IJM Photography — Blog & Projects

Four decades behind the lens. Six years of sharing the journey.

Welcome. I’m Ian — photographer, horn player, and writer living in the Vendée, near the Loire-Atlantique border. This blog has been running since 2019 and shows no sign of stopping.

You’ll find black and white film work, travel essays, orchestra photography, philosophical digressions about why any of us bother pressing the shutter, and the occasional camera review written by someone with strong opinions and a perhaps unreasonable attachment to grain. No algorithms chose what appears here. No agency wrote it. Just forty years of looking, and six of writing it down.

Start anywhere. Stay as long as you like.

Latest from the Field

  • More  Portraits

    More  Portraits

    I have a wife, and my wife has friends from her work. I therefore have friends from her work. One of these friends has a husband. This husband is therefore a friend of mine. Not only that but we were invited to celebrate his birthday with him. As my present to him I said I… Read more

  • Les filles et un garçon

    Les filles et un garçon

    As I think I’ve already told you, I am in the middle of trying to learn about this portrait palaver! I had watched the videos, I had perused the books, I had bought the equipment, I just needed some willing victims. Erm, I mean models. I was going to see my perfectly dysfunctional family for… Read more

  • The Quiberon Peninsular

    The Quiberon Peninsular

    The narrator recounts a chaotic visit to their French family, characterized by drama, personal restrictions, and familial dynamics. Despite being berated and rushed, photography offers solace. The narrator escapes to capture coastal images, even amidst familial tensions and outbursts. The account concludes with a plea for feedback on the captured photographs. Read more

  • Saint Cado

    Saint Cado

    Hi everyone. There’s going to be some of you who will be in shock at the end of this article. I’m presenting some colour photographs to you today!!! I know. You’re already scrolling down to check and see if it’s true, and yes it is. I have to keep all of you on your toes… Read more

  • Île de Nantes with the XT2

    Île de Nantes with the XT2

    The author couldn’t go to the UK, so he decided to explore Nantes with his camera. Inspired by minimalism in street photography, he captured the city’s evolving architecture and historical landmarks. Using a FUJIFILM XT2, he focused on form and light for a visual workout, finding joy in the experience and considering it a regular… Read more

  • Paris!

    Paris!

    Yesterday I went to Paris with my ten going on thirty year old daughter. It was on a whim almost. Just the same about about that song about a sleeping lion, where the desire to burst into song was just a whim away, a whim away, a whim away,a whim away, a whim away, a… Read more

Featured Projects

  1. The UK Chronicles
    Light, minimalism, and preparation.
    Shot entirely on the Fujifilm X100F during a recent solo journey through Britain — a deliberate exercise in traveling light, seeing deeply, and preparing for the sensory overload of China.
  2. The Film Archives
    Memory in monochrome.
    A vault unlocked: black and white film photographs from Nantes, Clisson, and beyond — captured long before this blog existed. Grain, patience, and timeless moments.
  3. Photography Philosophy
    Why do we do this?
    Not a tutorial. Not a gear guide. A quiet exploration of purpose — the “why” behind the viewfinder. For those who photograph not to post, but to feel.
  4. The Orchestra Visit to China
    Culture, chaos, and concert halls.
    A visual symphony from the road with the orchestra — temples, trains, backstage glances, and the electric silence before the first note.

About the Photographer

I am not an influencer. I am not a brand.
I am a photographer, ever so slightly stubborn, analogue at heart, digital when needed, and fiercely independent. I’ve been developing my own film since the 1980s. I built this blog in 2019, not for followers, but for focus.

I do not outsource my editing. I do not chase trends. I shoot what moves me, and I hope, sometimes, it moves you too.

“Commercial editing offers and unsolicited partnerships will not be published or replied to. This space is sacred; for art, not advertising.”

A Note from a Reader

“j’adore… il y a des jours avec, et les jours sans….”
— A kind visitor, September 2025

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