Monthly Archives: February 2023

Coffee

Posted on February 28, 2023 by Brian

Coffee and pain au raisin at Cafe Nero on the way to my U3A class yesterday. Nero may not be the smartest coffee shop in town, and it’s nice to patronise the independents rather than the chains, but for me … Continue reading →

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U3A Cambridge 2022-23: Reading Photographs 3 – Formal Qualities of Photographs

Posted on February 27, 2023 by Brian

I presented the third session in my five week course on Reading Photographs today. We considered how the formal qualities of photographs and how they are made affect our reactions and reading.  The aim was to draw out the ways … Continue reading →

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Cambridge Festival 2023: Community Photography in 1970s Cambridge

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Brian

A workshop will explore archival materials from the St Matthew’s Photo Workshop and Cambridge Darkroom (community photography collectives around Mill Road initiated in the 1970s). It will also include discussions with photographers (Roy Hammans and Brian Human) who co-founded the … Continue reading →

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U3A Cambridge 2022-23: Reading Photographs 2 – Shaping our Reading

Posted on February 20, 2023 by Brian

I presented the second session in my five week course on Reading Photographs today.  This week we looked at what shapes our reading of photographs.  I suggested it depends on ourselves, the subject and the context; and our response may … Continue reading →

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Mining the Diaries 20: United States 1991

Posted on February 18, 2023 by Brian

Sheraton Hotel, Key Largo, Florida 24th October 1991 A long drive down the Overseas Highway to Key West – breakfast at Brian’s in Marathon – around 100 miles.  The town at the end of the Keys was an extraordinary mix … Continue reading →

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Robinson College Chapel, Cambridge

Posted on February 17, 2023 by Brian

Visiting Robinson College on a sculpture trail on Wednesday we slipped into the chapel.  Here’s an extract from the College’s web site. ‘In the side chapel … the small window is by John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens and is made … Continue reading →

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‘Garden’ Centre

Posted on February 16, 2023 by Brian

Desultory mooch round Coton Orchard Garden Centre.  Nice looking food courtesy of Brown & Green (’local, ethical and artisan’).  Plants appear to have come from a production line free from the grit of gardening. A lifestyle centre rather than a … Continue reading →

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Cam Valentine

Posted on February 15, 2023 by Brian

Tuesday 14th.  A walk up the River Cam along the towpath from Clayhithe.  Bright low sun softened by the haze left over from early morning mist.  Quiet, apart from a few runners and cyclists; no boats on the barely flowing … Continue reading →

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U3A Cambridge 2022-23: Reading Photographs 1

Posted on February 15, 2023 by Brian

I presented the first session in my five week course on Reading Photographs on Monday.  The aim of the course is to improve the critical appreciation and understanding of the photographs around us in exhibitions, books, magazines, newspapers and online … Continue reading →

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Mining the Diaries 19: France

Posted on February 14, 2023 by Brian

Nouvel Hotel, Chalon-sur-Saône, France 15th August 1990 Overnight at Chalon, the town a surprise and a delight.  It’s the birthplace of Nicephore Niepce (1765-1833), widely credited with the invention of photography.  He made his first ‘sun drawing’ in 1822 and … Continue reading →

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Winter Oak

Posted on February 12, 2023 by Brian

The curlicue branches of this winter oak bring to mind the swirling bush strokes on a Japanese painting.  As the tree stands in ancient, open pasture I would have expected its growth to be more or less symmetrical, but this … Continue reading →

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Tenacious Pine 1989

Posted on February 10, 2023 by Brian

A pine shows the resilience and tenacity of trees near Montpellier-le-Vieux at the southern edge of the Causse Noir, above the Gorges de la Dourbie, in the Aveyron Department of France.

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What Qualifies as Art?

Posted on February 9, 2023 by Brian

Fionn led a discussion on ‘What Qualifies as Art?’ at the U3A Cambridge Arts Forum yesterday.  I was reminded of a few thoughts about art I had come across recently. ‘For an artwork to succeed it must go deeper than … Continue reading →

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Paris 1990 Revisited

Posted on February 8, 2023 by Brian

Paris, May 1990, a moment of peace.  The Rue Antoine Vallon, only 250 metres from the bustling, noisy Place d’Aligre, is almost deserted, it’s quiet and unhurried.  Two women sit back to back absorbed in their reading.  They both catch … Continue reading →

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Fen Landscape – North Fen Flag

Posted on February 6, 2023 by Brian

I usually make my fen landscape photographs in black and white. Walking out along Broad Lane, Cottenham, on Saturday I was struck how the landscape seemed to be split between the brown tilled field at my feet and the overcast … Continue reading →

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