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
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The obligatory bike shot in the streets of Nantes
To start off with this was just going to be a short preparative article before I publish my the photos from my night time article about night photography in Nantes. I was going to start off by talking the pubs opening in England and Ireland tomorrow. I wanted to show you the way that the… Read more
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Back in Nantes for some street photography
It’s always good to back into town. I took along my daughter, a fuji XT2 and a cheap Chinese lens that was dirt cheap. I mean dirtier than my work boots after a hot summer day. But like my dirty work boots, it got the job done. You will of course see the results at… Read more
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Flash portraits
I know nothing about flash photography. Well I know a tiny bit but hardly anything. During lockdown, when everyone was making cakes, cooking, making banana bread, drinking and getting fat, I decided to do something about it. Yes people. I went onto YouTube and started researching the whole thing. I’ve been taking photos for as… Read more
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My daughter
So as in the last post I’m just going to let these photographs just speak for themselves. It was the same set up. My daughter instead of my wife. She had been promised a film on Netflix if she posed for me. A fair exchange in my view! Read more
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My Mamiya C220
The Mamiya C220, a Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) camera, is the favorite of its owner for several reasons. Its clear viewfinder allows for easy use without glasses, it sparks conversations, and offers exceptional depth of field. Its medium format and vintage appeal make it a unique and exciting tool for photography. Read more
Featured Projects
- 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. - 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. - 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. - 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
Stay in Touch
New work drops weekly — never spammy, always sincere.
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IJM Photography 
j’adore
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il y a des jours avec, et les jours sans….
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