Paradise Found
Ten years ago this week I was about to return to the UK from a three month trip across the USA. I’d been visiting the ten places called ‘Paradise’ and photographing and writing about the people I met.
Unfortunately, my nascent publishing deal dissolved with the attacks of 9/11. My book took a back shelf as I turned away from Fleet Street newspaper and magazine photography and writing, and turned towards the much more enjoyable world of weddings instead.
However, new technology means it’s easier to be your own publisher, and easier to distribute your work. So I have decided to release ‘Paradise Found’ as an eBook in PDF format.
I’ve re-arranged the layout to make it look even better on an iPad, while those reading it on a computer won’t be disappointed either.It’s 123 pages long, with a chapter on each Paradise. The pages alternate between a page of text and a full page photo. And it’s only $5! That’s a measly £3.17 ish….. You can pay via PayPal on this page, and once completed your browser will redirect, and the download (in zip format) will start. The file is 25Mb, so be patient.
Please spread the word! Meanwhile here’s a photograph from each Paradise. You’ll have to read the book to work out where exactly in the USA each one (apart from one!) was taken.
Canada
The most frequent comment I heard when telling people about my trip last month to take my parents to visit my brother in Alberta was “Canada? Oh, how lovely!”
Well, no – not all of it is lovely. Most of it is flat and covered in trees, cut through by wide straight highways. This is the road from Edmonton to Grande Prairie, our destination. It takes 5 hours if you set the cruise control to the speed limit:
There are small settlements dotted along every hour or so, but none with any charm:
I have a satnav app for Canada on my iPhone. Useful for the cities, but fairly redundant outside of them. This says ‘turn right in 275 km.’
The more observant of you will notice that the cruise control was set above the speed limit!
However, I did manage to escape for 24 hours, to visit a fellow Wedding Photojournalist Association member in Jasper.
It’s not every day you drive a 600 mile round trip for dinner, but it was worth it! Alisen Charlten and I had a fascinating chat about the similarities and differences of weddings in Scotland and Canada. Most of the couples she photographs are from outside the Jasper area, who come there to get married surrounded by it’s natural beauty.
The next morning, despite the dreary weather, I was able to see why. I’ve never considered myself to be a landscape photographer, but with scenery like this, you can’t fail to get a few ‘picture post card’ images. I’ve always agreed with the great Joe McNally that “I’ve never seen a landscape that couldn’t be improved by putting someone in it!” And in that respect, Alisen has the best of both worlds.
Finally we flew to Toronto, to meet my nephew who’s studying music there. (He’s know to his friends as “Tom ‘YouTube Sensation’ Grosset“) I liked Toronto, and will visit again sometime – when it’s not raining, and for longer than the 36 hours we spent there. Here’s the night time view from my hotel room window:
An International Wedding Photography Award
Well – sort of. I’ve just been awarded 18th place in the Wedding PhotoJournalists Association quartery competition. Eighteenth doesn’t seem much to boast about, but it is an international competition, and there’s an awful lot of very, very good photographers around the world! Including my colleague Nick Kirk from Lanarkshire, who was awarded 4th place.
The photo below was taken at Gemma and James’ wedding at Wedderburn Castle, and was entered in the ‘creative portrait of bridal party’ section.
You can see all the award winning photos on the WPJA site.
A village fete
My cousin Tom and his family only live 40 minutes away from where James and Twanette’s wedding concluded so I headed over to visit them once I had finished working.
When I’d rung them to ask if I could stay, Tom’s wife Caroline said ‘Of course you can, but you can’t leave until after the village fete on Sunday.’ Little did I know what I was letting myself in for! I spent four hours on Sunday morning looking after 4 year old George and six year old Doug. Then at noon we headed to the village green for the fete. As the boys met their friends and headed off, Caroline (who was one of the organisers) asked me to help out behind the bar in the beer tent. There I remained, for six hours!
The only photos I took were from the beer tent, of Caroline in the egg catching/throwing contest…..
PS: Interesting trivia: According to Wikipedia, my cousin’s children are my first cousins once removed.
France – all work and no play?
I’ve just returned from a flying visit to the Midi-Pyrenees to photograph a friend’s Gite. Last time I visited, about 6 years ago, the weather was unpredictably cloudy, so imagine my surprise on Monday morning when I discovered it was cloudy again!
So, being in France, we went for a typically long lunch at a neighbours house…
It was misty and trying to rain on Tuesday, and I began to think I’d upset my personal weather god somehow. I photographed the interiors anyway.
Finally, the sun came out on Wednesday, and I managed to get photographs of the pool and exterior of the gite. I even managed to photograph the swallows using the pool as their personal bath. And finally I managed to use the pool myself, for the two hours I had left before departing for Toulouse airport!
If you fancy a longer break in this beautiful part of south west France, full details (and the old photographs) can be found at the Branche d’Olive web site.
