Background

Landscape Pictures

I have always had a passion for art and for the countryside. As time became available I was able to indulge these passions simultaneously. Searching for something beyond the twee in nature led me to spend much time off the North Norfolk Coast.  Following the retreating tide revealed simple planes of colour - the sea and sand and sky.  The topography at low water, which can be about 3km from the high water mark, is in continuous flux.  Virtually total isolation and often no sight of land is a sublime experience. The simplicity of this environment led to many photographs which endeavoured to capture this experience.

Reflection Pictures

Photographing the abstract in nature an abiding interest. Serendipitously, strange reflections were caught in a local river, and another 'following ones nose' experience happened.  Recent years have involved tracing many of the waterways in Norfolk, by foot or kayak. There is always an expectation of what one might see, but no amount of imagination compares to the reality.  When all seems repetition, something totally new happens.  Such an event took place in the last half of 2023, when kayaking in the river Ant and Barton Broad.  Deep overhanging trees and other vegetation in this area create dark places where isolated beams of sunlight penetrate and pick out leaves which are then brilliantly reflected in the black water.  It is far from easy to photograph these reflections from a kayak, the kayak is unstable, moving with the wind and small waves. The reflected images which, are within a few metres, are NOT of course on the water surface, but at a variable distance above the water.  If the reflections and kayak are oscillating, focus becomes a bit haphazard, however there are great rewards from the abstract images.

Seashore Pictures

The Norfolk Coast is 140km long, surprisingly varied, and it is a joy to walk. Exploring and walking the coastline is one of my favourite occupations. The west is dominated by marsh and sand, the east by sand and dunes, in the central area are cliffs of a glacial moraine - the Cromer Ridge - which tapers away in each direction.

Amongst the graveyard of birds and sea creatures which dominate the seashore sculptural objects are found.  Just washed up, or as flints lying on the beach.  These seashore objects, including groynes also have an unobserved interaction with the flow of water.  Waves crashing on objects are surprisingly beautiful when caught on camera.  It is only later when observing these photographs that the true magnificence of the sculptural flow of water can be seen.

                Layered Media Construction

The Caught-Red-Handed page depicts a unique series of large exhibition pieces

I always try to have several layers in my poems.. Description of course, but more than that, a story atmosphere, something that can link me and the reader to situation, and time.   Which of course brings me to my book SUBLIMITY and Norfolk.  Norfolk is a county that holds a very special place for me, my parents used to live in Aylsham and my brother still does. Family summers and get-togethers have been part of my life for years.

It is not at all surprising that the beauty of Norfolk is the inspiration behind this collection of poems 'Sublimity'.  The most secret, mysterious nature of land and seascapes, had me searching for its deeper stories, the ones that are an intrinsic part of Norfolk, or those  that thread through its people and lives.

There are few coastlines  that create such a feeling of awe and manificence, and here I simply need to stand and watch tides turn to be overwhelmed with something absolutely sublime. Norfolk is joy with a touch of melancholy, that makes it hard to pin down. There's such a fine quality of ever-changing light that you never know whether a sudden shadow or illumination will alter your perception.  I find that words have the ability to capture something beautifully elusive, and what better medium than poetry to celebrate Norfolk.