This septuagenarian has come to his photography and writing malarky late in life. A profound regret, it has to be said. Let's start with photography. I have had a digital camera in my clumsy mits for the last ten years or so. I did try with film as a younger bloke but it was more like an infrequent dabble than a serious endeavour. However there has been one constant in the intervening years - I have been a wildlife enthusiast since I was ten. What's more I can recall the exact moment when this particular pursuit commenced but that, as they say, is another story - see below - An Eye for Birds.
It comes as no surprise then that nature is a prominent theme in my photography.
My old website became an array of bird images, neatly ordered alphabetically, of over 250 different species. A personal field guide; images which offer memories and reflections. They did their job but they were little more than birds on a stick or a ledge or flying somewhere. I began to prefer some shots over others. My natural preference took me to images where, dare I say, a little ‘art’ might have crept in.
Now, unlike my wonderful, and deceased, Uncle Bill,* a marvellous water-colourist, I can’t paint and my drawing is, shall we say, strictly limited. So photography beckons as one way to express any aesthetic qualities I might appreciate.
My wife suggested I go to an exhibition, held in Poynton’s Civic Centre, put on by a local camera club. This was late spring 2019. The visit turned out to be a minor epiphany of the secular sort. Here were top images, not just of nature but landscape, portraits, still life and other ‘genres’. Each photo told a story, each image had ‘wow’ factor. Elements so missing in many of my own photos. I came away wanting to know more about this local camera club. As I left the exhibition, I joined the North Cheshire Photographic Society. I was made very welcome indeed.
I soon realised that being self taught I had acquired many bad habits - bad photographic habits of course! The members have turned out to be a generous bunch, willing to help me on my journey to improve. So as you read this blurb, be aware that I’m now reflecting on that journey. I repeat myself - it's an age thing - but I do so wish I had started earlier.
As my photography developed in my senior years, so did my enthusiasm for writing. Indeed I am now a published author - where did that come from? What started out as a plea to record my life's journey in nature, from one of my four daughters, culminated in a 70,000 manuscript. I showed it to my good friend Cynan Jones, a top novelist from mid-Wales, who liked it and suggested a few changes, especially to the structure. I worked hard for over a year under his kind mentoring on these changes until eventually we had something to show to the publishing world. Can you imagine the thrill when Whittles emailed me to say they would like to publish. So An Eye for Birds was born in 2022. It was well received and two years later my second book was published, also by Whittles under the title Art & Nature in the Outer Hebrides. That too has received a little critical acclaim, he says immodestly. I'm now working on my third tome which currently has a working title of Hebridean Nature Musings.
Thanks for taking the time to read these few words. Do take a look at the Galleries tab. So far, there are six in all. The first two take a look at my two books published by Whittles and available in all good bookshops: An Eye for Birds and Art & Nature in the Outer Hebrides, both are illustrated by my photographs. There are then four purely photographic galleries. The first is my panel which was awarded an Associate distinction by the Royal Photographic Society (ARPS). There then follows three galleries of images classified at Nature, Macro and Landscape. I update them with new images as they come along. I hope you enjoy.
I have to say it’s been great fun since I retired at the age of 70. An engineer/scientist enjoying creative arts! Watch this space. I will try and keep this website up-to-date with recent images, book news and thoughts.
There will be ups. There will be downs.
*William A Kendrick (1920 - 2003) - Watercolours. He was born and lived on The Wirral and emigrated in later life to New Zealand, where he continued to paint his Wirral landscape scenes from memory.
Family of Swallows
Sunset at Great Berneray, Isle of Lewis
