albeit worth visiting) within the castle site at Kawagoe, an Edo era town near Tokyo.
Brian ~ I really like Austin’s peaceful image of what seems to be a Japanese house interior looking through or out to a garden. As it happened the day after receiving Austin’s photo I was on a family photo-walk of Vancouver’s University of British Columbia (UBC) campus so I set out with the intention of shooting a bespoke consequential image. UBC’s botanical garden has many Asian influences and this Moon Gate really caught my eye. It is a Chinese design and whilst outside it invites the viewer to look or walk through to a garden within a garden.
Mermie ~ Taken from our bathroom window during the seemingly never ending work being done on our roof. I thought it an appropriate apposite to Brian’s lovely image.
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June 2024
Len started and sent this image to Mark and to Brian
Way back in 2007/2008 my wife and I were fortunate in taking a few holidays in pre-Brexit continental Europe. I noticed that many passenger hubs featured life-size plaster or fibreglass cows as a promotional gimmick. I always liked the surreal effect they created.
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Mark sent this image to David
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David sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mark ~ Len’s image appears to be a model of a cow reclining, presumably chewing the cud. It is clearly an international cow, decorated as it is by numerous national flag symbols. The environment looks like some form of departure lounge or waiting area. As is often the case with “consequences”, I was challenged. However, my image shares some characteristics.
My model is a succubus, originally part of the Christopher Inn, in St Alban’s. Cows are slaves to lactation. The succubus feeds on men, is a seductress and is usually shown with massive mammaries. This one has her cloven feet securely chained to the wall. This was to show the Christopher Inn clients that they would be safe from demons within the Inn. Clients could recline safely although, as a brothel in the 1500s, there were risks that the clients had little understanding of, at that time.
David ~ Mark’s picture was quite a challenge to follow – the fisheye distortion and the movement put everything nicely off kilter and the Succubus carving was strange and disturbing. I’m currently on holiday in NYC and though I thought I wouldn’t find many medieval gargoyles on buildings here, in fact there is a lot of rather gothic decoration when you look up at some older skyscrapers. However the image I chose was from a fountain in Central Park. I couldn’t decide if the woman was dancing or falling – but the colours and shapes (as well as the subject) resonated with Mark’s image and the foreground stone carving had an appropriately menacing face too.
Bunshri ~ Having received a sculpture image from David, I was intrigued – thinking how the work came about. I follow with this image taken in Aldgate. It is history that was the inspiration for Goodman’s Field Horses. The artist, Harish Mackie wanted to portray the unbridled joy of horses being released from the toil of working in the London Streets.
Jim ~ Bunshri’s image is of a sculpture of two horses in wild unfettered motion. I happened to be at the “Now you see us” exhibition at Tate Britain and saw this painting, again wild horses in unfettered motion. I initially just took a photo of the painting when this lady in her wheelchair appeared. An extrovert lady, but one whose motion is clearly restricted. I was struck by the juxtaposition of the two.
Rashida ~ Jim’s image is a gentle study of beautiful art and quiet contemplation in an Art Gallery. My response is one of stark contrast to Jim’s image but equally contemplative. Graffiti art on the outside walls of a building. Loud, colourful, brash and very much in your face. It makes one stop and stare. To ponder and contemplate. The bicycle wheels echo the wheelchair wheels. My image was captured in Hackney Wick on the way back to the station after attending a pottery taster class.
Following on from Len,
Brian sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Austin
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Austin sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Mary
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Mary ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Brian ~ When I saw Len’s reclining Euro-Bovine in what looks like an airport duty-free shop I was immediately taken back to a Tyrolean hiking holiday encounter with an Austrian cow assertively out-staring my wife. No matter which way Jo moved, this cow shadowed her and continued staring her down: amusing, yes, but also a little Village of the Damned / Midwich Cuckoos creepy! The shot was taken over Jo’s shoulder on a Sony RX10 bridge camera 1/250s, f5.6 at ISO100, and of course it was my screen saver for a while after the holiday.
Kate ~ Brian’s picture shows a cow with fine yellow ear tags staring at the camera from behind a hedge. Hungry (there’s lots of green grass around) or just curious? My picture shows a crowd of sheep, most of them staring at me behind the camera. They are definitely hungry. The animal at the front has a blue ear tag. I was on the flank of Ingleborough behind our house, on a beautiful, very cold, day a few years ago. Clearly the farmer was late in filling up the food bin for the sheep.’
Austin ~ This is part of an installation called ‘Conversation Piece’, by Spanish artist Juan Munoz, located by the beach at South Shields, Tyneside. It consists of 22 bronze figures, each weighing a quarter of a tonne and standing 1.5 metres high, arranged as if they are in conversation with each other and with any visitors entering the scene.
Hady ~ Austin sent me a very interesting image of sculptures in a sculpture park.
In response I chose a photograph I took a while ago of a sculpture on the wall of The Hertford Castle Hall. The sculpture is called Five Bishops and commemorates the 13th Centenary of the First General Synod of All England Church which met in Hertford in 673 AD. The sculpture was designed by Ronald Pope in 1973.
Recently the Hertford Castle Hall got renovated and renamed Beam. The sculpture was removed from the wall during the renovation to be reinstated on a different wall of the renovated building the day after I sent my image to Mary.
Mary ~ As Hady’s image is a record shot of 5 metal figures on a wall with a few leaves in the foreground I decided to reduce my image to just the number 5. This is a shot taken on a street walk in the city – I deliberately didn’t include people in this shot. The image is simply of a metal wall with the number 5 which represents the 5 metal figures.
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MAY 2024
Kate started and sent this image to David and to Rashida
I took this picture in the Museum of Catalan Art in Barcelona. I was sitting on a seat on the top floor of this large prestigious building, quietly looking at the large picture of bird like creatures painted by Joan Miró, squared as though a design for a tiled wall or floor. It was bathed in strong sunlight coming through a window above our heads. All of a sudden this family group appeared and threw themselves down on the floor, arranging themselves rather nicely as silhouettes in front of the picture, I thought. I wonder if they will remember their visit to the museum when they are 50 years old!’
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David sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Austin
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Austin sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
David ~ I really liked Kate’s image – the framing of the group of people within the circle of light was beautiful.
I took as my link people surrounded by art but not looking at it. My image is from the interactive David Hockney exhibition at the Lightroom gallery in Kings Cross. I was going to give it the title “it’s behind you” but that’s a bit unfair as there was another interesting image out of frame on the right which the people were looking at.
Jim ~ David’s photo was, I assume, taken at the David Hockney experience. In the background is one of his California swimming pool paintings, with the swimmer illuminated by the refracted light. Of course, none of it is real – it is a computer generated image and no one is actually in the water. So mine is about the reality of swimming, or in this case not swimming! The deck chair is isolated and on a rather uninviting paved area, and the steps down to the water look pretty uninviting as well. I think the chance of this sunbather actually swimming is pretty remote!
Austin ~ I observed this trio on the shore at Hunstanton, Norfolk, I don’t know if it was a scene from a real wedding day or a modelling shoot, but watched as the happy couple went through a range of poses while the photographer waded around them. I took some images with a zoom lens framing the people closely, but feel that this more distant shot conveys more joy and physical animation despite the subjects’ apparent isolation within their environment.
Hady ~ I received a very well composed image from Austin showing a woman photographing a couple on a beach.
My response is of a man photographing a woman in an interesting exhibition in the South Bank I attended about a year ago. There is similarity in the act but differences in the subjects and place.
Avril ~ Debris from 9/11. Hady’s image was of sculpture made of ‘wire’ ethereal, in contrast this is very solid but also in a gallery/museum a poignant reminder of what happened that day.
Sabes ~ This art work in a gallery reminded me of what I saw in the shape and colour of Avril’s image. Hers rises to the sky from the ground but this one hangs down from the ceiling. Hers is of metal; mine is of jute.
Following on from Kate, Rashida sent this image to Mark
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Mark sent this image to Brian
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Brian sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Mary
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Mary ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Kate sent a calming and gentle image of people sitting on the floor, some taking photographs, others enjoying the lattice of shadows created on a wall which has what appears to be colourful graffiti.
My response image follows the elements of people taking photographs while being drenched in colourful lights projected on the floor which also creates a lattice like effect. It was taken at the London Lumiere Light Festival in January 2016. Across 30 locations in London, the four-day festival brought together a spectacular array of artists whose work illuminated the city.
Mark ~ The image looks like projected light. The people have an expression of being bemused/not engaged with the light show. Not knowing what to make of the moment, perhaps.
This could be something strange happening to them (the participants) that they don’t quite know how to deal with.
It could be the superimposition of one image on another.
This was really challenging. I tried out a clutch of things but couldn’t get what I could see in my head. I resorted to borrowing an image from Unsplash, by Erez Attias.
This is a play of light with effects undoubtedly each unique to those experiencing it. But there is only one, or perhaps that should be two, witnessing the moment. Again, no sense of how engaged those present were.”
Brian ~ I really enjoyed receiving Mark’s photo: such a beautifully colourful yet peaceful image. In response I stay with Mark’s ecclesiastical and colour themes and present this somewhat busier image of renaissance paintings projected onto the walls of St Albans Cathedral. This is a digital image taken at night (no tripod, so braced against a wall) 20mm prime lens, f2, 1/60s.
Bunshri ~ Having received Brian’s image of an ornate oriental Archway taken from an angle, I followed with this painting of a dancer from Java – showing at Sargent and Fashion Exhibition and sent it to Mary.
In his attempt to capture the slow and elegant gestures of the dancer, Sargent rendered her left arm and hand twice. He suggests that it is an unfinished sketch for an unrealised composition.
Mary ~ Seeing Bunshri’s image of a colourful abstract painting hanging on a gallery wall inspired me to do my own ‘painting’. The picture of the Japanese figure is a postcard that my great grandmother sent to my relations while visiting Japan – its painted on wood. The remaining objects in the picture are random objects that I have lying around the house. The low-key lighting of the picture is intentional to add a little drama.
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APRIL 2024
Brian started and sent this image to Kate and to Austin
The photo was taken on a digital compact a few years ago during the Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art: always a fun event and I recommend it to anyone who hasn’t yet attended. Sadly I have lost and now can’t recall the name of the artist of this intriguing installation in the city’s Chinatown quarter. It remains one of my favourite photos and I couldn’t believe my luck when the rather fed up looking passer-by added some motion to the scene.
Kate sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri sent this image to Mark
Mark sent this image to David
David ended with this image
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ I was rather stumped by Brian’s fascinating image. Never mind all the questions I thought of. How to follow? Something jammed down in a weird place? Something Japanese? I came up with a picture taken 10 years ago in Tokushima, when we were visiting Shikoku. We were aiming to walk up a wooded path to a viewpoint, and at first had to pass through some streets at the edge of town. There was this extraordinary dump of the beautiful models in glass cases sold everywhere – many of them seemed hardly damaged. So here is something oriental, jammed down in an unexpected place….
Jim ~ Kate’s image is of some dolls of women in traditional Far Eastern dresses (Japanese?). I have seen Chinese Opera in Singapore and Malaysia and I am struck by the doll like faces and smooth white make up. My photo is of a performer in a Chinese Opera applying that make up (I think I took it in Malaysia where a small travelling troop had arrived and the local villagers were very much enjoying the performance). I managed to persuade them to allow me to join them back stage. Also, I have just come back from the Saul Lieter exhibition, so my framing, etc., is inspired by what I saw.
Bunshri ~ Having received Jim’s enigmatic image I followed with this image of Frank Auerbach’s drawing of his cousin Gerda. I believe it conveys a feeling of introspection. His cousin had carried a melancholic sense of her previous life in pre war Berlin when she was forced to flee to London to avoid Jewish prosecution.
Auberbach would work on a piece 40/50 times erasing and redrawing. The charcoal would be heavily worked on to create a raw form of portrait.
Mark ~ My image is from Gloucestershire, high common ground shrouded in mist, a large puddle in a layby. Texture comes from disturbing the underlying image with the texture of leaves plus, as far as I can recall, a touch of solarisation. There is a hint of blue beyond the raggedy barrier perhaps suggesting something better beyond but with the slightly threatening unknown to navigate in the foreground before confronting the barrier for a way through.
David ~ Mark’s image was fascinating – dreamlike in many ways. I could see leaves, and perhaps reflections in the surface of water or ice, but the fractured colours were what drew me in most. It initially took me to photographs I’ve taken of reflections from ponds and puddles – but in the end I’ve chosen an image from a series I took in 2019 – 20 on the beach at Sunderland. This beach is very near where I was born and just over the road from the wonderful care home where my mother lived out the last years of her life. I always took a walk along the shore as part of my regular trips to see her – and the views were full of memories. I processed this one using an Ektachrome film simulation to give it a slightly surreal quality – the resulting gradations of colours from bronze to blue seemed to strike an chord with Mark’s image – I’d be interested to hear what others think.
Following on from Brian
Austin sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Hady
Hady ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Austin ~ Here is my image for Consequences. I chose this image since it shows an individual enclosed by urban architecture, while adding some further elements which others might work from. The incorporation of the grille bars adds a dark aspect to the portrait, suggestive of robotic science fiction along with the extractor fan and security alarm; by contrast, the painted bird reminds me of Hummingbird Bakery! The image was taken by Hoxton tube station, and the girl’s face was mirrored within an adjacent arch. The area is a popular canvas for street art, although when I visited the station again recently the artwork had been covered up by plain white paint, a disappointing moment for me but I expect the area will soon display something new.
Colin ~ Austin’s image had a large number of relatively random and weird features making up the image. It looks to be built within a railway viaduct arch, but the majority of my shots around a local arched passageway feature graffiti, which have had rather much exposure at HFF, so I limited myself to brickwork as the continued theme, with some notices on it, as there were some in Austin’s image.
This was taken at Fawley Hill at Lord MacAlpine’s garden railway. I think he had chosen most of the signs as featuring his name: Bill.
Rashida ~ Colin’s image of multiple signs in a small space was sending a strong message to the public and was attractive as an art installation in its own right. Or as a gallery wall. My response is an image taken outside Johannesburg when we were on our way to a Game Park. The Construction Company doing roadworks spelled out very clearly with signs, etc what motorists were expected to do at the roadblock. The sign on the left is in English and Afrikaans. The “Please Don’t Kill Us” sign is South African humour about road rage and irresponsible drivers.
Hady ~ My image in response to Rashida’s image mirrors the multiple road signs in hers. Rashida’s image shows road works signs in English and Afrikaans. Although the signs in my image are not “road signs’ they refer to clear road, walkers and even an image of people crossing a road on a zebra crossing. The signs were in the burial grounds of St Andrew Church in Hertford. The signs were to recruit walkers to walk for Christian Aid.
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March 2024
Bunshri started and sent this image to Jim and Rashida
Bunshri ~ I was helping a friend who was making a film about our migration from India to Kenya and then to London. Together we had spent a month in India filming in Gujarat. Now the film is finished and called ‘Threads that Tie Us’.
I had created this hand made book in 2014. I hope it poses questions touching on diaspora, culture and how we came to be where we are.
Jim sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Brian
Brian sent this image to Mermie
Mermie ended with this image
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Bunshri’s photographs a document registering the birth (of her father?) in 1950 and the certificate provided by the Registrar General in Kenya. It got me to look at my own birth certificate which was registered in Maracaibo, Venezuela in 1948, in Spanish. At one time, I had two passports, one Venezuelan and one British, and my image is an in-camera merge of three of my passport photos, with the Venezuelan stamps evident. A different experience from an Indian family in a British colony, but my experience nonetheless.
Austin – I took this at an exhibition, and the image combines two separate displays; the ‘galactic’ video backdrop and the robotic head. I assume the latter is from the movie Ex Machina, but am not certain of this. I think the two elements seem to belong together though.
Avril ~ My image is from Wynwood Walls. Austin’s image had what appeared to be a robotic figure with light above it, this has painted shafts of light going across the face so a combination of the two.
Hady ~ Avril sent me an unusual image of a face with colourful ‘segmentation’. Trying to find a suitable response to the image, I recalled this image taken a few years ago at The Aga Khan Centre in London’s Kings Cross. The image is of an art installation in an internal space within this amazing building. The image displays a variety of colours and shapes that match those in Avril’s image.
Brian ~ When I saw Hady’s image of the Rasheed Araeen sculpture at the Aga Khan Centre I was struck by the vivid colours (dare I say, a “Rhapsody”!) and the geometric precision. I initially thought about shooting some other Islamic art work, perhaps in a single colour. However, the repeated diamond pattern reminds me of the card suit and with ten diamonds being visible in Hady’s shot I decided to focus on that. Note: Given that my image responds to modern Islamic art it is hopefully helpful to say that I am aware that gambling is haram, although card games may be played for fun, but there was no gambling going on here with the shot set up for fun only.
Mermie ~ Brian’s hand and his ten of diamonds card led me first to try to photograph my own hand in relation to a pattern. It was a bit too tricky to hold the iPhone with one hand while photographing the other. I didn’t really like the wrinkly look of my hand either. Eventually, while doing something else, I thought ‘glove, use a glove!’ The pattern is laid into our table. Many years ago, Colin had carefully decided which ceramic squares should go where.
Following on from Bunshri,
Rashida sent this image to Duncan
Duncan sent this image to David
David sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Mark
Mark sent this image to Kate
Kate ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Bunshri sent me a beautiful image of a birth certificate stitched with red thread to a portrait of a young man as well as 2 other images of a marriage ceremony, perhaps completing a family circle. People who have these photographs and documents of loved ones are the lucky ones.
Millions of people globally are not privileged to have such precious items. In fact many do not even have one good photograph of themselves. Maybe just a mugshot for an Identity Card, and one that is rarely flattering.
My response is an image from my “What If” project. The images and 3D installations were part of a group exhibition with the theme “Photography Matters” at Espacio Gallery in London. “What If” you had no photos of yourself, your frames are empty, you lose your memory and what if the only image you have of yourself is what you see when you look into a mirror? Between 2009-2015 Hady and I were two of the 380 or so volunteers with Ubuntu Help Portrait in South Africa. The group gifted 78,160 portraits taken during 380 events to people who otherwise did not have any photos of themselves. Joining Ubuntu Help-Portrait was life-changing and life-enhancing experience. The joy of giving portraits for free was so incredibly powerful. The photographs that were gifted were never shared in the media nor exhibited anywhere. They were beautiful portraits taken, printed and gifted with love.
Duncan ~ Rashida sent an enigmatic image of three empty picture frames in a sunny room. Were the pictures removed or have the frames always been empty and awaiting the photos of loved ones?
I contemplated responding with images of stacked empty frames or the marks on a wall where a picture had been. Both were from clearing my parents house and spoke of absence and loss. However, I eventually decided upon something more abstract. A wall under a railway bridge where three bits of graffiti (images) have been painted over by workmen.
David – I was in two (or more) minds as to where to go from Duncan’s lovely image. In the end I followed the form and monochrome palette of his image to a picture I took at the National Gallery of Art in Washington of a trio of Rothko paintings last May. It was near the end of the day and I was lucky enough to be by myself in the room with them for quite a while – which I found a strangely moving experience. I tried a few colour pictures with my camera but felt I really couldn’t do justice to the scene. I then took this image using a new app on my phone called ‘Hypocam’ which claims to emulate various types of B&W film stock. I chose Kodak 400TX for this image. I personally feel that the overall effect captures something more of the ethereal quality of the whole gallery, with the bench, the flooring, and the ceiling lights all adding to the effect of the Rothko paintings.
I’ll be interested to hear what HFF members who are much more experienced than me at processing and printing from B&W film stock think of this digital simulation.
Colin ~ An installation in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 2016.
The pattern in the top of David’s picture to me linked to the pattern of coat hangers, if a bit less geometric. It clearly was in an art museum, but I hadn’t anything quite so geometric as David’s, even if I do have quite a lot of shots of Rothkos.
Mark ~ Colin’s image at first appeared like chaotic shadows cast by multiple lights from a bleached coat hanger mobile. Then I revised my thought to an ordered mobile raising from and above a tangle. This led me to some recent images from the Reena Begum works in the Museum and Gallery. I arrived at an image of some life emerging from a tangle of lines which seemed to be reluctant to let the figure go. The figure still was getting away from the tangle towards something perhaps calmer. Curiously despite Reena’s work being sharply defined structures made with industrial mesh, sharpness reflected in Colin’s image, only the lines moving out of my image are sharper.
Kate ~ This is my answer to Mark’s interesting and slightly scary monochrome picture of a man hurrying past a very spiky looking screen or some kind of barrier. It will be interesting to hear his explanation. My picture is more straightforward, taken at a small market in Girona, Catalonia last summer. I rather liked the view through the gauzy material at the back of the stall, and silhouettes are always fun.
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february 2024
Mermie started and sent this image to Mark and Duncan.
The framework above, the trees outside, and the reflections of people enjoying lunch, seemed to have lots of possibilities for Consequences.
Mark sent this image to Sabes
Sabes sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Brian
Brian sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mark ~ In Mermie’s image I saw facets, structures and lines. Whilst looking for something else, I came across my image from 2013 which started as a photograph of bike frames in my brother’s workshop. I liked this as a contrast to the straight lines in your image but in harmony with the structural integrity and utility in your structural subject.
Sabes ~ A challenging image came from Mark. This is the best I could do as a response.
Hady ~ I received an unusual image from Sabes, possibly constructed from two images. It had unusual lines, shapes, colours and textures.
My response is an image of a wall painting of a woman’s portrait that caught my attention in a restaurant in London. It shows several textures, shapes, brighter colours and straight lines in various directions that frame the portrait.
Jim ~ This is my nephew Matthew, one of the kindest men you could meet – and great fun. He is always the Dame in the local amateur panto. He was married to Andrew last year in a Quaker Meeting for Worship with more than 150 witnesses.
I was struck by the red lips in Hady’s photos and immediately thought of this image.
Brian ~ Jim’s photo (of someone I feel I ought to recognise) is so vital and lively, full of movement and popping colour that I thought I’d offer a counterpoint. This is Harry, my Dad, once a party animal himself, but seen here older and in a contemplative mood perhaps looking back at the character in Jim’s shot and thinking, “oh my, I used to have that much life and energy!”
Bunshri ~ Following on from Brian’s powerful image of his father depicting his presence, this image of Marina Abramovic came to mind. This is a photograph of Marina’s 3D sculpture. I believe it speaks a 1000 words. She captivates her audiences by pushing the limits of her body and mind. I find her work radical yet inspiring.
Following on from Mermie,
Duncan sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to David
David sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Austin
Austin ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Duncan ~ Taken from inside a glass house with similarities of architecture, glass, trees and seating.
Colin ~ Taken at the village church in the grounds of Stowe. It looks through a window carrying engraved buildings in the landscape into the landscape itself. I felt it achieved the combination print effect of Duncan’s picture, but without itself being one.
The affectionate gift of the people of the parish of Stowe; in memory of May Close-Smith; grand-daughter of the last Duke of Buckingham 1886/1972; who loved & cared for this church.
Kate ~ Colin’s image was quite a challenge! I thought hard, and remembered a rather nice burial ground I’d photographed in Germany with bright light and lots of lichen covered headstones. Not really appropriate, but I went through my Lightroom collections searching and found this, a window in Kettle’s Yard gallery years and years ago. Nothing like as bright as Colin’s image, but it is a kind of memorial too.
David ~ I loved Kate’s image from Kettle’s Yard – the window bringing the outside in, the religious image in the cut glass, the dedication to Jim and Helen Ede, but most of all the deep blue glass globe with its bubbles and highlights. I looked through lots of images I’d taken of windows from churches and chapels but none quite caught the spiritual aspects I saw in Kate’s image – and so in the end I made the cobalt blue glass the connection. I’ve done a few glass blowing 1-day courses in my time, making baubles and paperweights and this is a close up image of one of these. I like the way the air bubbles are caught in the glass and the way the light shines through them. Here the clear bubble at the top of the image somehow echoes the reverse of the dark blue sphere in Kate’s image. I saw a connection in it anyway!
Rashida ~ My response to the colours, shapes and bubbles in David’s beautiful abstract image is one with a rather apocalyptic version in keeping with my feelings about the tragic current events in the world as well more locally with the inclement weather and storms the UK has been experiencing.
Austin ~ I was in Vienna last week and went to the Upper Belvedere Palace to see ‘The Kiss’ and other art from the same era. It was a snowy morning and I also took some appealing images of the gardens, Lower Palace and city skyline, although I was just as interested in the same views out through the icy windows when focused on the glass surfaces. I had a feeling that Saul Leiter might approve…
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January 2024
Because of the various festive holidays, we divided into three groups so that each participant would have ample time to choose and send an image.
Mary started and sent this image to Jim, Austin and Kate.
I was in Plymouth and while walking around with my camera I saw this image – to me it really does look like the stickman is about to lie down! Also the wall has wonderful colour and texture. It is just a bit of fun.
Jim sent this image to David
David sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Hady
Hady ended with this image
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
~ Jim I enjoyed the humour in Mary’s image and started looking for some photos I had taken of street works, and associated signage. Then I came across this image I had taken in 2014. The men are cleaning a large yacht moored in the Thames, which I assumed was owned by some Russian oligarch. So rather than diagrammatic workmen, here are some real life ones in action. I also thought the triangulated array of brushes mimicked the triangular shape of the sign. There is also a splash of yellow. I hope it captured a bit of Mary’s humour as well.
~ David Jim’s image was intriguing. It made me think of dancers or gymnasts twirling long sticks – I liked the fact that they seemed to be performing for the camera but all looking in different directions. I decided in the end that it was probably a team of men cleaning some sort of boat – so I went with that.
So my linked image is of five women from the Oriel college 1st boat having just had a successful ‘bumps race’ on the Thames in Oxford. The oars replace the mops, its women rather than men, and the boat is a lot smaller but lots of nice visual links with the colours and the reflections on the water.
~ Avril I was on my way to Tate Gallery and crossing the bridge I saw the racing shells coming down the river, they appeared to be on a practice run. Watching and waiting the four shells were neatly framed by the bridge structure.
~ Hady I received from Avril an image, which appears to have been taken from the top of a bridge, showing some canoes and parts of the bridge. It reminded me of a slow shutter speed image of canoes in the River Lea in Hertford I had taken a while ago. I found the similarity of the subject and different settings and photography approaches interesting.
Following on from Mary, Austin sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Mark
Mark’s ending image will be posted soon.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
~ Austin It’s neither a stick figure or a wall but the elements in this image bear some resemblance to both. A woman waits patiently for a shop to open; we can only speculate on her story and what the day holds. I took this in Istanbul in July 2023.
~ Rashida Austin sent me a minimalist image of a shop entrance with shutters down and a lady squatting and facing the store. An image that throws up many questions and has many stories that could be told. My response was to follow the lines and geometry in Austin’s image. My image was taken at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. Separate entrances. The door to the right was the one I used. This was my reality of growing up in Johannesburg during the Apartheid years. Also has many stories to tell………………
~ Colin Rashida’s picture has a very straight on viewpoint. It also comments silently on the features of apartheid.
My image, reflects that viewpoint. It is of graffiti in a local subway, which has some unusual effects arising from more than one artist overlapping. ‘COLOUR’ backwards adds another dimension, while there are other figures in a mixture of black and colour. ‘SAFE U MAN’ is another puzzle – should it be SAVE HUMAN or SAVE YOU MAN?
Following on from Mary, Kate sent this image to Brian
Brian sent this image to Mermie
Mermie ended with this image.
Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
~ Kate Mary’s little stickman put me in mind of a visit to Berlin years ago. I collected lots of pictures of graffiti, and other street ‘art’. I thought this one sort of follows Mary’s little man.
~ Brian On receiving Kate’s image I was drawn, as a cyclist, to the cycling friendly light-controlled crossing signal and then to the bus (or tram perhaps) in the background. My immediate thought was, ah ha, sustainable urban transport. To continue the theme I decided to photograph one of my own bikes at a light-controlled crossing with a bus in the background. So far, so similar, but I needed something consequential too: hence the luminous no. 7. “No.7” being a track by the band Black Born Phoenix who have a flyer posted to the traffic signals in Kate’s image. I wonder if Kate went to the gig?
~ Mermie My image is a seasonal response to the stance of the red ‘don’t walk’ man in Brian’s image.
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december 2023
Avril started and sent this image to Mark and Jim
Place Masséna, Nice, at night – with water jets.
Mark sent this image to Sabes
Sabes sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Duncan
Duncan sent this image to Brian
Brian sent this image to David
David sent this image to Dawn
Dawn ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mark ~ I think Avril’s picture is amazing. My unworthy offering plays with the gravity in Avril’s picture – water that is up will want to come down to its uneasy equilibrium. This resonated with my picture of the water at the Devils Bridge in Ceredigion hurling itself downward but still staying water.
This doesn’t do anything with the colours or the shapes that looked like mystical penitential forms or twirling dancers, formed then changed and morphed back to flowing forms only to be thrown upward again a moment later.
Sabes ~ When water runs out all that is left is light.
Rashida ~ Sabes’s intriguing minimalist image created an interesting horizontal shape to which I responded with an image taken at St John at Hackney Churchyard Gardens. ‘Twas late at night on a cold and wet winter’s evening in January. The shape created by the streetlights on the paving echoed that in Sabes’s image but in vertical format.
Duncan ~ Rashida’s image has several elements. The figure(s) on the receding path of wet flagstones in the dark and streetlamps. Although I have quite a few images of people walking away on footpaths and of rain on flagstones none had the right emotion to connect to this dark scene.
The hint of the window frame in Rashida’s picture gives the scene a different feel. Eventually I chose an image accentuating the looking through glass element rather than the figure in the receding space.
Brian ~ In Duncan’s shot I was drawn to wonder who the person was that can be seen through the broken glass and that got me thinking about looking through and not just at. I am in Southwold at the moment (or, by the time of our next meeting, I was in Southwold!) and have been enjoying wandering along the seafront and around the harbour.
It was there that I found myself looking at so many things through nets, chains, rigging, etc. Hence, looking at this trawler through the net-like fence on a harbour footbridge.
David ~ Brian’s beautiful image took me down so many different associations with the foreground grid, and the lovely black and white textures he had captured in the landscape. But in the end I settled on the subject matter of boats and fishermen heading out to their nets.
I made this image on the west coast of Scotland a few years ago – I was experimenting with compositions drawn from Japanese woodblock prints and the framing of the branches, the dark blue of the water and the fisherman seemed to work well – the red highlights were a lucky bonus!
Dawn ~ This photo follows the boat theme but there is only one boat. There is no reflection of the trees but quite a good reflection of the sail.
Following on from Avril,
Jim sent this image to Len
Len sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Austin
Austin ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ I guess my response is simply to find an image that features water, bright lights and night skies.
Len ~ I received Jim’s striking image of a light show or something at, I believe, Sydney harbour.
What struck me most about his image was the spectacular illuminated chandelier in the foreground. I’m guessing that this was some sort of laser or holographic projection, but to me it looked almost like a spaceship from a sci-fi film, rather than a crystal lighting feature.
Many years ago, when I was employed part time to do condition surveys of properties rented out, I was carrying out one such job when I saw this plastic ball catching the light by the bay window in the living room of the property I was attending. To me it looked like an alien spaceship had just landed and I photographed it as such. It became part of a small series I called “Alien Invasion”. If I had taken Jim’s photo myself, I might well have included that as well.
So, the link between my image and Jim’s is through the perceived commonality of a flight of fancy, rather than the more usual photographic style similarities.
Colin ~ My photo was taken in Southern Ireland in the grounds of the Curragh racing stables. As Len’s image was taken from a series about aliens, the Zodiac chimes with it slightly.
Bunshri ~ Colin’s image of the sculptural piece representing our horoscope signs set me thinking. I followed by this image – symbolic of our pure soul. The outer brown husk represents the body, the hard shell inside: 8 karmas body, the brown skin inside is Bhav Karma (emotions of the body), the white and sweet coconut is the pure soul signified by white purity and the sweet water by happiness in the soul.
Jains believe that karma is a physical substance that is everywhere in the universe. Jiva – soul; Shiva – non living matter; Punya – results of good deeds; Asrava – influx of karmas; Samvar – stoppage of karmas; Bandh – bondage of karmas; Nirjara – eradication of karmas; Moksha – liberation. The idea is to reach liberation.
Kate ~ I love Bunshri’s inspiring and thought provoking image. I couldn’t possibly follow in kind! So I have found something much more literal, taken on the common land near our house in Yorkshire. Is there a message here? Writing in the heavens, looming clouds, a dying tree… Or just an interesting picture?..
Hady ~ My response to Kate’s landscape is with an image I took in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2016. The photo shows a silhouette of some palm trees standing proud over a low rise building of town houses. The scattered fluffy dark clouds decorated the sunset sky.
Austin ~ My street faces directly west, providing a clear view for occasional spectacular sunsets; this was one such early evening. I also took this picture to show how many homes (including mine) are connected from a single pole; it also shows a solitary TV aerial which may or may not still be in use, given various technological developments.
Communications security has since been enhanced by trimming the tree…
~~~~~~~~~~~~
November 2023
Duncan started and sent this image to Hady and Avril
Taken at Blenheim Palace. Painting with reflection including a nod to Vermeer ‘woman reading at window’. Picture within a picture. Warm but enigmatic.
By most rules of composition this picture shouldn’t work but for me it does. Even the strip of frame on the left I feel is important although many would crop it out!
Hady sent this image to David
David sent this image to Brian
Brian sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Rashida
Rashida ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Duncan sent me an interesting image of reflection of a strip of light coming from a leaded window with a person standing in front of the window reflected on a painting of a sitting man, whose face is also visible in a shaded part of the frame.
The shape of the reflected light in Duncan’s image reminded me of an image I took on 11 November 2018. The image includes a very long strip of poppies crocheted and sewn together by a group of women from Hertford called “The Hertford Yarn Bombers” to form the very long piece draped over Hertford Castle to celebrate Remembrance Day 2018. There was also a small installation of two persons at the bottom of the image. The similarity between Duncan’s image and mine is uncanny.
David ~ Hady’s image of poppies cascading from a redbrick tower was a poignant one. I looked for thematic connections to remembrance which took me to many images of poppies and of the red hearts drawn on the national covid memorial wall. But the rusty colour of the brick also reminded me of a picture I took in the rain in at Seaham harbour near to Sunderland where I grew up. This iron sculpture of a soldier is by local artist and steel worker Ray Lonsdale – it was built for a temporary exhibition in 2014 but the people of Sunderland took it to their hearts and raised the money to make it a permanent part of the sea front. I particularly like the way the colours change and run in the rain.
Brian ~ I was really struck by the soulfulness of David’s image, with the soldier I imagined deep in thoughts of his lost pals. We hope that those lost in sacrifice may always be remembered and memorials are erected to help us do just that. But, with a sigh of regret, life moves on all too swiftly and it becomes more difficult to stop, think, remember and continue to honour the sacrifice of others. My image from New York, taken in 2014, of people rushing past the fallen firefighters’ 9/11 memorial is intended to illustrate that.
Colin ~ Taken at Chanticleer garden in the outskirts of Philadelphia. On a windy day, one of the plants overhanging a paved area gave a similar combination of blurry and sharp to Brian’s shot. I had earlier tried shooting blurred figures while waiting in one of Heathrow’s passenger lounges, without being satisfied with the result. This shot moves things on a bit from Brian’s.
Rashida ~ Colin sent me a beautiful and intriguing image. I look forward to hearing how it was created. My response is an image captured on a bitterly cold winter night in London on 16 January 2016 at Oxford Circus. It was of a mesmerising and stunning sculpture which moved gently to and fro with changing colours of lights suspended over Oxford Circus.
Lumière London 2016: “Taking the West End and King’s Cross by storm, Lumière London invited audiences to see the city in a new light as visitors were treated to 30 light installations across the city.
At Oxford Circus, closed to traffic for the event, people lay on their backs gazing up at 1.8 London, Janet Echelman’s beautifully illuminated aerial sculpture that was strung between buildings.”
Following on from Duncan, Avril sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri sent this image to Mark
Mark ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~ From a young hand in paint to an old woman’s hand in stone. I’ll try to find a translation of the Spanish label about who she was.
Kate ~ Avril’s photo – a detail of a sculpture – shows the knuckles and fingers of an older person’s left hand, slightly arthritic, beautifully carved. I knew at once how to follow it! This is a picture of my mother’s hands, taken when she was in her late 90s. She was teaching my daughter how to make marmalade, and here is cleaning a jar to hold the jam. I’m afraid the picture is more than 20 years old – but I felt the left hand particularly echoes the hand in Avril’s photo. I took it on my old EOS film camera, and the light wasn’t too good, so the image lacks the sharpness that you would get with an iPhone picture now. How things have changed!
Austin ~ This is a cast of the joined hands of the artist George Frederic Watts (1817-1904) and his wife, Mary (1849-1938), an artist and designer in her own right. It was part of a display attached to the Watts Gallery in Surrey, which is well worth visiting along with the nearby house and memorial chapel.
Bunshri ~ Having received the emotive hands image from Austin, I followed with this image.
I couldn’t help but notice the hand gestures at the Frans Hal’s Exhibition at the National Gallery. I began to see the portraits in a new way. I found this image so powerful – the way the skull is held in the hand strongly suggests transience of life and inevitability of death.
The other hand looks so forceful, almost bursting out of the canvas. – the strength of hand gestures….
Mark ~ Bunshri’s image is from the allegorical painting by Frans Hals showing a young man holding a scull but in animated conversation with someone out of the picture to the right. However, we can just see the scull and conversational hand gesture in Bunshri’s extract although this communicates a similar message to the full painting.
The scull signified that life was precarious and death inevitable although the wealthy speaker (young man with long fingernails therefore not a labourer), typical of younger people, seems, through their gesticulations, oblivious to the significance.
The image put me in mind firstly of a trip to Cambodia and Vietnam which included the Khmer Rouge Killing Fields and countless collections of skulls, however I found this still too raw to progress with.
Instead I have shown a young child photographed on the same trip, oblivious to his likely future, who was absorbed munching his biscuit, accompanying his mother who was working in a mill making mats. The sixteenth century scull tradition in the Netherlands painting I projected onto the loom. The dusty powered loom could symbolise for this child a future risking being more akin to Victorian times than today albeit with similar life jeopardy depicted in the Hals painting. The boy, along with many, lives only a few metres above sea level and by 2050 double the numbers now affected by flooding in Cambodia will be vulnerable to major flood events.
~~~~~~
October 2023
Mark started and sent this image to Dawn & Colin
Unsuccessful de-cluttering is an analogue of procrastination. Amongst the signs that procrastination is in progress are eating crisps and becoming engrossed in something that has failed to grab my attention previously. My attention has been grabbed by all the interesting shapes, colours, textures and thoughts prompted by looking afresh at even mundane stuff. My image is inside a crisp packet. You might call this a crisped potato view of the world (before being munched). Why the bag has a mirror finish inside I don’t know but perhaps it just wants its moment on the red carpet, or perhaps some crisps are just vain.
At least the image is non-fattening.
Dawn sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Brian
Brian sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to Kate
Kate ended with this image.
Group one: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Dawn ~ I had a choice of colour or close up so I chose colour.
It was taken at the Chelsea Flower Show and the decorations were attached [to] trees but it is not as colourful or bright as I had hoped.
Avril ~ I received Dawn’s image while away and had thought of a complimentary image to send to Brian but that evening I went into the hotel bar for the first time and the first thing I saw was this sculpture/artwork suspended on a wall. It was probably 5 or 6 metres in diameter and made of what I can only imagine was drawn steel and wire. I thought it quite beautiful in its simplicity, my only regret was not finding the artist’s name. It hadn’t been publicly credited to anyone.
Brian ~ On receiving Avril’s shot my first thought was “I might frame this.” My second thought was “Hang on, I’m meant to be getting my thinking cap on!”
My first decision was to follow Avril’s black & white lead, albeit through Lightroom rather than a darkroom. Avril’s image made me think about all sorts of connections: networks, roads, nerves, and, hence my photo, cabling, created for this challenge. Are there beginnings and ends? There must be but where? I’m always fascinated by how electrical or computer experts can look at network diagrams or masses of cabling and go “Ah yes, of course” and unravel seemingly entangled messes. So here’s my simple homage, or challenge, to them.
Rashida ~ Brian’s image was one of made-made items in some kind of intertwined chaos and confusion. My response was to counterbalance with calm and beauty. I take no credit for this image. This is God’s artistry and beauty in nature. So, so very grateful to have spotted this plant when we were on one of our walks. I have no idea what the name is.
Austin ~ Earlier this year I was asked to provide a new cover image for the guide to the two mile long tree trail in Highfield Park, an 82 acre community space in St Albans. I provided a shortlist of images and they made a choice; the guide has now been published. They contacted me again as they were preparing a feature on the trail’s Copper Beech tree, which led to my taking more images. I felt this one particularly met the brief since as well as highlighting the colourful foliage. The inclusion of the bench helped to place the image within the park.
Kate ~ Austin’s picture looks out through sunlit leaves to an enticing view of a bench in summer sunshine. I’m following it with a view through a window partly blocked by backlit leaves. I took it in Léon in Northern Spain. We were staying in a hotel in the converted mediaeval monastery of the beautiful church of San Isidoro. The hotel rooms had been monks’ cells. The church continues very much in use, and this view is of the cloister, generally closed to the public. I’m glad the hotel had the plants in front of the window rather than a curtain like other windows looking towards the church.
Following on from Mark, Colin sent this image to David
David sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to Mermie
Mermie ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ Taken on one of our regular visits to Chanticleer garden near Philadelphia. It specialises in changing displays, often based on plants with ornamental leaves such as Cannas.
David ~ I liked the formal qualities of Colin’s picture. Whilst it was recognisably a set of leaves it evoked ideas of flames and camouflage to me. It also contained a lot of movement with the interplay of reds and greens, light and dark. That set me thinking about still life pictures of nature that also contained movement – and so I chose this picture of Magnolia flower from our garden. This flowers in April or May each year – but usually too early for the prevailing weather around here and so more often than not the blooms get killed by a late frost within a day or so. Its transient beauty pulls me up short every year. At first I used to try to save it with rolls of fleece and insulation but now I just enjoy it while it lasts. I tried to capture this fleeting feeling last year in a series of pictures using a combination of intentional camera movement and in-camera multi-exposure shots.
I think this one was probably best and has some links in colour and mood to Colin’s picture – in my mind at least!
Hady ~ I received an interesting square image of beautiful purple flowers from David. They seem to have been part of a bigger collection.
David’s image reminded me of some earlier work I did at the beginning of the first COVID lockdown in April 2020. COVID lockdown saw the beginning of a change in my photography interest and style. I started looking differently into nature and “painting with the camera”. The result is a new style of photography for me; poetic fine art photography.
My chosen image is high key and shares David’s square format image and its purple colour.
Jim ~ Hady has clearly taken a photo of a flower and manipulated it in Photoshop to create a rather surreal image with slightly unearthly colours. So mine is also of a flower, a rose from my garden, which I have also manipulated. Not nearly as abstract but I hope it complements Hady’s image to some degree.
Mary ~ When I saw Jim’s lovely image I was drawn to the delicate flower and the colour palette. My image is a close-up of a dandelion clock with some of the seeds falling out and the colour palette is similar to Jim’s. Dandelion clocks are a perfect circular shape before the seeds are blown away, either by the wind or human, destroying the fragile and beautiful clock. The tips of the seeds mirror the water drops that appear in Jim’s image.
Mermie ~ Stiff stems in opposition to the softness of Mary’s. The blue of the stems helped me know that my cataract removal was successful as blue is known to become more intense.
~~~~~
september 2023
Mermie started and sent this image to Kate and Bunshri
This elephant at Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire is one of over 50 animal sculptures, handmade from natural materials. The sponsor, Animal Ark, honours the life’s work of the late Mark Shand, the founder of the NGO Elephant Family, brother of HM Queen Camilla and a regular visitor to Sudeley Castle which had been home to his uncle the late Lord Ashcombe.
Kate sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to David
David sent this image to Avril
Avril ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Mermie sent me an elephant, mainly an elephant’s ear and eye, under some trees. I went out looking for a response in our local woods, and found this beautiful young man. He is in a glade of large trees on the large green area called the Campus in Welwyn Garden City (actually a very large roundabout leading to the town centre). The sculpture dates from 1938 and is by Kathleen Scott, widow of Robert Scott of the Antarctic and mother of Peter Scott, artist and conservationist. It was originally called ‘England’ (no idea why) but the name was changed to ‘Ad Astra’ a couple of years later when it was given to Welwyn Garden City. I think its optimism suits the Garden City (in a rather dated way), and the statue sits very well under the trees shielding it from the constant stream of cars driving past.
Hady ~ I received from Kate an image of a statue of an athletic young man showing him from his legs up. It reminded me of an image I took a few years ago of a statue of an upside down man with his head buried in the ground, neck on the ground and the rest of the body up in the air.
I took this image on 02 July 2019 at St Pancras’s Church, near St Pancras, London where this sculpture was installed.
This enormous upside down man with his head “buried” in the ground was originally installed in the middle of Lower Grosvenor Gardens at the heart of Mayfair in 2013. His upside down body, five times the size of a human was only visible from the neck down — or up you might say — and the body sticking up into the air. In September 2015 the sculpture was moved to the National Trust property of Mottisfont in Hampshire. I am not sure of the statue’s current location.
The sculptor, David Breuer-Weil, named it “Alien,” a nod to his grandfather who fled Nazi-run Vienna in 1938 and who, upon his arrival in England, was labeled “enemy alien”.
Austin ~ I don’t have many images of people or human figures posed upside down but recalled this one I took near Brick Lane about three years ago. The painted slogan was a topical one at the time, and the solo fitness routine could well have been a consequence of lockdown. Given these factors I think the image says much about that time, as well as showing that there is usually some open space to be enjoyed near to London’s busy streets.
David ~ I was very struck by the text in Austin’s image with its connotations of the Black Lives Matter movement and of breath/inspiration – and then also the shape of the person in the foreground – in a powerful yoga pose but also looking bent/contorted.
It resonated with an image I saw on a photo walk I took along the Canal St Martin in Paris this month. There were lots of examples of interesting street art relating to immigration alongside people enjoying stretching out by the canal but I thought this one in particular was related to Austin’s both in body shapes and text. (I’ve put a selection of other pictures at https://photodka.tumblr.com/post/725113224304918528/a-few-pictures-from-a-photo-walk-along-the-canal)
Avril ~ These posters are located at Wynwood Walls, Miami’s original Street Art Museum.
Following on from Mermie, Bunshri sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Len
Len sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Jim
Jim ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Bunshri ~ Elephants are very dear to me. For me they signify Ganesh- a protector for good health, joy and new openings in life. To me the eye in the portrait looks quite sad. When I saw this at the Wolff Gallery, I was drawn to photograph it. Gluckstein speaks of sustainability- using cardboard to make the portrait. He touches on how to his dismay people poach these animals- he worries about extinction.
Rashida ~ Bunshri sent an intriguing image of a sculpture of an elephant, showing part of the face and one ear. It seems to be very creatively created using paper and cardboard. The intentional blurring around the periphery of the image was to emphasise mainly the eye and also a bit of the surrounding area. I picked up on the focal point of the eye and responded with an image taken in The Palm Court Restaurant at The Ritz Hotel in London. The nymph seems to be enjoying some private thoughts gazing into the far distance. The grimacing face of the river-god carved in the short surface of wall by the grotto seems to be staring at the nymph in horror. As if he was able to read her thoughts? Who knows? It matters not.
Len ~ If this were a social/psychological discussion group rather than a photo group, we might debate the content of Rashida’s photograph even more extensively than I am going to here. But I can’t resist making some non-photographic observations.
The grotesque face, reminiscent of a gargoyle, stares hungrily with his mouth open at the semi-nude reclining female. Is this just a chance juxtaposition of two pieces of statuary or is their positioning permanent and intentional? And what about her expression? Is it the beginning of pleasure or of fear at this encounter?
Consider also the male carving. It seems to be common to many cultures to want to depict that which they might find frightening. Why is that? Is it to exert control by fear as for example when it occurs in a religious setting, or do we simply enjoy being safely frightened, or seeing others frightened, as in a horror film?
Back to photography now. Rashida has certainly created an interesting and well composed image for me to follow. Even the plant leaves which traditionalists might prefer to be absent add an aggressive suggestion of knives threatening the vulnerable woman.
I know that Rashida has a close connection with South Africa, so it was to my collection of images taken on a holiday there that I looked to for something with which to follow hers. I found this beautifully carved and, I think, frightening mask. It’s every bit as fierce as the stone carving and perhaps even more scary. But no female counterpart this time.
Colin ~ Taken at the Oceania exhibition at the Royal Academy in 2018 – one of several amazing heads from the different indigenous peoples. Its relation to Len’s image is really that it is just another face… I resisted finding a similar looking emoji instead…
Jim ~ I did this in lockdown. It is supposed to be my take on Man Ray’s “Noir et Blanche” – Man Ray did one in positive format and also one in negative format (as is mine). In Man Ray’s image there is an African mask in the upright position with a beautiful woman’s face resting on the table. During lockdown I had an African mask but no beautiful female model. So instead I wore a beautiful male Balinese mask, and rested my masked face on the table. I took Colin’s large colourful mask and did the opposite with my black and white masks.
~~~~~
July 2023
David started and sent this image to Dawn and Bunshri
My image is from a series I started making in 2022 of people standing near London landmarks but with all their attention on looking at their ‘phones – the working title is ‘Neither here nor there’.
I like this one because the action is happening ‘off camera’ outside the frame and also the sense contrast between the movement of the car and the stillness of the people taking a picture. I hope it has enough intrigue in it to set people off in different directions for this round of Consequences.
Dawn sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Mark
Mark ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Dawn ~ This is a photograph of Catherine’s palace in St Petersburg. As in David’s there is a building and people. The people here are queuing to see the Palace when is opens not taking photos on phones of something ahead of them, perhaps an emergency Both buildings are large but very different.
Kate ~ I’ve chosen this picture to follow Dawn’s picture – I ought to know where it is. First I looked for another baroque facade, or of crowds of tourists. That didn’t yield anything. I liked this one of a sitting room in a minor stately home (or country house as the people living there call it). The colour of the fireplace echoes the blue of the palace facade, and the style is sort of baroque. I also rather like the contrast between the beautifully painted palace and its formal garden, with the clearly lived-in sitting room – the wonky lampshade, magazines piled on to a side table etc.
Mary ~ Kate’s image is a colourful interior shot of an English period home with furniture and paintings to match the period. A very cosy, warm and welcoming room.
Although the headline in the FT – ‘tabloid newsroom paralysed by siege mentality’ leaped out at me as being the focal point of the image, I decided to go in the opposite direction. So my image is the opposite – it shows a Japanese ‘period home’ which is very different – the room is very carefully laid out and seemingly, to my Western eye, a cool and distant welcome for any visitor. The only real time similarity to Kate’s is that the window to the right of my image is not a reflection.
Hady ~ Mary’s image is of a Japanese room most likely in a Japanese temple. It is very orderly with Tatami mats on the floor and several wall and ceiling silk screens/panels. It is serene and calming.
In response, my image is of a dividing screen, something used frequently in Japanese rooms. The screen in my image was in a bedroom in a delightful B&B Hotel in Faversham, where we stayed a few years ago. It reminded me of Japanese screens.
Mark ~ Hady’s picture reminded me of my attached image. Sun, shadow, mine with curves rather than straight lines but textural just the same. The barrow seemed to be paying homage to the sun just as the screen was playing a role in the brightly lit room in Hady’s picture.
Following on from David, Bunshri sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Len
Len sent this image to Austin
Austin ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Bunshri ~ Having received an image from David about everyone in the image being preoccupied on their own mobile phones, the viewer has difficulty with what bit of the image to focus on.
I chose to show this image – where one’s eyes flutter from the painting in colour to the chairs in black and white. Why is it behind the black fenced area? Does the image depict Africa in any way? For me the image raises many questions.
Jim ~ Here is my image that I have sent to Avril, following on from Bunshri.
A difficult image to follow on from, but I guess I saw a confident young woman of colour and decided to show another confident young woman of colour, although in a far more expressive mode. This is Lianne La Havas (Greek father, Jamaican mother), an indie folk / soul singer. I photographed her at Latitude Music Festival, possibly singing her hit of the time “Is your love big enough?”!
Avril ~ This image won’t stand being blown up as the print is only 2 x 2 3/4 inches. I can’t find a larger print of it, and I don’t particularly want to start making a larger print in the time left. I think it’s sufficient for Len to cope with.
Len ~ When Avril sent me her image she apologised for it being so small. But I love the way her presentation echoes the feeling of informal music making that’s going on between these two young people.
I had a hard job finding something to follow on from that – I hardly ever photograph musicians. Finally, I came across this photograph, taken in Barcelona in 2009, of a gentleman playing his guitar and hoping for a few coins from the tourists.
Apart from Avril’s and my photos both including musical instruments there is really no photographic link between them, not in colour or form, and scarcely in subject. But my photo made me wonder if, many years ago, my guitar player had also been a youngster learning his instrument and enjoying making music with it, like Avril’s subjects, with no idea of how his future life would evolve.
Austin ~ I have many images of varying quality of live music performances, and guitars are always eye-catching, but I thought that in keeping with Len’s image mine should show someone performing alone. This is Richard Thompson performing at the Cambridge Folk Festival, and shows him in isolation with just his guitar, a spotlight and a water bottle. I had managed to take in a better camera than usually permitted at concerts, and positioned myself at a good angle for photography.
~~~~~~~~~
June 2023
Hady started and sent this image to Duncan and to Jim and Mark
My image was taken in August 2017 at London’s South Bank, one of my favourite areas in London. It usually has a lot of activities going on. On that day, a bright warm Sunday afternoon outside the ground floor of The Royal Festival Hall, there was a gathering of a large number of people socialising around tables with snacks and drinks. Viewing them from the first floor above showed their interesting distribution. I thought the unusual view from above was worth sharing.
Jim sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to David
David sent this image to Mary
Mary ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Hady’s array of round tables and crowds of people enjoying themselves is great. I have replicated the circular them but just one piece of furniture and just one solitary individual. Taken from the top like Hady’s image. I like the fact that the image on her phone screen mimics the circular theme. Taken at the Guggenheim Art Gallery in Bilbao.
Rashida ~ Jim sent an image with a limited palette of neutral colours enhancing the gentleness and stillness of his image. I responded to the stillness, colours and circles created in Jim’s image. Mine is of a clock where time has been frozen at almost 11.15. If you look carefully you see part of my reflection in the chrome surround of the clock. It is a personal and poignant image for me. I was given the clock by a Pharmaceutical Company while working as a newly-qualified doctor and I gifted it to my mother who kept it on her bedside table. This image was taken after my mother’s death in September 2017 while I was clearing her home. The clock now sits on my bedside table. It still keeps perfect time. Cherished memories.
Austin ~ This is perhaps following Rashida’s image rather literally, although timepieces are quite a wide-ranging subject and in addition to the watch face I liked the bold colours; I was also pleased with the impression of margins provided by the spaces above and below, and the capturing of the shadow from the street lamp which made me think of a thin robot checking the time! The watch image is street art in Shoreditch produced as advertising, and part of a wider vista; there was a heading with the words “Big” and “Bold” beside the watch, and additional red and white imagery of sunbathers on loungers with red and white umbrellas and bikes. One of my other images taken there included a man in a matching red tee shirt photographing his dog on the kerb in front of the watch!
David ~ Austin’s picture of the Swatch wall art led me immediately to some pictures I took in Glasgow a couple of years ago where they have a great wall art trail through the city. I thought this one of another type of ‘clock’ was particularly appropriate in the circumstances.
Mary ~ To me, David’s image is about time and people walking past seemingly oblivious to what is around them. The time element is the dandelion clock being blown away.
My image has the elements of time with the clock in the background. The giant bubble, although not blown, still reminds me of blowing bubbles. The little girl is totally engaged with the bubbles while someone is striding past not taking much notice of what is going on.
Technically its not a good image but it was a grab shot with my camera – I would have liked the background to be a little more in focus.
Following on from Hady, Mark sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Kate
Kate ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mark ~ Hady’s image put me in mind of ants round sweet food or bees tending to grubs in a hive, both images of creatures following invisible pheromones or subtle movements. Very busy. Highly active exchanging invisible information in the moment.
My image appears to show light beams emanating from shadowy figures. The light beams reaching out as though to communicate something we may not fully understand and don’t normally see. The image is my reinterpretation of a work by the artist, Spencer Finch (British Museum, 2020) who visited the plain of Troy to see the dawn light and was moved to think that this same light may have been seen by Achilles 3000 years before. Finch measured the light and created the exact light quality in his installation. The light quality therefore was the invisible information absorbed by the historical Achilles and my passing figures, in the moment.
Anne ~ Following on from Mark, I looked for light and silhouettes and found them both here although the subject is different from Mark’s.
Avril ~ The uses to which net curtains can be put to cover furniture. Taken in Corfu.
Colin ~ Taken in 2011 in the Philadelphia Art Museum of part of their display of modern furniture. The ‘robot’ is a cabinet with a shelf and drawers. Avril’s picture features an armchair, and as I hadn’t a suitable high key picture to hand with similar soft tones, I decided to go for the furniture aspect.
Kate ~ I scratched my head about how to follow Colin’s picture of a display shelf, showing an arrangement of presumably small models of modern style chairs with, in the centre part, a robot like character in front of and an abstract painting with a large prominent eye. The best I can do is echo the rectangular framing of the objects. This picture was taken on my phone, in the cold snap before Christmas. With icy winds and snow on the ground, all our windows were ripped out and replaced with new plastic framed ones, better for keeping out the cold, and easy to open in warmer weather. I was fascinated by these frost patterns which formed overnight (showing that there was moisture trapped between the double glazing). I just wish I had paused for long enough to include all three horizontal window panes in the picture – but this was difficult to achieve at the same time as capturing the detail of the frost.
~~~~~
May 2023
Rashida started and sent her image to Duncan and to Kate
A row of silos on Granville Island is among the most photographed things in Vancouver. The six towers, each 70 feet tall, were once a dull gray, but now feature a colourful crew of giants. Half of them face the boats on False Creek, and the other three look inward, towards the Ocean Concrete plant.
The silos are the work of Brazilian twins Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo, known collectively as OSGEMEOS (Portuguese for THE TWINS).
In 2014 the Vancouver Biennale commissioned the twins to bring their ongoing mural series “Giants” to British Columbia. OSGEMEOS chose the silos on Granville Island to add depth to the two-dimensional pieces they normally create.
Ocean Concrete, which is still a fully operational business, has a long history of community participation and happily offered a medium for the twins.
This is an interesting article about the creation of the artwork:
https://www.designboom.com/art/os-gemeos-vancouver-biennale-21-08-2014/
Duncan sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Mark
Mark sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Jim
Jim ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Duncan ~ Thanks Rashida! A slightly odd scene and image. It made me immediately think of a response image. However, I then started to think about industry being disguised, the scale of industrial architecture and a few other things but I kept returning to my initial reaction and this image. The reason being the colourful and slightly over the top characters cheering up an otherwise grim scene. In my image (not one of my best) the colourful, slightly over the top character is part of a drive-in opera in that otherwise grim scene: the Covid restrictions in 2020. That both images have vehicles and industrial architecture is very secondary.
Anne ~ Here is the photo I have sent to Mark this morning. I decided to hone in on the Man in costume with his back to us in Duncan’s image. I got drawn into the anti Brexit march immediately after the vote that was going down Piccadilly . The man in my picture is also dressed up but it is the little girl with her sensible boots and drooping wings and closeness to her father that touched me. Perhaps she will be part of getting back into the EU?
Mark ~ For me, Anne’s picture summed up making a statement of principle in the face of alternative views to benefit ourselves and our dependents. My picture came quickly to mind. It was taken at a large Arla dairy in North London (March 2020) following picketing promoting plant-based diets to benefit ourselves and initially the bull calves which are surplus to milk production except by being born. Visually I liked the similarity between the observer’s hair and the chalk artist’s depiction of the cow. Like the subject of Anne’s picture and the Arla protest, this was a momentary statement of principle that materialised and disappeared as quickly.
Avril ~ Aberdeen Angus on the land by Loch Lomond. I don’t choose to involve myself with political arguments. They would not be roaming this landscape if the farmer did not take bales of hay up to keep them alive through the winter. It’s very hard work and he has to make a living. Without milk without meat these animals would be dead anyway and our landscape bare of them all.
Jim ~ I am afraid that I have had to resort to my archive for this one. The only real connection is domesticated cattle. Avril’s looks like Scotland, mine is Agra, India on the north bank opposite the Taj Mahal. My wife Lynda and I borrowed bicycles from my cousin and went for an early morning cycle ride and saw this woman herding her cattle. It has been one of my favourite images from our six month overland trip in 1978 / 79.
Following on from Rashida, Kate sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to David
David ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Rashida’s opening picture was quite a challenge. Then I focused on the dressed up silos or whatever they are behind the trucks. Giant dolls!
So here is a picture of part of my 10 year old granddaughter, Florence’s, doll collection, lined up on her bedroom floor. They are all characters from musicals, stories etc which she loves and I know nothing about – except for the larger doll on the right, which I made for her some years ago. In the world Florence has invented, this doll is the boss, the teacher who keeps all the others in order.’
Austin ~ This was taken during a walk in London’s Chinatown during January 2023 and maintains both the “group” and “catering” elements. The original image included more of the food prep and service areas; it was close to Chinese New year and these featured lanterns and string lights as well as numerous screens and display boards, filling the area with colour and reflected light. I have cropped the image while continuing to centre on the chefs; I also tried to keep a hint of the tables and chrome chairs at the front as these provided additional context. Finally I added a vignette to place the chefs in the spotlight and reduce the background distractions.
Colin ~ Taken recently by the Grand Union canal. Volunteers of the Boxmoor Trust were doing a six monthly check in a chalk stream for traces of latrines used by Water Voles that have been reintroduced.
The three people reflected the three people making what was probably sushi.
Hady ~ I received an image from Colin showing three people standing in shallow water wearing water protecting clothing and footwear. The image was unusual enough to make me think of the consequent image I sent to David. This was of puppets in the yard of St Andrew’s Church in Hertfod. The puppets were of biblical characters and sheep made by local artists in celebration of of Christmas. I thought the installation was unusual enough to warrant documentation.
David ~ Hady’s image of the nativity scene in the churchyard opened up many paths to follow. I’ve taken a lot of pictures in churchyards over the years but looking at them, they mostly had a gothic / melancholic style which didn’t seem to suit to sequence – so instead I opted for this one. It features an earthly choir rather than a heavenly one but has a similar playful tone. It was taken in an Oxford college where my wife and I lived for several years. I became the unofficial photographer for various student events including recordings and performances of the college choir – and so when I saw them running into the quad after a rehearsal to play in the snow I had to grab my camera to take a few pictures – this one caught the delight of the occasion just right.
~~~~~
April 2023
Colin started and sent this image to David and to Austin
Colin ~ I was flicking through stuff I had taken at the back end of 2022, mainly in the garden or on a walk. This was when it snowed in mid-December at the point before the sun had caused the snow to start dropping off the branches. While it could make a good black & white picture, the brown stems contrast the blue sky colour, while the snow emphasises the thorns.
The rose is Rosa sericea ‘Pteracantha’, the winged thorn rose, whose spring shoots have bright red thorns. It has single white flowers and grows about 2 metres tall. We saw it in flower in Yunnan on our trip to China in 2012.
David sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Len
Len sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to Hady
Hady ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
David ~ Colin’s snow covered thorns set me off thinking in many wintery directions – especially with snow in the forecast for the week ahead. In the end I settled on this image from January 2021 at a time when we were all suffering from the impact of Covid and not being able to visit friends and family. I started having dreams of portals, wormholes, and magic doors through which we could travel into different worlds – and so I decided to create one in the garden. This image is one of a series of images of a door in strange and unexpected settings. I thought this one worked well in building on the snow and the impenetrable thorn bush in Colin’s picture as perhaps another frame in a fairy tale.
Rashida ~ David sent a lovely image of what appears to be a door standing on its own in an open space. Beautiful and intriguing. I was tempted to open the door and go through it into a magical world. I hope my response shows just that with a photograph taken at the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul. The inscription above the door is a verse from the Quran written in gold. The image attached shows the verse and an English translation underlined in red. Stunning architecture.
Len ~ I contrasted Rashida’s striking image of receding doorways with its very elaborate traditional decoration with this view along multiple train carriages which is no doubt familiar to all of us. In my image the design emphasis is on smooth undecorated curves and of course, in modern trains, the previously present doors have been removed, although the impression of receding doorways remains, for me, anyway.
Jim ~ Len’s image is striking. There is a distinct coolness and, of course, the total absence of human life. The blue is very striking but is complemented by the desaturated greys with a splash or two of red. There is a sense of order and design. At first glance, my image could even be an array of designer lipsticks on a shelf at Boots. It is of course completely different and is the bombs found in Flanders fields from WW1. Taken at the Passendale Museum in Belgium just last week I felt it reflected some of the qualities and tones of Len’s picture.
Mary ~ When I saw Jim’s image I could see very vertical lines in it of the shelves of ‘shells’ – all very in focus. Although my image isn’t of shelves it does reflect the verticals in the ICM technique I employed while taking this at Greenich. As it is an ICM the picture is blurred but the viewer can still work out what the image is of – people in a building.
Hady ~ I received an image from Mary, that at first sight appeared blurred. It transpired that it was an ICM image. It brought to mind an image I took recently of beautiful double rainbow that we saw after heavy rain recently. Sharing double arches, I thought it was a perfect fit to Mary’s image.
Following on from Colin, Austin sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Mark
Mark sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to Sabes
Sabes sent this image to Avril
Avril ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Austin ~ Colin sent me an image of closely-tangled thorny branches covered in snow, against an equally wintry background. I thought of forwarding a similar composition but in red, a close-up of branches and bloom within a Japanese acer tree; I decided instead to retain the elements of snow and foliage within a more open view which hopefully has more potential for further interpretation. I took this picture in Highfield Park, St Albans, in December 2022.
Anne ~ My image follows on from Austin’s woodland scene. Mine is a much wilder scene but I like the vibrant, fresh daffodils near the rotting tree trunk.
Mark ~ For me Anne’s image is not life springing from death but life springing from change. The dry and withered undergrowth, unloved fence, rotting tree. Within and beneath all this, life goes on – handed to different organisms such as the flowering bulbs, adapted to a different but complementary set of rules. Different growing, adapted organisms and change is what I saw for my photograph of man-made concrete becoming host to micro-aquatic forms clinging on the margins of wet and dry, always subject to nature’s changing nature yet surviving in their way. My subject was at Customs House on the Thames.
Kate ~ Mark’s very interesting image stumped me! I couldn’t think of anything in the archive to match it. I didn’t have my camera available, so I tried various ideas with my phone – but none of them was any good.
I looked at the picture – there are fascinating patterns on the wall above the water; a lot of straight horizontal lines, except for the very curvy reflection of the railings in the water at the bottom; and bits of moss plus a tiny plant struggling to survive in the wet stones or concrete at the top.
My response picks up on the horizontal lines, with railings, and reflections (but not of the railings) in water at the food of the picture. There are also some plants, but not struggling like the moss and the weed in Mark’s.
I took the photo in the beautiful garden of the Alcázar in Córdoba in February a few years ago.’
Sabes ~ In Kate’s photograph I saw the suggestion of a tree on the wall with wirey climbers. In my image I decided to respond to this suggestion – water seeping through the roof of the London underground rail tunnel has created an image that suggests a tree. Where the water dripped straight down, a stem of the ‘tree’ has formed. The horizontal line at the top edge in my photograph and a line in Kate’s photograph have some resemblance. The visual associations between the two photographs stop here.
In other respects my images work in a contrasting direction: The objects in Kate’s – ropes and planters – are to prevent people from accidentally falling into what appears to be a swimming pool in the foreground. Danger and alert are incorporated. My image is void of any warning despite a train track between me and the wall.
With doors, arches, balcony and shadows there is a lot happening in Kate’s. Thinking of the underground station, all the activity was behind and besides me, until the next train arrived, when I myself got into the activity.
Avril ~ My answer to Sabes. I had another which was nearly the same shape but it was very literal whereas this is rather more random. Seen in Miami which I think must be graffiti central.
~~~~~~~~
march 2023
Jim started and sent this image to Rashida and Hady
Jim ~ I took this image last spring in Nova Scotia, Canada. My work is typically fairly straightforward, not on the “arty” side. But when I was walking up in Cape Breton I experimented with photographing streams at a slow shutter speed as well as Intentional Camera Movement as is the case here. But I think it captures some of the feeling of spring.
Rashida sent this image to David
David sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to Avril
Avril ended with this image
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Jim has created a beautiful painterly image of trees in the woods using ICM (Intentional Camera Movement). My response is a NCM (No Camera Movement) image capturing an unintentional imitation of nature created by rust and paint covering a corrugated iron sheet on the side of a building. I came across this while exploring the Granville Island Public Market in Vancouver.
David – It’s the real thing?
I’m pretty sure that the white on red background is from an old Diet Coke advert. I’ve taken lots of pictures of peeling billboards over the years as I love the sense of something being revealed whilst something else is fading away. This one was from December 2021 on a billboard by the skew bridge in Harpenden / Southdown. I found Rashida’s image of corrugated iron being transformed by moss and rust very thought provoking – it led me down many paths of images of nature growing back to take over human endeavours but eventually I settled on pictures showing many layers of historical traces – hence the billboards. I hope it gives Mary something to work with.
Mary – When I saw David’s picture of a very distressed board/ wall my series of Hidden London came to mind – a few years ago I went on a photography tour of the un-used underground stations. The 2 images are similar in the fact the posters that were on them are peeling off with only the letter ‘e’ visible in David’s image while the wording is very clear in the centre of my underground image. The rest of the poster in my image has peeled and the wall can be seen behind it.
Colin ~ Mary’s image shows what happens in UK when a wall gets neglected, but as I hadn’t any old posters, I decided to look through my graffiti pictures. This appealed to me, largely because someone had proof-read it…
Kate ~ Colin’s picture put me in mind of some rather well drawn graffiti we saw in Lugo – a lovely small city with a complete Roman wall around it, in Galicia, NW Spain, where we stayed eight years ago. The artist seemed to specialise in cats and some other weird things. I think the little pig and the writing are by a different hand, but never mind.’ I’m adding in case there is time to look at them another of his cat drawings, and another message I saw in Malaga, not long after Trump’s election. (I think my first picture may be the answer to the question in the second “Where is the king of the cats”)’
Avril ~ I could have followed Kate’s picture with more graffiti but decided this handsome boar would outface the pig. This was taken in the Loggia del Mercator Nuovo in Florence (New Market Square). I don’t know who the sculptor was but it was a beautiful work of bronze.
Following on from Jim, Hady sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to Dawn
Dawn sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri sent this image to Sabes
Sabes ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ I received from Jim a delicate image of trees taken using ICM (Intentional Camera Movement). It brought back memories of a long time ago when I was trying out ICM photographing nature producing images similar to Jim’s image and others. My image, also taken at that time, however is using ICM in an urban environment.”
Anne ~ I was intrigued by Hady’s image and it made me think of a series of pictures I made , trying to capture movement. This one is where I moved the camera but the subject was still. It was an interesting project as one had no idea what would be on the negative. There were lots of disappointments but some surprises.
Austin – No motion blur here, but an upright figure with a statement to make. This is from a memorial outside the shipyard at Gdansk, Poland, remembering the victims of state reprisals against protestors. The plaque in this image highlights the casualties which followed a revolt against steep increases in the price of food and fuel in December 1970, particularly during a massacre known as “Black Thursday”. The phrases shown include “gave their lives” and victims of cruelty”. Plaques from other uprisings, some featuring quite powerful imagery, are mounted nearby.
Dawn ~ I thought Austin’s image was memorial so I have also chosen one with a more abstract design representing countless people who died during the Second World War. It is the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. The symbolic tombs are grey, the paint is graffiti resistant. The lab that make the paint is the same one that developed the gas for the concentration camps. When I took the photograph it had been raining when suddenly the sun came out. The red umbrella is still up, the only sign of life, perhaps in that brief moment it seemed to symbolise hope.
Bunshri ~ Having received image of a half ambiguous figure within what seemed like a cemetery, I decided to go completely ambiguous. This an image taken in my late mum-in-law’s bedroom. What do you think it is?
Sabes ~ I was wondering where the red patch came from in Bunshri’s photo. Doesn’t matter about its source. Without light nothing is visible.
~~~~~~~~
february 2023
Austin started and sent this image to Kate and Avril
Austin ~ The Egyptian sculptures in front of this terrace in Richmond Avenue, Islington, appear to commemorate Nelson’s victory at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, even though the houses were built over forty years later. This is an example of a quirkily historical London street and of Victorian Egyptomania, although the styling of the figures has also drawn comparisons with Las Vegas! I hope the lines and shapes shown provide a helpful basis for more images.
Kate took two images and one went to Anne
Anne sent this image to Sabes
Sabes sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Rashida
Rashida ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Austin’s amazing row of sphinxes – like many Consequences images – made me work hard to find my sequel. I ended up with one of the Sphinxes under Cleopatra’s needle on the Embankment. Only one sphinx. There are just two with the needle one on either side. Apparently they were supposed to be facing forward, rather than facing the monument. Taking both of them did not compose into an interesting picture for me.
Quite a story attaching to the taking of it. I decided that the Cleopatra’s needle sphinxes would be the answer to Austin’s picture. First of all I took a version with my lovely new (pre-loved) camera. Then I went to Waterstone’s cafe in Trafalgar Square for a coffee and snack. I was immersed in a book, with my backpack, containing camera, lenses, etc. When I got up to go, the backpack had vanished! Stolen! (Fortunately my handbag, which had been on my lap, was not taken – it contained wallet and phone) My camera and the morning’s photos were gone forever! Very upsetting and aggravating. Waterstone’s were very helpful, and I now have a police crime number etc. I went back and took more pictures on my phone.
I can’t resist adding the inscription in the second photograph. John Dixon, the civil engineer who worked out how to bring the monument to London, and designed the iron cylinder which it was floated in, was my grandfather’s uncle. Not surprisingly, he became a family legend, and I proudly own a nice watercolour painting and a few drawings by him. The cylinder became detached from the towing ship during a storm in the Bay of Biscay, and six men were sent out in a small boat to try to retrieve it. They all drowned, and the cylinder was found floating in the sea several days later. I don’t know who was responsible for ordering the men out, but John Dixon is said to have been haunted by their deaths for the rest of his life.’
Anne ~ I read about the obelisk from Alexandria and thought of the current discussion of things that have been brought here from ancient civilisations. I thought this statue in the British Museum was so beautiful but regret that I didn’t make a note of where it came from. (Note: There was a mixup by Mermie in sending Kate’s 2nd image to Anne instead of her first, but Anne rose to the occasion.)
Sabes ~ I found the missing bust of Anne’s lady – in Mickelepage in Horsham where Jill Stapleton of IPSE ran residential photography workshops.
Jim ~ Sabes’ photo is slightly mysterious. The figure appears to be religious while mine is not. But I was struck by the fact that the face is not fully in focus but the fabric is. In mine the man’s face is also somewhat obscured, this time by plastic which is there to protect the statues during the harsh Canadian winter weather (I went in early spring). My image is also largely monochrome.
Rashida ~ Jim’s arresting image in muted tones threw up many questions such as “why? how? where? where to?”.
My response was somewhat similar to the installation I photographed at the Rockefeller Plaza in NYC in 2019. This is the work of Jaume Plensa, a Spanish artist. It stands just under 7.5 metres tall. To quote the artist, “Sometimes, our hands are the biggest walls. They can cover our eyes, and we can blind ourselves to so much of what’s happening around us.”
To see the installation, visit https://umma.umich.edu/exhibitions/2020/jaume-plensa-behind-the-walls
Following on from Austin,
Avril sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Dawn
Dawn ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~As you can see, my 2009 image of the Chicago Art Institute complements Austin’s in several ways.
Colin ~ Avril’s image was the façade of the Chicago Art Institute, of which I had a very similar shot. I thought I might put in a ‘magic hour’ picture which included some of the skyscrapers in the background of Avril’s picture. However, I explored other art museums in USA, but felt the one I had of the Metropolitan Museum in New York City was too similar to Avril’s in style. I had this shot taken at the Museum of Modern Art from the rear courtyard, and chose it partly as it had Mary-esque qualities…
Mary ~ I have responded to Colin’s lovely image of glass with this one.
Hady ~ I received a beautiful image from Mary of the reflection of the sky and some reeds on what appears to be a shiny glass sphere.
It made me think of the reflection on a small, usually flooded area on the bank of the River Lea (one of my favourite walks). I thought this was similar in reflection, though it is natural.
Dawn ~ My picture follows Hady’s quite well with the trees and reflections. It was quite windy so the reflection of the trees across is not so sharp but the reflections in the foreground are clear.
~~~~~~~
january 2023
Jim started and sent this image to Avril and Anne.
Taken in the turbine hall at Tate Modern, I loved the slow controlled movement of the artists and the slight asymmetry produced as one of the dancers takes over from the other.
Avril sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Sabes
Sabes ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~ In reply to Jim’s picture which I, at first, thought was a form of martial arts I have sent a picture of Morris dancers, the connection being the staves. A friend who is an authority on Japanese martial arts tells me it is not as I thought but could offer no clue. The Morris dancers were in St Christopher’s Place, St. Albans, one summer’s day. The children I observed did not seem impressed, it was either too noisy for them or too frightening.
Bunshri ~ Having received a colourful thought provoking image from Avril, I followed with this image and sent it to Colin. Avril’s image was colourful but I listened to my intuition and was drawn to muted colouring – changing the mood from fun to contemplation of mortality.
I call it the ‘Void’. Missing her from our extended family, been an emotional week and I was drawn to this.
Colin ~ Taken at Chanticleer Garden near Philadelphia in USA, this is in what is notionally the bathroom in a deliberately ruined house within the garden. Water continuously pours into a rectangular basin in which several marble masks are immersed.
Rashida ~ Colin sent me an image that transfixed me in a haunting, morbid sort of way and left me speechless. My imagination went into overdrive. The only word to describe the image that came to mind was “macabre”. It is a visually arresting image. On one of my walks in the woods during lockdown I was looking down at the ground. Nature had created some amazing artistry with rocks and stones which now on reflection could convey the same feel as in Colin’s image.
Sabes ~ I like the moments when animals pause and look at you. The pause can be to being startled, curiosity or confrontational. This frog was disturbed and startled as I was digging the earth in my alotment. In Rashida’s image rock and soil merge so an image where rock, soil and animal merging is an apt response. Frog emerging from the earth is a metaphor for life in earth and soil.
Following on from Jim, Anne sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Len
Len sent this image to Kate
Kate ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ Doing a Room. Ten minutes of spit and polish, putting up the cushions, fresh flowers – when I look back from the doorway, it’s as good as a Spring-clean!
Austin ~ Continuing from how Anne’s image captures “a job well done”, I took this picture of a runner who had just completed the Brighton half marathon, happy to be photographed along with his celebratory drink! It was a very hot day.
Hady ~ I received an image from Austin of a man wearing a finisher’s medal and holding a celebratory drink. My response image was taken earlier this year of a lady at the Colour Walk in Old Spitalfields Market in London’s East End. It shows a lady in a beautiful celebratory outfit that celebrates the New York Metro Card. Here is a link to the Colour Walk: https://oldspitalfieldsmarket.com/events/colour-walk
Len ~ I could not find anything to echo Hady’s picture of a cheerful sales promoter, either in terms of colour or content. But although she superficially seemed happy enough, I began to reflect on how awful it was to have to submit yourself to the public gaze in such an ugly outfit – all marketing and no style.
I’ve contrasted that with this image of a haute couture wedding gown being studied by the public whose reflections are visible in the showcase. True, one is real life and the other fantasy, but maybe the real-life woman might also sometimes dream of wearing Dior?
Kate ~ I was quite stumped about how to follow Len’s mysterious picture of a dressmaker’s dummy with an amazing pleated gown tacked together on it, with shadowy figures on the other side of the glass case behind it. I thought at first that they must be reflected in the glass, but there are no reflections over the dress – it is all very mysterious. Then, after the theatre I went to a Taz restaurant. The walls are decorated with large monochrome pictures of figures in presumably old Turkish costumes. They have no explanation attached. They are covered by very reflective glass. I photographed them discreetly on my phone, and I thought this image might do as a sequel to Len’s.
~~~~~~
December 2022
Len started and sent this image to Colin & Mermie
I was struck by what seemed to me to be the perfect graphic balance of this image of a fire hose reel and also by the stark contrast of the red against the white background. I took this image over 20
years ago, when I was still photographing on film and then scanning the negative roll. I’ve since
photographed other fire hose reels but like none of them as much as this one.
Colin sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Kate
Kate ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ Taken on a natural history holiday in the Cevennes in the South of France in the month of May. The directional quality of the blown snow was intriguing, while not totally obscuring the road sign. It picks up the circular shape and colour of Len’s image…
Rashida ~ Colin sent me a delightfully quirky image of a road sign covered with windswept snow icicles making an eye catching sculpture. The sharpness and icy cold oozes from the image! I have responded with an image that mimics the icicles in shape only. Mine is a close up of an ostrich feather. Fuzzy, soft and warm to the touch. The feathers were made into dusters in South Africa when I was growing up.
Avril ~ The leaves on these palm trees, taken in Florida in a storm, looked like feathers. If you look closely in the sky, you might see Orion.
Hady ~ Avril sent me an image of fronds of a palm tree with sky background that included some clouds and a large number of white dots that could have been stars. It reminded me of one of my images that show some tree branches with autumn leaves and fluffy clouds in the background. I thought my image was suitable follower to Avril’s.
Kate ~ Hady’s image shows twigs, grasses and leaves against a beautiful sky. This my response – an evening sunset picture on the common near our house in Ingleton. The tree silhouetted against the bright cloud. The poor tree is suffering very badly from the ash dieback disease which is badly affecting the many ashes in the area.
Following on from Len,
Mermie sent this image to Sabes
Sabes sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mermie ~ Taken in 2013 in Hanger 7 at the Salzburg Airport. The structure is an oval rather than a circle, but the pattern of wires recall the squares of the tiles of the wall in Len’s image.
Sabes ~ Strange that Mermie’s image of the steel and glass hanger should evoke a response that is organic in nature. There are repeating oval steel frames that pull our attention to the circle in the centre like the cavity around the eye gradually pulling you into the pupils. Then there are the bolts or connectors looking like human figures. Architecture adopts its shapes from the nature. All in the looking and taking in.
Anne ~ The picture from Sabes was full of movement and going round and I thought this very different image repeated that.
Jim ~ I really loved Anne’s image of the two dancing girls which is brilliant. So an impossible act to follow but I was immediately reminded of this image. I took it at a wedding and this girl was one of the bridesmaids who liked running. One of the key differences (other than the fact that there is only one girl and not two) is that I have panned the camera blurring the background, while in Anne’s image the background is sharp and only the girls are blurred.
Bunshri ~ Following on to Jim’s thought provoking image I follow on with this one I took in Porto. I loved how the slow exposure caught this girl in the waterfall. It follows on from Jim’s movement shot in black and white – though mine is in colour – but muted meditative colours too.
~~~~~~
November 2022
Duncan started and sent this image to Bunshri & Hady
This starting image is from my recent trip. I was bored waiting for a train in Turin.
A bit daunting providing the first image for consequences. Hopefully this image has a few motifs that could spark a response. Geometry, shadows, being nearly monochrome but for a splash of colour or possibly a sense of enigma.
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Bunshri sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Jim
.
Jim ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Bunshri ~ Receiving Duncan’s emotive image drew me to dig out this image I had captured in Douro Valley. I loved the rustic uneven floor with weird lines and a lot of feet, including the legs of the table and chair.
Rashida ~ Bunshri sent an unusual image of people who appear to be standing in a circle, showing only their lower legs and feet with a low table and chair at the top left hand of the image. There is an interesting stone floor. Could this be a seance, meditation session, exhibition tour or anything else where your imagination takes you? My response is from a delightful exhibition called “Sense of Space” in Bishopsgate in 2018. This image was taken in “The Doodle Room” created by Sam Cox aka Mr Doodle. He bought a large house and completely covered it with doodles. Attached are links to the exhibition as well as info about the artist:
https://news.artnet.com/market/mr-doodle-profile-auction-sales-1947142/amp-page
Sense of Space: A sensory experience of mindful art | Broadgate
https://www.housebeautiful.com/uk/lifestyle/property/a41557616/doodle-house-kent-sam-cox-artist/
Colin ~ I was at a study day about Oriental carpets in 2007. By contrast with Rashida’s very black & white image, this one has an area of colourful patterns, and I also decided that at minimum the speaker’s legs were needed to relate it to Rashida’s picture.
Avril ~ Colin’s picture presented me with a conundrum, I rarely take pictures of people and carpets? My only response was to take a picture of my own hallway, the existing carpet is modern, though hand woven, those that had been in my home for years having been relegated to the attic as too worn for use having passed through a few generations. The trunk belonged to my grandmother and acted as a toy box for my brother and myself when young. Everything has a history.
Jim ~ I have concentrated on the patterned rug which runs at a diagonal. Here are a series of colourful saris laid out to dry after having been washed, and also seem running diagonally. Taken in South India many years ago. The people in the image also partly reflect the portrait in Avril’s photo, but mine is outside in bright sunlight rather than indoors in subdued filtered lighting.
Following on from Duncan,
Len sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Anne
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Anne ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Len ~ As soon as I saw Duncan’s image I knew exactly which of mine I wanted to follow it. Unfortunately my image isn’t quite sharp. That’s because I took it as a grab shot while walking along with my camera in my hand by my side. But not being as sharp as it should be is perhaps forgivable within the Consequences context.
There are obvious content and form similarities but, more importantly, I think both mine and Duncan’s image pose the same question to the viewer “What’s the story here?”, and that, for me at any rate, is their main attraction and link.
Mary ~ When I first saw Len’s image I was struck very much with the mysterious aspect to the image – what was in the box and what was the person doing? My image reflects the same sense of mystery with the steps, empty shoes and the open door leading to where?? I will let the viewer decide for themselves the narrative!
Kate ~ This follows Mary’s lovely mysterious picture of brightly lit steps with a walking stick and shoes on top steps leading into an unseen out of doors. You can see what’s outside the door in my picture – Plaza Abastos, supplies place, rather mundane. It is the entrance to a castle in a small town in Andalucía, you can see part of the wooden place where you buy your ticket on the right. I was captivated by the way the light through the old door falls on the wheelchair ramp. I wonder how the wheelchair is supposed to get in through the door? Maybe someone comes out of the wooden structure on the right and opens the whole door…?
Hady ~ I received an image from Kate that shows the sunlight coming through an open door, revealing a glimpse of a shop/restaurant outside. The rest of the image of the inside of the building is in relative darkness.
Kate’s image reminded me of a photograph I took of the gate of a villa on The Bishops Avenue in London. My image shows the sun shining through the closed gate producing attractive shapes, lines and curves of light and shadows.
Anne ~ My gate picture is rough & ready and inviting, in contrast to Hady’s elegant one.
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october 2022
Mary started and sent this image to Anne and Hady
This starting image is one of an on-going series with the Art Deco theme which I really enjoy putting together. Thinking about how to put the props together is quite a challenge but when it works I am very happy! It is all about shapes, space and the relation they all have. I hope the viewer finds them calm and thoughtful?
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Anne sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ My offering for the October Consequences follows on from Mary’s images of shapes and light that I saw in the architecture of the National Theatre.
Jim ~ Anne’s image is clearly taken inside the National Theatre on South Bank – designed by Denys Lasdun – one of the five most hated as well as one of the five most loved buildings in England! Termed brutalist architecture its walls are of exposed board-formed concrete. Some critics likened it to a nuclear bunker. For me, the exposed concrete works very well in interior spaces (it is almost cosy) but less well externally. However overall I admire the design of the building. I thought that this photo of the exterior with dramatic lighting shows the exposed concrete to best effect.
Bunshri ~ Having received Jim’s beautiful image in blue with one subject who is a silhouette – so quite ambiguous – I decided to show this image where there is a lot of blue. It is at an exhibition at the Royal Academy called Silent Fall. Can you make out what is happening???
Rashida ~ Bunshri’s evocative image is of a little boy transfixed and seemingly mesmerised by what looks like an indoor light/art installation. My image in response is from the Lumiere London Light Festival in January 2016. The light installations reimagine London’s architecture, transforming it into a dazzling nocturnal exhibition.
Mermie ~ When the opportunity arose for me to participate, I looked through some images from our recent trip to the Hudson River Valley in New York State. This view inside part of the Tibetan Buddhist Monastery near Woodstock includes many of the elements in Rashida’s picture – faces, balconies, arches, pillars – that are all much, much more saturated in colour than Rashida’s nighttime view.
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Following on from Mary, Hady sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Len
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Len ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ The image I received from Mary was an interesting one of objects with geometric shapes , straight lines, acute angles and a circle.
Mary’s image reminded me of an image I took in 2017 at Ground Zero in New York City. Although my image is architectural, it shares the straight lines, acute angles and curves.
Kate ~ I couldn’t match the strength and impact of Hady’s picture of amazing architecture. But I think this one taken on the Embankment going towards the Oxo tower echoes its composition – a tall building reaching for the sky, with another structure reaching across it, and reflections in glass beneath. It was taken on a lovely day in April, seeing London our two teenage granddaughters.’
Avril ~ My Consequences image follows Kate with these railings of the Millennium Bridge and the pattern of scullers passing underneath.
Colin ~ My picture was taken at the back of Wadworth’s Brewery in Devizes, when on a visit there – the colours of the scaffolding plank ends and the poles reflected the colour of the Kayaks and the geometry of the footbridge across the Thames by Tate Modern (which I am pretty sure it is).
Len ~ As soon as I saw Colin’s image of stacked scaffolding boards I knew I had nothing in my archives that I could relate to it. Then I remembered that I had recently purchased a bundle of strips of wood for a DIY project which turned out not to need them.
I thought I could photograph them as planks of wood with no indication of their scale although in fact they are barely 1cm wide.
I also decided to present the image as a high contrast black/white photograph, to further emphasise the stacked form, although Colin’s is of course a colour image and, in his case, the different coloured board ends are an important factor in his picture.
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September 2022
Mermie started and sent this image to Kate and Anne.
During a short walk while waiting for a meeting to begin, I saw this cemetery and liked the regular rows with the tree behind.
The cat enjoying the shade of the tree appealed also.
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Kate sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Mermie’s sunny picture of regimented headstones with the big yew standing over them like a sergeant major got me collecting lots of my quite recent pictures of headstones, graveyards etc. I didn’t think until later that a picture of soldiers or demonstrators marching might have been a good sequel. I ended up with another sunny picture, taken in the churchyard at Ayot St Peter last year.
I think you can guess that it is a churchyard if the writing on the stone monument is visible – ‘In my end is my beginning’. Maybe the gate also suggests a beginning, inviting you to go through it into a new world…
Colin ~ This was taken in Angers in France when we were on a trip to sing with a local choir. The lump of stone in the distance picked up on the obelisk in Kate’s picture. Although a more formal setting, grass and trees also featured.
I rather liked the two girls relaxing, probably a lunch break from the office or college.
Mary ~ Colin’s image is about 2 people chatting on a stone wall with someone walking around in the background.
My image reflects the people sitting on a stone wall but instead of talking to each other they are communicating on their phones. Also the 2 people walking in the background could be meeting up for a chat??!
Avril ~ When I received Mary’s image my immediate thought was the seating looked like a submarine. Hence my picture, a WWII sub the USS Becuna moored alongside a Spanish/American War era cruiser the USS Olympia, part of the Independence Seaport Museum at Penn’s Landing on the Delaware River in Philadelphia.
I went on board the Becuna and appreciated the courage of those who served on her during the war. I’m not sure which was worse serving in tanks or in submarines – neither for the claustrophobic.
Sabes ~ I am in Canada. I thought I’d send a picture in quick response to Avril’s picture. This is what I found out of my bedroom window.
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Following on from Mermie, Anne sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ Here is the image I have sent to Bunshri. Another graveyard; a jewish cemetery in Germany, just along the road from where my sister lives. It is peaceful and having to be extended because of the influx of Jewish people moving into Germany. It seems so extraordinary that, while terrible things were being inflicted on Jewish people in the thirties and forties this place was looked after by a local non jewish man. He is remembered with a plaque on the cemetery wall.
Bunshri ~ Following on to Anne’s image of the graveyard, this image came to mind. I had taken it last week at St. Albans Cathedral.
I loved the light and can imagine a doorway to Nirvana.
Rashida ~ Bunshri’s image is of a stunning interior of a church with magnificent arches with a lovely feeling of calmness. In response, my image from Istanbul is of very small mosque, the Imperial Sofa Mosque in the fourth courtyard of the Topkapi Palace built by Sultan Mahmud II. The windows overlooking the sea have shapes similar to the arches in Bunshri’s image. The woman in the image of was doing her prayers.
The mosque is very small and simple and exuded a feeling of peace and calmness.
Hady ~ I received an image from Rashida of a woman performing her prayers in a seaside mosque with blue carpet and blue sea water showing through a couple of windows.
Rashida’s image reminded me of an image I took of the inside of a dome of a small building that supplies free drinking water outside and close to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul and clear blue sky showing through two arches.
Jim ~ Hady’s image appears to be from a mosque with glimpses of tall, slim minarets and the ornate patterning of the underside of the vaulted ceiling. My image is only of the vaulted ceiling taken at the Alhambra, Grenada, Spain.
I was fascinated with the complex layering and its almost organic feel – it feels like a mythical sea creature.
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Note: There was no August meeting.
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July 2022
A blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Avril started and sent this image to Kate and to Hady.
Avril ~ Anicka Yi: In Love With The World. A vision of a new ecosystem, floating in the air, her machines – called – aerobes – reimagine artificial intelligence and encourage us to think about new ways machines might inhabit the earth.
An exhibition shown in the Turbine Hall Tate Modern last year.
They were quite fascinating as they ‘floated’ around like giant soap bubbles with legs, each one had a tiny motor attached.
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Kate sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Duncan
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Duncan ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Avril’s picture looks down from a great height on a large space (maybe Tate Modern entrance area). Tiny people looking up at strange bright coloured floating balloon like floating things. The other day I was just outside the Hayward Gallery and saw the bright coloured installation – another work of art in a large space. My people are not looking at the art (though the pigeon just behind them is). They are photographing the name of the artist on a yellow pillar. I failed to do this, so I can’t report who it is.
Sabes ~ Pigeon and Robin. The bird in Kate’s photograph is out of the view of those in the frame. The bird in my photo takes the centre stage on the side mirror of the car. It occasionally looked at itself on the mirror assuring its identity. Shame they are not the same kind.
Rashida ~ Sabes’s image for me was about shapes and lines with a Robin sitting on the wing mirror of the car in the foreground, making it the focal point. My response is an image playing with these components. A solitary pigeon in the foreground (focal point), making a triangular shape with two other pigeons in the background, two people on a wall and the grey patio paving sort of mirroring the two cars and the grey tarmac and the splash of greenery in both images.
Mary ~ What’s for lunch? People and bird in foreground – red umbrellas.
Duncan ~ A very quick scrabble to find a response to Mary’s beach image with the somewhat malevolent eye of the seagull. Here the eye is part of the ironwork of a lamppost at a rather busy Margate.
Following on from Avril, Hady sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Avril’s image was of the big hall at the Tate Modern with some colourful installations. It immediately reminded me of an image I took recently of some very colourful light fittings in a Turkish restaurant we frequent sometimes. I am not sure if the light fittings are Turkish or Moroccan. Both images share colourful installations, although of different nature, but I thought the similarities and the differences between the images are worth celebrating.
Anne ~ Hady’s image of colourful globes reminded me of the beautiful arrangements at our local market of fruit and vegetables. They look enticing and taste good too.
Colin ~ Anne’s picture contains a group of rectangular shapes holding different coloured fruit. I decided to choose a picture that maintained the rectangular shapes and at least some of their colours. I had thought of using a photograph I had taken at MOMA of a Rothko, but felt that that had no personal input, so I chose this Rolls-Royce car rear light cluster instead.
Len ~ Colin’s graphic photo is based on a luxury mode of transport – one of the Rolls-Royce Flying Spur series motor cars. I went up to London by train recently and during that journey looked for a follow-on image. I saw these railway buffers at Clapham Junction Overground Station that seemed to echo some of the shapes and colour in Colin’s image, albeit at the other end of the transport hierarchy.
Jim ~ Here is my consequences image following on from Len. I think the geometrical parallels are obvious and I have clearly gone from bright, shiny and colourful metal to eroded and desaturated timber.
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June 2022
A blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Bunshri started and sent this image to Jim and to Mary.
Bunshri ~ Who helps whom? The innocence of a child or the wisdom of the next generation. Who brings joy – to whom??? Love the simplicity of this image. This was taken in my home.
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Jim sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Bunshri has an image of two hands, a child’s and an adult’s, while mine is also of two hands but belonging to the same person. The thread in the cloth is reflected in the piece of extruded gold being wound around the ring being made by my friend who is a goldsmith. Also B&W and sharing something of the atmosphere of Bunshri’s image.
Colin ~ The picture was taken in 1985 at a car club conference: the number of different hand poses chimed with Jim’s more detailed study of hands. Here they are gesturing in explanation, rather than showing fine work in progress.
Kate ~ Colin’s picture of three grey heads in deep discussion over a machine – presumably a very special car engine – immediately put me in mind of pictures I took years ago at various sheep shows in the Yorkshire Dales. Some HFFers may remember this one which was part of my LRPS panel. It was taken at the Tan Hill show. Three men are studying the nose of one of the sheep. Unlike Colin’s men, these ones are surrounded by onlookers, maybe adding their opinions, maybe listening to the wisdom the experts are uttering. I didn’t find out whether this sheep won any of the coveted prizes.
Avril ~ In answer to Kate’s image. I had another but it is a print and my scanner will not connect to my computer at the moment and then I found this. It is a sheep, but in Covent Garden.
Rashida ~ Avril’s image of a Candy Baa is delightful and humorous. The shapes and colours reminded me of an image I took of the ladies washroom in a restaurant in Johannesburg in 2019 which makes me smile as does Avril’s image.
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Following on from Bunshri, Mary sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Hady
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Hady ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mary ~ My picture links to the old and the new of the hands of the adult and the baby. The tines of the fork also echo the shape of the baby’s fingers.
Anne ~ I was looking for an autumn leaf photo and found this image with many autumn leaves and even a sort of fork in the leaning rake.
Len ~ Anne’s image is of a beautiful garden scene, probably in autumn judging by the abundance of leaves. It called to mind a contrasting photo I took way back in the spring of 2005, in the famous tulip park in Holland called the Keukenhof. Both images are quintessentially about their locations – Anne’s an English garden and mine Dutch.
Hady ~ Len’s image of vividly coloured flowers reminded me of an image of a photo of a shop window of a delicatessen I took in Toronto, Canada in October 2018. The window was decorated for the occasion of Hallowe’en. The vivid colours of my image are reminiscent of those in Len’s image.
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May 2022
A blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Avril started and sent this image to Len and to Mermie
Avril ~ My image is of my garden table with reflections in the granite, I took it during the summer last year, one of a series of shadows and reflections.
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Len sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Colin
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Colin ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Len ~ With my follow-up to Avril’s picture I have tried to capture a similar mood as well as relating to a similar subject. Both pictures show trees indistinctly seen. In Avril’s case they appear to be reflected in a broken sheet of glass, in mine they are seen through a window behind the slats of a venetian blind. In both, the sunlight shines back at the viewer and adds a haze which contributes to the feeling of mystery.
For once, I didn’t go to my archives but made this image specifically as my response.
Anne ~ Len’s picture to me was of a venetian blind and I had this picture with the shadows of a blind in my sister’s bathroom. I liked the contrast between the straight lines of the blind and its shadows and the tangled leaves of the plant and my sister doing her hair.
Rashida ~ Anne sent an evocative image of a lady doing up her hair, a plant and some shadows cast by a blind in the foreground. My response is an image taken of a Harrods window display which mimics the shapes created in Anne’s image but in a more chaotic graphic way.
Mary ~ Rashida’s image is reminiscent of the surrealist photographers…..shape and shades of monochrome inviting the audience to imagine what it is. My response was this image which although one can see the objects it still has an air of mystery and it is also reminiscent of the ’30’s photographers.
Colin ~ Mary’s picture featured circles and curves, as well as a straight line between black and white areas. The sphere gave some interesting optical effects. I was looking through some pictures of bits of cars and felt that this followed on some of Mary’s picture theme. I did have to remove a large area of red from mine, but left other colour present.
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Following on from Avril, Mermie sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Gordon
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Gordon ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mermie ~ The straight lines of the tall plant ending in Vs on a background of early spring residue from last year’s meadow echo several elements in Avril’s image.
Hady ~ The image I received from Mermie showed widespread dry brown reeds, with a little thicker, darker and taller one in the middle.
It reminded me of an image I took last year during lockdown walks on the bank of River Lea in Hartham Common in Hertford. Mine shows a long structure of a dry brown plant against clear blue sky. I thought it was an ideal follow to Mermie’s image.
Kate ~ I thought first of following Hady’s two teasel heads against a beautiful blue sky with another picture of flowers or trees. But then the teasels began to seem like two people, one leaning affectionately towards the taller one behind. And the two prominent spikes on the sides looked rather like raised arms. This reminded me of Stephen doing his TaiChi exercise in the garden with friends during lockdown. Rather a change in direction from the teasels – I wonder what will follow!
Bunshri ~ Having received Kate’s image of the 3 doing TaiChi, I found this image of 3 peacocks which brings me calm.
Jim ~ As you know I am in Canada. And when I saw Bunshri’s photo of the peacock with its beautiful plumage (well, the male peacock at least) then I thought of this image that I took on my walk in Cape Breton (the relatively remote northern part of Nova Scotia). This species of butterfly is a migrant to the UK and is very rare in the UK. It was named the “Camberwell Beauty” when two specimens were caught in Cold Arbour Lane near Camberwell in 1748. It is known as Mourning Cloak in the US and Canada. They overwinter as butterflies: spring is much later in this part of Canada compared with the UK which may account for the fact that this is the only butterfly I have seen in my three weeks here in Canada.
Gordon ~ This was a photo I made as part of a group project on ‘Coast’. The butterfly’s wings reminded me of this tent on the beach, and the person emerging is a sort of reverse metamorphosis.
april 2022
A blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Anne started and sent this image to Rashida & Jim
Anne ~ I took this photo of a street in Cromarty leading down to the Firth with an oil rig that had been brought in for repair from the North Sea. It seemed to show two different ways of life – a little fishing village and a giant 20th century engineering monster.
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Rashida sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Hady
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Hady ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Anne’s image was most intriguing and somewhat surreal. An idyllic country setting with beautiful homes on either side of the road leading to a lake or river. There is even a bench at the waters edge to relax. Then there is the strange construction balanced on pillars in the water and on it or on the land behind something that looks like a UFO and a crane to one side. I look forward to finding out what those contraptions could be. So my response was to show a leaning part of an old wall surrounded by greenery and modern buildings as the opposite to Anne’s image. My image is of an art installation on the High Line in New York City.
Colin ~ The picture I received featured both ruined brickwork and more modern buildings, plus a lot of vegetation. What I chose has apparently ruined stonework and a lot of vegetation: two out of the three features.
It is at Chanticleer garden near Philadelphia – what was a house within the estate grounds was deliberately made ruined as a setting for gardening. This shot includes reflections in the water of the ‘billiard table’, adding something a bit weird to the view.
Mary ~ When I saw Colin’s picture it reminded me very much of the image that I have replied with – while Colin’s image is of a double archway with a landscape behind them, my image is a double exposure of windows and landscape. Both have nature and human hands at work.
Len ~ I was flummoxed by Mary’s image. I couldn’t work out whether it was a double exposure or a partial reflection and couldn’t think of a directly related response.
So I cheated with my follow up and fabricated this seaside fantasy in Photoshop. The dress is by Dior btw.
Bunshri ~ After Len’s surreal image of a mannequin in the sea I came up with this image of a leg of a mannequin in a little roadside shack in Dominican Republic.
Hady ~ Bunshri’s image reminded me of one I took in London’s South bank in August 2017. There was a festival going on. There were people having fun all over the place. Included in these were people (children and adults) having fun in a water fountain. The blue colour of the corrugated iron shack in Bunshri’s image reminded me of the colour of the water fountain. The care free feel in my image also relates to the tropical look in Bunshri’s image.
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Following on from Anne, Jim sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes sent this image to Avril
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Avril ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Anne’s image is of a North Sea drilling platform at the end of a domestic street in open water, slightly obscured. So mine is also industrial in nature, also somewhat obscured but with the same flash of red as in Anne’s image.
Dawn ~ Mine follows Jim’s reflection picture. It was taken in Egypt on the river where we were staying in a hotel. The rope on which the bird is sitting was tied to a boat with a very colourful awning and is reflected in the water. It is distorted by the ripples on the water.
Kate ~ How to follow Dawn’s water bird against the amazing reflections in the water below? I have no satisfactory bird picture, but I love reflections. This one is on the river at Tübingen near Stuttgart in Germany. The reflections of the old houses are wonderful – and much photographed by tourists including me. I rather liked the row of moored punts on the surface above the reflections.
Sabes ~ A rather quick response to Kate’s image as I am travelling. It’s the cars represented in the reflected texture of buildings for me.
Avril ~ I couldn’t find the picture I really wanted but I did think if all those cars in the picture Sabes sent had been stacked in this car park a great deal of land would have been saved.
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March 2022
A blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Colin started and sent this image to Dawn and Hady
Colin ~ Taken while waiting for the train into London, apart from the back light that emphasised textures, there is the message that anyone travelling in London is familiar with. Possibly a little blur of movement might have helped…
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Dawn sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Len
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Len ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Dawn ~ Colin’s picture is of boots and walking between two lines. The children’s legs are on the beam at their gymnastics class. It sort of follows the theme.
Sabes ~ It’s the colours that made me choose this photograph to respond to Dawn’s. But it’s more than the colour that is at work. Dawn’s photograph creates a sense of joy. With that sense, when I move to my image that experience persists. I don’t know if it is because of the movement of memory from one to the other despite the absence of people in mine. Whatever the reason I see harmony between the two.
Jim ~ I didn’t spend long thinking about how to follow on from Sabes but I was struck by the angle of the shot and the fact that the glasses and cups looked like people standing next to each other. My image also has the red. Taken in Granada in southern Spain – appears to be a christening (or is it a wedding?).
Rashida ~ Jim shared an interesting image of an elegant lady seen from the back in a stunning red dress and with a hand which seems to be reaching out to a young child. The man looks dapper and handsome in a blue suit and matching suede shoes and is protectively carrying a baby in his arms. The baby is in what looks like a christening gown. So I am assuming the photo was outside a church. And then there is pair of feet at the top of the photo, in casual shoes.
My response was to focus on elements such as the colour red, the ladies’ hand, the feet and the carrying of something valuable. These elements are present in my image taken at an exhibition at the Blain|Southern Gallery in Hanover Square, London showing the work of Chiharu Shiota titled “Me Somewhere Else”.
Anne ~ I have sent the attached photo to Len today. It follows on from Rashidas image with a figure – either a model or a visitor – in a gallery. I took my photo at an exhibition of. Chinese art at the Hayward Gallery some years ago. Both figures are alive.
Len ~ Most of us have probably taken photographs of visitors to exhibitions while we were visiting the exhibition ourselves.
The more enigmatic the exhibition, then the more one tries to imagine what the viewer might be thinking and placing both the viewer and the object within the photographic frame allows this conjecture to flourish.
My photo was taken in 2019 at the Haywards Gallery where there was an exhibition of the work of an artist called Kader Attica. I had actually gone to see another exhibition altogether at the same location – a wonderful show of Diane Arbus’s work – but this arrangement of people looking at the seated prosthetic legs and video screens in an adjacent gallery really caught my attention. I have no idea what it was about.
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Following on from Colin, Hady sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
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Kate sent an alternative image to follow Hady
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Colin’s image was unusual enough to make me think out of the box.
The shape of the legs reminded me of an image I took a few years ago to some new buildings in NYC near Ground Zero. Besides sharing the shape, the subject is completely different and I thought it would add a new spin to Colin’s image.
Kate ~ I took this picture while staying in Zuheros, a small village in the mountains south-east of Córdoba. It was in April and there was heavy rain in the night – rare in that very dry region. In the morning there was a thick mist over the hills above the village. I walked up the track towards the mountains and gradually the sun broke through the cloud. It was marvellous! Hady’s image looks up at amazing structures against a blue sky, gleaming in the sunlight. I thought my picture could follow his, because it is also looking up – towards two strange shaped trees, the cliffs with the cross on top – a man-made structure.
Bunshri ~ Having received the emotive image from Kate, showing there is light seeping through during the conflict, I dug out this image taken whilst walking in Regents Street just before Christmas. The white cloud is seeing us through- bringing light come what May, into our everyday lives during this pandemic.
Avril ~ Following on from Bunshri’s image of Christmas decorations I thought I would follow with the bizarre image of shoes hanging from wires in Swallow Street which I saw on an occasion when I had been to the Huxley Parlour photo gallery. The puzzle is, who threw them there and why?
Mary ~The 2 elements that stand out for me from Avril’s are shoes and pavement-like texture of the wall. My image is of shoes being worn walking on the pavement so these 2 elements in my image echoes the ‘shoes over the wires’.
Mermie ~A few years ago I was watching these sheep and took a few photos because I liked the way they had lined themselves up comfortably in the sun – except for one. Having seen a lot of feet in Mary’s image, I chose this set.
Kate ~ I am also sending my second choice picture taken in Olite, near Pamplona. This is looking up at a turret of the splendid much-restored medieval castle, a gift for period film makers and a great tourist attraction. The structure in the foreground is the top of an old ice-house. They also make very nice wine locally.
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February 2022
Back to a blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Dawn started and sent this image to Avril and Len
Dawn ~ This has been done in rather a hurry, however I chose this photograph because it was such grey rainy day in January and in the picture the rhododendrons are in full boom in May showing the promise of spring when every thing comes to life again and the bright days return. The photograph was taken at RHS Wisley. It was quite early in the day so there is a haze on the trees with fresh green leaves that contrast with the colour in the foreground.
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Avril sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~ I was a bit stumped as to how to follow Dawn. I had plenty of flower images but Boston, Patriot’s Day and the marathon had been on my mind recently and this incorporated those thoughts and flowers.
Bunshri ~ I chose this image to send to Hady, as it mirrored Avril’s 3/4 layers from front to back.
My image was shot in Kent from a hide where people go bird watching. I wanted to describe through the delicate image – how light I felt being away in nature. It was my first time camping since I was a teen and I was excited like a child.
Hady ~ Bunshri’s image was rather unusual. It reminded me of a photo I took not long ago during a walk in Hartham Common of a little pond. The image has a similar “structure” of bands of water, land and sky.
Jim ~ My response to Hady’s is quite straight forward, namely evening light reflected in the water. In my case the water is the sea off the north east coast of England rather than what appears to be a small lake in the countryside.
Anne ~ Jim’s was a surprisingly difficult image to follow. I eventually chose this sky scape with the sun just showing through.
Mermie ~ This sunset occurred about a week ago. I was overawed by its intensity and couldn’t not go outdoors to photograph it.
Following on from Dawn, Len sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Len ~ Dawn’s flowers looked very fitting in their setting. By way of contrast, my picture shows a few poppies growing naturally on a small grassy area and a greater variety of cut flowers left on the various memorials far removed from where they originally grew, all in a totally different sort of location.
The reason I took this photo was not because of the flowers but because of the grotesque cement works poised as if ready to advance on, and then devour, this small cemetery, were it not restrained from so doing by the power of the cross in the foreground.
Colin ~ Taken from the High Line in New York City in 2016. I admit that I hadn’t noticed the relation between the eyes on the end of the building and the sign on the taxi when I took it.
Anyway, this was the consequence of my looking at Len’s picture – a sense of incongruity in the scene. Enough colour in foreground to go with the flowers and the grey tarmac, although the road works don’t quite equate with the industrial plant in Len’s, nor the buildings with the stonework of the cemetery…
Mary ~ Colin’s image is taken from above the road….my image is taken from the Millenium bridge. It has a similar geometric shape to Colin’s image and few people. It has been pointed out that the oval structure the 2 girls are sitting on echos the yellow van in Colin’s.
Kate ~ Mary’s picture shows a paved area, outside a large evidently elegant building, with a wall and steps descending on the other side. Four people are ignoring each other, two walking by, two of them sitting well apart on a stone seat. All viewed from above.
My picture is also of people seen from above: old men sitting by a road on a pair of benches. They might well be spending most of the day there. The old men may be ignoring each other, but two of them are engaged in conversation with passers by – and a dog. They are by a road, and there is a wall and trees behind them. In fact it is a very steep drop, down to the river Tajo, which runs round Toledo.
Rashida ~ Kate’s delightful image seems to be of a “walk, talk, sit and then talk some more group” with a fur-friend in tow and a younger person observing them, sitting on/standing near benches in front of a beautiful wall with trees beyond. My response was the opposite with a broken wall in front of the Petit Palais in Paris with people walking by having minimal social interaction. The wall was an art installation best described in the accompanying image.
Sabes ~ In Rashida’s photograph the built structure appears to be destroyed and people in the background are passing. Here dismantled wood materials are placed. Although it appears messy there is some tidiness in the way they are placed there. The people are replaced by graffiti. It’s equally as busy as Rashida’s picture but in different ways.
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January 2022
This set of Consequences was intended to be easy for everyone during the festive season, so Mermie sent her starting image to all HFF members.
Mermie: I enjoy taking pictures as we pass vans and lorries on our drive along the A303 towards Devon. This image, taken in early November 2021, was especially fortuitous in its colours and shapes.
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Rashida: Matching colours at a festival in New York City.
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Hady: Colours that match and shapes that accentuate the curves.
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Bunshri: After the glow of colours on a passing van, and the reflection in the car’s side mirror, my image is juxtaposed as a static self portrait.
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Colin: My Consequences picture reflects the colour and shape of the ‘crown’ of the starting picture and its darker background.
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Kate: The Crown colours on the van stumped me for a while. Then I thought “Colours?” “Crown?” A king? And I remembered the old Russian wooden painted ninepins which had come to me from my mother. The children still love playing with them on the sitting room carpet. I’ve done what I could with hopeless light. And I was in a rush – as always!
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Here are the ninepins arranged on the floor ready for a game.
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Len: Here’s my image – at least there’s a van in it.
It was taken a few years ago at a vintage event held at Granary Square, just by King’s Cross Station. That event had lots of stalls selling bric-a-brac, a brace of 60s, 70s, 80s vehicles, and some guys on penny farthing cycles, all of which provided me with a few subjects for my camera.
This portrait of a ‘decorated’ camper van and its proud owner and his dog is one of my favourites from that day.
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Anne: Similar colours and pointed shapes in the garden.
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Jim: These are cycle rickshaws (known as a becak). Photo taken in Salawesi, an Indonesian island. The becak drivers are waiting in the shade for customers. I thought the bespoke decoration reflected Mermie’s image.
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Good News Guy, South Africa via Rashida:
December 2021
Bunshri started and sent her image to Kate, Colin and Hady.
This image is part of my series of ‘Silent Voice’ – about my mother-in-law’s Alzheimer’s. It is from my working project before I chose the images for the final book.
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Kate sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Anne
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Anne ended with this image
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Bunshri’s picture said so much to me. The world is fading away, becoming distant and confused – with bright, dazzling elements. The past is still just visible, in the photos, and the tiny corner of something else at the top right. There is also some happiness alongside the confusion and sadness. Surely the young girl with long hair is smiling?
I am following with more confusion. We see the wet garden through a misty window. The regular circles (something to do with the reinforced double glazing) could represent order and reason; but what does the snail’s trail say? Is it a cross, meaning “No, you can’t get out there?
Rashida ~ Kate’s intriguing image of patterns created on a patio glass door covered with condensation is full of mystery as one tries to see beyond to part of the house on the side and beyond to the landscape of trees and what I can imagine is a garden. My response is an equally foggy image of an imagined landscape but it is truly and completely synthetic created with upholstery fabric while a sofa was being dismantled.
Jim ~ Rashida’s image is ethereal and enigmatic in very de-saturated colours. It is also in square format, which I have replicated. So I have tried to emulate that with this image which I think conjures up a land or seascape. It is in fact the light falling on the stainless steel backsplash behind my cooker, with lights reflected off various jars and bowls. Not my usual style, but I guess that is what consequences is all about!
Anne ~ Jim’s was a surprisingly difficult image to follow. I eventually chose this skyscape with the sun just showing through.
Kate was moved to send two additional images
Bunshri’s picture suggests that we are seeing how the viewer views her life – she is the young girl and the older woman. This set me thinking about looking at records of our past. The first picture is of my daughter and family enjoying looking at my wedding pictures – my past in an old black and white print in a falling to pieces album.
This view is of the house where I lived as a child – my bedroom window is under the eaves at the top right. But I can’t get near it now (there’s a high fence and locked gates round the garden). I can only see it through the trees which have grown up over the years. My view, like my memories of childhood, is obscured by all the other memories and experiences which get in the way…
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Following on from Bunshri, Colin sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ Based on Bunshri’s, which I guess was from her expression of images gradually escaping comprehension, this is based on maintaining vision while being compromised by cataracts and having to find the right glasses for particular tasks.
Avril ~ The books were published in 1849: my own and read. The monocle belonged to my father. How old, I have no idea, but he did wear it.
Sabes ~The old books with gold embossed decoration on their spine on a wooden table and a monocle sitting on top of them are subjects on Avril’s photograph. The platted lanyard of the monocle is tied with a knot on the end stopping the platte unfurling further. My image is an extract from a response by Barrie Tullette (1989) to a poem “I Found Myself Within a Forest” by Dante, shown at the Ashmolean Museum. I have presented the curator’s caption next to the print in full:
‘As the letters take on the layered colours and shadows on the dark wood in which Dante is lost, they lose coherence and conventional meaning. A graphic designer working here with letterpress, Barrie Tullette responds to the experience of reading a poem, which is made up of text but rich in visual imagery. The unique images of his Typographic Dante capture certain responses of the words. They bridge the conventional gap between text and illustration.’ I present this image and the curator’s text for us to ponder – savour.
Mermie ~ To follow Sabes, I looked through some early images in my Photos library. How could I not choose curious Paddington Bear? (2007).
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Following on from Bunshri, Hady sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Bunshri’s photograph was a blurred image with poorly visible fuzzy images of people, which was titled “Her world”. It reminded me of an image I took not long ago of in focus rain droplets on the glass of our balcony, with an out of focus background skyline. I imagined Bunshri’s mother-in-law’s world to be like the background of my image.
Len ~ Hady’s photo of a rain splattered window was presumably made from the comfort of a dry interior.
By contrast, this photo was taken outdoors on a very wet evening in Venice in 2007. I was lucky to have my camera ready when I saw these two people with their red and blue umbrellas in compositionally just the right place. Exposure was handheld at half a second at ISO1600. I think the consequent blurring suits the weather.
Mary ~ My image reflects Len’s image with the rain and umbrellas but Len’s image raises questions about what is happening in the image – very mysterious! My image has a figure of a smiling girl on her phone – oblivious maybe to the rain.
Mermie ~ Mine’s about the shoes!
consequences November 2021
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Rashida sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Colin
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Colin ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Rosemary started the November Consequences with an enchanting photograph with multiple layers and untold stories. Beautiful lighting, a woman sitting and waiting in the cafe or perhaps she is having a quiet moment in solitude. The image also has lovely shapes, ovals and curves. I responded with a photograph I took in Barcelona at Gaudi’s iconic Casa Batlló. The curves are there in the windows as is the mystery but this time two people silhouetted. Strangers passing by.
Hady ~ When I saw Rashida’s image, I recognised it. It reminded me of an image taken in our kitchen, with the sun falling on our kitchen unit doors with some shadows falling on them. Converting the image to monochrome, it was an excellent match to Rashida’s. The shadows in the image show different shapes, open for interpretation.
Mary ~ Hady’s image of the shadow of leaves in monochrome – my image is in colour and is of leaves through a window so it is a direct opposite but still very similar.
Colin ~ I saw this a couple of days ago – a reflection in, not through, a window. I decided trying to do something like Mary’s, which was possible, but did not reflect my style.
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Following on from Rosemary, Kate sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Here is my offering in response to Rosemary’s evocative picture.
Avril ~ I had a bit of a problem with Kate’s picture as I so rarely take pictures of people but the window presented an opportunity. The image I sent Bunshri was taken in Fort Myers through the fly screen of the apartment I was staying in and it was the nearest I could accomplish unless I picked up the theme of red, white and blue.
Bunshri ~ After I received an enigmatic image from Avril, I chose this image taken in New Quay outside our house where we stayed. The play of sunlight and wind helped create this image I so love.
Sabes ~ Bunshri’s image was challenging. There are the three branches of the small plant, its shadow, three stripes on the cushion, and the haze caused as a result of shooting into the sun through the glass window. All these elements are present representing fullness of life. I see a similar essence of life and sun in the picture I made at Oxhey Park. I am glad that it’s similar to Bunshri’s. I did not drag the dehaze button to get a ‘perfect picture’. I don’t like perfect pictures.
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Following on from Rosemary, Anne sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ Here is the image I sent to Jim. The links are the black and white photo, a woman alone in a large space. It is from a series I did at Girton College.
Jim ~ Anne’s image is very calm and elegant. It has quite a formal geometry; trees are visible through one window, and the light through both windows create clear geometric shadows. It is a timber-panelled, timeless space, a place of study and learning. Mine is of Winchmore Hill Quaker Meeting, which is also timber-panelled and space for contemplation. Here also the light from the adjacent window creates strong geometric shadows, and trees are visible through the window in front of us. Timeless in some ways but the clicking clock helps tell the elders when the Meeting has finished.
Len ~ My image relates to the window part of Jim’s. The white cross in the highlighted section of the frame in his image particularly caught my eye and is echoed by the cross in the main part of the window in mine.”
Mermie ~ I looked for a specific image of heavy rain on a window to follow Len’s and found this image to instead. Its straight fence boards and nearly straight stems with blossoms are reminiscent of Len’s hanging beads and medallions.
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consequences October 2021
Sabes started and sent this image to Derek, Hady and Kate
Unaware to me a man behind me photographing out of the cafe window caused this photograph. I saw the lady in red pointing at me. I was holding the same colour drink as she was holding. So I walked towards her. She clarified that she was pointing at the man behind me. We agreed that whatever the reason was, it was good to connect. We exchanged the story of how she ended up in Nottingham via Greece from South Africa and me from Malaysia through Ceylon to Watford.
Later when I posted this image on Instagram saying ‘meeting strangers’, Tanya responded ‘not strangers any more’. The following day I posted the full portrait of her and her husband with this title:
‘When do strangers stop being strangers?’
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Derek sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Mary
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Mary ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Derek ~ As a consequence of seeing Sabes image I thought well, it is not only the young that enjoy themselves – so here are two ladies who are enjoying themselves in a different way at a hog roast I attended. It became more animated when the entire wine bottle was consumed.
Rashida ~ Derek’s image evokes a sense of celebration with 2 ladies chatting, one of them eating an asparagus spear, with a Union Jack flag, flowers and wine/champagne visible on what I assume is an outdoor picnic table. A very British Summer Celebration. My response is an image from across the pond, with a couple going to/coming from a celebration of some kind. A moment caught after a summer rainfall one evening on 5th Avenue, NYC.
Anne ~ This is the picture I have sent to Mary today. It follows on from Rashida’s image of two people in front of a large building, perhaps having been to a celebration (the balloons) but alone, together. I remember these children, separated from the main party and engrossed in the view of Tower Bridge.
Mary ~ This image to me is a perfect follow-on to Anne’s picture where 2 people are looking at a famous London landmark – Tower Bridge. My image is an ICM image of 2 people looking at another famous London landmark – ST Pauls. I took this image at the end of the day after attending a workshop on ICM – Intentional Camera Movement. It is a very hit and miss way of taking images and is always great when it works!
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Following on from Sabes, Hady sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn ended with this image
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Dawn also sent this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ The image I received from Sabes is of two people sitting, showing only their legs and feet in shoes. It reminded me of a selfie I had taken of myself showing only my feet on my prayer mat just before I started performing my prayer (this prayer is one of the five prescribed daily prayers Muslims perform). As I could not locate the image, I took this one to replace it. The light was perfect and it was easy to replicate the missing original.
My image is the opposite of Sabes’ in several ways: His is of people relaxing and having a drink in a public place, while mine is a spiritual very special moment standing in humility before Allah (God) at the beginning of my prayer in the privacy of my own home.
Despite the differences, I thought my image was the perfect following to Sabes’.
Bunshri ~ Hady’s image was of carpet and feet. It could have a religious connotation but I chose something light hearted.
I have two sets of feet here, a pair looking on and baby’s partly hidden feet. Like the carpet, the baby’s play mat is on the floor.
There are 3 things happening here in my living room: the bear looking at the baby, the baby looking at the adult and another person looking on – but only the feet visible.
Colin ~ Bunshri’s picture shows a small child with a teddy bear looking on. I couldn’t find anything that had a similar watcher of the event, but chose this – indicating that as you grow up, other things attract more than teddy bears…
Dawn ~ This month’s picture was taken after our son had his Morris Traveller (1968) restored. He inherited it from his grandfather and it is older than he is. It was rather a wreck when he got it but it’s now in perfect condition and well looked after. He was keen to have it restored as it reminds him of all the good times the family went on fishing trips with all their gear packed in the car and all the fun they had.
As well as the detail I have sent a picture showing the car restored to its former glory.
Bessie has taken several friends to the church.
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Following on from Sabes, Kate sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image
Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ You don’t need to have a picture of the whole person – or the top half – to tell you a lot about the subjects; and to make a lovely picture. Sabes’ picture reminded me of a series of pictures I made when we were in Japan a few years ago. Exaggerated platform shoes were the rage then, and I became fascinated to see girls wearing them elegantly even though I was sure they were horribly restricting and uncomfortable. I thought this image echoed Sabes’ – the couple have come away from the party and are going home on the train, with their bag of buns. No bright reds or pinks here, but there is a shiny plastic umbrella and a plastic bag …
Len ~ At first glance my photo may seem a surprising follow-on to Kate’s image.
Hers shows a man and woman’s legs seated in what may be a train or other public interior space. The small notice suggests that this may be somewhere in the Far East.
My photo shows a beach sea view with tree trunks in the foreground. It was in fact taken in Barbados.
But once you get past the very different subjects there are many similarities. The colour tones of grey/blue and beige/brown are not unlike each other. In Kate’s photo the woman has white trousers and a white rolled up feminine umbrella. Mine shows a white delicate net blowing in the wind.
The people’s legs in Kate’s image divide the photo with vertical repetitions. The tree trunks in my picture do the same. Kate chose just to show the legs, not the whole body, I chose just to show the lower parts of the trees.
Put these pictures side by side and they seem to me to rhyme. They also look as if they could have been taken by the same person and would not be out of place together in a book.
Avril ~ I could have used the trees and the sea having similar pictures near the lochs but my eye kept returning to the nets slung over the tree and in this image there are nets at the window but also nets slung over the chair as a cover. This was in the house of a friend who used it for guests and it was moat effective.
Jim ~ The parallels with Avril’s image are obvious although my scene is one of dereliction. Taken on a walk in La Gomera in the Canary Islands. I just poked my nose into this distressed building and liked the way the shaft of light illuminated the chair. What has happened? Is the room still being used? What image has been removed from the frame on the wall?
consequences September 2021
Avril started and sent this image to Jim, Len and Dawn.
London’s Millennium Bridge. At the time, the shadows appealed to me. They still do and I managed to avoid people which always pleases me unless they improve the image rather than distract.
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Jim sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary ended with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Avril’s image is of the Millenium Bridge which takes lots of people to Tate Modern, where I volunteer.
There is currently an exhibition called “Please Draw Freely” and this is an image of young people doing just that.
I like the way they take the opportunity to cover every surface. Also I felt that the inverted T-shaped timber frame reflected the T-shaped steel and concrete supports to the Millenium Bridge, the shape of which was developed with input from sculptor Sir Anthony Caro.
Anne ~ This followed Jim’s image to me of a band of children decorating a wooden erection. I love seeing the total concentration and, I think, enjoyment that children experience painting and drawing – before there is a right or wrong way of doing things.
Kate ~ Anne’s picture is a study of concentration – the little girl is fiercely gripping the brush, holding on to the paper and doing her painting. I think it must be Christmas time – the red jumper links with the flower and wreath on the counter behind. I had to follow with a picture of my granddaughter wielding a coloured pen with similar concentration, also at our kitchen table. She is now a very bouncy 8 year old. I wish they didn’t grow up so fast!’
Rosemary ~ I have managed to find something vaguely suitable. He is a young Spanish boy that I spotted on the streets of Palma. While he is developing the skills for The Beautiful Game, Kate’s young grand-daughter has more academic ideas!
Following on from Avril,
Len sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Len ~ Avril’s photograph immediately reminded me of this iPhone snap I took earlier this year in Brighton Marina.
It shares the elements of a foreground barrier, a boat, and tall buildings as backdrop, but the boat itself is a rich person’s plaything unlike the passenger boat going along the Thames.
When I reviewed my image later I saw that it would have been better had I not truncated the bow of the boat. In fact it was so sunny that I could hardly see the iPhone screen image so the composition was mainly guesswork.
I should of course have held the phone horizontally, not vertically, but although I am constantly amazed by other people’s smart phone images I still find it a very awkward device to use for photography.
Bunshri ~ Having received a thought provoking image from Len, I found this handmade book in my archive. Len’s yacht takes you on a journey and I was on my late father’s journey, metaphorically speaking, to discover why I was having so much trouble getting over my father’s sudden death at his young age of 55. This was part of an installation for my degree show in 2015.
Hady ~ The image Bunshri sent me was of a concertina book that she had hand made. The open pages of the book reminded me of an image I made recently showing a colourful structure that has folds similar to those of Bunshri’s book.
Sabes ~ Hady’s photograph suggested a rainbow and a circle. As soon as I saw it, this photograph I made behind Watford Hospital a few weeks ago came to mind as the match for Hady’s photograph: a rainbow-like fan or paper fold up. There are similarities and contrasts between the two.
Yellow, green and orange are similar. The yellow fencing in the foreground suggested the fan in Hady’s image spreading from the centre.
There are many aspects of contrasts between the two. One is wide the other is close up. The rainbow over Bushey is calm but close up of colours in Hady’s gives a busy feel. However the bottom third foreground with cars, houses and fences gives the feeling of being busy in my photograph.
Following on from Avril,
Dawn sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Avril
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Avril (even though she had started) ended with this image
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Dawn ~ Here is my image following Avril’s. It was taken in Amsterdam a few years ago. It picks up some of the elements of Avril’s – the river, the boats, and the railings in the fore ground. It is a view from the bridge, not under the bridge.
Colin ~ Taken when in London for a two-day weekend stay in an hotel to maximise time wandering about. I think this was what had been a ‘Boris Bike’ stand before sponsorship changed. Rather more bikes, but no more people than Dawn’s.
Rashida ~ Colin’s image of a group of London Santander bicycles with one sporting a dapper yellow moustache reminded me of a photograph I took in Johannesburg in a store called “Art Africa”, a treasure trove of stunning and colourful African crafts. A selection of incredibly beautiful and tactile Kaross hand embroidered cushion covers were lined up like the bicycles and in a few you can spot the famous “Poirot” moustache like the one in Colin’s image. The one hanging upside down in the top row right hand side travelled back to London with us.
Embroidery is a traditional skill for most Vatsonga and Northern Sotho people. Kaross revived this skill by making it commercially viable and has grown into a South African success story that now employs around 1300 embroiderers in the Letsitele/Giyani area in Limpopo.”
Avril ~ I had a great many thoughts when I received Rashida’s image but then I noticed the elephants at the top of the picture and this seemed to fit: elephants and the riot of colour in the picture on the scarves and in the background. My picture was taken in Miami – in Wynwood Walls, a rundown area now a popular tourist destination with graffiti at its best by amateurs and professionals alike.
consequences August 2021
Colin started and sent this image to Hady, Bunshri and Kate.
Taken at one of the first RREC rallies possible in 2021. I think the car owner’s socks were what attracted me to take the shot – apart from the intriguing fact that an owner of an old Rolls-Royce reads ‘The Mail on Sunday’.
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Hady sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn ended with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ I received an image from Colin showing a man sitting in a very nice classic car reading a newspaper and wearing colourful socks. Everything looked so organised. I thought I would respond with exactly the opposite. My image was taken from inside my car of the cars in the car park with the heavy rain distorting the shapes of all cars. A contrast of Colin’s orderly image.
Rosemary ~ My offering was captured in Italy, very fashion conscious gentleman. HADY’S image was taken I assume in the torrential rain somewhere. My gentleman has decided to open his umbrella although there appears to be not a drop of rain in sight.
Avril ~ Having received the image from Rosemary and there having been so much rain I felt it would be a nice contrast to have a child running in the fountains of the Place de General de Gaulle, Nice in order to cool down from the summer heat particularly as at the time we hadn’t seen much of the sun. I enjoy watching the children play here, and adults as well, never knowing which fountain will come to life or when and their squeals of joy as they either hit or miss.
Dawn ~ This image is the most suitable I have for following Avril’s picture. It was taken in St Petersburg at the Summer Palace. It is beautifully restored and fully open to the public. I chose to follow the water theme and fountains.
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Following on from Colin, Bunshri sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Derek
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Derek ended with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Bunshri ~ I loved Colin’s image. When I zoomed in on the newspaper article, the word ‘Silent’ is where my eye went t. It is somewhat hidden, partly covered. An immediate thought jumped to my mind: the title of my limited edition book, ‘ Silent Voice.’ The idea of the radical design is that it arouses curiosity as to what lies under cover.
Len ~ Here at last is my contribution for next month’s Consequences. As you probably expected, Bunshri’s contribution was a bit surprising to receive but an interesting challenge! Should be an interesting series…
Rashida ~ My image in response to Len’s represents the chaos and confusion it created in my brain. I found it difficult to switch from my medical neurology understanding of blindsight and marry it with the image and text Len created. There are many interpretations and variations of expression of blindsight, a complicated medical condition. My image has a central “eye”, the closest connection to the blurred glasses in Len’s image. Well done Len, I was flummoxed but not blindsighted.
Derek ~ Rashida’s fine abstract image appeared to show what I saw as an elephant. As a consequence I thought it time I did something to support this highly persecuted animal. I attach a picture of an elephant in battle with a lion and looking like winning. It is part of a Mosaic I came across in my travels, probably the work of some demented Roman.
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Following on from Colin, Kate sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ How could I follow Colin’s wonderful, witty picture? No possibility of a sumptuous car, or a show ground. But someone of a certain age reading a newspaper… A few years ago I took a fortnight’s Spanish language course at a school in central Córdoba. Every morning I took the bus from my daughter’s house into the town centre, and walked down a wide pedestrianised street. My route took me past a news vendor’s kiosk, just as the old men were buying their morning papers and settling down to read them. I made a little collection of shots. This is one of them. I don’t know what the man is looking at, and he’s a bit glum – maybe the bullfighting results were bad. But he has white hair like the person in Colin’s picture, he’s relaxing, and there is a car in the background. The fountain introduces a new subject. I wonder if that will be taken up.
Mary ~ This image is of a rainy rush hour at Angel, Islington. In Kate’s image water is represented by the waterfall behind the man sitting down – he didn’t look too happy! In looking at my image carefully I have just noticed on the left hand side the profile of a man coming into view who doesn’t look too happy either. Both pictures sum up how uncomfortable a wet day can be.
Anne ~ Here is my offering – an image full of signs like Mary’s. Her picture is bustling and full of vigour; mine is sad. It was a busy little corn chandler and is now a smart estate agent. I preferred the former but at least the pretty building hasn’t been pulled down.
Mermie ~ Anne’s house with the red post box led me to this house with Adam, our cheerful postman.
consequences JuLY 2021
Mary started and sent this image to Duncan, Colin and Anne.
This is a ‘Found Still-life’ which I noticed the other day while waiting to enter Wigmore Hall for a socially-distanced concert. I was drawn to the random way the core had been left there, by itself, amongst the railings. To me it is a metaphor for the social distancing we all practice at the moment.
That is the intellectual reason – but emotionally I just enjoy the colour of the apple core amongst the grey palette of the railings and pavement.
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Duncan sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Derek
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Derek sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Duncan ~ I apologise if this seems to bear little relationship to Mary’s intriguing image but let me explain my
madness. The two main elements that struck me from Mary’s picture were the strong geometry, in particular the window bars, and the remains of food, an apple core. It was tempting just to use the geometry and bars but I wanted to include both elements.
This image is the remains of some food packaging someone had ditched and I picked up from the ground on a walk. Although the overall appearance is soft the one section with strong geometry is of bars with food, or at least the title onion rings, above.
If anyone is wondering, it was a multiple exposure shot on one frame of film.
Dawn ~ Here is my picture for this month. I did find Duncan’s picture a challenge but followed the colour theme with rocks, and onions hanging by the door. It is a reproduction of a country cottage built for the Chelsea Flower Show with a wild garden.
Derek ~ I tried to maintain Dawn’s colour theme not in a garden but in a woodland setting as a triptych instead of a panorama although the end result is very similar.
Hady ~ I received a triptych from Derek. This was of three images in a forest with trees and bluebells.
I did not want to follow Derek’s triptych with another triptych. I thought an interesting alternative would be an image made of three exposures, showing trees, wild rhododendrons from the same wood and the sky above.
Mermie ~ I took this photo of the approximately 180 year old Scots Pine in our back garden: it seemed a narrow one-layered alternative to Hady’s combination of trees, flowers and sky.
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Following on from Mary,
Colin sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ Mary’s image was largely shades of grey, but with a small touch of colour of the decaying apple core. Mine is a picked Buttercup that you had put into a shot glass in the kitchen, but it had dropped its petals. The vertical perspective reflected Mary’s image as well.
Jim ~ I felt Colin’s was quite a forlorn image with the remains of the flower head once all the petals have fallen. So I picked a rose from my garden and created the scene when the first petal had fallen, but some of the buds are still to open. This is a bit of a departure for me in terms of images as I tend to go for “grab shots” in natural light.
Kate ~ What do I say about it? ‘First of all I thought of following on from Jim’s beautiful rose, almost but not quite monochrome, with a flower in a vase. I looked at what I have in stock – but nothing so subtle or thoughtful. Then on one of our very damp mornings recently I noticed this spray of Solomon’s Seal leaves, with one turned over showing it’s silver underside. It kind of echoes Jim’s rose…’
Rosemary ~ An obvious response this one. Blushed by the sun, refreshed by the rain but fading nevertheless.
Following on from Mary,
Anne sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida ended with this image
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ Mary’s image is of a severe fence; my fence is battered by time and the weather but has the same grey colours.
Len ~ The English countryside is full of barriers. Some are natural, some are manmade, some are both. This photo was taken in East Sussex in 2005 but could have been almost anywhere in this country and in any year.
Avril ~ Len’s picture of a field and gate looked very neglected and one would be tempted to ignore the sign and see what was beyond. Mine is, I think, the antithesis of this. I took it in a back street of Sheffield and I’m not sure one would want to enter even if it were possible. It has a forbidding air about it and would suit the cover of a thriller involving murder and drug dealers. Probably just a derelict building awaiting demolition and regeneration but the mind can play wonderful tricks.
Bunshri ~ Having got Avril’s enigmatic image about no 33, I decided to go for this one taken in Margate. The place has like stopped in time. Having suffered from a fall and a bad back, I would stop now and again for a rest- this time in front of this façade.
The mystery of no 33 – juxtaposed with this regal name – drove me to take it. What does indeed lie behind the front door?
Rashida ~ Bunshri’s image evoked a sense of “coming out” as lockdown rules were relaxed. As June Pride Month 2021 was coming to an end when I received Bunshri’s contribution, I am responding to her image with one taken in New York on 20 June 2019. We have many happy and joyful memories of taking part in celebrations both in New York and London.
consequences June 2021
Avril started and sent this image to Kate, Len and Hady.
A rather more simple doorway in the Bahia Palace in Marrakesh. A magnificent building which belonged to the Grand Vizier until his death in 1900 when it was looted by the Royal family of any and all valuables. The Vizier’s wives had to flee for their lives. One had the impression that the Vizier was not popular.
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Kate sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Duncan
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Duncan ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ ‘Avril’s picture tells a story. There are two characters, tourists in an old, Moorish building, must be in Spain. A man looking across a passage with rectangular tiled/mosaic pattern on the floor, and tiles on the lower part of the wall. He is looking through a doorway and an arch into bright light, where there is a woman, seen from behind. What are his thoughts? About the woman, moving away from him? or about the building, the place, it’s beauty or its history?… I couldn’t match this story, but I found some people under an arch in old Spain. Two young girls, slightly leaning towards each other, in the evening light, looking towards the Giralda tower of Seville cathedral, once the great minaret of the mosque on that site. They may be looking at the couple walking towards them – or just admiring the view. The squared pattern in the paving echoes the squared pattern on the floor in Avril’s picture.’
Rashida ~ “Kate’s image I am guessing was taken in Seville. An archway looking out to a courtyard/street lined with orange laden trees and a church steeple and people in twos. My response to the lovely image is a photograph I took at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Chinatown, Vancouver B.C. Canada. It is the first of the Chinese or “scholars” garden built outside of China. The wooden archway frames the view of the garden, with a pavilion and people sitting inside or walking about enjoying the beautiful space.”
Anne ~ Rashida’s picture of the Japanese garden made me think of my Japanese
maple that so lifted my spirits one dreary morning in the lockdown when I
opened the back door.
Duncan ~ Struck by the way the foliage of one tree stood out and dominated Anne’s garden picture. The other vegetation and garden walls and slabs are very much secondary in the image but add a wet gloom to contrast with the bright foliage of the maple.
Perhaps it is because I took this image earlier in the day that I received the one from Anne, I thought it compliments and contrasts the Maple picture. It was taken on a walk through the huge Dinorwic slate quarry whist waiting for the clouds to lift from the walk we wanted to do, which they did despite their gloomy presence in this picture. I was struck by the light hitting the tree, so its foliage stuck out in the gloom.
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Following on from Avril, Len sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Mary
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Mary ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Len ~ I trawled my archive looking for something with an atmosphere that echoes Avril’s image and with a similar formal structure.
In Avril’s photo we see a man watching/following the indistinct figure of a woman. We do not know whether his intent is benign or malign.
In my image there is an indistinct reflection of a man who may be watching/following someone who is using a mobile phone. If indeed he is watching/following the man on the phone, we cannot tell if he intends him harm or not.
These uncertainties add tension and interest to both images.
Jim ~ Len’s image is great and has a certain mystery and intrigue. There are also various planes of light, reflections and a grainy texture. I don’t think my image matches the intrigue but I have tried to emulate the other facets with a deliberate use of grain and a similar relationship between the main figure and the light behind.
Colin ~ Taken at Prideaux Place, Padstow. Art Nouveau light switches.
I feel it has some of the Baroque atmosphere of Jim’s picture.
Mary ~ It took me a few moments to work out what I was looking at with Colin’s image – a rather beautiful metallic row of light switches. Very Art Nouveau depicting a girl with long hair and some musical instruments. The image that I have responded with is one that I have taken recently – of an old fire-grate with a mirror and a crystal ball. The knob of the grate resonates with the light switches in Colin’s image and is reflected in the mirror. Although the grate is old – about 50/60’s – it still has a beauty in it that is rare to find these days as modern houses don’t have fireplace anymore. Similar to the beautiful light switch which I assume to be older than the grate.
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Following on from Avril, Hady sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn ended with this image.
Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ I received an image from Avril showing a man in a room looking towards its door, that shows another opening through which comes a bright light and a man coming through it.
Avril’s image reminded of of an image of a graffiti showing a head with a large eye on a column supporting a bridge over a river looking towards a bright light. The similarity was uncanny and I thought it would be a good one to follow Avril’s and to inspire the following image.
Bunshri ~ In response to a challenging image of Hady’s of a bridge, graffiti and water in shadow, I decided to do a juxtaposition of a tall facade with graffiti and the clear blue sky as a backdrop.
I kept in the heads to show the scale of the facade. This image I took in Warren Street.
Rosemary ~ As a response to Bunshri’s image this one of mine came immediately to mind. It was the focus on the bottom centre couples in each from which I drew the similarity. My image was taken at the Henley regatta a few years ago now. Michael de Ruyter Schat, now deceased was at the time a member of HFF. He was also a member of the Leander club there and very generously invited myself plus two other members of HFF, Helen Brown and Peter Brindley (both now also deceased) to accompany him as his guests. It was a perfect summer’s day at one of the season’s well known events. A most memorable day.
Dawn ~ Where did you get those hats?
I am following Rosemary’s theme an occasion for dressing up.
This is the second day of the Chelsea Flower Show when I saw this group out for the day in their new clothes among the crowds of people.
consequences May 2021
Dawn started and sent this image to Derek, Kate and Hady.
I took this photograph in one of the palaces in India that was being restored. I liked the colours and the back of the woman in a sari going to climb the stairs. It looks very serene but it is not as it seems. The large bowl is to collect rubble from the building works and bring it downstairs. It was 11 o’clock in the morning and already very hot.
This was her job all day and was exhausting. In spite of this I do like the picture.
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Derek sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Derek ~ Dawn’s image made me think about what other strange things I have seen people wear on their heads. It shows the chief Lama at Labrang Monastery in Tibet who was officiating at a devil dancing ceremony of the Yellow hat sect of Buddhism, the annual mask dance to banish evil spirits and bring enlightenment. Pat and I were on a tour of Tibetan Monasteries and later the Forbidden City of China. And before you ask, no I am not a Buddhist, although I am relatively peaceful if lacking in enlightenment, just an enthusiastic amateur photographer.
Anne ~ Here is my offering for the April Consequences. I surmise that the two men are similar in age and build and are both wearing clothes that are significant – one ceremonial and one workwear. My image is part of the series I have done of Chesham people. Mr. Dell had worked since childhood on a local farm.
Colin ~ Taken on an old car trip in Wales during a stop on the Llanberis pass. I was reflecting on Anne’s being a portrait in the subject’s normal environment.
Rashida ~ My response to Colin’s image of a beautifully backlit seagull standing on rocks with a stunning countryside view behind it, was to contrast it with a stark urban nighttime image taken in London during the Lumière Festival of Light in January 2016
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Following on from Dawn, Kate sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Here is my response to Dawn’s lovely picture of (according to her file title) ‘Woman’s work’. I looked hard for a suitable picture of a figure in front of a wall, but without success. And I could not think of setting something up in Welwyn Garden City! So I ended up with an interesting wall, red/orange in colour not too far from the colours in Dawn’s picture. And instead of a person, I have a flower pot on the left hand side!
Avril ~ Kate’s image of flowers in a planter against a beautiful wall gave me a bit of a problem. I finally decided on the view through at archway at Uppingham School. The walls are stone not brick, and the plant in flower is in a garden but I hoped that the whole would provide inspiration for the follow on. For a few summers I attended residential courses at the school, the equipment they had was phenomenal though it wasn’t so much the teaching as being in Rutland to photograph on my own and at the time I was obsessed with parish churches. Still am if truth be told. It was wonderful to just give myself over to photography with no responsibilities to anyone.
Bunshri ~ After Avril’s mysterious image I went for this one taken in Trent Park. The beginning of Spring. Where will this take us? Nature has been keeping me sane and joyful during my daily walks during lockdown. The future is still unknown. Are we safe from being in lockdown yet again?
Sabes ~ I wanted to respond to the presence of the branch and shadow of it. The texture of the blossom also played in my mind. I chose the image of the net curtain. I think the textures and the slant in both photographs are trying to respond to each other in their own ways. They end up as opposite in tone. One lighter the other darker. One softer the other starker. The shadow in my photograph is there only in photographic terms as in shadow and highlight. What lurks in the shadows behind the curtain?
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Following on from Dawn, Hady sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image.
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Dawn’s “Woman’s work 4” is an interesting image. It shows an Indian woman carrying a large ceramic bowl. It reminded me of similar situations in other countries. I thought of this piece of artwork made of chicken wire and beads we have hanging in our garden. It shows an African woman carrying a child in a traditional African way and a jar on her head. Taken from a certain angle you would imagine her walking on our lawn.
In Johannesburg we have seen and met many artists making these beautiful and creative pieces of artwork and selling them to make a modest living.
I thought this would make a good response to Dawn’s image.
Rosemary ~ I found Hady’s most imaginative piece of artwork quite difficult to follow until I remembered what an exceptionally skilled needlewoman my mother had been. Among the pieces that I possess is this handcrafted pair of hessian figures, mother and child. I dusted it down and took a picture (not black and white). The image I received is of a mother and child but from another continent.
Mary ~ The image from Rosemary was quite hard to follow on from – the only thing that connects the 2 images are the fact that there are 2 characters, mother and child in one while in the other 1 man standing and another seated.
Jim ~ I had a number of thoughts but I guess it was the bare chested male that was the trigger for my photo. While punting in Cambridge we passed under this bridge where the local youth seemed to enjoy doing ‘bombs’ off the bridge and soaking the posh punters. I thought they were going to do this to us, but maybe the fact that they saw me photographing stopped them from doing so! We passed under the bridge without getting wet.
Extras from Kate
Kate ~ In my searches for a suitable ‘working woman’ picture I found these two images from our amazing visit to North East India 9 years ago. We’d walked up a steep track to visit a family who our travelling companions had made contact with on a previous visit. On the way back we met various people toiling back home with things bought from the village market at the bottom of the hill. This girl and her mother were particularly sweet and friendly, though their heavy loads meant they couldn’t stop and talk.
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consequences April 2021
Jim started and sent this image to Mary, Rashida and Rosemary
Taken in the northwest highlands of Scotland, I liked the array of diagonal lines, the rusty corrugated roof and the way the birds are spaced out. I hope the photographers can get some inspiration from it.
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Mary sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Hady
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Hady ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mary ~ Jim’s picture is about texture and lines. In his, the overhead wires form triangles and the Shard in my picture is definitely a triangle and the string of bulbs also form a triangle while the bulbs represent the birds. The roofs (the floor of each balcony) in my picture echo the colour of the corrugated roof in Jim’s picture.
Colin ~ Taken in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC, my image reflects the people facing in differing directions in Mary’s image with the Shard on the right as a dark triangular wall in mine. The helicopter is incidental.
Anne ~ Following on from Colin’s entry, I have chosen a view from above of people. I would have liked to match Colin’s curves and height, but….
Hady ~ The image is a night photograph of a shopping centre and an office building in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Although Anne’s and my images are of completely different subjects, They share a similar lighting atmosphere and lines. You’d feel that they were taken at the same time.
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Following on from Jim, Rashida sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Jim’s minimalist image of 5 birds sitting on a roof with power lines above is graphic with lovely zigzag lines. My image mirrors that in reverse and with a bit of imagination. It is a view of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan taken from Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn.
Kate ~ This is the mighty Guadalquivir at Seville. I was there in February a few years ago, and the weather was cloudy and chilly, not what one expects there even in the winter. And the light is disappointingly dull, unlike the lovely light in Rashida’s picture. However, I couldn’t resist snapping the chap with his guitar, seemingly just strumming for his own enjoyment. There were very few tourists around. Even though I was on a fortnight of Spanish classes, I didn’t have the confidence to ask him. I like the way he is looking over the river, and the sculls have just appeared on the river. I thought it linked with Rashida’s picture – a bridge over a big river, with a view of the city beyond. I wish I could go back there now!
Dawn ~ We were with friends and decided to see Venice by night using the Vaporetto. It was quite magical approaching the Rialto Bridge, and we had the boat almost to ourselves. It lasted for about an hour, I can recommend it.
Bunshri ~ Dawn’s beautifully lit image brought back memories of being in Chile. Although this is a different palette, I chose this image on a boat, taking in the beautiful view.
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Following on from Jim, Rosemary sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Derek
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Derek sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rosemary ~ I searched for a picture of a row of people watching the world go by which I would have liked as a response to Jim’s very simple but appealing picture. Sadly I don’t seem to have one. This roof scape was taken in a small village in north Derbyshire. As we approached the village taking a scenic route home from Sheffield one time, the view was really atmospheric. I originally captured the whole village street which has long been a favourite, but then I zoomed in on the roofs. No birds but the telegraph wires are there, maybe not as pristine as Jim’s. The light on the slates contrasting well with the foreboding hills beyond adds to the general atmosphere of a Derbyshire village of the time.
Avril ~ When I saw Rosemary’s picture I wasn’t sure whether it was snow or rain or the rooftops but it all looked very wintery and I was looking forward to the warmer weather. My immediate thoughts jumped to Florence and this image, taken from the roof of the hotel looking across to the Duomo and the Medici Chapel during the early evening with the low light of a summer’s evening.
Derek ~ My response to Avril’s picture of beautiful Florence is a family that I thought might just fit into renaissance Florence. It was taken in Essex during a costumed event.
Mermie ~ All of the Consequences pictures come to me, and I admire them as they arrive. It had crossed my mind to choose a picture based somehow on all of them, or maybe on Jim’s. When Derek’s arrived for me to follow, I had recently taken a picture of this peaceful deity in the long boat moored on the nearby Grand Union Canal. I took this particular one, keeping in mind the lines to the shore and the patterns in the long boat across the canal.
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consequences March 2021
For March, Hady sent his starting image to each lead recipient who then sent a Consequence image to the next person in a group of three or four. In the usual fashion, those recipients each sent a Consequence on to the next person in the group.
We met, as one does these days, by Zoom, on 4 March, at the usual meeting time.
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Hady started and sent this image to Avril, Jim and Mary
I took this image a few weeks ago during another lockdown walk in Hertford. I try to change my route from time to time. That day I found a short tunnel under a small bridge.
The tunnel was unusual, with a very interesting steel roof that has an amazing structure, which seems to have come from a bygone age.
I found the symmetry of the black steel structure and the brick sides of the tunnel contrast nicely with the light streaming from the end of the tunnel. I just had to take the photo.
I hope it will provoke some interest.
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Avril sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Colin
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Colin ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~ I thought Hady’s image could be a tunnel. With the lights reflected and the direction going forward, I thought of an image I took in Grand Central Station NY. The RSJ’s all move forward to the tunnels and the bright lights with people all walking towards the tunnels leading to the trains. It’s a bright image as compared to Hady’s rather dark and mysterious one.
Mary ~ Avril’s image was of a busy subway in New York – here is an equally busy promenade in Marseilles.
There was a huge metal canopy made of very shiny metal which gave a wonderful reflection. There is a blue Metro sign which ‘mirrors’ the subway in Avril’s image.
Dawn ~ Mary’s was so difficult to follow, I will be interested to what Mary has to say.
Mine was taken in a cave in Lanserotte.
The people in the cave are looking in and those outside looking out.
Colin ~ Inside Luray caverns in April 2012. It was my thought that Dawn’s picture was of people going down into a cavern, so this might be a potential consequence.
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Following on from Hady, Derek sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Derek ~ Hady’s image to me was intriguing and suggested that even in the most functional man made fabrications one could find both craftsmanship and a kind of beauty of form.
My photo shows a storm battered breakwater on the East Coast that with the play of light and crashing waves echoed both function as a preventer of erosion and a monochromatic beauty.
Rashida ~ Derek’s sublimely beautiful image is all about light, darkness, shapes and negative space. It reminded me of an image of mine which also plays on light and darkness with mirroring shapes and is also minimalist but in an indoor space.
Bunshri ~ Rashida’s image of lines and light led me to this image of my grandson behind open door – isolating. I took the idea of lines but opened it up more.
Rosemary ~ After much deliberation I have settled on the attached but I am not exactly happy about it.
Regarding the man slumped on the floor we have no idea what has befallen him. Has he had an accident, has become ill or perhaps even worse. What we do know is that he is not in control and is endeavouring to regain his composure. All of this is glimpsed through a half open door. I have chosen a half open door (it is there somewhere I promise you) and we have a limited view of a man I feel to be totally in control of whatever is his current business. He is seated at his desk, glasses on, identity strung around his neck and determined to achieve I think.
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Following on from Hady, Anne sent this image to Jim.
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Jim sent this image to Kate.
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Kate ended with this image.
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ Hady’s image made me think of coming-out of the dark places we have all been in in the past year into the light. This picture was of a dark corner at Sissinghurst with the steps going up to to the Spring sunshine.
Jim ~ When I received Anne’s image I immediately thought of this one, even though it was taken so many years ago: the sunshine on the steps and the open characterful door. My photo was taken in 1979 in Cairo with Lynda wearing a colourful waistcoat and sporting a perm.
Kate ~ Here is my response to Jim’s fine picture of a striking looking woman in shadow at the foot of some just visible stone steps.
It lacks the mystery and exotic feel to Jim’s picture. But I think my lady is, in her way, quite striking. Her little dog shines out in his red jacket, her face is hidden behind a decorated mask, not mysterious, just an example of ’these strange times’. A little bit of the exotic maybe leaks from the Chinese Acupuncture centre behind her.
She was very nice, and happy for me to take her picture.
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For January, Bunshri sent her starting image to each lead recipient who then sent a Consequence image to the next person in a group of three or four. In the usual fashion, those recipients each sent a Consequence on to the next person in the group.
We met, as one does these days, by Zoom, on 4 February, at the usual meeting time.
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Bunshri started and sent this image to Colin, Jim and Mary
During this pandemic, after a quick walk we head home to self-isolate behind closed doors!!!
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Colin sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary sent this image to Kate
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Kate ended with this image, the first of two.
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Kate also ended with this image, the second of two.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ Taken at a closed down shop in Totnes, it reflected the frame and out of focus background of Bunshri’s picture, but I took the picture because the signs had appealed to me.
Rashida ~ Colin’s image fascinated me but in the end I had to admit I was flummoxed. There are the coexisting closed and open signs with a glimpse of what looks like a large bag hanging on a wall. The car and road I first thought were a reflection on a mirrored shop window with the vertical lines. But then I was not sure………..so I am looking forward to the reveal.
I decided to play with the words of closed and open, the vertical lines and the seen and unseen. It reminded me of an image I took at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. It is of the entrance to the Museum. Closed and open spaces co-existing side by side created by man to separate based on the colour of one’s skin. Entrance open for one colour, closed for the other. The vertical lines in Colin’s image are echoed in my image.
Rosemary ~ The fierce southern Spanish sun had caused the stark contrast of the shadow on the white outside wall of a bullring.
I can only imagine that the shaded seating on the inside came at a premium! I have always liked the fact that the metal ring with its shadow holds the gaze within the picture.
Kate ~ As I am the last I am taking the liberty of sending two pictures, following on from Rosemary’s really lovely Sombra picture (she called it light and shade).
The zigzags on the steps is a direct response – Light and shade, in Spain, these are shadows of a railing on the lovely small cobbles they have in Andalucia.
The second moves on from Rosemary’s subject, this one also taken in Córdoba. There is light and shade, though the shade is not all that deep, and there is a white wall. But the wall is defaced by a graffito, which the cleaning lady is scrubbing away. It is actually outside a police station, but I cropped off the sign on the wall to show the lady and her paint bucket, etc., more clearly. Not such a good picture, but in a way more fun than zig-zaggy steps, I thought.
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Following on from Bunshri, Jim sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Avril
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Avril ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Bunshri’s image shows a scene visible through obscured glass – possibly a front door – with a person visible plus some greenery to one side. So my thought is to remove the glass, and any distortion, entirely with the vegetation clearly visible. Photo taken in Norfolk on an old RAF airfield with some abandoned buildings. I just liked the combination of the framing of the tree, the texture of the wall and the diagonally aligned shadows.
Hady ~ Jim’s image was of a derelict building wall with an opening showing overgrown grass, hedge and tree.
It brought to mind a photo I took of a window with Halloween decorations around its outside sill, but it does not show anything inside the house. It is the opposite of Jim’s image.
Avril ~ The picture shown was prompted by the pumpkin wearing glasses not that I am suggesting my daughter is a pumpkin, far from it but she does enjoy fun things.
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Following on from Bunshri, Mary sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Anne
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Anne ended with this image.
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mary ~ When I saw Bunshri’s image I immediately thought of this image that I have sent. The person behind the frosted glass door is echoed by the flower hidden in the ice and the colour is also echoed. There is a sense of mystery in Bunshri’s image but I hope there is a slight sense of mystery in my image – I know what it is but someone seeing it for the first time might need a second or two to work out what it is.
Dawn ~ Here is my picture for Consequences, not quite what I intended but time is running out. I tried to follow Mary’s theme and froze the rose but it didn’t turn out as I expected!
Anne ~ Here is my image for consequences, following on from Dawn’s. The unusual colour of the rose in her picture drew me to this photo of a mauve coat in a garden.
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CONSEQUENCES January 2021
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Bunshri ~ Having received an image from David about everyone in the image being preoccupied on their own mobile phones, the viewer has difficulty with what bit of the image to focus on.
I chose to show this image – where one’s eyes flutter from the painting in colour to the chairs in black and white. Why is it behind the black fenced area? Does the image depict Africa in any way? For me the image raises many questions.
Jim ~ Here is my image that I have sent to Avril, following on from Bunshri.
A difficult image to follow on from, but I guess I saw a confident young woman of colour and decided to show another confident young woman of colour, although in a far more expressive mode. This is Lianne La Havas (Greek father, Jamaican mother), an indie folk / soul singer. I photographed her at Latitude Music Festival, possibly singing her hit of the time “Is your love big enough?”!
Avril ~ This image won’t stand being blown up as the print is only 2 x 2 3/4 inches. I can’t find a larger print of it, and I don’t particularly want to start making a larger print in the time left. I think it’s sufficient for Len to cope with.
Len ~ When Avril sent me her image she apologised for it being so small. But I love the way her presentation echoes the feeling of informal music making that’s going on between these two young people.
I had a hard job finding something to follow on from that – I hardly ever photograph musicians.
Finally, I came across this photograph, taken in Barcelona in 2009, of a gentleman playing his guitar and hoping for a few coins from the tourists.
Apart from Avril’s and my photos both including musical instruments there is really no photographic link between them, not in colour or form, and scarcely in subject. But my photo made me wonder if, many years ago, my guitar player had also been a youngster learning his instrument and enjoying making music with it, like Avril’s subjects, with no idea of how his future life would evolve.
Austin ~ I have many images of varying quality of live music performances, and guitars are always eye-catching, but I thought that in keeping with Len’s image mine should show someone performing alone. This is Richard Thompson performing at the Cambridge Folk Festival, and shows him in isolation with just his guitar, a spotlight and a water bottle. I had managed to take in a better camera than usually permitted at concerts, and positioned myself at a good angle for photography.
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June 2023
Hady started and sent this image to Duncan and to Jim and Mark
My image was taken in August 2017 at London’s South Bank, one of my favourite areas in London. It usually has a lot of activities going on. On that day, a bright warm Sunday afternoon outside the ground floor of The Royal Festival Hall, there was a gathering of a large number of people socialising around tables with snacks and drinks. Viewing them from the first floor above showed their interesting distribution. I thought the unusual view from above was worth sharing.
Jim sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to David
David sent this image to Mary
Mary ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Hady’s array of round tables and crowds of people enjoying themselves is great. I have replicated the circular them but just one piece of furniture and just one solitary individual. Taken from the top like Hady’s image. I like the fact that the image on her phone screen mimics the circular theme. Taken at the Guggenheim Art Gallery in Bilbao.
Rashida ~ Jim sent an image with a limited palette of neutral colours enhancing the gentleness and stillness of his image. I responded to the stillness, colours and circles created in Jim’s image. Mine is of a clock where time has been frozen at almost 11.15. If you look carefully you see part of my reflection in the chrome surround of the clock. It is a personal and poignant image for me. I was given the clock by a Pharmaceutical Company while working as a newly-qualified doctor and I gifted it to my mother who kept it on her bedside table. This image was taken after my mother’s death in September 2017 while I was clearing her home. The clock now sits on my bedside table. It still keeps perfect time. Cherished memories.
Austin ~ This is perhaps following Rashida’s image rather literally, although timepieces are quite a wide-ranging subject and in addition to the watch face I liked the bold colours; I was also pleased with the impression of margins provided by the spaces above and below, and the capturing of the shadow from the street lamp which made me think of a thin robot checking the time! The watch image is street art in Shoreditch produced as advertising, and part of a wider vista; there was a heading with the words “Big” and “Bold” beside the watch, and additional red and white imagery of sunbathers on loungers with red and white umbrellas and bikes. One of my other images taken there included a man in a matching red tee shirt photographing his dog on the kerb in front of the watch!
David ~ Austin’s picture of the Swatch wall art led me immediately to some pictures I took in Glasgow a couple of years ago where they have a great wall art trail through the city. I thought this one of another type of ‘clock’ was particularly appropriate in the circumstances.
Mary ~ To me, David’s image is about time and people walking past seemingly oblivious to what is around them. The time element is the dandelion clock being blown away.
My image has the elements of time with the clock in the background. The giant bubble, although not blown, still reminds me of blowing bubbles. The little girl is totally engaged with the bubbles while someone is striding past not taking much notice of what is going on.
Technically its not a good image but it was a grab shot with my camera – I would have liked the background to be a little more in focus.
Following on from Hady, Mark sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Kate
Kate ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mark ~ Hady’s image put me in mind of ants round sweet food or bees tending to grubs in a hive, both images of creatures following invisible pheromones or subtle movements. Very busy. Highly active exchanging invisible information in the moment.
My image appears to show light beams emanating from shadowy figures. The light beams reaching out as though to communicate something we may not fully understand and don’t normally see. The image is my reinterpretation of a work by the artist, Spencer Finch (British Museum, 2020) who visited the plain of Troy to see the dawn light and was moved to think that this same light may have been seen by Achilles 3000 years before. Finch measured the light and created the exact light quality in his installation. The light quality therefore was the invisible information absorbed by the historical Achilles and my passing figures, in the moment.
Anne ~ Following on from Mark, I looked for light and silhouettes and found them both here although the subject is different from Mark’s.
Avril ~ The uses to which net curtains can be put to cover furniture. Taken in Corfu.
Colin ~ Taken in 2011 in the Philadelphia Art Museum of part of their display of modern furniture. The ‘robot’ is a cabinet with a shelf and drawers. Avril’s picture features an armchair, and as I hadn’t a suitable high key picture to hand with similar soft tones, I decided to go for the furniture aspect.
Kate ~ I scratched my head about how to follow Colin’s picture of a display shelf, showing an arrangement of presumably small models of modern style chairs with, in the centre part, a robot like character in front of and an abstract painting with a large prominent eye. The best I can do is echo the rectangular framing of the objects. This picture was taken on my phone, in the cold snap before Christmas. With icy winds and snow on the ground, all our windows were ripped out and replaced with new plastic framed ones, better for keeping out the cold, and easy to open in warmer weather. I was fascinated by these frost patterns which formed overnight (showing that there was moisture trapped between the double glazing). I just wish I had paused for long enough to include all three horizontal window panes in the picture – but this was difficult to achieve at the same time as capturing the detail of the frost.
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May 2023
Rashida started and sent her image to Duncan and to Kate
A row of silos on Granville Island is among the most photographed things in Vancouver. The six towers, each 70 feet tall, were once a dull gray, but now feature a colourful crew of giants. Half of them face the boats on False Creek, and the other three look inward, towards the Ocean Concrete plant.
The silos are the work of Brazilian twins Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo, known collectively as OSGEMEOS (Portuguese for THE TWINS).
In 2014 the Vancouver Biennale commissioned the twins to bring their ongoing mural series “Giants” to British Columbia. OSGEMEOS chose the silos on Granville Island to add depth to the two-dimensional pieces they normally create.
Ocean Concrete, which is still a fully operational business, has a long history of community participation and happily offered a medium for the twins.
This is an interesting article about the creation of the artwork:
https://www.designboom.com/art/os-gemeos-vancouver-biennale-21-08-2014/
Duncan sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Mark
Mark sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Jim
Jim ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Duncan ~ Thanks Rashida! A slightly odd scene and image. It made me immediately think of a response image. However, I then started to think about industry being disguised, the scale of industrial architecture and a few other things but I kept returning to my initial reaction and this image. The reason being the colourful and slightly over the top characters cheering up an otherwise grim scene. In my image (not one of my best) the colourful, slightly over the top character is part of a drive-in opera in that otherwise grim scene: the Covid restrictions in 2020. That both images have vehicles and industrial architecture is very secondary.
Anne ~ Here is the photo I have sent to Mark this morning. I decided to hone in on the Man in costume with his back to us in Duncan’s image. I got drawn into the anti Brexit march immediately after the vote that was going down Piccadilly . The man in my picture is also dressed up but it is the little girl with her sensible boots and drooping wings and closeness to her father that touched me. Perhaps she will be part of getting back into the EU?
Mark ~ For me, Anne’s picture summed up making a statement of principle in the face of alternative views to benefit ourselves and our dependents. My picture came quickly to mind. It was taken at a large Arla dairy in North London (March 2020) following picketing promoting plant-based diets to benefit ourselves and initially the bull calves which are surplus to milk production except by being born. Visually I liked the similarity between the observer’s hair and the chalk artist’s depiction of the cow. Like the subject of Anne’s picture and the Arla protest, this was a momentary statement of principle that materialised and disappeared as quickly.
Avril ~ Aberdeen Angus on the land by Loch Lomond. I don’t choose to involve myself with political arguments. They would not be roaming this landscape if the farmer did not take bales of hay up to keep them alive through the winter. It’s very hard work and he has to make a living. Without milk without meat these animals would be dead anyway and our landscape bare of them all.
Jim ~ I am afraid that I have had to resort to my archive for this one. The only real connection is domesticated cattle. Avril’s looks like Scotland, mine is Agra, India on the north bank opposite the Taj Mahal. My wife Lynda and I borrowed bicycles from my cousin and went for an early morning cycle ride and saw this woman herding her cattle. It has been one of my favourite images from our six month overland trip in 1978 / 79.
Following on from Rashida, Kate sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to David
David ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Rashida’s opening picture was quite a challenge. Then I focused on the dressed up silos or whatever they are behind the trucks. Giant dolls!
So here is a picture of part of my 10 year old granddaughter, Florence’s, doll collection, lined up on her bedroom floor. They are all characters from musicals, stories etc which she loves and I know nothing about – except for the larger doll on the right, which I made for her some years ago. In the world Florence has invented, this doll is the boss, the teacher who keeps all the others in order.’
Austin ~ This was taken during a walk in London’s Chinatown during January 2023 and maintains both the “group” and “catering” elements. The original image included more of the food prep and service areas; it was close to Chinese New year and these featured lanterns and string lights as well as numerous screens and display boards, filling the area with colour and reflected light. I have cropped the image while continuing to centre on the chefs; I also tried to keep a hint of the tables and chrome chairs at the front as these provided additional context. Finally I added a vignette to place the chefs in the spotlight and reduce the background distractions.
Colin ~ Taken recently by the Grand Union canal. Volunteers of the Boxmoor Trust were doing a six monthly check in a chalk stream for traces of latrines used by Water Voles that have been reintroduced.
The three people reflected the three people making what was probably sushi.
Hady ~ I received an image from Colin showing three people standing in shallow water wearing water protecting clothing and footwear. The image was unusual enough to make me think of the consequent image I sent to David. This was of puppets in the yard of St Andrew’s Church in Hertfod. The puppets were of biblical characters and sheep made by local artists in celebration of of Christmas. I thought the installation was unusual enough to warrant documentation.
David ~ Hady’s image of the nativity scene in the churchyard opened up many paths to follow. I’ve taken a lot of pictures in churchyards over the years but looking at them, they mostly had a gothic / melancholic style which didn’t seem to suit to sequence – so instead I opted for this one. It features an earthly choir rather than a heavenly one but has a similar playful tone. It was taken in an Oxford college where my wife and I lived for several years. I became the unofficial photographer for various student events including recordings and performances of the college choir – and so when I saw them running into the quad after a rehearsal to play in the snow I had to grab my camera to take a few pictures – this one caught the delight of the occasion just right.
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April 2023
Colin started and sent this image to David and to Austin
Colin ~ I was flicking through stuff I had taken at the back end of 2022, mainly in the garden or on a walk. This was when it snowed in mid-December at the point before the sun had caused the snow to start dropping off the branches. While it could make a good black & white picture, the brown stems contrast the blue sky colour, while the snow emphasises the thorns.
The rose is Rosa sericea ‘Pteracantha’, the winged thorn rose, whose spring shoots have bright red thorns. It has single white flowers and grows about 2 metres tall. We saw it in flower in Yunnan on our trip to China in 2012.
David sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Len
Len sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to Hady
Hady ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
David ~ Colin’s snow covered thorns set me off thinking in many wintery directions – especially with snow in the forecast for the week ahead. In the end I settled on this image from January 2021 at a time when we were all suffering from the impact of Covid and not being able to visit friends and family. I started having dreams of portals, wormholes, and magic doors through which we could travel into different worlds – and so I decided to create one in the garden. This image is one of a series of images of a door in strange and unexpected settings. I thought this one worked well in building on the snow and the impenetrable thorn bush in Colin’s picture as perhaps another frame in a fairy tale.
Rashida ~ David sent a lovely image of what appears to be a door standing on its own in an open space. Beautiful and intriguing. I was tempted to open the door and go through it into a magical world. I hope my response shows just that with a photograph taken at the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul. The inscription above the door is a verse from the Quran written in gold. The image attached shows the verse and an English translation underlined in red. Stunning architecture.
Len ~ I contrasted Rashida’s striking image of receding doorways with its very elaborate traditional decoration with this view along multiple train carriages which is no doubt familiar to all of us. In my image the design emphasis is on smooth undecorated curves and of course, in modern trains, the previously present doors have been removed, although the impression of receding doorways remains, for me, anyway.
Jim ~ Len’s image is striking. There is a distinct coolness and, of course, the total absence of human life. The blue is very striking but is complemented by the desaturated greys with a splash or two of red. There is a sense of order and design. At first glance, my image could even be an array of designer lipsticks on a shelf at Boots. It is of course completely different and is the bombs found in Flanders fields from WW1. Taken at the Passendale Museum in Belgium just last week I felt it reflected some of the qualities and tones of Len’s picture.
Mary ~ When I saw Jim’s image I could see very vertical lines in it of the shelves of ‘shells’ – all very in focus. Although my image isn’t of shelves it does reflect the verticals in the ICM technique I employed while taking this at Greenich. As it is an ICM the picture is blurred but the viewer can still work out what the image is of – people in a building.
Hady ~ I received an image from Mary, that at first sight appeared blurred. It transpired that it was an ICM image. It brought to mind an image I took recently of beautiful double rainbow that we saw after heavy rain recently. Sharing double arches, I thought it was a perfect fit to Mary’s image.
Following on from Colin, Austin sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Mark
Mark sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to Sabes
Sabes sent this image to Avril
Avril ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Austin ~ Colin sent me an image of closely-tangled thorny branches covered in snow, against an equally wintry background. I thought of forwarding a similar composition but in red, a close-up of branches and bloom within a Japanese acer tree; I decided instead to retain the elements of snow and foliage within a more open view which hopefully has more potential for further interpretation. I took this picture in Highfield Park, St Albans, in December 2022.
Anne ~ My image follows on from Austin’s woodland scene. Mine is a much wilder scene but I like the vibrant, fresh daffodils near the rotting tree trunk.
Mark ~ For me Anne’s image is not life springing from death but life springing from change. The dry and withered undergrowth, unloved fence, rotting tree. Within and beneath all this, life goes on – handed to different organisms such as the flowering bulbs, adapted to a different but complementary set of rules. Different growing, adapted organisms and change is what I saw for my photograph of man-made concrete becoming host to micro-aquatic forms clinging on the margins of wet and dry, always subject to nature’s changing nature yet surviving in their way. My subject was at Customs House on the Thames.
Kate ~ Mark’s very interesting image stumped me! I couldn’t think of anything in the archive to match it. I didn’t have my camera available, so I tried various ideas with my phone – but none of them was any good.
I looked at the picture – there are fascinating patterns on the wall above the water; a lot of straight horizontal lines, except for the very curvy reflection of the railings in the water at the bottom; and bits of moss plus a tiny plant struggling to survive in the wet stones or concrete at the top.
My response picks up on the horizontal lines, with railings, and reflections (but not of the railings) in water at the food of the picture. There are also some plants, but not struggling like the moss and the weed in Mark’s.
I took the photo in the beautiful garden of the Alcázar in Córdoba in February a few years ago.’
Sabes ~ In Kate’s photograph I saw the suggestion of a tree on the wall with wirey climbers. In my image I decided to respond to this suggestion – water seeping through the roof of the London underground rail tunnel has created an image that suggests a tree. Where the water dripped straight down, a stem of the ‘tree’ has formed. The horizontal line at the top edge in my photograph and a line in Kate’s photograph have some resemblance. The visual associations between the two photographs stop here.
In other respects my images work in a contrasting direction: The objects in Kate’s – ropes and planters – are to prevent people from accidentally falling into what appears to be a swimming pool in the foreground. Danger and alert are incorporated. My image is void of any warning despite a train track between me and the wall.
With doors, arches, balcony and shadows there is a lot happening in Kate’s. Thinking of the underground station, all the activity was behind and besides me, until the next train arrived, when I myself got into the activity.
Avril ~ My answer to Sabes. I had another which was nearly the same shape but it was very literal whereas this is rather more random. Seen in Miami which I think must be graffiti central.
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march 2023
Jim started and sent this image to Rashida and Hady
Jim ~ I took this image last spring in Nova Scotia, Canada. My work is typically fairly straightforward, not on the “arty” side. But when I was walking up in Cape Breton I experimented with photographing streams at a slow shutter speed as well as Intentional Camera Movement as is the case here. But I think it captures some of the feeling of spring.
Rashida sent this image to David
David sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to Avril
Avril ended with this image
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Jim has created a beautiful painterly image of trees in the woods using ICM (Intentional Camera Movement). My response is a NCM (No Camera Movement) image capturing an unintentional imitation of nature created by rust and paint covering a corrugated iron sheet on the side of a building. I came across this while exploring the Granville Island Public Market in Vancouver.
David – It’s the real thing?
I’m pretty sure that the white on red background is from an old Diet Coke advert. I’ve taken lots of pictures of peeling billboards over the years as I love the sense of something being revealed whilst something else is fading away. This one was from December 2021 on a billboard by the skew bridge in Harpenden / Southdown. I found Rashida’s image of corrugated iron being transformed by moss and rust very thought provoking – it led me down many paths of images of nature growing back to take over human endeavours but eventually I settled on pictures showing many layers of historical traces – hence the billboards. I hope it gives Mary something to work with.
Mary – When I saw David’s picture of a very distressed board/ wall my series of Hidden London came to mind – a few years ago I went on a photography tour of the un-used underground stations. The 2 images are similar in the fact the posters that were on them are peeling off with only the letter ‘e’ visible in David’s image while the wording is very clear in the centre of my underground image. The rest of the poster in my image has peeled and the wall can be seen behind it.
Colin ~ Mary’s image shows what happens in UK when a wall gets neglected, but as I hadn’t any old posters, I decided to look through my graffiti pictures. This appealed to me, largely because someone had proof-read it…
Kate ~ Colin’s picture put me in mind of some rather well drawn graffiti we saw in Lugo – a lovely small city with a complete Roman wall around it, in Galicia, NW Spain, where we stayed eight years ago. The artist seemed to specialise in cats and some other weird things. I think the little pig and the writing are by a different hand, but never mind.’ I’m adding in case there is time to look at them another of his cat drawings, and another message I saw in Malaga, not long after Trump’s election. (I think my first picture may be the answer to the question in the second “Where is the king of the cats”)’
Avril ~ I could have followed Kate’s picture with more graffiti but decided this handsome boar would outface the pig. This was taken in the Loggia del Mercator Nuovo in Florence (New Market Square). I don’t know who the sculptor was but it was a beautiful work of bronze.
Following on from Jim, Hady sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to Dawn
Dawn sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri sent this image to Sabes
Sabes ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ I received from Jim a delicate image of trees taken using ICM (Intentional Camera Movement). It brought back memories of a long time ago when I was trying out ICM photographing nature producing images similar to Jim’s image and others. My image, also taken at that time, however is using ICM in an urban environment.”
Anne ~ I was intrigued by Hady’s image and it made me think of a series of pictures I made , trying to capture movement. This one is where I moved the camera but the subject was still. It was an interesting project as one had no idea what would be on the negative. There were lots of disappointments but some surprises.
Austin – No motion blur here, but an upright figure with a statement to make. This is from a memorial outside the shipyard at Gdansk, Poland, remembering the victims of state reprisals against protestors. The plaque in this image highlights the casualties which followed a revolt against steep increases in the price of food and fuel in December 1970, particularly during a massacre known as “Black Thursday”. The phrases shown include “gave their lives” and victims of cruelty”. Plaques from other uprisings, some featuring quite powerful imagery, are mounted nearby.
Dawn ~ I thought Austin’s image was memorial so I have also chosen one with a more abstract design representing countless people who died during the Second World War. It is the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. The symbolic tombs are grey, the paint is graffiti resistant. The lab that make the paint is the same one that developed the gas for the concentration camps. When I took the photograph it had been raining when suddenly the sun came out. The red umbrella is still up, the only sign of life, perhaps in that brief moment it seemed to symbolise hope.
Bunshri ~ Having received image of a half ambiguous figure within what seemed like a cemetery, I decided to go completely ambiguous. This an image taken in my late mum-in-law’s bedroom. What do you think it is?
Sabes ~ I was wondering where the red patch came from in Bunshri’s photo. Doesn’t matter about its source. Without light nothing is visible.
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february 2023
Austin started and sent this image to Kate and Avril
Austin ~ The Egyptian sculptures in front of this terrace in Richmond Avenue, Islington, appear to commemorate Nelson’s victory at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, even though the houses were built over forty years later. This is an example of a quirkily historical London street and of Victorian Egyptomania, although the styling of the figures has also drawn comparisons with Las Vegas! I hope the lines and shapes shown provide a helpful basis for more images.
Kate took two images and one went to Anne
Anne sent this image to Sabes
Sabes sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Rashida
Rashida ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Austin’s amazing row of sphinxes – like many Consequences images – made me work hard to find my sequel. I ended up with one of the Sphinxes under Cleopatra’s needle on the Embankment. Only one sphinx. There are just two with the needle one on either side. Apparently they were supposed to be facing forward, rather than facing the monument. Taking both of them did not compose into an interesting picture for me.
Quite a story attaching to the taking of it. I decided that the Cleopatra’s needle sphinxes would be the answer to Austin’s picture. First of all I took a version with my lovely new (pre-loved) camera. Then I went to Waterstone’s cafe in Trafalgar Square for a coffee and snack. I was immersed in a book, with my backpack, containing camera, lenses, etc. When I got up to go, the backpack had vanished! Stolen! (Fortunately my handbag, which had been on my lap, was not taken – it contained wallet and phone) My camera and the morning’s photos were gone forever! Very upsetting and aggravating. Waterstone’s were very helpful, and I now have a police crime number etc. I went back and took more pictures on my phone.
I can’t resist adding the inscription in the second photograph. John Dixon, the civil engineer who worked out how to bring the monument to London, and designed the iron cylinder which it was floated in, was my grandfather’s uncle. Not surprisingly, he became a family legend, and I proudly own a nice watercolour painting and a few drawings by him. The cylinder became detached from the towing ship during a storm in the Bay of Biscay, and six men were sent out in a small boat to try to retrieve it. They all drowned, and the cylinder was found floating in the sea several days later. I don’t know who was responsible for ordering the men out, but John Dixon is said to have been haunted by their deaths for the rest of his life.’
Anne ~ I read about the obelisk from Alexandria and thought of the current discussion of things that have been brought here from ancient civilisations. I thought this statue in the British Museum was so beautiful but regret that I didn’t make a note of where it came from. (Note: There was a mixup by Mermie in sending Kate’s 2nd image to Anne instead of her first, but Anne rose to the occasion.)
Sabes ~ I found the missing bust of Anne’s lady – in Mickelepage in Horsham where Jill Stapleton of IPSE ran residential photography workshops.
Jim ~ Sabes’ photo is slightly mysterious. The figure appears to be religious while mine is not. But I was struck by the fact that the face is not fully in focus but the fabric is. In mine the man’s face is also somewhat obscured, this time by plastic which is there to protect the statues during the harsh Canadian winter weather (I went in early spring). My image is also largely monochrome.
Rashida ~ Jim’s arresting image in muted tones threw up many questions such as “why? how? where? where to?”.
My response was somewhat similar to the installation I photographed at the Rockefeller Plaza in NYC in 2019. This is the work of Jaume Plensa, a Spanish artist. It stands just under 7.5 metres tall. To quote the artist, “Sometimes, our hands are the biggest walls. They can cover our eyes, and we can blind ourselves to so much of what’s happening around us.”
To see the installation, visit https://umma.umich.edu/exhibitions/2020/jaume-plensa-behind-the-walls
Following on from Austin,
Avril sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Dawn
Dawn ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~As you can see, my 2009 image of the Chicago Art Institute complements Austin’s in several ways.
Colin ~ Avril’s image was the façade of the Chicago Art Institute, of which I had a very similar shot. I thought I might put in a ‘magic hour’ picture which included some of the skyscrapers in the background of Avril’s picture. However, I explored other art museums in USA, but felt the one I had of the Metropolitan Museum in New York City was too similar to Avril’s in style. I had this shot taken at the Museum of Modern Art from the rear courtyard, and chose it partly as it had Mary-esque qualities…
Mary ~ I have responded to Colin’s lovely image of glass with this one.
Hady ~ I received a beautiful image from Mary of the reflection of the sky and some reeds on what appears to be a shiny glass sphere.
It made me think of the reflection on a small, usually flooded area on the bank of the River Lea (one of my favourite walks). I thought this was similar in reflection, though it is natural.
Dawn ~ My picture follows Hady’s quite well with the trees and reflections. It was quite windy so the reflection of the trees across is not so sharp but the reflections in the foreground are clear.
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january 2023
Jim started and sent this image to Avril and Anne.
Taken in the turbine hall at Tate Modern, I loved the slow controlled movement of the artists and the slight asymmetry produced as one of the dancers takes over from the other.
Avril sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Sabes
Sabes ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~ In reply to Jim’s picture which I, at first, thought was a form of martial arts I have sent a picture of Morris dancers, the connection being the staves. A friend who is an authority on Japanese martial arts tells me it is not as I thought but could offer no clue. The Morris dancers were in St Christopher’s Place, St. Albans, one summer’s day. The children I observed did not seem impressed, it was either too noisy for them or too frightening.
Bunshri ~ Having received a colourful thought provoking image from Avril, I followed with this image and sent it to Colin. Avril’s image was colourful but I listened to my intuition and was drawn to muted colouring – changing the mood from fun to contemplation of mortality.
I call it the ‘Void’. Missing her from our extended family, been an emotional week and I was drawn to this.
Colin ~ Taken at Chanticleer Garden near Philadelphia in USA, this is in what is notionally the bathroom in a deliberately ruined house within the garden. Water continuously pours into a rectangular basin in which several marble masks are immersed.
Rashida ~ Colin sent me an image that transfixed me in a haunting, morbid sort of way and left me speechless. My imagination went into overdrive. The only word to describe the image that came to mind was “macabre”. It is a visually arresting image. On one of my walks in the woods during lockdown I was looking down at the ground. Nature had created some amazing artistry with rocks and stones which now on reflection could convey the same feel as in Colin’s image.
Sabes ~ I like the moments when animals pause and look at you. The pause can be to being startled, curiosity or confrontational. This frog was disturbed and startled as I was digging the earth in my alotment. In Rashida’s image rock and soil merge so an image where rock, soil and animal merging is an apt response. Frog emerging from the earth is a metaphor for life in earth and soil.
Following on from Jim, Anne sent this image to Austin
Austin sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Len
Len sent this image to Kate
Kate ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ Doing a Room. Ten minutes of spit and polish, putting up the cushions, fresh flowers – when I look back from the doorway, it’s as good as a Spring-clean!
Austin ~ Continuing from how Anne’s image captures “a job well done”, I took this picture of a runner who had just completed the Brighton half marathon, happy to be photographed along with his celebratory drink! It was a very hot day.
Hady ~ I received an image from Austin of a man wearing a finisher’s medal and holding a celebratory drink. My response image was taken earlier this year of a lady at the Colour Walk in Old Spitalfields Market in London’s East End. It shows a lady in a beautiful celebratory outfit that celebrates the New York Metro Card. Here is a link to the Colour Walk: https://oldspitalfieldsmarket.com/events/colour-walk
Len ~ I could not find anything to echo Hady’s picture of a cheerful sales promoter, either in terms of colour or content. But although she superficially seemed happy enough, I began to reflect on how awful it was to have to submit yourself to the public gaze in such an ugly outfit – all marketing and no style.
I’ve contrasted that with this image of a haute couture wedding gown being studied by the public whose reflections are visible in the showcase. True, one is real life and the other fantasy, but maybe the real-life woman might also sometimes dream of wearing Dior?
Kate ~ I was quite stumped about how to follow Len’s mysterious picture of a dressmaker’s dummy with an amazing pleated gown tacked together on it, with shadowy figures on the other side of the glass case behind it. I thought at first that they must be reflected in the glass, but there are no reflections over the dress – it is all very mysterious. Then, after the theatre I went to a Taz restaurant. The walls are decorated with large monochrome pictures of figures in presumably old Turkish costumes. They have no explanation attached. They are covered by very reflective glass. I photographed them discreetly on my phone, and I thought this image might do as a sequel to Len’s.
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December 2022
Len started and sent this image to Colin & Mermie
I was struck by what seemed to me to be the perfect graphic balance of this image of a fire hose reel and also by the stark contrast of the red against the white background. I took this image over 20
years ago, when I was still photographing on film and then scanning the negative roll. I’ve since
photographed other fire hose reels but like none of them as much as this one.
Colin sent this image to Rashida
Rashida sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Hady
Hady sent this image to Kate
Kate ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ Taken on a natural history holiday in the Cevennes in the South of France in the month of May. The directional quality of the blown snow was intriguing, while not totally obscuring the road sign. It picks up the circular shape and colour of Len’s image…
Rashida ~ Colin sent me a delightfully quirky image of a road sign covered with windswept snow icicles making an eye catching sculpture. The sharpness and icy cold oozes from the image! I have responded with an image that mimics the icicles in shape only. Mine is a close up of an ostrich feather. Fuzzy, soft and warm to the touch. The feathers were made into dusters in South Africa when I was growing up.
Avril ~ The leaves on these palm trees, taken in Florida in a storm, looked like feathers. If you look closely in the sky, you might see Orion.
Hady ~ Avril sent me an image of fronds of a palm tree with sky background that included some clouds and a large number of white dots that could have been stars. It reminded me of one of my images that show some tree branches with autumn leaves and fluffy clouds in the background. I thought my image was suitable follower to Avril’s.
Kate ~ Hady’s image shows twigs, grasses and leaves against a beautiful sky. This my response – an evening sunset picture on the common near our house in Ingleton. The tree silhouetted against the bright cloud. The poor tree is suffering very badly from the ash dieback disease which is badly affecting the many ashes in the area.
Following on from Len,
Mermie sent this image to Sabes
Sabes sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Bunshri
Bunshri ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mermie ~ Taken in 2013 in Hanger 7 at the Salzburg Airport. The structure is an oval rather than a circle, but the pattern of wires recall the squares of the tiles of the wall in Len’s image.
Sabes ~ Strange that Mermie’s image of the steel and glass hanger should evoke a response that is organic in nature. There are repeating oval steel frames that pull our attention to the circle in the centre like the cavity around the eye gradually pulling you into the pupils. Then there are the bolts or connectors looking like human figures. Architecture adopts its shapes from the nature. All in the looking and taking in.
Anne ~ The picture from Sabes was full of movement and going round and I thought this very different image repeated that.
Jim ~ I really loved Anne’s image of the two dancing girls which is brilliant. So an impossible act to follow but I was immediately reminded of this image. I took it at a wedding and this girl was one of the bridesmaids who liked running. One of the key differences (other than the fact that there is only one girl and not two) is that I have panned the camera blurring the background, while in Anne’s image the background is sharp and only the girls are blurred.
Bunshri ~ Following on to Jim’s thought provoking image I follow on with this one I took in Porto. I loved how the slow exposure caught this girl in the waterfall. It follows on from Jim’s movement shot in black and white – though mine is in colour – but muted meditative colours too.
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November 2022
Duncan started and sent this image to Bunshri & Hady
This starting image is from my recent trip. I was bored waiting for a train in Turin.
A bit daunting providing the first image for consequences. Hopefully this image has a few motifs that could spark a response. Geometry, shadows, being nearly monochrome but for a splash of colour or possibly a sense of enigma.
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Bunshri sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Bunshri ~ Receiving Duncan’s emotive image drew me to dig out this image I had captured in Douro Valley. I loved the rustic uneven floor with weird lines and a lot of feet, including the legs of the table and chair.
Rashida ~ Bunshri sent an unusual image of people who appear to be standing in a circle, showing only their lower legs and feet with a low table and chair at the top left hand of the image. There is an interesting stone floor. Could this be a seance, meditation session, exhibition tour or anything else where your imagination takes you? My response is from a delightful exhibition called “Sense of Space” in Bishopsgate in 2018. This image was taken in “The Doodle Room” created by Sam Cox aka Mr Doodle. He bought a large house and completely covered it with doodles. Attached are links to the exhibition as well as info about the artist:
https://news.artnet.com/market/mr-doodle-profile-auction-sales-1947142/amp-page
Sense of Space: A sensory experience of mindful art | Broadgate
https://www.housebeautiful.com/uk/lifestyle/property/a41557616/doodle-house-kent-sam-cox-artist/
Colin ~ I was at a study day about Oriental carpets in 2007. By contrast with Rashida’s very black & white image, this one has an area of colourful patterns, and I also decided that at minimum the speaker’s legs were needed to relate it to Rashida’s picture.
Avril ~ Colin’s picture presented me with a conundrum, I rarely take pictures of people and carpets? My only response was to take a picture of my own hallway, the existing carpet is modern, though hand woven, those that had been in my home for years having been relegated to the attic as too worn for use having passed through a few generations. The trunk belonged to my grandmother and acted as a toy box for my brother and myself when young. Everything has a history.
Jim ~ I have concentrated on the patterned rug which runs at a diagonal. Here are a series of colourful saris laid out to dry after having been washed, and also seem running diagonally. Taken in South India many years ago. The people in the image also partly reflect the portrait in Avril’s photo, but mine is outside in bright sunlight rather than indoors in subdued filtered lighting.
Following on from Duncan,
Len sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Anne
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Anne ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Len ~ As soon as I saw Duncan’s image I knew exactly which of mine I wanted to follow it. Unfortunately my image isn’t quite sharp. That’s because I took it as a grab shot while walking along with my camera in my hand by my side. But not being as sharp as it should be is perhaps forgivable within the Consequences context.
There are obvious content and form similarities but, more importantly, I think both mine and Duncan’s image pose the same question to the viewer “What’s the story here?”, and that, for me at any rate, is their main attraction and link.
Mary ~ When I first saw Len’s image I was struck very much with the mysterious aspect to the image – what was in the box and what was the person doing? My image reflects the same sense of mystery with the steps, empty shoes and the open door leading to where?? I will let the viewer decide for themselves the narrative!
Kate ~ This follows Mary’s lovely mysterious picture of brightly lit steps with a walking stick and shoes on top steps leading into an unseen out of doors. You can see what’s outside the door in my picture – Plaza Abastos, supplies place, rather mundane. It is the entrance to a castle in a small town in Andalucía, you can see part of the wooden place where you buy your ticket on the right. I was captivated by the way the light through the old door falls on the wheelchair ramp. I wonder how the wheelchair is supposed to get in through the door? Maybe someone comes out of the wooden structure on the right and opens the whole door…?
Hady ~ I received an image from Kate that shows the sunlight coming through an open door, revealing a glimpse of a shop/restaurant outside. The rest of the image of the inside of the building is in relative darkness.
Kate’s image reminded me of a photograph I took of the gate of a villa on The Bishops Avenue in London. My image shows the sun shining through the closed gate producing attractive shapes, lines and curves of light and shadows.
Anne ~ My gate picture is rough & ready and inviting, in contrast to Hady’s elegant one.
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october 2022
Mary started and sent this image to Anne and Hady
This starting image is one of an on-going series with the Art Deco theme which I really enjoy putting together. Thinking about how to put the props together is quite a challenge but when it works I am very happy! It is all about shapes, space and the relation they all have. I hope the viewer finds them calm and thoughtful?
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Anne sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ My offering for the October Consequences follows on from Mary’s images of shapes and light that I saw in the architecture of the National Theatre.
Jim ~ Anne’s image is clearly taken inside the National Theatre on South Bank – designed by Denys Lasdun – one of the five most hated as well as one of the five most loved buildings in England! Termed brutalist architecture its walls are of exposed board-formed concrete. Some critics likened it to a nuclear bunker. For me, the exposed concrete works very well in interior spaces (it is almost cosy) but less well externally. However overall I admire the design of the building. I thought that this photo of the exterior with dramatic lighting shows the exposed concrete to best effect.
Bunshri ~ Having received Jim’s beautiful image in blue with one subject who is a silhouette – so quite ambiguous – I decided to show this image where there is a lot of blue. It is at an exhibition at the Royal Academy called Silent Fall. Can you make out what is happening???
Rashida ~ Bunshri’s evocative image is of a little boy transfixed and seemingly mesmerised by what looks like an indoor light/art installation. My image in response is from the Lumiere London Light Festival in January 2016. The light installations reimagine London’s architecture, transforming it into a dazzling nocturnal exhibition.
Mermie ~ When the opportunity arose for me to participate, I looked through some images from our recent trip to the Hudson River Valley in New York State. This view inside part of the Tibetan Buddhist Monastery near Woodstock includes many of the elements in Rashida’s picture – faces, balconies, arches, pillars – that are all much, much more saturated in colour than Rashida’s nighttime view.
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Following on from Mary, Hady sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Len
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Len ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ The image I received from Mary was an interesting one of objects with geometric shapes , straight lines, acute angles and a circle.
Mary’s image reminded me of an image I took in 2017 at Ground Zero in New York City. Although my image is architectural, it shares the straight lines, acute angles and curves.
Kate ~ I couldn’t match the strength and impact of Hady’s picture of amazing architecture. But I think this one taken on the Embankment going towards the Oxo tower echoes its composition – a tall building reaching for the sky, with another structure reaching across it, and reflections in glass beneath. It was taken on a lovely day in April, seeing London our two teenage granddaughters.’
Avril ~ My Consequences image follows Kate with these railings of the Millennium Bridge and the pattern of scullers passing underneath.
Colin ~ My picture was taken at the back of Wadworth’s Brewery in Devizes, when on a visit there – the colours of the scaffolding plank ends and the poles reflected the colour of the Kayaks and the geometry of the footbridge across the Thames by Tate Modern (which I am pretty sure it is).
Len ~ As soon as I saw Colin’s image of stacked scaffolding boards I knew I had nothing in my archives that I could relate to it. Then I remembered that I had recently purchased a bundle of strips of wood for a DIY project which turned out not to need them.
I thought I could photograph them as planks of wood with no indication of their scale although in fact they are barely 1cm wide.
I also decided to present the image as a high contrast black/white photograph, to further emphasise the stacked form, although Colin’s is of course a colour image and, in his case, the different coloured board ends are an important factor in his picture.
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September 2022
Mermie started and sent this image to Kate and Anne.
During a short walk while waiting for a meeting to begin, I saw this cemetery and liked the regular rows with the tree behind.
The cat enjoying the shade of the tree appealed also.
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Kate sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Mermie’s sunny picture of regimented headstones with the big yew standing over them like a sergeant major got me collecting lots of my quite recent pictures of headstones, graveyards etc. I didn’t think until later that a picture of soldiers or demonstrators marching might have been a good sequel. I ended up with another sunny picture, taken in the churchyard at Ayot St Peter last year.
I think you can guess that it is a churchyard if the writing on the stone monument is visible – ‘In my end is my beginning’. Maybe the gate also suggests a beginning, inviting you to go through it into a new world…
Colin ~ This was taken in Angers in France when we were on a trip to sing with a local choir. The lump of stone in the distance picked up on the obelisk in Kate’s picture. Although a more formal setting, grass and trees also featured.
I rather liked the two girls relaxing, probably a lunch break from the office or college.
Mary ~ Colin’s image is about 2 people chatting on a stone wall with someone walking around in the background.
My image reflects the people sitting on a stone wall but instead of talking to each other they are communicating on their phones. Also the 2 people walking in the background could be meeting up for a chat??!
Avril ~ When I received Mary’s image my immediate thought was the seating looked like a submarine. Hence my picture, a WWII sub the USS Becuna moored alongside a Spanish/American War era cruiser the USS Olympia, part of the Independence Seaport Museum at Penn’s Landing on the Delaware River in Philadelphia.
I went on board the Becuna and appreciated the courage of those who served on her during the war. I’m not sure which was worse serving in tanks or in submarines – neither for the claustrophobic.
Sabes ~ I am in Canada. I thought I’d send a picture in quick response to Avril’s picture. This is what I found out of my bedroom window.
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Following on from Mermie, Anne sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ Here is the image I have sent to Bunshri. Another graveyard; a jewish cemetery in Germany, just along the road from where my sister lives. It is peaceful and having to be extended because of the influx of Jewish people moving into Germany. It seems so extraordinary that, while terrible things were being inflicted on Jewish people in the thirties and forties this place was looked after by a local non jewish man. He is remembered with a plaque on the cemetery wall.
Bunshri ~ Following on to Anne’s image of the graveyard, this image came to mind. I had taken it last week at St. Albans Cathedral.
I loved the light and can imagine a doorway to Nirvana.
Rashida ~ Bunshri’s image is of a stunning interior of a church with magnificent arches with a lovely feeling of calmness. In response, my image from Istanbul is of very small mosque, the Imperial Sofa Mosque in the fourth courtyard of the Topkapi Palace built by Sultan Mahmud II. The windows overlooking the sea have shapes similar to the arches in Bunshri’s image. The woman in the image of was doing her prayers.
The mosque is very small and simple and exuded a feeling of peace and calmness.
Hady ~ I received an image from Rashida of a woman performing her prayers in a seaside mosque with blue carpet and blue sea water showing through a couple of windows.
Rashida’s image reminded me of an image I took of the inside of a dome of a small building that supplies free drinking water outside and close to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul and clear blue sky showing through two arches.
Jim ~ Hady’s image appears to be from a mosque with glimpses of tall, slim minarets and the ornate patterning of the underside of the vaulted ceiling. My image is only of the vaulted ceiling taken at the Alhambra, Grenada, Spain.
I was fascinated with the complex layering and its almost organic feel – it feels like a mythical sea creature.
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Note: There was no August meeting.
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July 2022
A blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Avril started and sent this image to Kate and to Hady.
Avril ~ Anicka Yi: In Love With The World. A vision of a new ecosystem, floating in the air, her machines – called – aerobes – reimagine artificial intelligence and encourage us to think about new ways machines might inhabit the earth.
An exhibition shown in the Turbine Hall Tate Modern last year.
They were quite fascinating as they ‘floated’ around like giant soap bubbles with legs, each one had a tiny motor attached.
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Kate sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Duncan
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Duncan ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Avril’s picture looks down from a great height on a large space (maybe Tate Modern entrance area). Tiny people looking up at strange bright coloured floating balloon like floating things. The other day I was just outside the Hayward Gallery and saw the bright coloured installation – another work of art in a large space. My people are not looking at the art (though the pigeon just behind them is). They are photographing the name of the artist on a yellow pillar. I failed to do this, so I can’t report who it is.
Sabes ~ Pigeon and Robin. The bird in Kate’s photograph is out of the view of those in the frame. The bird in my photo takes the centre stage on the side mirror of the car. It occasionally looked at itself on the mirror assuring its identity. Shame they are not the same kind.
Rashida ~ Sabes’s image for me was about shapes and lines with a Robin sitting on the wing mirror of the car in the foreground, making it the focal point. My response is an image playing with these components. A solitary pigeon in the foreground (focal point), making a triangular shape with two other pigeons in the background, two people on a wall and the grey patio paving sort of mirroring the two cars and the grey tarmac and the splash of greenery in both images.
Mary ~ What’s for lunch? People and bird in foreground – red umbrellas.
Duncan ~ A very quick scrabble to find a response to Mary’s beach image with the somewhat malevolent eye of the seagull. Here the eye is part of the ironwork of a lamppost at a rather busy Margate.
Following on from Avril, Hady sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Avril’s image was of the big hall at the Tate Modern with some colourful installations. It immediately reminded me of an image I took recently of some very colourful light fittings in a Turkish restaurant we frequent sometimes. I am not sure if the light fittings are Turkish or Moroccan. Both images share colourful installations, although of different nature, but I thought the similarities and the differences between the images are worth celebrating.
Anne ~ Hady’s image of colourful globes reminded me of the beautiful arrangements at our local market of fruit and vegetables. They look enticing and taste good too.
Colin ~ Anne’s picture contains a group of rectangular shapes holding different coloured fruit. I decided to choose a picture that maintained the rectangular shapes and at least some of their colours. I had thought of using a photograph I had taken at MOMA of a Rothko, but felt that that had no personal input, so I chose this Rolls-Royce car rear light cluster instead.
Len ~ Colin’s graphic photo is based on a luxury mode of transport – one of the Rolls-Royce Flying Spur series motor cars. I went up to London by train recently and during that journey looked for a follow-on image. I saw these railway buffers at Clapham Junction Overground Station that seemed to echo some of the shapes and colour in Colin’s image, albeit at the other end of the transport hierarchy.
Jim ~ Here is my consequences image following on from Len. I think the geometrical parallels are obvious and I have clearly gone from bright, shiny and colourful metal to eroded and desaturated timber.
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June 2022
A blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Bunshri started and sent this image to Jim and to Mary.
Bunshri ~ Who helps whom? The innocence of a child or the wisdom of the next generation. Who brings joy – to whom??? Love the simplicity of this image. This was taken in my home.
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Jim sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Bunshri has an image of two hands, a child’s and an adult’s, while mine is also of two hands but belonging to the same person. The thread in the cloth is reflected in the piece of extruded gold being wound around the ring being made by my friend who is a goldsmith. Also B&W and sharing something of the atmosphere of Bunshri’s image.
Colin ~ The picture was taken in 1985 at a car club conference: the number of different hand poses chimed with Jim’s more detailed study of hands. Here they are gesturing in explanation, rather than showing fine work in progress.
Kate ~ Colin’s picture of three grey heads in deep discussion over a machine – presumably a very special car engine – immediately put me in mind of pictures I took years ago at various sheep shows in the Yorkshire Dales. Some HFFers may remember this one which was part of my LRPS panel. It was taken at the Tan Hill show. Three men are studying the nose of one of the sheep. Unlike Colin’s men, these ones are surrounded by onlookers, maybe adding their opinions, maybe listening to the wisdom the experts are uttering. I didn’t find out whether this sheep won any of the coveted prizes.
Avril ~ In answer to Kate’s image. I had another but it is a print and my scanner will not connect to my computer at the moment and then I found this. It is a sheep, but in Covent Garden.
Rashida ~ Avril’s image of a Candy Baa is delightful and humorous. The shapes and colours reminded me of an image I took of the ladies washroom in a restaurant in Johannesburg in 2019 which makes me smile as does Avril’s image.
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Following on from Bunshri, Mary sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Hady
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Hady ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mary ~ My picture links to the old and the new of the hands of the adult and the baby. The tines of the fork also echo the shape of the baby’s fingers.
Anne ~ I was looking for an autumn leaf photo and found this image with many autumn leaves and even a sort of fork in the leaning rake.
Len ~ Anne’s image is of a beautiful garden scene, probably in autumn judging by the abundance of leaves. It called to mind a contrasting photo I took way back in the spring of 2005, in the famous tulip park in Holland called the Keukenhof. Both images are quintessentially about their locations – Anne’s an English garden and mine Dutch.
Hady ~ Len’s image of vividly coloured flowers reminded me of an image of a photo of a shop window of a delicatessen I took in Toronto, Canada in October 2018. The window was decorated for the occasion of Hallowe’en. The vivid colours of my image are reminiscent of those in Len’s image.
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May 2022
A blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Avril started and sent this image to Len and to Mermie
Avril ~ My image is of my garden table with reflections in the granite, I took it during the summer last year, one of a series of shadows and reflections.
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Len sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Colin
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Colin ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Len ~ With my follow-up to Avril’s picture I have tried to capture a similar mood as well as relating to a similar subject. Both pictures show trees indistinctly seen. In Avril’s case they appear to be reflected in a broken sheet of glass, in mine they are seen through a window behind the slats of a venetian blind. In both, the sunlight shines back at the viewer and adds a haze which contributes to the feeling of mystery.
For once, I didn’t go to my archives but made this image specifically as my response.
Anne ~ Len’s picture to me was of a venetian blind and I had this picture with the shadows of a blind in my sister’s bathroom. I liked the contrast between the straight lines of the blind and its shadows and the tangled leaves of the plant and my sister doing her hair.
Rashida ~ Anne sent an evocative image of a lady doing up her hair, a plant and some shadows cast by a blind in the foreground. My response is an image taken of a Harrods window display which mimics the shapes created in Anne’s image but in a more chaotic graphic way.
Mary ~ Rashida’s image is reminiscent of the surrealist photographers…..shape and shades of monochrome inviting the audience to imagine what it is. My response was this image which although one can see the objects it still has an air of mystery and it is also reminiscent of the ’30’s photographers.
Colin ~ Mary’s picture featured circles and curves, as well as a straight line between black and white areas. The sphere gave some interesting optical effects. I was looking through some pictures of bits of cars and felt that this followed on some of Mary’s picture theme. I did have to remove a large area of red from mine, but left other colour present.
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Following on from Avril, Mermie sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Gordon
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Gordon ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mermie ~ The straight lines of the tall plant ending in Vs on a background of early spring residue from last year’s meadow echo several elements in Avril’s image.
Hady ~ The image I received from Mermie showed widespread dry brown reeds, with a little thicker, darker and taller one in the middle.
It reminded me of an image I took last year during lockdown walks on the bank of River Lea in Hartham Common in Hertford. Mine shows a long structure of a dry brown plant against clear blue sky. I thought it was an ideal follow to Mermie’s image.
Kate ~ I thought first of following Hady’s two teasel heads against a beautiful blue sky with another picture of flowers or trees. But then the teasels began to seem like two people, one leaning affectionately towards the taller one behind. And the two prominent spikes on the sides looked rather like raised arms. This reminded me of Stephen doing his TaiChi exercise in the garden with friends during lockdown. Rather a change in direction from the teasels – I wonder what will follow!
Bunshri ~ Having received Kate’s image of the 3 doing TaiChi, I found this image of 3 peacocks which brings me calm.
Jim ~ As you know I am in Canada. And when I saw Bunshri’s photo of the peacock with its beautiful plumage (well, the male peacock at least) then I thought of this image that I took on my walk in Cape Breton (the relatively remote northern part of Nova Scotia). This species of butterfly is a migrant to the UK and is very rare in the UK. It was named the “Camberwell Beauty” when two specimens were caught in Cold Arbour Lane near Camberwell in 1748. It is known as Mourning Cloak in the US and Canada. They overwinter as butterflies: spring is much later in this part of Canada compared with the UK which may account for the fact that this is the only butterfly I have seen in my three weeks here in Canada.
Gordon ~ This was a photo I made as part of a group project on ‘Coast’. The butterfly’s wings reminded me of this tent on the beach, and the person emerging is a sort of reverse metamorphosis.
april 2022
A blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Anne started and sent this image to Rashida & Jim
Anne ~ I took this photo of a street in Cromarty leading down to the Firth with an oil rig that had been brought in for repair from the North Sea. It seemed to show two different ways of life – a little fishing village and a giant 20th century engineering monster.
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Rashida sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Hady
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Hady ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Anne’s image was most intriguing and somewhat surreal. An idyllic country setting with beautiful homes on either side of the road leading to a lake or river. There is even a bench at the waters edge to relax. Then there is the strange construction balanced on pillars in the water and on it or on the land behind something that looks like a UFO and a crane to one side. I look forward to finding out what those contraptions could be. So my response was to show a leaning part of an old wall surrounded by greenery and modern buildings as the opposite to Anne’s image. My image is of an art installation on the High Line in New York City.
Colin ~ The picture I received featured both ruined brickwork and more modern buildings, plus a lot of vegetation. What I chose has apparently ruined stonework and a lot of vegetation: two out of the three features.
It is at Chanticleer garden near Philadelphia – what was a house within the estate grounds was deliberately made ruined as a setting for gardening. This shot includes reflections in the water of the ‘billiard table’, adding something a bit weird to the view.
Mary ~ When I saw Colin’s picture it reminded me very much of the image that I have replied with – while Colin’s image is of a double archway with a landscape behind them, my image is a double exposure of windows and landscape. Both have nature and human hands at work.
Len ~ I was flummoxed by Mary’s image. I couldn’t work out whether it was a double exposure or a partial reflection and couldn’t think of a directly related response.
So I cheated with my follow up and fabricated this seaside fantasy in Photoshop. The dress is by Dior btw.
Bunshri ~ After Len’s surreal image of a mannequin in the sea I came up with this image of a leg of a mannequin in a little roadside shack in Dominican Republic.
Hady ~ Bunshri’s image reminded me of one I took in London’s South bank in August 2017. There was a festival going on. There were people having fun all over the place. Included in these were people (children and adults) having fun in a water fountain. The blue colour of the corrugated iron shack in Bunshri’s image reminded me of the colour of the water fountain. The care free feel in my image also relates to the tropical look in Bunshri’s image.
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Following on from Anne, Jim sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes sent this image to Avril
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Avril ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Anne’s image is of a North Sea drilling platform at the end of a domestic street in open water, slightly obscured. So mine is also industrial in nature, also somewhat obscured but with the same flash of red as in Anne’s image.
Dawn ~ Mine follows Jim’s reflection picture. It was taken in Egypt on the river where we were staying in a hotel. The rope on which the bird is sitting was tied to a boat with a very colourful awning and is reflected in the water. It is distorted by the ripples on the water.
Kate ~ How to follow Dawn’s water bird against the amazing reflections in the water below? I have no satisfactory bird picture, but I love reflections. This one is on the river at Tübingen near Stuttgart in Germany. The reflections of the old houses are wonderful – and much photographed by tourists including me. I rather liked the row of moored punts on the surface above the reflections.
Sabes ~ A rather quick response to Kate’s image as I am travelling. It’s the cars represented in the reflected texture of buildings for me.
Avril ~ I couldn’t find the picture I really wanted but I did think if all those cars in the picture Sabes sent had been stacked in this car park a great deal of land would have been saved.
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March 2022
A blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Colin started and sent this image to Dawn and Hady
Colin ~ Taken while waiting for the train into London, apart from the back light that emphasised textures, there is the message that anyone travelling in London is familiar with. Possibly a little blur of movement might have helped…
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Dawn sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Len
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Len ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Dawn ~ Colin’s picture is of boots and walking between two lines. The children’s legs are on the beam at their gymnastics class. It sort of follows the theme.
Sabes ~ It’s the colours that made me choose this photograph to respond to Dawn’s. But it’s more than the colour that is at work. Dawn’s photograph creates a sense of joy. With that sense, when I move to my image that experience persists. I don’t know if it is because of the movement of memory from one to the other despite the absence of people in mine. Whatever the reason I see harmony between the two.
Jim ~ I didn’t spend long thinking about how to follow on from Sabes but I was struck by the angle of the shot and the fact that the glasses and cups looked like people standing next to each other. My image also has the red. Taken in Granada in southern Spain – appears to be a christening (or is it a wedding?).
Rashida ~ Jim shared an interesting image of an elegant lady seen from the back in a stunning red dress and with a hand which seems to be reaching out to a young child. The man looks dapper and handsome in a blue suit and matching suede shoes and is protectively carrying a baby in his arms. The baby is in what looks like a christening gown. So I am assuming the photo was outside a church. And then there is pair of feet at the top of the photo, in casual shoes.
My response was to focus on elements such as the colour red, the ladies’ hand, the feet and the carrying of something valuable. These elements are present in my image taken at an exhibition at the Blain|Southern Gallery in Hanover Square, London showing the work of Chiharu Shiota titled “Me Somewhere Else”.
Anne ~ I have sent the attached photo to Len today. It follows on from Rashidas image with a figure – either a model or a visitor – in a gallery. I took my photo at an exhibition of. Chinese art at the Hayward Gallery some years ago. Both figures are alive.
Len ~ Most of us have probably taken photographs of visitors to exhibitions while we were visiting the exhibition ourselves.
The more enigmatic the exhibition, then the more one tries to imagine what the viewer might be thinking and placing both the viewer and the object within the photographic frame allows this conjecture to flourish.
My photo was taken in 2019 at the Haywards Gallery where there was an exhibition of the work of an artist called Kader Attica. I had actually gone to see another exhibition altogether at the same location – a wonderful show of Diane Arbus’s work – but this arrangement of people looking at the seated prosthetic legs and video screens in an adjacent gallery really caught my attention. I have no idea what it was about.
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Following on from Colin, Hady sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
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Kate sent an alternative image to follow Hady
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Colin’s image was unusual enough to make me think out of the box.
The shape of the legs reminded me of an image I took a few years ago to some new buildings in NYC near Ground Zero. Besides sharing the shape, the subject is completely different and I thought it would add a new spin to Colin’s image.
Kate ~ I took this picture while staying in Zuheros, a small village in the mountains south-east of Córdoba. It was in April and there was heavy rain in the night – rare in that very dry region. In the morning there was a thick mist over the hills above the village. I walked up the track towards the mountains and gradually the sun broke through the cloud. It was marvellous! Hady’s image looks up at amazing structures against a blue sky, gleaming in the sunlight. I thought my picture could follow his, because it is also looking up – towards two strange shaped trees, the cliffs with the cross on top – a man-made structure.
Bunshri ~ Having received the emotive image from Kate, showing there is light seeping through during the conflict, I dug out this image taken whilst walking in Regents Street just before Christmas. The white cloud is seeing us through- bringing light come what May, into our everyday lives during this pandemic.
Avril ~ Following on from Bunshri’s image of Christmas decorations I thought I would follow with the bizarre image of shoes hanging from wires in Swallow Street which I saw on an occasion when I had been to the Huxley Parlour photo gallery. The puzzle is, who threw them there and why?
Mary ~The 2 elements that stand out for me from Avril’s are shoes and pavement-like texture of the wall. My image is of shoes being worn walking on the pavement so these 2 elements in my image echoes the ‘shoes over the wires’.
Mermie ~A few years ago I was watching these sheep and took a few photos because I liked the way they had lined themselves up comfortably in the sun – except for one. Having seen a lot of feet in Mary’s image, I chose this set.
Kate ~ I am also sending my second choice picture taken in Olite, near Pamplona. This is looking up at a turret of the splendid much-restored medieval castle, a gift for period film makers and a great tourist attraction. The structure in the foreground is the top of an old ice-house. They also make very nice wine locally.
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February 2022
Back to a blended meeting at the Tennis Club and on Zoom.
Dawn started and sent this image to Avril and Len
Dawn ~ This has been done in rather a hurry, however I chose this photograph because it was such grey rainy day in January and in the picture the rhododendrons are in full boom in May showing the promise of spring when every thing comes to life again and the bright days return. The photograph was taken at RHS Wisley. It was quite early in the day so there is a haze on the trees with fresh green leaves that contrast with the colour in the foreground.
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Avril sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~ I was a bit stumped as to how to follow Dawn. I had plenty of flower images but Boston, Patriot’s Day and the marathon had been on my mind recently and this incorporated those thoughts and flowers.
Bunshri ~ I chose this image to send to Hady, as it mirrored Avril’s 3/4 layers from front to back.
My image was shot in Kent from a hide where people go bird watching. I wanted to describe through the delicate image – how light I felt being away in nature. It was my first time camping since I was a teen and I was excited like a child.
Hady ~ Bunshri’s image was rather unusual. It reminded me of a photo I took not long ago during a walk in Hartham Common of a little pond. The image has a similar “structure” of bands of water, land and sky.
Jim ~ My response to Hady’s is quite straight forward, namely evening light reflected in the water. In my case the water is the sea off the north east coast of England rather than what appears to be a small lake in the countryside.
Anne ~ Jim’s was a surprisingly difficult image to follow. I eventually chose this sky scape with the sun just showing through.
Mermie ~ This sunset occurred about a week ago. I was overawed by its intensity and couldn’t not go outdoors to photograph it.
Following on from Dawn, Len sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Len ~ Dawn’s flowers looked very fitting in their setting. By way of contrast, my picture shows a few poppies growing naturally on a small grassy area and a greater variety of cut flowers left on the various memorials far removed from where they originally grew, all in a totally different sort of location.
The reason I took this photo was not because of the flowers but because of the grotesque cement works poised as if ready to advance on, and then devour, this small cemetery, were it not restrained from so doing by the power of the cross in the foreground.
Colin ~ Taken from the High Line in New York City in 2016. I admit that I hadn’t noticed the relation between the eyes on the end of the building and the sign on the taxi when I took it.
Anyway, this was the consequence of my looking at Len’s picture – a sense of incongruity in the scene. Enough colour in foreground to go with the flowers and the grey tarmac, although the road works don’t quite equate with the industrial plant in Len’s, nor the buildings with the stonework of the cemetery…
Mary ~ Colin’s image is taken from above the road….my image is taken from the Millenium bridge. It has a similar geometric shape to Colin’s image and few people. It has been pointed out that the oval structure the 2 girls are sitting on echos the yellow van in Colin’s.
Kate ~ Mary’s picture shows a paved area, outside a large evidently elegant building, with a wall and steps descending on the other side. Four people are ignoring each other, two walking by, two of them sitting well apart on a stone seat. All viewed from above.
My picture is also of people seen from above: old men sitting by a road on a pair of benches. They might well be spending most of the day there. The old men may be ignoring each other, but two of them are engaged in conversation with passers by – and a dog. They are by a road, and there is a wall and trees behind them. In fact it is a very steep drop, down to the river Tajo, which runs round Toledo.
Rashida ~ Kate’s delightful image seems to be of a “walk, talk, sit and then talk some more group” with a fur-friend in tow and a younger person observing them, sitting on/standing near benches in front of a beautiful wall with trees beyond. My response was the opposite with a broken wall in front of the Petit Palais in Paris with people walking by having minimal social interaction. The wall was an art installation best described in the accompanying image.
Sabes ~ In Rashida’s photograph the built structure appears to be destroyed and people in the background are passing. Here dismantled wood materials are placed. Although it appears messy there is some tidiness in the way they are placed there. The people are replaced by graffiti. It’s equally as busy as Rashida’s picture but in different ways.
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January 2022
This set of Consequences was intended to be easy for everyone during the festive season, so Mermie sent her starting image to all HFF members.
Mermie: I enjoy taking pictures as we pass vans and lorries on our drive along the A303 towards Devon. This image, taken in early November 2021, was especially fortuitous in its colours and shapes.
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Rashida: Matching colours at a festival in New York City.
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Hady: Colours that match and shapes that accentuate the curves.
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Bunshri: After the glow of colours on a passing van, and the reflection in the car’s side mirror, my image is juxtaposed as a static self portrait.
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Colin: My Consequences picture reflects the colour and shape of the ‘crown’ of the starting picture and its darker background.
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Kate: The Crown colours on the van stumped me for a while. Then I thought “Colours?” “Crown?” A king? And I remembered the old Russian wooden painted ninepins which had come to me from my mother. The children still love playing with them on the sitting room carpet. I’ve done what I could with hopeless light. And I was in a rush – as always!
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Here are the ninepins arranged on the floor ready for a game.
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Len: Here’s my image – at least there’s a van in it.
It was taken a few years ago at a vintage event held at Granary Square, just by King’s Cross Station. That event had lots of stalls selling bric-a-brac, a brace of 60s, 70s, 80s vehicles, and some guys on penny farthing cycles, all of which provided me with a few subjects for my camera.
This portrait of a ‘decorated’ camper van and its proud owner and his dog is one of my favourites from that day.
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Anne: Similar colours and pointed shapes in the garden.
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Jim: These are cycle rickshaws (known as a becak). Photo taken in Salawesi, an Indonesian island. The becak drivers are waiting in the shade for customers. I thought the bespoke decoration reflected Mermie’s image.
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Good News Guy, South Africa via Rashida:
December 2021
Bunshri started and sent her image to Kate, Colin and Hady.
This image is part of my series of ‘Silent Voice’ – about my mother-in-law’s Alzheimer’s. It is from my working project before I chose the images for the final book.
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Kate sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Anne
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Anne ended with this image
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Bunshri’s picture said so much to me. The world is fading away, becoming distant and confused – with bright, dazzling elements. The past is still just visible, in the photos, and the tiny corner of something else at the top right. There is also some happiness alongside the confusion and sadness. Surely the young girl with long hair is smiling?
I am following with more confusion. We see the wet garden through a misty window. The regular circles (something to do with the reinforced double glazing) could represent order and reason; but what does the snail’s trail say? Is it a cross, meaning “No, you can’t get out there?
Rashida ~ Kate’s intriguing image of patterns created on a patio glass door covered with condensation is full of mystery as one tries to see beyond to part of the house on the side and beyond to the landscape of trees and what I can imagine is a garden. My response is an equally foggy image of an imagined landscape but it is truly and completely synthetic created with upholstery fabric while a sofa was being dismantled.
Jim ~ Rashida’s image is ethereal and enigmatic in very de-saturated colours. It is also in square format, which I have replicated. So I have tried to emulate that with this image which I think conjures up a land or seascape. It is in fact the light falling on the stainless steel backsplash behind my cooker, with lights reflected off various jars and bowls. Not my usual style, but I guess that is what consequences is all about!
Anne ~ Jim’s was a surprisingly difficult image to follow. I eventually chose this skyscape with the sun just showing through.
Kate was moved to send two additional images
Bunshri’s picture suggests that we are seeing how the viewer views her life – she is the young girl and the older woman. This set me thinking about looking at records of our past. The first picture is of my daughter and family enjoying looking at my wedding pictures – my past in an old black and white print in a falling to pieces album.
This view is of the house where I lived as a child – my bedroom window is under the eaves at the top right. But I can’t get near it now (there’s a high fence and locked gates round the garden). I can only see it through the trees which have grown up over the years. My view, like my memories of childhood, is obscured by all the other memories and experiences which get in the way…
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Following on from Bunshri, Colin sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ Based on Bunshri’s, which I guess was from her expression of images gradually escaping comprehension, this is based on maintaining vision while being compromised by cataracts and having to find the right glasses for particular tasks.
Avril ~ The books were published in 1849: my own and read. The monocle belonged to my father. How old, I have no idea, but he did wear it.
Sabes ~The old books with gold embossed decoration on their spine on a wooden table and a monocle sitting on top of them are subjects on Avril’s photograph. The platted lanyard of the monocle is tied with a knot on the end stopping the platte unfurling further. My image is an extract from a response by Barrie Tullette (1989) to a poem “I Found Myself Within a Forest” by Dante, shown at the Ashmolean Museum. I have presented the curator’s caption next to the print in full:
‘As the letters take on the layered colours and shadows on the dark wood in which Dante is lost, they lose coherence and conventional meaning. A graphic designer working here with letterpress, Barrie Tullette responds to the experience of reading a poem, which is made up of text but rich in visual imagery. The unique images of his Typographic Dante capture certain responses of the words. They bridge the conventional gap between text and illustration.’ I present this image and the curator’s text for us to ponder – savour.
Mermie ~ To follow Sabes, I looked through some early images in my Photos library. How could I not choose curious Paddington Bear? (2007).
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Following on from Bunshri, Hady sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Bunshri’s photograph was a blurred image with poorly visible fuzzy images of people, which was titled “Her world”. It reminded me of an image I took not long ago of in focus rain droplets on the glass of our balcony, with an out of focus background skyline. I imagined Bunshri’s mother-in-law’s world to be like the background of my image.
Len ~ Hady’s photo of a rain splattered window was presumably made from the comfort of a dry interior.
By contrast, this photo was taken outdoors on a very wet evening in Venice in 2007. I was lucky to have my camera ready when I saw these two people with their red and blue umbrellas in compositionally just the right place. Exposure was handheld at half a second at ISO1600. I think the consequent blurring suits the weather.
Mary ~ My image reflects Len’s image with the rain and umbrellas but Len’s image raises questions about what is happening in the image – very mysterious! My image has a figure of a smiling girl on her phone – oblivious maybe to the rain.
Mermie ~ Mine’s about the shoes!
consequences November 2021
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Rashida sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Colin
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Colin ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Rosemary started the November Consequences with an enchanting photograph with multiple layers and untold stories. Beautiful lighting, a woman sitting and waiting in the cafe or perhaps she is having a quiet moment in solitude. The image also has lovely shapes, ovals and curves. I responded with a photograph I took in Barcelona at Gaudi’s iconic Casa Batlló. The curves are there in the windows as is the mystery but this time two people silhouetted. Strangers passing by.
Hady ~ When I saw Rashida’s image, I recognised it. It reminded me of an image taken in our kitchen, with the sun falling on our kitchen unit doors with some shadows falling on them. Converting the image to monochrome, it was an excellent match to Rashida’s. The shadows in the image show different shapes, open for interpretation.
Mary ~ Hady’s image of the shadow of leaves in monochrome – my image is in colour and is of leaves through a window so it is a direct opposite but still very similar.
Colin ~ I saw this a couple of days ago – a reflection in, not through, a window. I decided trying to do something like Mary’s, which was possible, but did not reflect my style.
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Following on from Rosemary, Kate sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Here is my offering in response to Rosemary’s evocative picture.
Avril ~ I had a bit of a problem with Kate’s picture as I so rarely take pictures of people but the window presented an opportunity. The image I sent Bunshri was taken in Fort Myers through the fly screen of the apartment I was staying in and it was the nearest I could accomplish unless I picked up the theme of red, white and blue.
Bunshri ~ After I received an enigmatic image from Avril, I chose this image taken in New Quay outside our house where we stayed. The play of sunlight and wind helped create this image I so love.
Sabes ~ Bunshri’s image was challenging. There are the three branches of the small plant, its shadow, three stripes on the cushion, and the haze caused as a result of shooting into the sun through the glass window. All these elements are present representing fullness of life. I see a similar essence of life and sun in the picture I made at Oxhey Park. I am glad that it’s similar to Bunshri’s. I did not drag the dehaze button to get a ‘perfect picture’. I don’t like perfect pictures.
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Following on from Rosemary, Anne sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ Here is the image I sent to Jim. The links are the black and white photo, a woman alone in a large space. It is from a series I did at Girton College.
Jim ~ Anne’s image is very calm and elegant. It has quite a formal geometry; trees are visible through one window, and the light through both windows create clear geometric shadows. It is a timber-panelled, timeless space, a place of study and learning. Mine is of Winchmore Hill Quaker Meeting, which is also timber-panelled and space for contemplation. Here also the light from the adjacent window creates strong geometric shadows, and trees are visible through the window in front of us. Timeless in some ways but the clicking clock helps tell the elders when the Meeting has finished.
Len ~ My image relates to the window part of Jim’s. The white cross in the highlighted section of the frame in his image particularly caught my eye and is echoed by the cross in the main part of the window in mine.”
Mermie ~ I looked for a specific image of heavy rain on a window to follow Len’s and found this image to instead. Its straight fence boards and nearly straight stems with blossoms are reminiscent of Len’s hanging beads and medallions.
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consequences October 2021
Sabes started and sent this image to Derek, Hady and Kate
Unaware to me a man behind me photographing out of the cafe window caused this photograph. I saw the lady in red pointing at me. I was holding the same colour drink as she was holding. So I walked towards her. She clarified that she was pointing at the man behind me. We agreed that whatever the reason was, it was good to connect. We exchanged the story of how she ended up in Nottingham via Greece from South Africa and me from Malaysia through Ceylon to Watford.
Later when I posted this image on Instagram saying ‘meeting strangers’, Tanya responded ‘not strangers any more’. The following day I posted the full portrait of her and her husband with this title:
‘When do strangers stop being strangers?’
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Derek sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Mary
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Mary ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Derek ~ As a consequence of seeing Sabes image I thought well, it is not only the young that enjoy themselves – so here are two ladies who are enjoying themselves in a different way at a hog roast I attended. It became more animated when the entire wine bottle was consumed.
Rashida ~ Derek’s image evokes a sense of celebration with 2 ladies chatting, one of them eating an asparagus spear, with a Union Jack flag, flowers and wine/champagne visible on what I assume is an outdoor picnic table. A very British Summer Celebration. My response is an image from across the pond, with a couple going to/coming from a celebration of some kind. A moment caught after a summer rainfall one evening on 5th Avenue, NYC.
Anne ~ This is the picture I have sent to Mary today. It follows on from Rashida’s image of two people in front of a large building, perhaps having been to a celebration (the balloons) but alone, together. I remember these children, separated from the main party and engrossed in the view of Tower Bridge.
Mary ~ This image to me is a perfect follow-on to Anne’s picture where 2 people are looking at a famous London landmark – Tower Bridge. My image is an ICM image of 2 people looking at another famous London landmark – ST Pauls. I took this image at the end of the day after attending a workshop on ICM – Intentional Camera Movement. It is a very hit and miss way of taking images and is always great when it works!
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Following on from Sabes, Hady sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn ended with this image
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Dawn also sent this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ The image I received from Sabes is of two people sitting, showing only their legs and feet in shoes. It reminded me of a selfie I had taken of myself showing only my feet on my prayer mat just before I started performing my prayer (this prayer is one of the five prescribed daily prayers Muslims perform). As I could not locate the image, I took this one to replace it. The light was perfect and it was easy to replicate the missing original.
My image is the opposite of Sabes’ in several ways: His is of people relaxing and having a drink in a public place, while mine is a spiritual very special moment standing in humility before Allah (God) at the beginning of my prayer in the privacy of my own home.
Despite the differences, I thought my image was the perfect following to Sabes’.
Bunshri ~ Hady’s image was of carpet and feet. It could have a religious connotation but I chose something light hearted.
I have two sets of feet here, a pair looking on and baby’s partly hidden feet. Like the carpet, the baby’s play mat is on the floor.
There are 3 things happening here in my living room: the bear looking at the baby, the baby looking at the adult and another person looking on – but only the feet visible.
Colin ~ Bunshri’s picture shows a small child with a teddy bear looking on. I couldn’t find anything that had a similar watcher of the event, but chose this – indicating that as you grow up, other things attract more than teddy bears…
Dawn ~ This month’s picture was taken after our son had his Morris Traveller (1968) restored. He inherited it from his grandfather and it is older than he is. It was rather a wreck when he got it but it’s now in perfect condition and well looked after. He was keen to have it restored as it reminds him of all the good times the family went on fishing trips with all their gear packed in the car and all the fun they had.
As well as the detail I have sent a picture showing the car restored to its former glory.
Bessie has taken several friends to the church.
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Following on from Sabes, Kate sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image
Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ You don’t need to have a picture of the whole person – or the top half – to tell you a lot about the subjects; and to make a lovely picture. Sabes’ picture reminded me of a series of pictures I made when we were in Japan a few years ago. Exaggerated platform shoes were the rage then, and I became fascinated to see girls wearing them elegantly even though I was sure they were horribly restricting and uncomfortable. I thought this image echoed Sabes’ – the couple have come away from the party and are going home on the train, with their bag of buns. No bright reds or pinks here, but there is a shiny plastic umbrella and a plastic bag …
Len ~ At first glance my photo may seem a surprising follow-on to Kate’s image.
Hers shows a man and woman’s legs seated in what may be a train or other public interior space. The small notice suggests that this may be somewhere in the Far East.
My photo shows a beach sea view with tree trunks in the foreground. It was in fact taken in Barbados.
But once you get past the very different subjects there are many similarities. The colour tones of grey/blue and beige/brown are not unlike each other. In Kate’s photo the woman has white trousers and a white rolled up feminine umbrella. Mine shows a white delicate net blowing in the wind.
The people’s legs in Kate’s image divide the photo with vertical repetitions. The tree trunks in my picture do the same. Kate chose just to show the legs, not the whole body, I chose just to show the lower parts of the trees.
Put these pictures side by side and they seem to me to rhyme. They also look as if they could have been taken by the same person and would not be out of place together in a book.
Avril ~ I could have used the trees and the sea having similar pictures near the lochs but my eye kept returning to the nets slung over the tree and in this image there are nets at the window but also nets slung over the chair as a cover. This was in the house of a friend who used it for guests and it was moat effective.
Jim ~ The parallels with Avril’s image are obvious although my scene is one of dereliction. Taken on a walk in La Gomera in the Canary Islands. I just poked my nose into this distressed building and liked the way the shaft of light illuminated the chair. What has happened? Is the room still being used? What image has been removed from the frame on the wall?
consequences September 2021
Avril started and sent this image to Jim, Len and Dawn.
London’s Millennium Bridge. At the time, the shadows appealed to me. They still do and I managed to avoid people which always pleases me unless they improve the image rather than distract.
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Jim sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary ended with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Avril’s image is of the Millenium Bridge which takes lots of people to Tate Modern, where I volunteer.
There is currently an exhibition called “Please Draw Freely” and this is an image of young people doing just that.
I like the way they take the opportunity to cover every surface. Also I felt that the inverted T-shaped timber frame reflected the T-shaped steel and concrete supports to the Millenium Bridge, the shape of which was developed with input from sculptor Sir Anthony Caro.
Anne ~ This followed Jim’s image to me of a band of children decorating a wooden erection. I love seeing the total concentration and, I think, enjoyment that children experience painting and drawing – before there is a right or wrong way of doing things.
Kate ~ Anne’s picture is a study of concentration – the little girl is fiercely gripping the brush, holding on to the paper and doing her painting. I think it must be Christmas time – the red jumper links with the flower and wreath on the counter behind. I had to follow with a picture of my granddaughter wielding a coloured pen with similar concentration, also at our kitchen table. She is now a very bouncy 8 year old. I wish they didn’t grow up so fast!’
Rosemary ~ I have managed to find something vaguely suitable. He is a young Spanish boy that I spotted on the streets of Palma. While he is developing the skills for The Beautiful Game, Kate’s young grand-daughter has more academic ideas!
Following on from Avril,
Len sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Len ~ Avril’s photograph immediately reminded me of this iPhone snap I took earlier this year in Brighton Marina.
It shares the elements of a foreground barrier, a boat, and tall buildings as backdrop, but the boat itself is a rich person’s plaything unlike the passenger boat going along the Thames.
When I reviewed my image later I saw that it would have been better had I not truncated the bow of the boat. In fact it was so sunny that I could hardly see the iPhone screen image so the composition was mainly guesswork.
I should of course have held the phone horizontally, not vertically, but although I am constantly amazed by other people’s smart phone images I still find it a very awkward device to use for photography.
Bunshri ~ Having received a thought provoking image from Len, I found this handmade book in my archive. Len’s yacht takes you on a journey and I was on my late father’s journey, metaphorically speaking, to discover why I was having so much trouble getting over my father’s sudden death at his young age of 55. This was part of an installation for my degree show in 2015.
Hady ~ The image Bunshri sent me was of a concertina book that she had hand made. The open pages of the book reminded me of an image I made recently showing a colourful structure that has folds similar to those of Bunshri’s book.
Sabes ~ Hady’s photograph suggested a rainbow and a circle. As soon as I saw it, this photograph I made behind Watford Hospital a few weeks ago came to mind as the match for Hady’s photograph: a rainbow-like fan or paper fold up. There are similarities and contrasts between the two.
Yellow, green and orange are similar. The yellow fencing in the foreground suggested the fan in Hady’s image spreading from the centre.
There are many aspects of contrasts between the two. One is wide the other is close up. The rainbow over Bushey is calm but close up of colours in Hady’s gives a busy feel. However the bottom third foreground with cars, houses and fences gives the feeling of being busy in my photograph.
Following on from Avril,
Dawn sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Avril
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Avril (even though she had started) ended with this image
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Dawn ~ Here is my image following Avril’s. It was taken in Amsterdam a few years ago. It picks up some of the elements of Avril’s – the river, the boats, and the railings in the fore ground. It is a view from the bridge, not under the bridge.
Colin ~ Taken when in London for a two-day weekend stay in an hotel to maximise time wandering about. I think this was what had been a ‘Boris Bike’ stand before sponsorship changed. Rather more bikes, but no more people than Dawn’s.
Rashida ~ Colin’s image of a group of London Santander bicycles with one sporting a dapper yellow moustache reminded me of a photograph I took in Johannesburg in a store called “Art Africa”, a treasure trove of stunning and colourful African crafts. A selection of incredibly beautiful and tactile Kaross hand embroidered cushion covers were lined up like the bicycles and in a few you can spot the famous “Poirot” moustache like the one in Colin’s image. The one hanging upside down in the top row right hand side travelled back to London with us.
Embroidery is a traditional skill for most Vatsonga and Northern Sotho people. Kaross revived this skill by making it commercially viable and has grown into a South African success story that now employs around 1300 embroiderers in the Letsitele/Giyani area in Limpopo.”
Avril ~ I had a great many thoughts when I received Rashida’s image but then I noticed the elephants at the top of the picture and this seemed to fit: elephants and the riot of colour in the picture on the scarves and in the background. My picture was taken in Miami – in Wynwood Walls, a rundown area now a popular tourist destination with graffiti at its best by amateurs and professionals alike.
consequences August 2021
Colin started and sent this image to Hady, Bunshri and Kate.
Taken at one of the first RREC rallies possible in 2021. I think the car owner’s socks were what attracted me to take the shot – apart from the intriguing fact that an owner of an old Rolls-Royce reads ‘The Mail on Sunday’.
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Hady sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn ended with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ I received an image from Colin showing a man sitting in a very nice classic car reading a newspaper and wearing colourful socks. Everything looked so organised. I thought I would respond with exactly the opposite. My image was taken from inside my car of the cars in the car park with the heavy rain distorting the shapes of all cars. A contrast of Colin’s orderly image.
Rosemary ~ My offering was captured in Italy, very fashion conscious gentleman. HADY’S image was taken I assume in the torrential rain somewhere. My gentleman has decided to open his umbrella although there appears to be not a drop of rain in sight.
Avril ~ Having received the image from Rosemary and there having been so much rain I felt it would be a nice contrast to have a child running in the fountains of the Place de General de Gaulle, Nice in order to cool down from the summer heat particularly as at the time we hadn’t seen much of the sun. I enjoy watching the children play here, and adults as well, never knowing which fountain will come to life or when and their squeals of joy as they either hit or miss.
Dawn ~ This image is the most suitable I have for following Avril’s picture. It was taken in St Petersburg at the Summer Palace. It is beautifully restored and fully open to the public. I chose to follow the water theme and fountains.
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Following on from Colin, Bunshri sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Derek
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Derek ended with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Bunshri ~ I loved Colin’s image. When I zoomed in on the newspaper article, the word ‘Silent’ is where my eye went t. It is somewhat hidden, partly covered. An immediate thought jumped to my mind: the title of my limited edition book, ‘ Silent Voice.’ The idea of the radical design is that it arouses curiosity as to what lies under cover.
Len ~ Here at last is my contribution for next month’s Consequences. As you probably expected, Bunshri’s contribution was a bit surprising to receive but an interesting challenge! Should be an interesting series…
Rashida ~ My image in response to Len’s represents the chaos and confusion it created in my brain. I found it difficult to switch from my medical neurology understanding of blindsight and marry it with the image and text Len created. There are many interpretations and variations of expression of blindsight, a complicated medical condition. My image has a central “eye”, the closest connection to the blurred glasses in Len’s image. Well done Len, I was flummoxed but not blindsighted.
Derek ~ Rashida’s fine abstract image appeared to show what I saw as an elephant. As a consequence I thought it time I did something to support this highly persecuted animal. I attach a picture of an elephant in battle with a lion and looking like winning. It is part of a Mosaic I came across in my travels, probably the work of some demented Roman.
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Following on from Colin, Kate sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ How could I follow Colin’s wonderful, witty picture? No possibility of a sumptuous car, or a show ground. But someone of a certain age reading a newspaper… A few years ago I took a fortnight’s Spanish language course at a school in central Córdoba. Every morning I took the bus from my daughter’s house into the town centre, and walked down a wide pedestrianised street. My route took me past a news vendor’s kiosk, just as the old men were buying their morning papers and settling down to read them. I made a little collection of shots. This is one of them. I don’t know what the man is looking at, and he’s a bit glum – maybe the bullfighting results were bad. But he has white hair like the person in Colin’s picture, he’s relaxing, and there is a car in the background. The fountain introduces a new subject. I wonder if that will be taken up.
Mary ~ This image is of a rainy rush hour at Angel, Islington. In Kate’s image water is represented by the waterfall behind the man sitting down – he didn’t look too happy! In looking at my image carefully I have just noticed on the left hand side the profile of a man coming into view who doesn’t look too happy either. Both pictures sum up how uncomfortable a wet day can be.
Anne ~ Here is my offering – an image full of signs like Mary’s. Her picture is bustling and full of vigour; mine is sad. It was a busy little corn chandler and is now a smart estate agent. I preferred the former but at least the pretty building hasn’t been pulled down.
Mermie ~ Anne’s house with the red post box led me to this house with Adam, our cheerful postman.
consequences JuLY 2021
Mary started and sent this image to Duncan, Colin and Anne.
This is a ‘Found Still-life’ which I noticed the other day while waiting to enter Wigmore Hall for a socially-distanced concert. I was drawn to the random way the core had been left there, by itself, amongst the railings. To me it is a metaphor for the social distancing we all practice at the moment.
That is the intellectual reason – but emotionally I just enjoy the colour of the apple core amongst the grey palette of the railings and pavement.
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Duncan sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Derek
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Derek sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Duncan ~ I apologise if this seems to bear little relationship to Mary’s intriguing image but let me explain my
madness. The two main elements that struck me from Mary’s picture were the strong geometry, in particular the window bars, and the remains of food, an apple core. It was tempting just to use the geometry and bars but I wanted to include both elements.
This image is the remains of some food packaging someone had ditched and I picked up from the ground on a walk. Although the overall appearance is soft the one section with strong geometry is of bars with food, or at least the title onion rings, above.
If anyone is wondering, it was a multiple exposure shot on one frame of film.
Dawn ~ Here is my picture for this month. I did find Duncan’s picture a challenge but followed the colour theme with rocks, and onions hanging by the door. It is a reproduction of a country cottage built for the Chelsea Flower Show with a wild garden.
Derek ~ I tried to maintain Dawn’s colour theme not in a garden but in a woodland setting as a triptych instead of a panorama although the end result is very similar.
Hady ~ I received a triptych from Derek. This was of three images in a forest with trees and bluebells.
I did not want to follow Derek’s triptych with another triptych. I thought an interesting alternative would be an image made of three exposures, showing trees, wild rhododendrons from the same wood and the sky above.
Mermie ~ I took this photo of the approximately 180 year old Scots Pine in our back garden: it seemed a narrow one-layered alternative to Hady’s combination of trees, flowers and sky.
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Following on from Mary,
Colin sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ Mary’s image was largely shades of grey, but with a small touch of colour of the decaying apple core. Mine is a picked Buttercup that you had put into a shot glass in the kitchen, but it had dropped its petals. The vertical perspective reflected Mary’s image as well.
Jim ~ I felt Colin’s was quite a forlorn image with the remains of the flower head once all the petals have fallen. So I picked a rose from my garden and created the scene when the first petal had fallen, but some of the buds are still to open. This is a bit of a departure for me in terms of images as I tend to go for “grab shots” in natural light.
Kate ~ What do I say about it? ‘First of all I thought of following on from Jim’s beautiful rose, almost but not quite monochrome, with a flower in a vase. I looked at what I have in stock – but nothing so subtle or thoughtful. Then on one of our very damp mornings recently I noticed this spray of Solomon’s Seal leaves, with one turned over showing it’s silver underside. It kind of echoes Jim’s rose…’
Rosemary ~ An obvious response this one. Blushed by the sun, refreshed by the rain but fading nevertheless.
Following on from Mary,
Anne sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida ended with this image
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ Mary’s image is of a severe fence; my fence is battered by time and the weather but has the same grey colours.
Len ~ The English countryside is full of barriers. Some are natural, some are manmade, some are both. This photo was taken in East Sussex in 2005 but could have been almost anywhere in this country and in any year.
Avril ~ Len’s picture of a field and gate looked very neglected and one would be tempted to ignore the sign and see what was beyond. Mine is, I think, the antithesis of this. I took it in a back street of Sheffield and I’m not sure one would want to enter even if it were possible. It has a forbidding air about it and would suit the cover of a thriller involving murder and drug dealers. Probably just a derelict building awaiting demolition and regeneration but the mind can play wonderful tricks.
Bunshri ~ Having got Avril’s enigmatic image about no 33, I decided to go for this one taken in Margate. The place has like stopped in time. Having suffered from a fall and a bad back, I would stop now and again for a rest- this time in front of this façade.
The mystery of no 33 – juxtaposed with this regal name – drove me to take it. What does indeed lie behind the front door?
Rashida ~ Bunshri’s image evoked a sense of “coming out” as lockdown rules were relaxed. As June Pride Month 2021 was coming to an end when I received Bunshri’s contribution, I am responding to her image with one taken in New York on 20 June 2019. We have many happy and joyful memories of taking part in celebrations both in New York and London.
consequences June 2021
Avril started and sent this image to Kate, Len and Hady.
A rather more simple doorway in the Bahia Palace in Marrakesh. A magnificent building which belonged to the Grand Vizier until his death in 1900 when it was looted by the Royal family of any and all valuables. The Vizier’s wives had to flee for their lives. One had the impression that the Vizier was not popular.
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Kate sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Duncan
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Duncan ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ ‘Avril’s picture tells a story. There are two characters, tourists in an old, Moorish building, must be in Spain. A man looking across a passage with rectangular tiled/mosaic pattern on the floor, and tiles on the lower part of the wall. He is looking through a doorway and an arch into bright light, where there is a woman, seen from behind. What are his thoughts? About the woman, moving away from him? or about the building, the place, it’s beauty or its history?… I couldn’t match this story, but I found some people under an arch in old Spain. Two young girls, slightly leaning towards each other, in the evening light, looking towards the Giralda tower of Seville cathedral, once the great minaret of the mosque on that site. They may be looking at the couple walking towards them – or just admiring the view. The squared pattern in the paving echoes the squared pattern on the floor in Avril’s picture.’
Rashida ~ “Kate’s image I am guessing was taken in Seville. An archway looking out to a courtyard/street lined with orange laden trees and a church steeple and people in twos. My response to the lovely image is a photograph I took at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Chinatown, Vancouver B.C. Canada. It is the first of the Chinese or “scholars” garden built outside of China. The wooden archway frames the view of the garden, with a pavilion and people sitting inside or walking about enjoying the beautiful space.”
Anne ~ Rashida’s picture of the Japanese garden made me think of my Japanese
maple that so lifted my spirits one dreary morning in the lockdown when I
opened the back door.
Duncan ~ Struck by the way the foliage of one tree stood out and dominated Anne’s garden picture. The other vegetation and garden walls and slabs are very much secondary in the image but add a wet gloom to contrast with the bright foliage of the maple.
Perhaps it is because I took this image earlier in the day that I received the one from Anne, I thought it compliments and contrasts the Maple picture. It was taken on a walk through the huge Dinorwic slate quarry whist waiting for the clouds to lift from the walk we wanted to do, which they did despite their gloomy presence in this picture. I was struck by the light hitting the tree, so its foliage stuck out in the gloom.
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Following on from Avril, Len sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Mary
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Mary ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Len ~ I trawled my archive looking for something with an atmosphere that echoes Avril’s image and with a similar formal structure.
In Avril’s photo we see a man watching/following the indistinct figure of a woman. We do not know whether his intent is benign or malign.
In my image there is an indistinct reflection of a man who may be watching/following someone who is using a mobile phone. If indeed he is watching/following the man on the phone, we cannot tell if he intends him harm or not.
These uncertainties add tension and interest to both images.
Jim ~ Len’s image is great and has a certain mystery and intrigue. There are also various planes of light, reflections and a grainy texture. I don’t think my image matches the intrigue but I have tried to emulate the other facets with a deliberate use of grain and a similar relationship between the main figure and the light behind.
Colin ~ Taken at Prideaux Place, Padstow. Art Nouveau light switches.
I feel it has some of the Baroque atmosphere of Jim’s picture.
Mary ~ It took me a few moments to work out what I was looking at with Colin’s image – a rather beautiful metallic row of light switches. Very Art Nouveau depicting a girl with long hair and some musical instruments. The image that I have responded with is one that I have taken recently – of an old fire-grate with a mirror and a crystal ball. The knob of the grate resonates with the light switches in Colin’s image and is reflected in the mirror. Although the grate is old – about 50/60’s – it still has a beauty in it that is rare to find these days as modern houses don’t have fireplace anymore. Similar to the beautiful light switch which I assume to be older than the grate.
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Following on from Avril, Hady sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn ended with this image.
Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ I received an image from Avril showing a man in a room looking towards its door, that shows another opening through which comes a bright light and a man coming through it.
Avril’s image reminded of of an image of a graffiti showing a head with a large eye on a column supporting a bridge over a river looking towards a bright light. The similarity was uncanny and I thought it would be a good one to follow Avril’s and to inspire the following image.
Bunshri ~ In response to a challenging image of Hady’s of a bridge, graffiti and water in shadow, I decided to do a juxtaposition of a tall facade with graffiti and the clear blue sky as a backdrop.
I kept in the heads to show the scale of the facade. This image I took in Warren Street.
Rosemary ~ As a response to Bunshri’s image this one of mine came immediately to mind. It was the focus on the bottom centre couples in each from which I drew the similarity. My image was taken at the Henley regatta a few years ago now. Michael de Ruyter Schat, now deceased was at the time a member of HFF. He was also a member of the Leander club there and very generously invited myself plus two other members of HFF, Helen Brown and Peter Brindley (both now also deceased) to accompany him as his guests. It was a perfect summer’s day at one of the season’s well known events. A most memorable day.
Dawn ~ Where did you get those hats?
I am following Rosemary’s theme an occasion for dressing up.
This is the second day of the Chelsea Flower Show when I saw this group out for the day in their new clothes among the crowds of people.
consequences May 2021
Dawn started and sent this image to Derek, Kate and Hady.
I took this photograph in one of the palaces in India that was being restored. I liked the colours and the back of the woman in a sari going to climb the stairs. It looks very serene but it is not as it seems. The large bowl is to collect rubble from the building works and bring it downstairs. It was 11 o’clock in the morning and already very hot.
This was her job all day and was exhausting. In spite of this I do like the picture.
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Derek sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Derek ~ Dawn’s image made me think about what other strange things I have seen people wear on their heads. It shows the chief Lama at Labrang Monastery in Tibet who was officiating at a devil dancing ceremony of the Yellow hat sect of Buddhism, the annual mask dance to banish evil spirits and bring enlightenment. Pat and I were on a tour of Tibetan Monasteries and later the Forbidden City of China. And before you ask, no I am not a Buddhist, although I am relatively peaceful if lacking in enlightenment, just an enthusiastic amateur photographer.
Anne ~ Here is my offering for the April Consequences. I surmise that the two men are similar in age and build and are both wearing clothes that are significant – one ceremonial and one workwear. My image is part of the series I have done of Chesham people. Mr. Dell had worked since childhood on a local farm.
Colin ~ Taken on an old car trip in Wales during a stop on the Llanberis pass. I was reflecting on Anne’s being a portrait in the subject’s normal environment.
Rashida ~ My response to Colin’s image of a beautifully backlit seagull standing on rocks with a stunning countryside view behind it, was to contrast it with a stark urban nighttime image taken in London during the Lumière Festival of Light in January 2016
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Following on from Dawn, Kate sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Here is my response to Dawn’s lovely picture of (according to her file title) ‘Woman’s work’. I looked hard for a suitable picture of a figure in front of a wall, but without success. And I could not think of setting something up in Welwyn Garden City! So I ended up with an interesting wall, red/orange in colour not too far from the colours in Dawn’s picture. And instead of a person, I have a flower pot on the left hand side!
Avril ~ Kate’s image of flowers in a planter against a beautiful wall gave me a bit of a problem. I finally decided on the view through at archway at Uppingham School. The walls are stone not brick, and the plant in flower is in a garden but I hoped that the whole would provide inspiration for the follow on. For a few summers I attended residential courses at the school, the equipment they had was phenomenal though it wasn’t so much the teaching as being in Rutland to photograph on my own and at the time I was obsessed with parish churches. Still am if truth be told. It was wonderful to just give myself over to photography with no responsibilities to anyone.
Bunshri ~ After Avril’s mysterious image I went for this one taken in Trent Park. The beginning of Spring. Where will this take us? Nature has been keeping me sane and joyful during my daily walks during lockdown. The future is still unknown. Are we safe from being in lockdown yet again?
Sabes ~ I wanted to respond to the presence of the branch and shadow of it. The texture of the blossom also played in my mind. I chose the image of the net curtain. I think the textures and the slant in both photographs are trying to respond to each other in their own ways. They end up as opposite in tone. One lighter the other darker. One softer the other starker. The shadow in my photograph is there only in photographic terms as in shadow and highlight. What lurks in the shadows behind the curtain?
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Following on from Dawn, Hady sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image.
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Dawn’s “Woman’s work 4” is an interesting image. It shows an Indian woman carrying a large ceramic bowl. It reminded me of similar situations in other countries. I thought of this piece of artwork made of chicken wire and beads we have hanging in our garden. It shows an African woman carrying a child in a traditional African way and a jar on her head. Taken from a certain angle you would imagine her walking on our lawn.
In Johannesburg we have seen and met many artists making these beautiful and creative pieces of artwork and selling them to make a modest living.
I thought this would make a good response to Dawn’s image.
Rosemary ~ I found Hady’s most imaginative piece of artwork quite difficult to follow until I remembered what an exceptionally skilled needlewoman my mother had been. Among the pieces that I possess is this handcrafted pair of hessian figures, mother and child. I dusted it down and took a picture (not black and white). The image I received is of a mother and child but from another continent.
Mary ~ The image from Rosemary was quite hard to follow on from – the only thing that connects the 2 images are the fact that there are 2 characters, mother and child in one while in the other 1 man standing and another seated.
Jim ~ I had a number of thoughts but I guess it was the bare chested male that was the trigger for my photo. While punting in Cambridge we passed under this bridge where the local youth seemed to enjoy doing ‘bombs’ off the bridge and soaking the posh punters. I thought they were going to do this to us, but maybe the fact that they saw me photographing stopped them from doing so! We passed under the bridge without getting wet.
Extras from Kate
Kate ~ In my searches for a suitable ‘working woman’ picture I found these two images from our amazing visit to North East India 9 years ago. We’d walked up a steep track to visit a family who our travelling companions had made contact with on a previous visit. On the way back we met various people toiling back home with things bought from the village market at the bottom of the hill. This girl and her mother were particularly sweet and friendly, though their heavy loads meant they couldn’t stop and talk.
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consequences April 2021
Jim started and sent this image to Mary, Rashida and Rosemary
Taken in the northwest highlands of Scotland, I liked the array of diagonal lines, the rusty corrugated roof and the way the birds are spaced out. I hope the photographers can get some inspiration from it.
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Mary sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Hady
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Hady ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mary ~ Jim’s picture is about texture and lines. In his, the overhead wires form triangles and the Shard in my picture is definitely a triangle and the string of bulbs also form a triangle while the bulbs represent the birds. The roofs (the floor of each balcony) in my picture echo the colour of the corrugated roof in Jim’s picture.
Colin ~ Taken in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC, my image reflects the people facing in differing directions in Mary’s image with the Shard on the right as a dark triangular wall in mine. The helicopter is incidental.
Anne ~ Following on from Colin’s entry, I have chosen a view from above of people. I would have liked to match Colin’s curves and height, but….
Hady ~ The image is a night photograph of a shopping centre and an office building in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Although Anne’s and my images are of completely different subjects, They share a similar lighting atmosphere and lines. You’d feel that they were taken at the same time.
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Following on from Jim, Rashida sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rashida ~ Jim’s minimalist image of 5 birds sitting on a roof with power lines above is graphic with lovely zigzag lines. My image mirrors that in reverse and with a bit of imagination. It is a view of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan taken from Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn.
Kate ~ This is the mighty Guadalquivir at Seville. I was there in February a few years ago, and the weather was cloudy and chilly, not what one expects there even in the winter. And the light is disappointingly dull, unlike the lovely light in Rashida’s picture. However, I couldn’t resist snapping the chap with his guitar, seemingly just strumming for his own enjoyment. There were very few tourists around. Even though I was on a fortnight of Spanish classes, I didn’t have the confidence to ask him. I like the way he is looking over the river, and the sculls have just appeared on the river. I thought it linked with Rashida’s picture – a bridge over a big river, with a view of the city beyond. I wish I could go back there now!
Dawn ~ We were with friends and decided to see Venice by night using the Vaporetto. It was quite magical approaching the Rialto Bridge, and we had the boat almost to ourselves. It lasted for about an hour, I can recommend it.
Bunshri ~ Dawn’s beautifully lit image brought back memories of being in Chile. Although this is a different palette, I chose this image on a boat, taking in the beautiful view.
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Following on from Jim, Rosemary sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Derek
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Derek sent this image to Mermie
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Mermie ended with this image
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rosemary ~ I searched for a picture of a row of people watching the world go by which I would have liked as a response to Jim’s very simple but appealing picture. Sadly I don’t seem to have one. This roof scape was taken in a small village in north Derbyshire. As we approached the village taking a scenic route home from Sheffield one time, the view was really atmospheric. I originally captured the whole village street which has long been a favourite, but then I zoomed in on the roofs. No birds but the telegraph wires are there, maybe not as pristine as Jim’s. The light on the slates contrasting well with the foreboding hills beyond adds to the general atmosphere of a Derbyshire village of the time.
Avril ~ When I saw Rosemary’s picture I wasn’t sure whether it was snow or rain or the rooftops but it all looked very wintery and I was looking forward to the warmer weather. My immediate thoughts jumped to Florence and this image, taken from the roof of the hotel looking across to the Duomo and the Medici Chapel during the early evening with the low light of a summer’s evening.
Derek ~ My response to Avril’s picture of beautiful Florence is a family that I thought might just fit into renaissance Florence. It was taken in Essex during a costumed event.
Mermie ~ All of the Consequences pictures come to me, and I admire them as they arrive. It had crossed my mind to choose a picture based somehow on all of them, or maybe on Jim’s. When Derek’s arrived for me to follow, I had recently taken a picture of this peaceful deity in the long boat moored on the nearby Grand Union Canal. I took this particular one, keeping in mind the lines to the shore and the patterns in the long boat across the canal.
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consequences March 2021
For March, Hady sent his starting image to each lead recipient who then sent a Consequence image to the next person in a group of three or four. In the usual fashion, those recipients each sent a Consequence on to the next person in the group.
We met, as one does these days, by Zoom, on 4 March, at the usual meeting time.
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Hady started and sent this image to Avril, Jim and Mary
I took this image a few weeks ago during another lockdown walk in Hertford. I try to change my route from time to time. That day I found a short tunnel under a small bridge.
The tunnel was unusual, with a very interesting steel roof that has an amazing structure, which seems to have come from a bygone age.
I found the symmetry of the black steel structure and the brick sides of the tunnel contrast nicely with the light streaming from the end of the tunnel. I just had to take the photo.
I hope it will provoke some interest.
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Avril sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Colin
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Colin ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~ I thought Hady’s image could be a tunnel. With the lights reflected and the direction going forward, I thought of an image I took in Grand Central Station NY. The RSJ’s all move forward to the tunnels and the bright lights with people all walking towards the tunnels leading to the trains. It’s a bright image as compared to Hady’s rather dark and mysterious one.
Mary ~ Avril’s image was of a busy subway in New York – here is an equally busy promenade in Marseilles.
There was a huge metal canopy made of very shiny metal which gave a wonderful reflection. There is a blue Metro sign which ‘mirrors’ the subway in Avril’s image.
Dawn ~ Mary’s was so difficult to follow, I will be interested to what Mary has to say.
Mine was taken in a cave in Lanserotte.
The people in the cave are looking in and those outside looking out.
Colin ~ Inside Luray caverns in April 2012. It was my thought that Dawn’s picture was of people going down into a cavern, so this might be a potential consequence.
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Following on from Hady, Derek sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Derek ~ Hady’s image to me was intriguing and suggested that even in the most functional man made fabrications one could find both craftsmanship and a kind of beauty of form.
My photo shows a storm battered breakwater on the East Coast that with the play of light and crashing waves echoed both function as a preventer of erosion and a monochromatic beauty.
Rashida ~ Derek’s sublimely beautiful image is all about light, darkness, shapes and negative space. It reminded me of an image of mine which also plays on light and darkness with mirroring shapes and is also minimalist but in an indoor space.
Bunshri ~ Rashida’s image of lines and light led me to this image of my grandson behind open door – isolating. I took the idea of lines but opened it up more.
Rosemary ~ After much deliberation I have settled on the attached but I am not exactly happy about it.
Regarding the man slumped on the floor we have no idea what has befallen him. Has he had an accident, has become ill or perhaps even worse. What we do know is that he is not in control and is endeavouring to regain his composure. All of this is glimpsed through a half open door. I have chosen a half open door (it is there somewhere I promise you) and we have a limited view of a man I feel to be totally in control of whatever is his current business. He is seated at his desk, glasses on, identity strung around his neck and determined to achieve I think.
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Following on from Hady, Anne sent this image to Jim.
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Jim sent this image to Kate.
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Kate ended with this image.
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ Hady’s image made me think of coming-out of the dark places we have all been in in the past year into the light. This picture was of a dark corner at Sissinghurst with the steps going up to to the Spring sunshine.
Jim ~ When I received Anne’s image I immediately thought of this one, even though it was taken so many years ago: the sunshine on the steps and the open characterful door. My photo was taken in 1979 in Cairo with Lynda wearing a colourful waistcoat and sporting a perm.
Kate ~ Here is my response to Jim’s fine picture of a striking looking woman in shadow at the foot of some just visible stone steps.
It lacks the mystery and exotic feel to Jim’s picture. But I think my lady is, in her way, quite striking. Her little dog shines out in his red jacket, her face is hidden behind a decorated mask, not mysterious, just an example of ’these strange times’. A little bit of the exotic maybe leaks from the Chinese Acupuncture centre behind her.
She was very nice, and happy for me to take her picture.
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For January, Bunshri sent her starting image to each lead recipient who then sent a Consequence image to the next person in a group of three or four. In the usual fashion, those recipients each sent a Consequence on to the next person in the group.
We met, as one does these days, by Zoom, on 4 February, at the usual meeting time.
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Bunshri started and sent this image to Colin, Jim and Mary
During this pandemic, after a quick walk we head home to self-isolate behind closed doors!!!
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Colin sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary sent this image to Kate
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Kate ended with this image, the first of two.
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Kate also ended with this image, the second of two.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ Taken at a closed down shop in Totnes, it reflected the frame and out of focus background of Bunshri’s picture, but I took the picture because the signs had appealed to me.
Rashida ~ Colin’s image fascinated me but in the end I had to admit I was flummoxed. There are the coexisting closed and open signs with a glimpse of what looks like a large bag hanging on a wall. The car and road I first thought were a reflection on a mirrored shop window with the vertical lines. But then I was not sure………..so I am looking forward to the reveal.
I decided to play with the words of closed and open, the vertical lines and the seen and unseen. It reminded me of an image I took at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. It is of the entrance to the Museum. Closed and open spaces co-existing side by side created by man to separate based on the colour of one’s skin. Entrance open for one colour, closed for the other. The vertical lines in Colin’s image are echoed in my image.
Rosemary ~ The fierce southern Spanish sun had caused the stark contrast of the shadow on the white outside wall of a bullring.
I can only imagine that the shaded seating on the inside came at a premium! I have always liked the fact that the metal ring with its shadow holds the gaze within the picture.
Kate ~ As I am the last I am taking the liberty of sending two pictures, following on from Rosemary’s really lovely Sombra picture (she called it light and shade).
The zigzags on the steps is a direct response – Light and shade, in Spain, these are shadows of a railing on the lovely small cobbles they have in Andalucia.
The second moves on from Rosemary’s subject, this one also taken in Córdoba. There is light and shade, though the shade is not all that deep, and there is a white wall. But the wall is defaced by a graffito, which the cleaning lady is scrubbing away. It is actually outside a police station, but I cropped off the sign on the wall to show the lady and her paint bucket, etc., more clearly. Not such a good picture, but in a way more fun than zig-zaggy steps, I thought.
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Following on from Bunshri, Jim sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Avril
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Avril ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Bunshri’s image shows a scene visible through obscured glass – possibly a front door – with a person visible plus some greenery to one side. So my thought is to remove the glass, and any distortion, entirely with the vegetation clearly visible. Photo taken in Norfolk on an old RAF airfield with some abandoned buildings. I just liked the combination of the framing of the tree, the texture of the wall and the diagonally aligned shadows.
Hady ~ Jim’s image was of a derelict building wall with an opening showing overgrown grass, hedge and tree.
It brought to mind a photo I took of a window with Halloween decorations around its outside sill, but it does not show anything inside the house. It is the opposite of Jim’s image.
Avril ~ The picture shown was prompted by the pumpkin wearing glasses not that I am suggesting my daughter is a pumpkin, far from it but she does enjoy fun things.
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Following on from Bunshri, Mary sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Anne
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Anne ended with this image.
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mary ~ When I saw Bunshri’s image I immediately thought of this image that I have sent. The person behind the frosted glass door is echoed by the flower hidden in the ice and the colour is also echoed. There is a sense of mystery in Bunshri’s image but I hope there is a slight sense of mystery in my image – I know what it is but someone seeing it for the first time might need a second or two to work out what it is.
Dawn ~ Here is my picture for Consequences, not quite what I intended but time is running out. I tried to follow Mary’s theme and froze the rose but it didn’t turn out as I expected!
Anne ~ Here is my image for consequences, following on from Dawn’s. The unusual colour of the rose in her picture drew me to this photo of a mauve coat in a garden.
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CONSEQUENCES January 2021
Duncan started and sent this image to Bunshri, Mermie and Rosemary
Much of my spare time, particularly in the first lockdown, has been in my allotment. The few images I have made tend to reflect the uncertain nature of the current times. The boring explanation of this photo is that it is of a sunlit greenhouse reflected in the glass of another greenhouse but I am sure there are other explanations.
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Bunshri sent this image to Derek
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Derek sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Avril
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Avril ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Bunshri ~ Following on to Duncan’s beautiful enigmatic image shot through the glass brings me to send this image which is somewhat abstract like his.
Derek ~ As a consequence of seeing Bunshri’s picture with its seeming overtones of a bleak mid-winter I decided that despite being plunged into Zone 4, now that I have had the anti-virus jab I was duty bound to give HFF members the opportunity to escape – so jump aboard with me and have a sail around Antigua. Happy Christmas.
Colin ~ Derek’s palm trees suggested the palms I had seen in Marrakesh, but these Canna leaves taken against the light at Chanticleer near Philadelphia made a much more pleasing image.
Avril ~ Colin’s image put me in mind of this flower set against the leaves whose veins are emphasised by the sun.
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Following on from Duncan, Mermie sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mermie ~ A few days before receiving Duncan’s image, I had been attempting to photograph my Rosetta Stone mouse pad through my magnifying glass. Seeing Duncan’s image, I thought I might use one of them due to the obscurity of the writing which eventually gave the clarity of understanding to three ancient languages. The real Rosetta Stone, which I had photographed last January, had the additional element of seeing it through glass with reflections.
Hady ~ The Rosetta Stone is inscribed with three versions of a decree issued in Memphis, Egypt in 196 BC. It was discovered there in July 1799 by a French officer near the town of Rosetta (Rashid) in the Nile Delta and near the Mediterranean. When the British defeated the French they took the stone to London under the Capitulation of Alexandria in 1801. It has been on display at the British Museum since 1802. The Rosetta Stone is no longer unique, but it was the essential key to the modern understanding of ancient Egyptian literature and civilisation. The stone was inscribed in Greek, Demotic and Hieroglyphic.
The Rosetta Stone raises a very important additional serious question, which is the ownership of antiquities acquired by Britain from other countries and keeping them despite these countries requesting the return of their treasures. A controversial issue?
My image depicts the same idea, explains in words what happens in reality and draws people’s attention to the lurking danger. It was taken along the river next to the A10: a motorcycle must have gone off and its rider killed.
Mary ~ The image that Hady sent me had ‘Life is Fragile’ written on a slab of concrete-like, headstone in shape, material and on the ground beneath was a very much decayed piece of machinery – my image was taken in a dis-used tunnel in the Underground where old platforms, tunnels and wonderful old advertising posters still attached on the walls exist quietly decaying. The train on the poster will long ago have become scrap-metal and the way of life back then has changed beyond recognition in the last decade. So it is these elements which echo the objects in Hady’s image.
Jim ~ I have gone for contrast. Mary’s photo is of a bygone age with steam trains in what appears to be a dark, underground brick tunnel. Whereas mine is of the new age of trains through central London (Crossrail or the Elizabethan Line as it has been christened). This is Farringdon Station, bright and gleaming and ready to accommodate passengers. I was the lead civil and structural engineer for the project during the design stage.
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Following on from Duncan, Rosemary sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Anne
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Anne ended with this image
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rosemary ~ I had to have the window cleaned following Duncan’s icy contribution!. I believe there are a couple of figures lurking in the background and so I decided to make my human being clearly defined. My photograph was taken about seven years ago and that hair salon has long since vanished. At the time I had spent that year taking shots in the precincts of the Abbey which I eventually made into a book. Surprising how much the surroundings have changed in a few years.
Kate ~ Here is my consequence from Rosemary’s picture of a hairdressers window being cleaned. I just had to use this one which I took way back September when I was collecting pictures of people in masks. Seems like an eternity ago, we are so used to them now. I liked the notice about Barbicide in the window – it makes me think that it targets the barber rather than the bugs.
Rashida ~ Kate’s image was taken when lockdown was relaxed, allowing some businesses to re-open. Much to the delight of people desperately in need of haircuts and some pampering. I was entranced by the beautiful autumnal colours and fascinated with the vertical lines and angles in the image. It reminded me of an image of mine from February 2019. Very different in content but complementary in colour, lines and angles but with an added element of circles. It was taken when Fortnum and Mason were celebrating the 150th year anniversary of Heinz with beans, tomato sauce and soup. The image is of one of the windows being decorated for the event and has the buildings across the road reflected in the pristinely clean windows.
Anne ~ Rashida’s picture of Fortnum’s window reminded me of happier times when, after visiting an exhibition at the Royal Academy, I could pop over to this wonderful grocers to buy a packet of crystallised rose or violet petals. I had been to the Anish Kapoor exhibition when I took this of his installation in the forecourt of the Academy. The entrance to Piccadilly and Fortnums is reflected.
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CONSEQUENCES December 2020
For December, Rosemary sent her starting image to each lead recipient who then sent a Consequence image to the next person in a group of four. In the usual fashion, those recipients each sent a Consequence on to the next person in the group.
We met, as one does these days, by Zoom, at the usual meeting time.
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Rosemary started with this image and sent it to Colin and Bunshri
Rosemary ~ When I first came upon this scene I was somewhat bewildered. It appeared to me then as a film set and all would be revealed as the film rolled on! I have often wondered as to what had been the scenario and I thought that the HFFers might come up with some solutions!
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Colin sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Avril
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Avril ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ Rosemary’s picture showed strong shadows and a strong perspective. I looked for other pictures with similar features.
This is an art gallery in Philadelphia which I felt added to Rosemary’s in the lack of people and contributed uncertainty by having one wall that is not vertical.
Anne ~ I took it at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh – one of my favourite museums. Looking at it again now, the warmth and colour and welcoming atmosphere of the place shines through.
Hady ~ The image showed a lot of paintings on the walls. Hidden in one corner of the image were two people sitting on a bench.
Anne’s image reminded me of an image I took in the last summer we had travel freedom (the summer of 2019). The image shared Anne’s two features, with a difference. The paintings are replaced with graffiti art, and the two people were in action. I thought my image contrasted Anne’s.
Avril ~ I wasn’t sure what the figure under the cloth was doing but my immediate thought was that he may have been taking a photograph and that, combined with the yellow in the image Hady sent, made me think of this. Graffiti in Wynwood Walls, Miami -though here it is an accepted practise and most of the artists are professional.
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Following on from Rosemary, Bunshri sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Mary
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Mary ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Bunshri ~ Rosemary sent me her thought provoking image. Makes me question what is behind closed doors.
I responded by showing an image taken indoors in a monastery in Vietnam. Here again it still poses questions. Who is the girl looking on at other toddlers sleeping on bare beds? Why is there no mattress? Are they orphans? Are they being supervised?
I dug this out of my archives – one of the images very dear to my heart, taken on a film DSLR camera. When I saw the image in the chemicals, my heart missed a beat. I felt the same wonder when clicking the shutter.
Dawn ~ Here is my picture for Consequences. I did find it difficult to follow Bunshri’s.
Rashida ~ Dawn sent me adorable image of two toddlers sitting on the floor. Once I was able to pull myself away from the the two angelic faces I was able to travel around the image. What was not in the image then became of interest. There is a child-proof safety gate/fencing at the top of the image. I wondered what was behind that fence. It reminded me of an image I took in Johannesburg in September 2019 which evoked similar feelings. The curiosity of wanting to know about that which cannot be seen or is hidden.
Mary ~ I found Rashida’s image difficult to follow up as I do not usually photograph people and I felt that my response to Rashida’s image needed people. I chose this image as it has a small girl smiling at the bubbles being blown. She echoes the girl who is reading a letter with a smile on her face. The railings by the Thames echo the wire fence in Rashida’s image.
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Consequences November 2020
For November, Rashida started and sent her image to 3 different people. Each of the recipients sent a Consequence image to the next person in a group of four. In the usual fashion, those recipients each sent a Consequence on to the next person in the group.
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Rashida ~ New York City. Much loved. Much missed. We always go for a walk along the High Line whenever we visit NYC. It is a park built on an historic, elevated rail line. You can walk through the garden, enjoy changing art installations, see performances and get a unique perspective of the City. This image is of an art installation on a Western wall next to the High Line between West 21st and West 22nd Streets in 2013.
This is the link to the artist and the installation: https://www.thehighline.org/art/projects/elanatsui/
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Rashida sent this image to Anne, Rosemary and Mary
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Anne sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to George
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George ended with this image
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ Rashida’s image was of tracery in beautiful lighting and, although my photo hasn’t the lighting, the hoar frost seems to highlight the stems and twigs.
Kate ~ Anne sent a lovely picture of a fence in muted colours, with grasses etc covered with a rich hoar frost. I couldn’t match that. But I found this picture of Willow Herb seeds imitating snow, seen over a wall… I wish I’d managed to focus on them all better. They were quite amazing.
Bunshri ~ Kate’s beautiful busy image of nature prompted me to shoot the end of the sunflowers this season. It was taken on one of my walks in the most beautifully kept garden patch in Golders Hill Park. I wanted to accentuate the texture and decay through B/W shot. It also brings back nostalgic memories for me of my birth home in Nairobi.
George ~ I must admit that Bunshri’s three artichoke heads was quite a challenge. Should I follow the lead of magnificent decay or the theme of three. At first, decay seemed appropriate especially in our present state so i went after autumn colours that at least matched decay with magnificence but then concluded that was perhaps too much of a cliche. Then suddenly a flash of inspiration – don’t laugh! I have started doing glass dropouts to produce vases and their shape approximates the domes of the plants. AND you have to admit they are very cheerful as a contrast to the sombre plants. So I end on an upbeat note.
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Following on from Rashida, Avril sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~ This was a building under construction in New York. The branches in front of the building that Rashida sent suggested scaffolding to me. I could have provided a picture similar to that which Rashida sent but thought it probably not sufficiently different.
Rosemary ~ I think my response is blatantly obvious. Rather than a new build this is quite obviously a local ruin. The ruins are of a Tudor mansion built on top of a nunnery from 1140.
Hady ~ Rosemary’s image was of remains of an old castle. It showed the shell of the castle with large ‘holes’. It reminded me of an image I took recently in one my walks during COVID-19 restrictions. This is a walk by the River Lee. It is of the underpass where the A10 crosses the river. The shapes were reminiscent of the shapes in Rosemary’s image.
Dawn ~ My picture, following Hady’s, shows another bridge, very different. It is the site of the Olympics in 2010 – it was being used a year later.
Following on from Rashida, Mary sent this image to Derek
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Derek sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Jim
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Jim ended with this image
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mary ~ I chose this picture as it is the reverse of Rashida’s picture which is mainly living organic material with a little bit of wall – in my picture it is mostly stone and rock with the living organic material shown upside down in the ball.
Derek ~ Mary’s contribution for mine represented the upside down world we currently inhabit with the only choices being an even harder place represented by the rock.
Colin ~ It’s about the eyes.
Jim ~ Following on from Colin’s image, I was struck by the colours, the fabric nature of the puppets and the eyes. So I decided to photograph these two puppets (or are they dolls?) made by my sister. They are of Poldark (even with a scar on his cheek) and Demelza. I decided to sit them on my window sill and position them together as a couple looking straight at camera.
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Consequences October 2020
For October, Avril started and sent her image to 2 different people. Each of the recipients sent a Consequence image to the next person in a group of four. In the usual fashion, those recipients each sent a Consequence on to the next person in the group.
We ended up with 9 images in all.
We met, as one does these days, by Zoom, at the usual meeting time.
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Avril started with this image and sent it to Mermie and Colin
Avril ~ The window and staircase are at Inversnaid Lodge near Aberfoyle on the shores of Loch Lomond. It was a very well respected residential Centre for Photography. Mary went there and Derek. I learned an enormous amount there particularly printing. It was always film and darkroom work.
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Mermie sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mermie ~ Soon after receiving Avril’s lovely image, I happened to notice that one of the proof sheets I was using for another project, happened to have this image. It was taken in 1978, in a small town house in Philadelphia. I cannot remember why I was in the town house, but I think the image is suitable.
Dawn ~ My picture was taken on our landing as you can see. Mermie’s picture was a plant – this loosely relates. it is an abstract painting by Graham Boyd. It reminds me of a cross section of a tree trunk. It also resembles a landscape. At the time he was working on nature and abstraction.
Rashida ~ The image I received from Dawn of a framed artwork on a landing is fascinating and I would like to learn more about it. Maze-like and made up of dots or circles in blues, greys and terracotta, it reminded me of an art installation I saw at the 1 Fox Precinct in Johannesburg. Widely available large plastic PVC shopping/storage/travel bags were re-purposed and suspended from the ceiling with light fixtures attached inside, making them unusual light fixtures.
1 Fox Precinct was part of one of the first mining camps that sprung up at the time of the discovery of gold in the 1880s. The area became the centre of the administration, maintenance and storage of trams and buses during the rapid growth of Johannesburg’s transport sector in the first half of the 20th century. Today, this precinct has been transformed into a dynamic cultural hub.
Bunshri ~ Following on from Rashida’s image of the simple bags in the beautiful light reminded me of the Africa I loved so much. At the moment I am loving the nature in this gorgeous September light.
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Following on from Avril, Colin sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary ended with this image
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ Taken at Somerset House where there was an exhibition in the Courtauld Gallery about Hergé and his creation Tintin in 2015.
Hady ~ Colin’s image was of a window with an unusual view showing through the window.
It reminded me of a photo I took on 12 March, when I was already taking COVID-19 precautions before the official lockdown. The image is of a shop window that showed amongst other things an antique magic lantern. I wasn’t able to go into the shop to view it, as the shop was closed.
Kate ~ The picture which Hady sent to me shows a marvellous old magic lantern with bellows, presumably seen through a window with sunlit reflections of lots of things – buildings, trees, the street.
I’ve followed with another reflection, this one in a mirror, against a wall with a man sitting in the bottom corner. It was taken during the interval of a concert in the amazing Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg, on a very sunny day last December. The mirror shows people milling around by the huge windows giving a view over the Elbe; and a secondary reflection of a man rubbing his brow. I love pictures with lots of reflections, showing, as it were, different layers of reality.
Rosemary ~ Kate’s picture seems to be reflecting the comings and goings during the interval of a public performance somewhere unrecognisable to me. The vast window area brought to my mind this image taken through the window of a grand hotel in Malta. No performance here but the potential for one! Not interval time, more like sometime later!
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Consequences September 2020
For September, Dawn started and sent her image to 3 different people. Each of the recipients sent a Consequence image to the next person in a group of four. In the usual fashion, those recipients each sent a Consequence on to the next person in the group.
We ended up with 13 images in all.
We met, as one does these days, by Zoom, at the usual meeting time.
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Dawn started with this image and sent it to Kate, Hady and Avril.
Dawn ~ My picture was taken in our garden during lockdown. My twin granddaughters are social distancing up this tree – they took it very seriously! They weren’t at school so our daughter had to bring them with her when she brought some shopping. It was a change of scene for them and they had lots of fun.
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Group One
Following Dawn’s image, Kate sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ Dawn sent me a delightful picture, I think of her two granddaughters, perched on a tree and looking so happy. I looked hard for pictures of people, things, birds up trees, but both the archive has nothing suitable, and I lacked time and ideas to go and look for something.
So I looked at Dawn’s image again and thought of sisters (which the little girls clearly are) – sisters having fun. Here are my two oldest granddaughters three summers ago, having fun taking a selfie against the view of the Andalucian village where we were staying, below, and the miles and miles of olive clad hills in the distance. Plenty for Colin to follow on with here, I hope. He might even major on the beheaded dog!.
Colin ~ The combination in the picture sent from Kate of a rocky landscape, people, photography and an animal, caused me to fish out this picture taken on a natural history holiday in Corsica last year: I couldn’t provide a distant town, but most of the other ingredients are there.
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Rosemary ~ I am sorry that I’ve produced such a pathetic response to Colin’s delightful scene. My collection seems to be somewhat bereft of 1) animal images, 2) mountains and indeed 3) photographers in action. This image of wild creatures on high ground shows Dartmoor ponies having a heart to heart I feel.
Rashida ~ Rosemary sent me a beautiful image of 2 Dartmoor ponies standing together in a quiet and gentle embrace or so it appears. These ponies are said to have a kind temperament, being reliable, gentle, and calm. I was reminded of a gentle, loving and beautiful encounter I was lucky to witness between two sisters at the South Bank.
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Group Two
Following Dawn’s image, Hady sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to George
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George ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady ~ Dawn’s image was of two young girls sitting up in a tree. It reminded me of an image I took during my first walk in lockdown in the woods in Welwyn Garden City. The image is of a baby owl sitting on the tree.
Jim ~ Hady’s image is of an owl resting comfortably in a woodland setting. My immediate reaction was to find photos of bats (flying foxes) nestling in the trees in Sydney Park but instead I chose this one taken at North Stradbroke Island off the coast of Queensland, Australia as a contrast. It is tucking in its wings and poised to plunge deep in the sea to catch its prey. Two predatory birds but with very different modus operandi!
Anne ~ Jim’s image of the diving bird is lovely and I have nothing to match that.
This picture I took in a visit to a local sculpture park with my granddaughters.
They had an irreverent reaction to the exhibits.
George ~ The image of the metal owl and the human mimic triggered memories of a day with birds of prey and this magnificent Eagle Owl. A bit of a no brainer so apologies for not thinking in depth of a consequence.
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Group Three
Following Dawn’s image, Avril sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri sent this image to Derek
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Derek sent this image to Len
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Len ended with this image.
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~ Following Dawn’s picture I was tempted to show pictures of my daughter covered in mud as a contrast to the younger children but then I remembered this image. I visited a village called Rennington where they had an annual scarecrow festival and these children were putting the finishing touches to their own.
Given the right opportunities I think children would always play in the way they did in the past. It’s keeping them away from screens that is difficult.
Bunshri ~ I received Avril’s image of a girl drawing eyes on the scarecrow’s face. This lead me to dig out this image from my archive of a boy in Rwanda.
His eyes speak louder than words.
Derek ~ Bunshri’s image reminded me of the suffering endured by children in many parts of the world. My experience in Tibet was somewhat different even in remote villages – at least those fortunate not to have endured Chinese “re-education”. I thought I would show the reverse side of the coin with this mother and her children. I had given one child a simple ball pen as she wanted to write and her mother had sought me out to ask whether it was a gift or had she taken it. I asked whether I could take the resulting photo.
Len ~ The link is a bit of a stretch, I’m afraid. It was taken in Shanghai which is probably the same continent as Derek’s image and also has 3 main figures, albeit they appear to be culturally very different. My excuse is that it was a last minute request to participate and I had to use whatever I could find in my archive…
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Consequences August 2020
We met, as one does these days, by Zoom, at the usual meeting time.
Hady started with this image and sent it to Avril, Rosemary and Jim.
Hady ~ My image was taken on a lockdown walk down a country lane, where there is hardly walkers. This piece of machinery was located under a bridge that crosses over a narrow part of the river Bean, that had dried up. I am not sure of the nature of the machine, but thought the hard metal contrasts with the soft green plants on both sides of the country lane.
Group One
Following Hady’s image, Avril sent this image to Rashida.
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Rashida sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Anne
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Anne ended with this image.
Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~ When I saw Hady’s image I first thought of farm machinery but the wheels were dominant in my reflection of the image the following day hence the wheels in a watch.
Rashida ~ Avril’s image reminds me of a song. I quote the first two lines:
“Round like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel”
The inside of the pocket watch is an object of beauty. Shiny metal made with such precision. Beautifully captured. I mirrored the circles in Avril’s image in a more organic way with the clock and teddy bear. My clock is also handmade. It tells time and more.
It captures the essence of the South African attitude to time, e.g., “just now” can mean anything from now to infinity and everything in-between or maybe never.
Kate ~ Rashida absolutely stumped me with hers! I decided on this picture taken in Ingleton a few days ago (in the Yorkshire Dales where we have our second home). One sees a lot of teddy bears in windows these days, but I thought this one was particularly relevant, maybe not feeling well, and wrapped up in a lovely bright blanket. If you look hard you can just make out his owner sitting working away at her screen in the background. The houses reflected in the window are in the Main Street, typical old stone terraced houses, on a damp grey day. I thought the teddy could be a relative of Rashida’s giant, and his bright blanket picks up the reds in the disk (Now Whenever etc). And the working woman suggests deadlines and hurry, so different from the South African message.
Anne ~ Kate’s picture is of the teddy bear, wrapped up warmly. My picture is from an exhibition a few years ago of Modern Chinese Art at the Hayward Gallery.It was a most thought provoking show. Here we are invited to gaze on someone asleep in a sleeping bag – perhaps not to pass by with eyes averted as we do so often in the street.
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Group Two
Following Hady’s image, Rosemary sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Derek
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Derek sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri ended with this image.
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Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rosemary ~ I really appreciated the juxta-positioning of the rusting machinery in the lush countryside. Both having aged gracefully with the passing of time.
Mary ~ When I saw Rosemary’s picture of the pipe and tap it reminded me of this image I took inside a hotel in Scotland. I placed the dried stem to add contrast to the colours and textures of the pipe and wall.
I really enjoy the textures of this image and I must print it sometime!
Derek ~ Mary set me quite a puzzle for consequences. You could say it goes to the root of the problem (if you will forgive the pun).
Bunshri ~ Derek sent me a great image of dense roots of a tree. This prompted me to show these twiggy branches with the sunlight hitting it., To me this looks like a beautiful mess with the sky as a backdrop.
I have been loving nature in this lockdown.
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Group Three
Following Hady’s image, Jim sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to George
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George ended with this image.
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Jim ~ Nothing too inspirational about my image. I just saw Hady’s image of rusting machinery in an overgrown setting and thought of a trip to Torridon (north-west Scotland) last year. This tractor had seen better days and the ferns were starting to take over. I like the contrast of the rust red with the bright green.
Colin ~ Following Jim’s view of a rusting tractor with some growth of ferns, I looked for more rust and vegetation, without wanting it to be too similar (I had a shot of an old car in similar conditions). I chose a picture of rusty rail fishplates awaiting possible use for the track of the Festiniog Railway, within which a seedling tree was beginning to grow.
Len ~ Colin’s image portrayed a jumble of rusted shapes. My response was to contrast that with an image of pristine order – four identical new cardboard envelopes leaning against each other on the side of a bookshelf.
George ~ As usual Len’s image was enigmatic and quite a job to interpret. It looked like a group of Amazon parcels -a very graphic image. So I went the simplistic route and looked for an image with vertical parallel lines. As an ex engineer the rotor assembly of a huge steam turbine taken in Spire Germany seemed to fit the bill.
Consequences July 2020
We met, as one does these days, by Zoom, at the usual meeting time.
Bunshri started with this image and sent it to Mermie, Rosemary and Mary.
Bunshri ~ I am an animal lover. I spotted this adorable lamb outside a church in Tbilisi, Georgia. i was told it was to be sacrificed for Easter. My initial reaction was one of shock and upset. I was drawn to photograph it!!!
For a religion that professes to be all about love and forgiveness, it is confusing to me that the event of Christianity, Easter, is a commemoration of a violent death (and, controversially, a resurrection).
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Group One
Following Bunshri’s image, Mermie sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Rashida
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Rashida sent this image to Anne.
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Anne ended with this image.
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Group One: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mermie ~ Among my set of photos, the face on ‘Flat Josh’ and the brick wall behind best followed Bunshri’s lamb. As part of his 2nd grade project in 2014, my great nephew, Josh, in Pennsylvania, sent this collage to me in Hemel Hempstead. I took photos of it in several places, then packed it up and sent it on to his Aunt Julie in Michigan. A handwritten note came with it describing how a Tyrannosaurus Rex had flattened him.
Kate ~ I thought of a funny painted stone I found on one of our walks in the woods recently. I have noticed several since – either a game, or just a child’s craze – a bit like the collage picture on Mermie’s flowerbed. No more to it than that!
Rashida ~ Kate’s image of a hand painted stone at the base of a tree evokes a number of stories. Who painted it? A child? An adult? Why was it placed there? A burial of a much loved pet? A memory stone for a loved one? Or maybe no back story at all.
My image in response to Kate’s is of a statue/sculpture that mirrors the painted stone in Kate’s image. The statue is in the amazing outdoor space and garden of Zoo Lake Moyo, a restaurant in Johannesburg celebrating African Heritage. A restaurant where all the tastes of Africa are offered with all the love of the South African people.
Anne ~ Rashida’s picture was so full of light and vibrant growth around the statue – I found it hard to follow. So here is a covered up statue at Waddesden on a dark, misty winter’s day.
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Group Two
Following Bunshri’s image, Rosemary sent this image to George.
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George sent this image to Hady.
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Hady sent this image to Jim.
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Jim ended with this image.
Group Two: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Rosemary ~ I’m hoping that the sheep is on its way for some TLC as it appears to be injured or definitely unwell.
On the Gorhambury estate one snowy winter I happened upon this group of ewes and their lambs who despite the low temperature seem to be in fine fettle!
George ~ I was reminded of a family group by the group of sheep.
This is pretty much the flip side though with this family of Cheetahs at Whipsnade zoo. Herbivores vs Carnivores both very cute.
Hady ~ The image I received from George showed a line of cheetah cubs, in a letterbox arrangement. It reminded me of an image I took a year ago in Alexandria, Egypt, of street cats sitting on top of a car covered with a dust sheet. The similarity was uncanny. George‘s image was probably taken in a zoo, while my image is an example of street photography.
Jim ~ My mission failed! There was a car in Sandridge which had a cover over it, like the car in Hady’s image. However, when I went to photograph it, the owner had removed the cover and was busy polishing it! So instead I walked further down the road and saw these growing enclosures which I thought best matched the material used in Hady’s image!
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Group Three
Following Bunshri’s image, Mary sent this image to Colin.
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Colin sent this image to Avril.
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Avril sent this image to Dawn.
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Dawn ended with this image.
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Group Three: Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mary ~ I found Bunshri’s image difficult to interpret at first – a young sheep in a cardboard box, and it looks like a white cloth is wrapped around the animal – so the question is why?
My image is one taken in Arles a few years ago – these big panels were displaying these images. The one on the left with the girl who is tied to the underneath of an ironing board reminds me of the tethered sheep – why are they there? – while the white horse is mirroring the way that humans have power over domesticated animals such as the horse and the sheep.
Colin ~ Mary’s picture had three principal components – a building in the background with repetitive vertical pilasters and two hoardings – one of a lady tied to an ironing board and the other of a man on horseback. Of available items during lockdown, I was able to use the landing balustrade, ironing board and iron, and the only horse-related item available – a horse chestnut leaf. Unfortunately the horse was white, not chestnut. Anyway, the leaf looked as if it could do with ironing.
Avril ~ My image shows what happens when you apply heat, pressure and light to a leaf. Apart from the fact that it cooks if the temperature is high enough, images can be made without cameras but not without fixer. If you have old black and white paper have fun playing with it. Different papers, different colours.
Dawn ~ Avril’s Autumn leaves have been carefully arranged on black card however these clematis flowers have been arranged by nature and are in full bloom in the summer.
Consequences June 2020
For June, we divided into 2 groups and included everyone in Consequences. Each group received the same starting image. In addition, after a person in one group sent his/her image on to Mermie for collection, Mermie sent back the image from the other group. We ended up with 25 images in all.
We met, as one does these days, by Zoom, at the usual meeting time.
Group One
Hady started and his image went to Colin, Derek, Dawn, George, Kate, Avril, Duncan, and Mermie.
Hady ~ At the time of lockdown and self isolation the garden has been an inspiration. We have an ornamental corkscrew hazelnut tree with twisted branches which were still bare after the winter. These twisted branches are very attractive. This image is one of a series of my ongoing project about the changing nature of this tree through the seasons.
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Colin ~ The picture I supplied for Hady’s starter set my mind on a leafless tree I had seen in Parliament Hill Fields when visiting friends after last Christmas. It was illuminated by the setting sun against a blank sky.
I decided as a trial to use Photoshop to replace the majority of the shady parts of thicker branches with the same density as the sky, leaving the thinner branches unchanged and the orange effect of the setting sun. This lightened up the shot to give an effect not too different from Hady’s, but emphasising the orangeness.
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Derek ~ Hady’s picture reminded me of a bird you frequently see perched in such branches – this was one taken at Verulamium Lake in St Albans.
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Dawn ~ I took this recently from my bedroom window. It shows the branches of the winter trees but is dark instead of light. I took several photos some of which were blurred. I don’t know how it will look enlarged on the screen as I didn’t use a tripod but there was no time to set it up as the moon kept disappearing behind the clouds.
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George ~ I puzzled over the burned out image of Hady’s. It reminded me of some of the vegetation under the Red Sea which are a trifle more colourful.
So I thought perhaps a coral or animal that was monochrome and voila I thought of the basket star which stays in a small ball in daylight then opens magnificently at night to capture small organisms in its feathery “plumage” which can spread several feet wide.
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Kate ~ Hady’s picture is – I think – the renewal of life: new leaves and flowers emerging from an apparently dead branch. Mine – reflecting in a way the pattern of dark twigs and branches of Hady’s image – is death in life. The tree has died, but new life is springing up all around. Taken in our local, marvellous, Sherrards wood a short while ago.
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Avril ~. When I first received Hady’s picture I thought of lace, the skeleton of a leaf, the pattern left when ivy is cleared from a wall. The lace was in the loft, and I am forbidden to climb the ladder into the loft, and I almost always do as my children tell me just as they almost always obeyed me when young.
Falling out of the loft is not on the proposed agenda, so I thought the leaf would be fine as I had one amongst my bits and pieces. Unfortunately it proved too fragile to photograph and disintegrated. That left the ivy and I already had a photograph of that until I managed to delete it from my phone and I have no idea how I did it. I had just printed a two inch copy of it but the prints are OK small, but I don’t think they would tolerate enlarging.
At last fortune smiled on me – on a neighbour’s garage I finally found what I wanted.
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Duncan ~ Mine is a response to the dendritic pattern in Hady’s image. Taken at the harbour in Margate.
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Mermie ~ As I searched for a consequence through past images, I deliberately looked for something other than tree branches. I settled on this ‘Daddy Long Legs’ on our countertop with its crooked legs reminiscent of the tree branches.
Later, Hady’s image went to Rashida, Rosemary, and Mary.
Rashida ~ Hady’s delicate and ethereal image seems to float in the white space. In it I see roads less travelled, neural connections, the beauty that Nature creates and so much more. There is a simultaneous lightness and strength in the image. I created mine in response to what Hady’s image evoked for me.
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Rosemary ~ My immediate response to Hady’s picture was that it was a network of blood vessels and decided to go ahead with that idea. From my window I spied the netball goal with the 3 colours. I imagined them representing the capillaries, being white, arteries red and blue of course for the veins. A stretch of my imagination but that’s what it is all about I suppose.
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Mary ~ Hady’s tree is a very delicate tracery of branches and I chose the sunflower image as its opposite – dark and slightly heavy. The drying head of the flower has its own tracery and the macro lens has picked up the hairs on the stem of the flower.
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Group Two
Mermie started and sent this image to Rashida, Sabes, Rosemary, Bunshri, Jim, Mary, and Anne.
Mermie ~ The heron and the magpie appeared together on the roof across from my window. A magpie is often there, but I had never seen a heron on any roof before. It happened in November 2016, so although it looks like social distancing, it’s for a reason other than Covid-19 and known only to the two birds. I had wanted to use it as my starting picture for April, knowing it would go first to Colin, and I wanted to make it difficult for him. But I was in the US at the time and had forgotten to bring it with me.
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Rashida ~ Mermie’s image is gentle and minimalist with soft muted colours where even the roof blends seamlessly with nature. I remembered an image from Johannesburg that appears to mimic Mermie’s in shapes and lines. Mine is the opposite: colourful and sleek man-made structures. In the background the iconic and affectionately nicknamed “Diamond Building” made of glass and steel, multifaceted angles made to glitter like a diamond. The rooftop in the foreground, loud and graphic, belongs to a restaurant. The chimneys reminiscent of two birds.
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Sabes ~ This image reminded me of Mermie’s photograph of a big bird and a small bird sitting down on the roof. I Mermie’s the bigger one turns left to communicate to the smaller bird. Here a son bigger than his dad turns left to communicate to his dad. There is a bench that they may sit. This is social distancing times. As in the photograph of the birds, here too they a keeping their distance including the dog.
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Rosemary ~ To my mind the heron in Mermie’s picture was giving the magpie a right dressing down. Perhaps it was perching on his branch or something similar! For this reason I was immediately drawn to my image which has always been a favourite among my wedding selection.
Many years ago I found myself taking B and W pics at a wedding taking place in a gorgeous chateau in France, of course. There the adult’s celebrations were a bit prolonged and no food had yet been presented. Nobody it seemed had considered the appetites of the young guests!
At this point I came across this little gem. The tiny page hadn’t been able to wait any longer and had entered the kitchen and stolen something delicious! It appeared then that the bridesmaid was giving him a good dressing down. The bridesmaid’s name was Madeleine.
About a year ago I was doing the same thing at yet another wedding, this time in St Albans. Doing my rounds of the guests I was introduced to Madeleine, now grown up and with children of her own. While chatting, she told me that she had remembered the incident. That day was her birthday and someone had sent her a copy of my photograph to show her how she had behaved as a youngster!
Hope you enjoy the story.
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Bunshri ~ I am sending you this image which reflected my mood whilst on a walk during the pandemic.
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Jim ~ Here is my consequences image – a tough one!
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Mary ~ I took this image of the cliff from a Zodiac boat when on a wonderful trip I took a few years ago to Arctic Norway. The birds mirror your image of birds on a roof.
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Anne ~ The rooftop shot is of a heart balloon which had been let go at the end of my sister’s 40th wedding anniversary party.
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Later, Mermie also sent her image to Derek, George, Dawn, Colin, Avril, and Kate.
Derek ~ Where there are birds there have to be bees!
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George ~ In Holland the heron is as common as pigeons are in England
This sentinel was on a lamppost near my daughter’s house in the Jerusalem area of Amsterdam
You can get very close before they fly off
They are not my favourite bird-we have a fish pond in our garden-enough said!
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Dawn ~ This is the best I can do, no it isn’t upside down, it is a reflection of a silver birch tree in a shallow pond.
I had pictures of birds but with no trees.
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Colin ~ The picture following Mermie’s starter followed the theme of nature interacting with buildings and shows the residue left by a bird, possibly a thrush, hitting a window pane because it saw the sky reflected in a mirrored door on the opposite wall of the room and thought it could fly through.
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Avril ~ Not as dramatic as a heron but the roadrunner which I photographed shortly after was on the ground and I couldn’t put him on a roof. As it was 5.45 I guess they were waiting for the trippers to go home so they could descend on the beach for supper.
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Kate ~ I’ve called it “Socially distanced cup of tea”. I’m not sure which one is the heron and which the magpie. Though Stephen on the right has his back rather hunched like the heron; and Steve on the left has a black stripe on his hat – a bit black and white like the magpie.
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Consequences May 2020
For May, we divided into 3 groups and included everyone in Consequences. We met, as one does these days, by Zoom, at the usual meeting time.
Group One
Kate started and sent this image to Rashida.
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Rashida sent this image to Mary.
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Mary sent this image to Duncan.
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Duncan sent this image to Rosemary.
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Rosemary sent this image to Derek.
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Derek finished with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ “Chained and caged, waiting for summer”. I took this picture in a park in Olite, in Spanish Navarre, last summer. The town has a huge, fairytale castle, much restored. I thought that these shut away chairs might be a metaphor for us now, shut up and isolated, waiting for release. But the chairs aren’t observing the social distancing rules. Maybe they are all members of one family living together, maybe not in perfect harmony…
Rashida ~ The first word that came to mind when I saw Kate’s photo was “COVID-19”. The fenced off enclosure, the chairs chained together. Empty. Desolate. Then my mindfulness and new state of mind saw beauty in the lines, shapes and abstract patterns in the image. Similar to this area in our garden with the bird cage and plant pot. Tico an African Grey Parrot stayed with us when his family went on their vacations. Tico’s home was gifted to us when he died. This area of the garden is what he saw from our living room. We fell madly truly deeply in love with Tico and he with us. A beautiful story of unconditional love.
Mary ~ To me the birdcage is a good analogy of life for us all at the moment being in lockdown and, while not being trapped in a cage, for many people they might be feeling trapped. I took this picture of a taxidermist’s shop in Angel one evening while on a walkabout with MHPS camera club – I was struck by the way the eyes of the fox stare straight out at passers-by. Now this picture resonates with the feelings of the present time – to me it like the animals in Narnia, held in a permanent winter or having being turned into statues, waiting for the situation to change – in their case it was Aslan – in our case who knows what will happen!
Duncan ~ Mary’s wonderful image had quite a few aspects to respond to. Obviously there are the animals but I have never really photographed animals either alive or stuffed. Although I have photographed a few museum displays nothing seemed right and matched the slightly dark mysterious nature of this image. I was taken by the reflection and in particular the ‘no entry’ sign but in the end opted for the major element which is unseen in the picture – the glass. The picture I have sent was taken a couple of days ago on my daily lockdown walk to my allotment. Although here the glass is very much seen I felt it resonated in terms of dark mystery.
Rosemary ~ Following the subtleties of Duncan’s image, perhaps an under used greenhouse, I decided to reply with a more productive scene. The geraniums seem to be thriving and the gentleman is more than pleased with his purchase.
Derek ~ Rosemary’s picture of a veteran gardener working in his greenhouse arrived while I was sitting in the garden with my laptop. How fitting I thought. Just what a gardener should be doing – but I was having to listen to the noise of motorised mowers, screaming leaf blowers and non-stop power patio washing by my neighbours.
As a consequence I thought I must search my photographic records for something that restores peace and a greener approach to gardening. I found a picture I took in the Shalamar Gardens near Lahore and decided that it most clearly captured that dream I have of I have of restoring gardening to a place I once enjoyed, where hand operated hedge clippers snipped away and you could hear the gentle clackety clack of a Ransome’s hand pushed mower, neither disturbing to the ear in any way. The animal powered mower in this picture has the advantage of fertilising the ground as it goes. But that was 60 years ago when we first moved to Welwyn Garden City.
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Group Two
Colin started and sent this image to Anne.
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Anne sent this image to Hady.
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Hady sent this image to Avril.
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Avril sent this image to Dawn.
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Dawn finished with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin ~ The about 200 year-old Scots pine in our back garden was dying gracefully when I bought the house, but finally died a couple of years ago. The tree-surgeons did a quick job, which, once the branches were off, involved taking about 10 inch thick slices off the trunk. They had arranged some plywood board to absorb the impact of bits falling on the lawn. I liked the way the guy with the chain-saw was peeking to see whether the slice was going the right way. I felt there was just enough movement in the picture along with the sawdust in the air not to give too frozen a result. It predicted a number of potential ‘consequences’
Anne ~ Colin’s image that he sent me was so dramatic that I struggled for a while but thought about felling trees and remembered this rather sad scene I took last year.
Hady ~ Anne’s image has a burnt tree, which had interesting shape and colour. This is mirrored in the shape of of the two people’s shadow. There are also many tree branches in Anne’s image, which are quite disorderly. The contrast in my image is of the very orderly bare winter tree branches.
Avril ~ Strangely these trees are in full leaf, the sun casts shadows in Hady’s pictures though strangely the trees in front of those shadows are bare of leaves. Some sort of time shifting?
Dawn ~ It was taken in Egypt seven weeks before the up rising so we were lucky to do it then. It follows Avril’s theme of light although hers was taken in summer when the sun was high and mine at sunset.
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Group Three
Sabes started and sent this image to George.
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George sent this image to Bunshri.
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Bunshri sent this image to Mermie.
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Mermie sent this image to Jim.
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Jim finished with this image.
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Sabes ~ When photographing I was out on a walk and shot this closed exercise platform as a sign of our times. A record.
After several weeks when I sat down to write, I noticed the flowers and the bright clouds in the blue sky suggesting hope.
This revisiting of the photograph reminds me that we see what we want to see but there is more to see.
I have a lot to learn about photography!
George ~ My image carries on from the previous image which references the closing of play grounds in the current lockdown. So rather tongue in cheek I did a self portrait of an isolating tennis player who is thinking of past glories (very few) and longing to get back on court! Also an excuse to use a new remote trigger which I purchased several months ago for my Canon 7DMKII.
Bunshri ~ Following on from the image of tennis rackets and player outdoors from George, I was drawn to show the self-isolation and how we are in turmoil, yet there is a small shaft of light shining through, suggesting hope and joy,
Mermie ~ Shortly after I received Bunshri’s lovely, pale, somewhat curly image, Colin opened a package of elegant treats sent to us from Fortnum and Mason by his niece. I happened to go out to the compost pile and saw the curly packing material sitting on top of the heap. Not as elegant as Bunshri’s image, but it nearly matched in colour and curl, and it being on the heap was the result of the very kind act of sending the goodies to us.
Jim ~ Not much to say other than that this photo was taken in Wales this time last year: it clearly reflects the shredded top of what I assume is a compost heap. My image keeps the colours, tones and symmetry of Mermie’s image but is in landscape mode rather than portrait.
Consequences April 2020
Mermie started and sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Mary
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Mary ended with this image
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Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mermie ~ During a visit last July to the restored Benjamin Franklin printing press in Philadelphia, I admired the set of type ornaments. The demonstrator kindly held one of my favourites for me to photograph. I hoped it would be a challenge for Colin to follow!
Colin ~ Mermie’s picture reminded me of a car club trophy I had photographed at the end of 2019, as her pictures had a pair of hands enfolding something. The trophy is to encourage conservation of cars in their original condition rather than restoring them to better than new. Hence the motto ‘Noli me mutare’ – ‘Do not let anyone change me.’
Dawn ~ I took the photograph in Berlin, it is metal like the sculptures in Colin’s picture. The figure is protecting the body as the hands protect the figure in his picture, however it is a very different subject.
Rosemary ~ Following the German theme from Dawn my mind instantly went to this photo that I took at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin not too long after the wall came down. Someone had thrown what I recollect being a single rose wrapped in cellophane on to the road in front of the gate. A similar gesture had been made in front of the statue by Max Planck also in Berlin.
Avril ~ 500 Boylston, Back Bay, Boston, MA. The Building’s distinctive design includes carved rose granite cladding with 2 storey windows, a vaulted copper roof line and strong exterior column detailing. Completed in 1989 and costing $100 million, it became a setting for a TV programme called Boston Legal and for this reason attracts tourists. I felt in a totally different way it was famous, as was the Brandenburg Gate. And I didn’t have anything else I could connect with.
Mary ~ I chose this image as it echoes the arches in Avril’s image and the colour red of the Costa board – I am sorry not to have included the whole of the name but I was busy capturing the ‘Lady in Red’. It was taken in Birmingham.
For May, due to you-know-what, and because of an increase in discretionary time, we are including everyone in Consequences, divided into 3 groups. The first group consists of the usual six; the other two groups have five people each. The usual email will be sent to each person with the details.
Please send a copy of your image to Mermie (km2442@gmail.com). Please also send a note about your image to Mermie (but not to the next person).
Group 1
Kate to start and send to Rashida by 7th April
Rashida to send to Mary by 13th April
Mary to send to Duncan by 19th April
Duncan to send to Rosemary by 24th April
Rosemary to send to Derek by 30th April
Derek to finish and send to Mermie by 6th May
Group 2
Colin to start and send to Anne by 8th April
Anne to send to Hady by 14th April
Hady to send to Avril by 20th April
Avril to send to Dawn by 26th April
Dawn to finish and send to Mermie by 2nd May
Group 3
Sabes to start and send to George by 8th April
George to send to Bunshri by 14th April
Bunshri to send to Mermie by 20th April
Mermie to send to Jim by 26th April
Jim to finish and send to Mermie by 2nd May
Consequences March 2020
Kate started and sent this image to Hady
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Hady sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Derek
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Derek ended with this image
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Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ I chose this picture because it amuses me – the title could be “The grass is greener through the gate”; or “Join the queue, ladies!”. I took it last Spring, while on one of our favourite walks in the Yorkshire Dales. We are looking west across to the Howgill hills. It will be fun seeing what it leads to.
Hady ~ Kate’s image was of sheep nearly in a straight line. It reminded me of a picture I took earlier this year at Kew garden of glass statues arranged in a linear fashion, by the artist Dale Chihuly. This was part of a large exhibition. The Similarity was uncanny.
Jim ~ Hady’s image was intriguing. The red plants seemed unworldly. Indeed they are so perfect, such a brilliant colour and so perfectly aligned that I wasn’t sure if they were sculptures or living plants. The image reminded me of my trip to the Storm King Art Centre in New York State last year: the open landscape with trees and autumnal grasses. I thought the red sculpture followed the diagonal arrangements of the plants in Hady’s image, albeit vertically rather than horizontally.
Avril ~ Jim’s zigzag sculpture left me wondering and then I thought of the roof at the British Museum, hardly a zig zag but multiple zig zags much photographed and much admired. I did have zigzag tiled floors but the roof was more clear cut.
Colin ~ Avril’s picture started me off looking a pictures in museums and galleries, but I also noticed the pediment on the left, as well as the drum shape of the part of the building to the right. With my background, the pediment reminded me of a Rolls-Royce radiator and the drum shape was a characteristic of the headlamps fitted to cars made by RR of America around 1929; hence my choice of picture.
Derek ~ I could not help but to respond in like spirit when Colin sent me his vintage challenge. So here is my pride and joy, a close up of part of my 1929 Velocette USS two stroke racing motorbike.
Next Consequences for HFF Meeting 2nd April
Mermie to start and send to Colin by 9 March
Colin to send to Dawn by 13 March
Dawn to send to Rosemary by 17 March
Rosemary to send to Avril by 21 March
Avril to send to Mary by 25 March
Mary to finish and send to Mermie by 1 April
Consequences February 2020
Avril started and sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to George
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George sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Hady
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Hady ended with this image
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~ ‘View from the 17th floor during a thunderstorm in Miami, the middle of July. Everything vanished from view.’
Sabes ~ Sheep that liked me. Something happening on the right of Avril’s photograph above the row of yellow dots called my attention. Punctum* in Barthe’s language. It reminded me of this sheep who looked into my eyes acknowledging my presence. You may identify your own punctum. (Roland Barthes: studium and punctum in Camera Lucida)
Len ~ Not a lot to say about this image. It was taken about 15 years ago at an exhibition (I forget of what!) in Leiden in the Netherlands. It’s my response to the form, but not the subject, of the previous image. I have very few animal pictures and no time to take any at the moment, so this seemed to be the best approach.
George ~ When I received Len’s image my first reaction was to follow with an image in the same genre. I had some images from my last travel to Mexico but that wouldn’t have advanced the way I think consequences should work. But the image had several deltas in it so I thought I have some other delta images that jump to another area entirely hence the Vulcan against the dramatic sky.
Mary ~ This image mirrors George’s image in a few ways…..the Vulcan bomber and butterfly are the same shape, both fly and of course the rounded markings. One other poignant point is that the Vulcan has been retired and I am not sure that they even fly anymore and the butterfly is dead..I found it in my house on the floor.
Hady ~ The image I received from Mary was of a star like arrangement of flowers. This image reminded me of my series entitled “My Surgical Instruments”. The image I sent back was from the series. It was an arrangement of tips used in a medical machine called an hyfrecator. It is used to cut tissues, stop bleeding and get rid of excess tissues. The two colour ends are for sharp and blunt ends used slightly differently.
Next Consequences for HFF Meeting 5th March
Kate to start and send to Hady by 10 February
Hady to send to Jim by 15 February
Jim to send to Avril by 20 February
Avril to send to Colin by 24 February
Colin to send to Derek by 28 February
Derek to finish and send to Mermie by 4 March
Consequences December 2019
Avril started and sent this image to George
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George sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Anne
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Anne sent this image to Derek
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Derek sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri ended with this image
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril ~ I thought with all the talk about the environment a ‘tree hugger’ might be appropriate. I am, myself, particularly fond of trees and so am in agreement with hugging them. This was taken in Chicago during the time of the ash cloud.
George ~ It follows the metal man theme. This is a Gormley in the field behind the house at the end of lake Coniston where we have a family get together in July. Gormley is a friend of the family who own the house.
Len ~ The moment I looked at George’s image I was reminded of a photograph I took in Barbados in 2005.
In many ways it is the complete opposite – a woman of colour wearing a bright red dress standing outside a bar at night versus his iconic male statsue free from any embellishment. Yet her expression and stance seems to me to perfectly mirror that of George’s statue while at the same time being its complete opposite.
The wire fence through which I took this photo was there merely to enclose the general dancing and drinking entertainment area for which an entry fee needed to be paid to gain admission – there was no suggestion of forced containment in reality although its appearance in the photograph, without any explanation, might imply that.
Anne ~ Len’s picture was so mysterious and I puzzled over it for a long time and then realised that it was the mystery that was intriguing. I hope this one has some of the same quality.
Derek ~ Anne sent me a picture redolent of Julia Margaret Cameron’s work with a rather stylish lady in an equally elegant garden atmosphere. This set me an immediate problem in that at 83 I have difficulty locating stylish ladies any more…not that that task was every particularly easy and it may have had something to do with me.
So having a co-operative grand-daughter who does not mind loaning herself to me as a model I sent to work to create a picture of Eve in the Garden – not her real name and she is one of triplets – and came up with a picture that I hope reflects that youthful age of innocence when the world was very new to us indeed.
Bunshri ~ Derek’s image is beautifully serene and emotive. This inspired me to show the 2nd version of Leonardo De Vinchi’s: The Virgin of the Rocks. Leonardo worked on this for 25 years. I am drawn to his linear perspective, a system of creating an illusion of depth on a flat surface showing light and shade, beauty and grace.
The next Consequences will begin in January.
Happy Holidays to you all!
Consequences November 2019
Mermie started and sent this image to Kate
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Kate sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary sent this image to Colin
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Colin sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri ended with this image
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Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mermie ~ My favourite of several shots I took while waiting for our plane to Detroit to take off from Philadelphia during a trip last July.
Kate ~ Mermie’s picture taken between two seats in front of her place on a plane drew my eye immediately to the exit sign in the middle of the image. I immediately had to search for a picture I took a while ago in the Hamburger Bahnhof, the modern art museum in Berlin. This terrible corridor seemed Kafka-esque to me – a dark tunnel with endless exit signs and no way out (apparently). The exit in Mermie’s photo seems to be through a wall, though we know from experience that it indicates a gangway which we can’t see.
Rosemary ~ I think that the interpretation of this image is really self-explanatory. Of course it represents the exit from the world of so many precious lives lost in the name war in the 20th century. This small section of the installation at the Tower of London I feel is, in fact, more powerful than others that I have showing millions more poppies.
Colin ~ While Rosemary’s subject was the display of poppies at the Tower commemorating the dead of WWI, I rather liked the cascade of flowers from an archway. Arriving at the entrance to the Savill gardens in Windsor Great Park, the modern take on a wildflower meadow coupled with the sweeping roof – shaped like a shallow arch and grey like the stone of the Tower – seemed to reflect Rosemary’s picture, so here it is.
Bunshri ~ Colin’s image is striking, beautiful of flowers with a sense of freedom. This led me to show this image of the cat boxed into a confined place. At the back is the woods, yet, the cat here is wedged between so many frames. I feel that it raises many questions for the viewer. Is it frightened, or deliberately keeping out of the way, or feeling secure in that environment?
Next Consequences for HFF Meeting 5th December
Avril to start and send to George by 11 November
George to send to Len by 15 November
Len to send to Anne by 19 November
Anne to send to Derek by 24 November
Derek to send to Bunshri by 29 November
Bunshri to finish and send to Mermie by 3 December
Please send a copy of your image to Mermie (km2442@gmail.com). Please also send a note about your image to Mermie (but not to the next person).
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Consequences October 2019
Kate started and sent this image to Mary
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Mary sent this image to Rosemary
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Rosemary sent this image to Derek
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Derek sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Bunshri
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Bunshri ended with this image
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Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ From our family holiday August in Catalonia. It was seriously hot – over 40 degrees daytime temperatures. One evening after dark the landlord of our holiday home turned on the lights in the pool for a couple of hours. There was a small moon, but little other light as we were in the deep countryside, with neighbours within sight. It was magical watching the shapes of the children and their parents darting around, distorted by the bright light against the blue background of the pool, surrounded by darkness.
Mary ~ This image is of rope floating in very blue water. In the previous image of the child and mother in very blue water, there is some rope floating in the top right hand corner, and so I feel that the images correspond with the water and rope. The difference is that there is the energy of the parent/child relationship as the child is swimming while my image is of a length of rope languidly floating in the current of the sea.
Rosemary ~ It took me a while to make head or tail of Mary’s photo! It was the floating object (presumably a buoy) which eventually became my focus. It appeared to me to be distinctly heart shaped. In wartime Britain the butcher’s shops sold offal and a regular delight at home was to have roasted lamb’s hearts. It was the sight of the buoy which prompted me to recall that particular meal!
Derek ~ Rosemary’s decision to send me what appeared to be a diamond heart hanging in a window produced the inevitable consequence of stirring memories of celebration of MY diamond wedding with my wife Pat in Antigua – and as we were staying in the former copper and lumber store (a warehouse for equipment for repairing Nelson’s fleet), and now transformed into a hotel, we had to have at least one toast – with something suitable – the most fiery rum on the island.
Jim ~ Derek’s image is of a Rum Punch at Admiral Nelson’s in Antigua. So I thought an image of a Moet champagne bottle and some empty Pimm’s glasses was a natural follow on. Taken at Henley Royal Regatta earlier this year.
Bunshri ~ Jim’s image was very eye catching and busy. A lot of interaction happening there and with the bottle of champagne, suggests affluent people enjoying a drink or two in style. I was driven to juxtapose my image to Jim’s. Two complete strangers sharing the same bench in the same room but going about their own business. Which I feel happens a lot in a busy world such as ours. You can be in a room full of people, yet disconnected. So very different to when I was young and in another country.
Next Consequences for HFF Meeting 7th November
Mermie to start and send to Kate by 9 October
Kate to send to Rosemary by 15 October
Rosemary to send to Colin by 21 October
Colin to send to Bunshri by 27 October
Bunshri to send to Sabes by 1 November
Sabes to send to Mermie by 6 November
Please send a copy of your image to Mermie (km2442@gmail.com). Please also send a note about your image to Mermie (but not to the next person).
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Consequences September 2019
Anne started and sent this image to George
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George sent this image to Avril
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Avril sent this image to Len
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Len sent this image to Sabes
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Sabes sent this image to Jim
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Jim sent this image to Dawn
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Dawn finished and sent this image to Mermie
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Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ I was on holiday in Tuscany with family. We discovered this pretty old theatre in a small town. I like the juxtaposition of the small boy in his modern clothes against the rich colours of the classical backdrop.
George ~ I confess I was very puzzled by Anne’s image. Anyway, my image is a portrait of a young lady where the dominant image is the background. Taken in a shop in Rotterdam’s trendy shopping arcade.
Avril ~ The best I could do under the circumstances.
Len ~ The link to Avril’s image is pretty obvious, but the story behind why I made this photograph is a little more interesting. I live in a small block of flats and most of the residents are of a similar age group to us and we are therefore quite a friendly community.
One of the residents has a small terrace outside their front door on which they have a number of pot plants and bushes which they carefully tend throughout the year. One particular love of theirs is their Camellia bush. They water it regularly and watch it closely. Unfortunately, it flowers for only a very short time each year, around a couple of weeks.
This year they approached me and said that their holidays frequently seemed to coincide with the blooming of the camellia bush, so they never had the pleasure of seeing it in flower. They asked me to see if it bloomed this year while they were away and, if it did, could I please take a photograph of it for them to see when they returned?
I was very happy to do that and in fact made a little book for them of the plant’s progress during the time it flowered. This image is from one of the days quite near the end of its flowering cycle. They were of course delighted to see the book.
Sabes ~ The withered flower in middle of Len’s image caught my attention straightaway. I wondered why this and not the ones that are fresh still. I carried this thought and the circle shape in mind when walking in a street in Fitzrovia. I came across this tree with a round mark/protrusion in the background of the street.
I wanted to keep away from the notion of withering and express that desire. The round shape of the withered flower in Len’s image is transposed to the mark in the tree on the street. May be suggesting continuity and not end.
Jim ~ Initially I tried taking photos that directly followed on from Sabes’ image (ie vertical tree trunk with circular scar in the middle), but doing this seemed a bit dull. I then happened to see this boy reading in the bookshop at Tate Modern. I felt that this image was a development of the previous image while retaining the vertical element in the middle with a circular shape also centrally located.
Dawn ~ Just Resting. Taken at Butterfly World.
Next Consequences for HFF Meeting 3rd October
Kate to start and send to Mary by 9 September
Mary to send to Rosemary by 13 September
Rosemary to send to Derek by 17 September
Derek to send to Jim by 22 September
Jim to send to Bunshri by 26 September
Bunshri to finish and send to Mermie by 1 October
When you send your image to the next person, please send a copy of your image to Mermie (km2442@gmail.com). Please also send her a note about your image.
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Consequences JuLY 2019
Kate sent this image to Rosemary
Rosemary sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to George
George ended with this image
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Kate ~ ‘It was a mistake to go to Granada in February. It was cold and wet throughout our visit. Even the Alhambra seemed sad, and the gardens were sodden. I took this picture while having lunch in the tented extension to a restaurant in a small square in the town. Through the plastic window I could see this disconsolate man waiting for the deluge to cease. I thought there could be a few ideas here to link with the next Consequence.’
Rosemary ~ The mood of the image that I received was rather one of doom and gloom. The gentleman looks to be very dejected and despite carrying an umbrella is loathe to venture out. Therefore I have chosen to brighten the outlook with a photography of a young girl, full of confidence, striding out and revelling in the prospect of getting wet. This photo was taken in the forecourt of Somerset House when the use of alternating fountains was new on the scene.
Colin ~ The fountain effect of the previous picture reminded me of a back-lit plant that hd seeded and left the remains of its stems. A picture taken in the Sierra Nevadas.
Anne ~ Colin’s grasses reminded me of the birch trees in this set at the National Theatre for a Chekov play. The actors came on to the stage and sat talking quietly together as the audience took their seats. It was a wonderful evening!
Avril ~ Following on from Anne these are part of the New Year celebrations in Chamonix ~ lights, performance, audience and all on the move.
George ~ The image from Avril reminded me of wheels, so I thought of the London eye at night, but my lousy filing system couldn’t find the image. So here is the wheel change/refuel at this years Le mans 24 hour race.
Next Consequences for HFF Meeting 5th September
Anne – to send to George by 13 July
George – to send to Avril by 21 July
Avril – to send to Len by 31 July
Len – to send to Sabes by 7 August
Sabes – to send to Jim by 16 August
Jim – to send to Dawn by 25 August
Dawn – to finish and send to Mermie by 3 September
Consequences June 2019
Anne sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to Rosemary
Rosemary ended with this image
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Anne ~ It is part of a series – memories from my childhood. The title is: Hanging out the washing, she sang ‘Down Mexico Way’.
Avril ~ I was quite stumped by Anne’s picture and decided I would pick wind from her picture. I thought laundry a bit too obvious so my trees are moving in wind. I took it in Scotland when I went through a phase of trying to photograph the wind.
Jim ~ I took a number of photos in response to Avril’s image, and found it difficult to move away. So I have ended up responding to her arrangement of trees with my own arrangement – but in colour rather than black and white. These were taken at a visitors centre in the north-west highland of Scotland.
Kate ~ Jim sent me a picture of a new-ish building with some trees in front, and bluebells and greenery in front of it. The trees have had branches cut off and are tall and interesting shapes. The picture may have been taken from a track or small road. What connection could I make? I was in Yorkshire for the weekend, and there were still bluebells in flower – bluebells and a structure, I thought. On my way to Sedbergh, I passed this old stone-built bus shelter, with bluebells growing and a collapsed ‘give way’ sign. No trees, but there is the rusty pole from the road sign. I suppose the bluebells are the connection.
Mary ~ This image was taken at the Citadel in Montreuil-sur-Mer (Les Miserables territory!) a few years ago. This curtain was being blown through the broken window which only added to the romantic theme of the building. I have used this image to follow on from Kate’s image of the bus shelter as both images have a slightly forlorn air and of things broken.
Rosemary ~ I chose it because it seemed the obvious choice among my collection. In contrast to Mary’s this image was one of a row of elegant sash windows, in a beautiful famous old hotel on the river in Budapest, the Gellert. The very large room was completely empty when I noticed that all the windows had been opened with the wind blowing the curtains into interesting shapes. I told my husband that I was going back to our room to fetch my camera whereupon he replied, “don’t be stupid, the curtains are never going to stay like that’! Ha Ha!!
Next Consequences for HFF Meeting 4th June
Kate – to send to Rosemary by 11 June
Rosemary – to send to Colin by 15 June
Colin – to send to Anne by 19 June
Anne – to send to Avril by 23 June
Avril – to send to George by 27 June
George – to finish and send to Mermie by 2 July
Consequences May 2019
Jim sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to Sabes
Sabes sent this image to Rosemary
Rosemary sent this image to George
George ended with this image
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Image 1 – Jim’s image reflects one position being held in the current Brexit debate – no doubt where his loyalties lie! He is flying both the Union Jack and the flag of St George, and standing in front of Churchill’s statue in Parliament Square. People were struck by his stern, resolute expression.
Image 2 – Avril’s image continues the resolute stance and she notes that the flowers behind her English Bulldog happen to be red, white (?) and blue. Her image turns the “bulldog spirit” into flesh and blood.
Image 3 – Unable to find her own bulldog Kate settled on this lady, caught on the bus in Cordoba, going to the Fer ía with a flower in her hair. Her purposeful expression seems to Kate to echo the bulldog’s – though she was sorry that the lady was Spanish, not British.
Image 4 – Sabes’ lovely image reflects the care and attention taken by the younger woman in helping an older woman with her make up, presumably prior to a wedding or other celebration. People loved the elegant profiles of the two women and the intense level of concentration.
Image 5 – Rosemary thought Sabes’ image was “just beautiful”, and so decided to show some other artists striving for perfection. The photograph was taken one evening in a Boston museum after closing time. People thought that Rosemary’s photograph reflected the painterly skill required to apply make-up and the level of concentration required for both activities.
Image 6 – George reflected that the life class made him think of how the classic image-making session has now, in our cool modern world, become the selfie-session. Here our Asian photographer is doing what they do best: it’s “me” in front of whatever we have visited/seen etc. This was taken outside a photo exhibition in Sorrento.
Next Consequences at HFF Meeting 6th June
Anne – to send to Avril by 7th May
Avril – to send to Jim by 13th May
Jim – to send to Kate by 18th May
Kate – to send to Mary by 24th May
Mary – to send to Rosemary by 30th May
Rosemary – to send to Mermie by 4th June
Consequences April 2019
Colin sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Dawn
Dawn sent this image to Len
Len sent this image to Rosemary
Rosemary ended with this image
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Colin: When in USA, Mermie and I go on a bird walk on a Thursday morning in an area around a pond. In January as we were returning to the car park, I was in the rear and saw these wet footprints on the boardwalk. I have from time to time taken a number of pictures of ephemeral markings of decaying leaves or fading road markings. This seemed to fit into the general theme.
Mary: This is an image that I took on a Hidden London tour of the old Euston Underground station organised by the London Transport museum. I think it echoes the lines of Colin’s image and the questions it makes me want to ask him!
Jim: My subject matter is very different but I have tried to reflect the mood and tones of Mary’s photo, and the way there is only one soft highlight in her image. Taken in Tofino, Vancouver Island last October.
Dawn: I didn’t realise that Jim’s was taken in Canada. This image was taken at Moraine Lake, higher up than Lake Louise. I took Jim’s idea of darkness, and this is light. His had reflections – there aren’t many trees reflected, but the mountains are reflected.
Len: This photograph of the top floor of a multi-story carpark in Bognor Regis is as bleak as Dawn’s previous image is idyllic. The only feature it has in common with that scene is its use of a reflection to add to its visual interest. That, of course, is also why I photographed it and why I chose it as my follow-on.
Rosemary: ‘I, too, clambered to the top of a car park to find one chock full of opposites to Len’s. I was looking for a really gleaming bonnet so I could get a reflection into one. I thought the sky looked a bit like the shape of the puddle. I had to wait until the clouds parted and took just one picture.
Next Consequences at HFF Meeting 2nd May
Jim to Avril by 9th April
Avril to Kate by 13th April
Kate to Sabes by 17th April
Sabes to Rosemary by 21st April
Rosemary to George by 25th April
George to finish and send (to be decided soon) by 30th April
Consequences March 2019
Bunshri sent this image to George
George sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Rosemary
Rosemary finished with this image
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Bunshri: I am usually drawn to photographing people in their environment, however, I was incessantly moved by the beauty of this natural phenomenon. The geysers and mud pools are an icon of Rotorua in New Zealand.
George: I took this large sky in Grand Teton National Park.
Anne: This is called Flying Angel and it immediately seemed right for her/him to be going towards that wonderful light in George’s sky panorama. It was taken about twenty years ago in my garden.
Jim: When I saw Anne’s image, I thought of a sense of motion, of a garden and of black & white. The snowdrops were just coming out in the garden. I hand-held the camera and changed focal length during the long exposure.
Colin: I decided that, rather than applying a visual effect, I would use snowdrops in a still life and experiment with focus stacking to give increased depth of field.
Rosemary: I printed Colin’s picture and purchased the frame for it. The book is not about flowers, but about down and outs and victims of crime in Russia who become buried under the winter snow and appear in the spring.
Next Consequences at HFF Meeting 4th April
Colin to Mary by 12th March
Mary to Jim by 17th March
Jim to Dawn by 21st March
Dawn to Len by 25th March
Len to Rosemary by 30th March
Rosemary to finish and send to Mermie by 3rd April
Consequences February 2019
Hady sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Rosemary
Rosemary sent this image to Dawn
Dawn sent this image to Mermie
Mermie sent this image to George
George ended with this image
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Hady said: it was taken at a pantomime I went to see in early January. I have not been to pantomime before and this was my first experience. I was very impressed with the many colours and shapes, that go with the sounds and noises that both actors and children make. I thought the image reflects the happy atmosphere of the pantomime.
Colin explains: Hady’s colourful image of an exotic figure arrived as he went to Totnes in South Devon. It is a town with shops catering for wealthy computer gamers. This cupboard was in the window of one of them: the oriental figures reflected the style of Hady’s, I thought.
Rosemary claimed to have been completely baffled by the hieroglyphics on the elaborately decorated cabinet door, so opted for concentrating on the lock. She is sure it was built for storing treasured possessions!!!! If the key were lost her image would be able to come up with a replacement!
Dawn chose a minimal follow-on from Rosemary’s picture, where the themes are keys, people and computers. THE KEY OF EVERYTHING, if only we could find it! She photoed the key and added its image to words.
Mermie wandered around the house looking for a key and keyhole in a traditional context and was lucky with the shadow.
George reacted to the wood panel and showed a monochrome image of old wooden structures on mudflats in Norfolk. In conversation concerning the exact location, there was much note taking at the mention of a particular pub nearby.
Next Consequences
Bunshri to George by 12 February
George to Anne by 16 February
Anne to Jim by 20 February
Jim to Colin by 25 February
Colin to Rosemary by 1 March
Rosemary to finish and send to Mermie by 5 March
Next meeting Thursday 7th March
Consequences January 2019
Avril sent this image to George
George sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Rosemary
Rosemary ended with this image
Consequences for 7 February
Hady to Colin by 8th January
Colin to Rosemary by 14th January
Rosemary to Dawn by 19th January
Dawn to Mermie by 25th January
Mermie to George by 31st January
George to finish and send to Mermie to organise by 6th February
Next meeting Thursday 7th February
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Avril – This photo was to illustrate Len’s book, A1, but is now the start of consequences. Sorry about the quality but it is from the car.
George – The sign showed the North so to me the North always signifies cold and high latitudes which then led me to Iceland which is the furthest terrestrially I have been. In 2012 (or 2009) I went to see the Aurora – Northern Lights – and here is one of the sightings. They were amazing and I want to go again!
Jim – I was struck by the sweep and the scale of George’s image which reminded me of the attached. I took this in Nepal in 1980 when doing a 20 day trek around the Annapurna range, which I felt had a similar character.
Mary – It is a water fountain in Green Park. I loved the circles in the stone and I was lucky with the balloon and 2 figures. The circles are similar to the circles in Jim’s picture.
Anne – In Mary’s image I was reminded of a visit to the Saatchi Gallery, seeing the installation of the round white balls on the trees and grass outside and the children playing.
Rosemary – It was the round shape of the sculptures, plus the white globular light fittings which strongly struck a chord with me. I thought that the designers involved could have even taken their inspirations from dandelion “clocks.” The large white round objects reminded me of balls of knitting wool. I remembered that I had a photograph of a lady knitting in a shop while waiting for potential customers, but sadly the ball of wool was hidden from view.
Consequences 13
December 2018
George sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to Sabes
Sabes sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Len
Len sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Colin
Colin ended with this image
Consequences for 3 January:
Please send a copy to Mermie when you send your image to the next person.
Avril to George by 10th December
George to Jim by 14th December
Jim to Mary by 18th December
Mary to Anne by 23rd December
Anne to Rosemary by 28th December
Rosemary to finish and send to Mermie by 2nd January
Next meeting Thursday 3rd January
~~~~~
Why? How? Where? What? When?
George started off with a washing line image from the roof terrace of a small museum in Sorrento that featured a cloth image of the young and voluptuous Sophia Loren.
Kate ~ I took this picture in Madeira quite a long time ago (2010 – oh dear!). George’s picture shows a washing line in Sorrento. On the line is a towel with a large bosomy picture of Sofia Loren – and behind the patio where the washing hangs a green hill rises. I chose this picture, because it shows a washing line, and a woman (not quite Sofia Loren…) Her washing is hanging in a shelter with a corrugated plastic roof, and she is surrounded by green plants. I was a bit ashamed of taking the picture – a nosey tourist with a large camera, but the woman was lovely and welcoming.
Sabes ~ When I received the portrait from Kate of the lady in the nursery surrounded by plants and flowers my focus went to the lady’s face particularly her smile. This reminded me of a lady in Chennai by whom I had my palm read. She was full of character. Fluent with Tamil language and the its flowery usage. I sat in front of her overlooked by my friend who is presently resident of Chennai but not fluent on Tamil particularly Chennai’s Street Tamil. As she told the story of my palm I translated to my friend. The whole demeanour and presence of the palm reader attracted me. We joked and laughed. She told me my story the way I liked it. She also gave a warning that at some stage in the near future (I forgot the age she mentioned). I may have health wobble but soon it will pass. I took two photographs of her. On the other one she rested her right index finger on her right chin. Smiling in both. The street Tamil in Chennai is different from my spoken Tamil but I felt very connected with soothe sayers, flower ladies and three wheel drivers.
Anne ~ I chose this image because I thought it followed on from Sabes image of a mature woman in colourful clothes, engaging with the photographer.
Len picked up on Anne’s portrait with an image of a full bookcase with a somewhat wry textual comment observing that future book purchases soon fill any available space. He then explained that until he and his wife downsized from their house, he had kept every book he had ever bought since he was a teenager and that therefore his bookshelves held different sub-collections, each one representing a different stage in his life. Having to dispose of many of his books for space reasons when they moved consequently felt like a loss of parts of his identity. He then went on to say that ever since then he has had a strong emotional reaction to the sight of any large set of bookshelves in someone’s home, and that explains why it was the background feature of the previous photograph that motivated his follow-on image rather than the foreground figure.
Avril ~ Len’s photo caused me to puzzle for quite a while, thinking I might illustrate one of Len’s books but decided I would save that one if I had the occasion to start a sequence. Consequently, I decided on a source for books.
Colin ~ I was intrigued by the letter W and so chose the resurrected facade of a wooden red building in the Annenberg courtyard of the Royal Academy. A ‘W’ can be seen in the bottom of the barn. The support structure of scaffolding has a lot of W-shaped bracing. The barn is Cornelia Parker’s Transitional Object (PsychoBarn), first shown on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2016, is built using materials reclaimed from an archetypal American red barn, carefully dismantled then re-made in the image of the house from Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film Pyscho (which itself was a studio lot reinterpretation of an Edward Hopper painting).
Consequences 12
November 2018
Dawn sent this image to Rosemary
Rosemary sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Sabes
Sabes sent this image to Mermie
Mermie sent this image to Avril
Avril ended with this image
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Dawn ~ I thought the window with bird had a lot of possibilities so would be suitable to start off.
Rosemary ~ On receipt of the window photo I instantly knew that it reminded me of an image that I took a while ago in Provence while with other members of the group. The curtains, the white sheets flapping in the gentle breeze and the BIRD drifting in the wind past the window.
Colin ~ While I have several pictures of washing hanging out, this, the ‘Handkerchief Tree’, relates, but in a slightly different direction.
Sabes ~ Colin’s image reminded me of this work from my handmade album named ‘An Ode to Sri Lanka’. I re-photographed this page. A photographer to say without words is better. I am not always a photographer and photographs have their limits in relation to reality
Mermie ~ Considering the title of Sabes’ photograph and its teardrops of rain, I chose my photograph of a portion of The Dream of the Shepherd, 1896, by Ferdinand Holder (Swiss, 1853-1918) in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Avril ~ The Naval graveyard for HMS Ganges at Shotton, E. Anglia. I felt it appropriate for Remembrance Day.
Consequences for 6 December:
Please send a copy to Mermie when you send your image to the next person.
George to Kate by 7th November
Kate to Sabes by 12th November
Sabes to Anne by 17th November
Anne to Len by 22nd November
Len to Avril by 27th November
Avril to Colin by 2nd December
Colin to finish and send to Mermie by 6th December
Next Meeting: Thursday 6th December
Consequences 11
October 2018
Mary sent this image to Anne
Anne sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Kate
Kate sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Mermie
Mermie ended with this image
~ New this Consequences ~
Why? How? Where? What? When?
Mary: At Tate Modern. Have fallen in love with the distressed concrete walls of the tanks and have asked permission to take a tripod as light levels are too low for hand-held! Small world. I will see what happens.
Anne: There is a round O, there is a sign for Shop and a sign for Eat. I remembered my photo taken in the local market of beautiful round fruit to eat. It hadn’t occurred to me that they all began with A!
Colin: Anne’s picture was three sorts of fruit – all beginning with A: Apricots, Apples, Avocados. I looked for fruit/vegetables that began with B. Hence this basket at Waitrose. I would have preferred if they had been unwrapped, but I was returning the items I didn’t want and needed to avoid handling. I didn’t get stopped by Security.
Kate: Colin’s picture is of a supermarket basket of vegetables and some bananas. After a while, I realised that the items all begin with B – broccoli, beetroot, bananas. My first thought was to use a picture of my compost bin with the remains of veg – banana skins, carrot peel etc. That didn’t make much of a picture and I moved on to thinking of a picture of an array of veg beginning with C – cabbage, cauliflower etc, without echoing Colin’s basket. I took a few pictures of the very tired Courgette flowers in my garden. And then I remembered taking pictures of my friend Cliff, a great veg gardener and competitor, digging up his carrots. So I raided the archive and here is Cliff with his newly dug carrots.
Avril: When I received Kate’s photo, I was in France on the beach where there were no vegetables. Horses eat carrots.
Mermie: As soon as I saw the horse at the gate, I could think only of this picture of Colin that I had taken a couple of days earlier.
Consequences for 1st November:
Please send a copy to Mermie when you send your image to the next person.
Dawn to Rosemary by 10th October
Rosemary to Colin by 14th October
Colin to Sabes by 18th October
Sabes to Mermie by 22nd October
Mermie to Avril by 26th October
Avril to Mermie by 30th October
Next Meeting: Thursday 1st November
Consequences 10
September 2018
Jim sent this image to Colin
Colin sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Rosemary
Rosemary sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to Mermie
Mermie sent this image to Len
Len sent this image to Anne
Anne ended with this image
Consequences for 4th October:
Please send a copy to Jim when you send your image to the next person.
Mary to Anne by 12th September
Anne to Colin by 16th September
Colin to Kate by 20th September
Kate to Avril by 24th September
Avril to Mermie by 28th September
Mermie to Jim by 2nd October
If you haven’t sent a copy to Jim as requested, send your image to him by the 2nd October
Next meeting ~ 4th October.
Consequences 9
July 2018
Bob sent this image to Mermie
Mermie sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to George
George sent this image to Len
Len ended with this image
Next Consequences:
Jim to Colin by the 11th July
Colin to Avril by the 17th July
Avril to Rosemary by the 23rd July
Rosemary to Mary by the 29th July
Mary to Mermie by the 4th August
Mermie to Len by the 10th August
Len to Anne by the 16th August
All images to go to Jim by the 22nd August.
The next meeting will be on the 6th September.
Consequences 8
June 2018
Jim sent this image to Rosemary
Rosemary sent this image to Avril
Avril sent this image to Dawn
Dawn sent this image to Len
Len sent this image to Sabes
Sabes ended with this image.
Next Consequences:
Bob to Mermie by the 12th June
Mermie to Avril by the 16th June
Avril to Mary by the 20th June
Mary to George by the 24th June
George to Len by the 28th June
All images to go to Jim by the 2nd July
The next meeting will be on the 5th July.
Consequences 7
May 2018
Colin sent this image to Mary
Mary sent this image to Rosemary
Rosemary sent this image to Jim
Jim sent this image to George
George sent this image to Kate
Kate ended with this image.
Next Consequences:
Jim to Rosemary
Rosemary to Avril
Avril to Dawn
Dawn to Len
Len to Sabes
Next Meeting 7 June
Consequences 6
April 2018
Len sent this image to Jim.
Jim sent this image to Mermie.
Mermie sent this image to Kate.
Kate sent this image to Colin.
Colin sent this image to Avril.
Avril ended with this image.
Next Consequences:
Colin to Mary
Mary to Rosemary
Rosemary to Jim
Jim to George
George to Kate
Next Meeting 3 May
Consequences 5
March 2018
Colin: After a transatlantic flight, I had slept through until about 8am local time and saw the sun was up and patterning the curtains and Venetian blind of the window with dappled shade from a magnolia outside. The effect of the pattern of sunlight and reds, greens and blues appealed enough for me to reach out and grab my camera from beside the bed. Taken without getting out of bed. Point and shoot Aperture priority ISO400 1/15 f/8 105mm. A balanced arrangement of light and colour with some texture and pattern.
Colin sent this image to Kate.
Kate: Colin’s beautiful wavy backlit curtain immediately took me to my much photographed window – in this image – strong light through the curtain, the only strong colour here provided by the pink cherry blossom.
Kate sent this image to George.
George: Kate, she of the window images, had a delicate arrangement of flowers in front of back lit curtains. THUS: There is a slight religious feel to her image as if the flowers somehow reflect on ………something. So my back lit Rose window in Rheims Cathedral ups the religiosity and boosts the colour palate!
George sent this image to Mermie.
Mermie: I regularly watch this bird feeder through the kitchen window. When I saw George’s Cathedral window, I couldn’t resist following its shape.
Mermie sent this image to Sabes.
Sabes: The shape of the feeder looked like a cage. I wanted to set the imagined bird free. On the grey and white slabbed floor the bird stood out. As no food can be seen to my eye it made me wonder what the bird is picking.
Sabes sent this image to Mary
Mary: I was repeating the use of the shapes of light and shadow as in Sabes picture. The table with the cutlery also hints at food which echoes the pigeon eating(?)
Mary sent in this final image.
Next sequence is:
12 March: Len to send his to Jim
16 March: Jim to send his to Mermie
20 March: Mermie to send hers to Kate
24 March: Kate to send hers to Colin
28 March: Colin to send his to Avril
1 April: Avril to send hers to Jim in time for the next meeting on 5 April.
Each contributor should send her/his image, and comments, to Jim before 5 April.
Consequences 4
February 2018
Mermie came up with an idea and sent the first picture to Rosemary.
Rosemary sent her picture to to the next person.
A picture of Fountains Abbey was sent to Dawn.
Dawn sent her picture to George.
George sent his picture to Jim.
Jim sent in the final picture.
The next Consequences session was as usual drawn by lots.
The sequence is: 1 Colin 2 Kate 3 George 4 Mermie 5 Sabes 6 Mary.
Consequences Skipped
January 2018
Impending holidays made us decide to skip Consequences for January.
The next assignment is Mermie to Rosemary to Dawn to Bob to George to Jim.
The photos will be posted shortly after 1 February.
Consequences 3
December 2017
Kate came up with an idea and sent the first picture to Rashida.
Rashida sent her picture to Jim
Jim sent his picture to Colin
Colin sent his picture to Dawn
Dawn sent her picture to Mary
Mary sent in the final picture.
We viewed the set of Consequences at our December meeting.
Consequences 2
November 2017
October 9: Avril came up with an idea
and sent the first picture to Bob.
October 13: Bob sent this picture to Neville.
October 17: Neville sent this picture to Rosemary.
October 21: Rosemary sent this picture to Sabes.
October 25: Sabes sent this picture to George.
October 29: George sent the final picture to Jim.
We all enjoyed seeing Consequences 2 projected at our meeting on 2 November.
There is an autosave of this post that is more recent than the version below.
Colin
Herts Foto Forum 