Inspired by Eyeliner: Visuals Old and New

The other day my friend Alicia, a fellow film lover, posted a link on social media recommending a documentary about the actress Rita Moreno. The accompanying image showed Moreno standing in front of a mural depicting her in her youth. I remembered I had photographed this piece of street art several times in New York … Read more

Unknown but Familiar Faces: Old Photos in Cafés & Bars

One of the things I miss most during the extended London lockdowns is sitting down at a café and people watching, writing my journal or reading. I miss both this solitary experience and the regular meet ups with my sons, partner and close friends. Sitting in cafés is an entrenched ritual that feels very much … Read more

Dance Like Nobody’s Watching – Images of Movement in a Domestic Space

Today in England it’s Mother’s Day. It’s also a time of international crisis in the form of the Coronavirus pandemic. The British government is now urging people to stay home to save lives. I started social distancing over a week ago. At that point both my pilates and yoga studios were still open, the choirs … Read more

Some Portraits of Adults with their Childhood Attachments

I have previously blogged on the theme of images of transient attachments. In this update I am focussing on portraits of adults who still have their childhood attachments. The photograph below was taken when I accompanied my friend Jodie to a hospital appointment and was surprised and moved when I found out she’d also brought … Read more

A Visual Journey Inspired by Sunglasses

It was exactly 40 years ago when, as a student in Venice, I first encountered a phenomenon that I found both simultaneously attractive and ludicrous. Walking along the Zattere – a waterfront promenade – in late Autumn there were groups of young Italian guys hanging out and people watching. These guys were cool, and they … Read more

Old Family Photographs – posing with vintage cars and other wheels

I’ve gathered together some old family photographs that all, with the exception of the final image, predate my birth. In these photographs the cars and other forms of transport are integral to the photograph, they are not just part of the background. My parents and relatives wanted these objects to feature and be recorded. The … Read more

Dolls, Teddies and Transitional Objects: Some Images of Transient Attachments

Looking through my late father’s old photos I came across some vintage studio postcard images of extended family members that caught my eye. I liked the props – the doll and soft toy: Again from my father’s collection here’s a photo I really like of my first cousin Ruth – dating approximately from the mid … Read more

Gotta photograph that hat!

A few days ago I went for a walk to Swains Lane in Highgate to take take some pictures and try out my new camera lens. It was a lovely autumnal day. On the way back I saw  a woman leaning against a tree waiting for the bus. Her hat caught my eye, a warm … Read more

Purim, ritual and ancestry

Out of all the Jewish festival and holidays, Purim, which begins this evening, is one which resonates with me fondly. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the original story of Purim took place in Ancient Persia, apparently in the 4th Century BC.  My family originally hailed from Mashhad in Iran, so there is a … Read more

Ancestry & Ritual: Persian Jews in 1950s London do Christmas lunch …

When my father died I made sure I kept his old box of loose, predominantly black and white personal photographs. I found them more interesting than the bound albums which had more formal, traditionally “presentable” images often taken at weddings and bar mitzvahs by commercial photographers or selected posed photographs on holidays and birthdays.  Here … Read more