cdphotography

[cdphotography]

what do you mean elon musk did a nazi salute on live tv at the united states presidential inauguration twice and is now erasing the evidence off the internet by replacing the footage with the crowd cheering instead?

would be a shame if people reblogged this, wouldn’t it?

[cdphotography]

I've spent a lot of time in central Portugal which is the home of a close friend who now lives in the UK. Figueiro Dos Vinhos is a small town about an hour's drive south of Coimbra which still has corners like this where time has stood still. Canon EOS 550.

[cdphotography]

One of the things about being a photographer out and about is that you sometimes witness horrific sights but you have to be professional and set aside emotions so that you can do the job. Here an innocent bystander is being devoured by a man-eating bubble. I didn't sleep for weeks afterwards.

[cdphotography]

https://tidal.com/playlist/ffdf2615-7039-4841-9494-24bc8e08f4ce

Stuck in roadworks, then a train cancellation and a tube shutdown...... London life is a tossed salad of amazing and frustrating. Made this playlist just now while waiting for the traffic to move.

[cdphotography]

This is a bit alright.

[cdphotography]

I love this picture. Its not particularly artistic but I think it tells a story about how much the city of my birth has changed in recent years. The classic architecture of Vauxhall Bridge, built in 1816, connecting Pimlico on the north shore with Vauxhall and Nine Elms on the south, is framed by a backdrop of recently built contemporary riverside apartments. An iconic red London bus brings the two together.

All over the city neighbourhoods have transformed. The venerable City of London, the 'square mile' of the original city and once a tangle of medieval lanes dominated solid regency and grand Victorian architecture, home of banks and insurance companies, is now a squash of skyscrapers jostling for space. A second skyscraper district has arisen in the derelict Docklands area of East London where crammed in banks and financial institutions have relocated from the City districts. Between these twin poles of modernity lie areas like Wapping where the old 18th and 19th century wharves and warehouses have been restored and converted into homes for people, retaining their original features, or indeed the nearly 1,000 year old Tower of London sitting in its drained moat, recently home to an enormous wild flower garden.

London, as we like to say, ain't bad.

[cdphotography]

I've got one of these wonderful old #vpk cameras and gradually getting it to a point of working again. Would love to see any pics people have taken recently with it.

Vest Pocket Kodak, 1912 ad

[cdphotography]

I wrote this last year when I was hosting some creative workshops in North London. My day job is in healthcare so its very special to be able to combine my passions. Take a look for healthy ideas.

[cdphotography]

One of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited has got to be Istanbul. I first went in 1987 and again in 2006. There's something magical about standing on the Galata Bridge at sunset and seeing the silhouette of the city's mosques while flocks of birds wheel around hoping to get an easy dinner from the countless fishermen which line the bridge. For photography it's a dream location.

[cdphotography]

I'm English with a dash of Irish in me (g-grandparents) and married to a man from Ireland, so Ireland is a place I find myself in several times a year. I stay in a place called Clontarf, a seaside suburb on the wayup the coast to beautiful Malahide and Howth. Across the bay are the iconic Poolbeg Chimneys which U2 fans will recognise from the Pride (In The Name Of Love) video. Defunct now, and a protected monument, they feature on numerous painting and photos of Dublin. This pic was a grab shot with my phone one evening from the wooden bridge which connects the seafront with Bull Island and its sandy beaches. The light was just perfect.

[cdphotography]

As a teen in the 70's I was fascinated by Albania. A communist hermit state in the North Korean mould, albeit without the nukes, it adhered to a strict version of Stalinism. Cars, beards and bibles were banned and no-one could leave. Virtually no-one could enter either. Finally I got there about 15 years ago and found a country in transition, with stunning landscapes and deserted beaches almost unknown to the outside world.

[cdphotography]

No

What a mess its all become. Social media has rarely been accountable though they've been yanked into line now and them  by exasperated governments. All too often its felt like a gesture rather than a change. Safety, and common decency, has now become a question of political positioning. Decency is about this mythical threat called 'The Left'. Insult and hate speech instead is 'free speech'. It seems to have been forgotten that the right to free speech also comes with it a duty of responsibility. Somehow we're at the point where human beings need to be reminded how to be humane. As a species we've always had a dodgy streak and when we've given into it we're the most destructive force imaginable. Look at the fascist era of the 1930's. Racism and othering was made the norm. Government controlled media pushed out misinformation and propaganda. The result was millions dead. We've seen it time and time again since then and only have to look at Ukraine, Israel/Palestine, Myanmar, Sudan and countless other wars raging at the moment to see the results today. And now Meta has joined Elon Musk's X in removing safeguards for marginalised communities and people at risk of self harm through suicide and channels promoting anorexia and community intolerance. Musk is actively using his platform to undermine legitimate governments whose agendas he disagrees with and call the their removal and the jailing of their politicians. All in the interests of 'free speech'. All of a sudden free speech means its ok to incite hatred and into some of the most powerful positions in the world we see isolationist, aggressive, truth averse leaders coming to the fore. 

I'm terrified. And if you're not you should be. 

So we do what we can. Activism is one thing and important. If it wasn't leaders wouldn't be trying to suppress it. Somehow that's still free speech. We only have to look at the my own UK government and their legislation to restrict protest for an example of mature democracy gone very wrong. It's yet to be repealed under the new government. 

So I can only make my own small protest. I can make my voice heard as can we all. But we can stand up to the insanely wealthy tech valley oligarchs who would risk our safety and wellbeing for profit and positions of power. They don't care though to be fair Zuckerberg has the decency to look uncomfortable every time he's called out for poor decision making and lack of accountability. 

I'm gay. I'm disabled. A target for abuse and that's now  been made ok. So for me its goodbye to Facebook and Instagram and their algorithm distorted, toxic platforms. We can add unsafe to that list of failings. You don't get to insult me and mine my data for profit. Frankly, you can fuck off. I've already left X. Musk has made it a propaganda tool and a platform to disrupt society, and to promote and normalise his far right views. Not to mention the fact that its become a haven for trolls. You'll find me instead on BlueSky (where incidentally a lot of my colleagues in healthcare have transferred to), on MeWe as a Facebook replacement, and on Glass and Tumblr to promote my photography. 

To be honest I'm pissed off with the move. There's nowhere near the market penetration on these platforms for my artwork, and moreover Facebook has been a remarkable tool for maintaining my real world friendships and communication. But if I don't make the move then I'll be waiting a lifetime to get off those sneering, hate filled platforms, waiting for everyone else I know to do the same. Well we have to start somewhere. Of my circle of  real friends five have opened MeWe accounts. Its a start. Lets hope the competition for our engagement on non-algorithm driven, kinder platforms becomes stronger and we have some effective choices. 

The time for social media to take responsibility for their negative effects on the world is well overdue.  

[cdphotography]

Love vintage photography, film and digital, as well as the high tech stuff but I thought I'd start with an old one which shows off just how good those early digital cameras were. This one is a Sony DSC-TI, about the size of Kodak's old disc cameras. This pic of a devotee atop a shrine which was being carried through the streets was taken at the Danjiri Festival during golden weekend while staying with friends in Osaka.

Info about the camera here: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 Overview: Digital Photography Review