family memories – IJM Photography

This was another Ian and Kate day. Similar in concept to the Ian and Killian day, but a day where I can dedicate myself solely to Kate. She’s fifteen now of course, but I should spend more time with her. If she’ll let me of course. At the time she was only seven—simpler times where I could make her happy with just a nice tea, a boat trip across the river, and just wandering around exploring the intricate streets of an old fishing village on the “bords de Loire.” There are no cars in the narrow streets, and the children can run wild.

This day was one spent in Trentemoult, that rather colourful village that you can see here. The colours are intense and provide a great backdrop for portrait photography. So of course I went in with a film camera and black and white film. Which only goes to show that when you photograph a location, however colourful, and take away the distraction of that colour, you have to really concentrate on composition, texture, and forms. I couldn’t rely on colour for my photos today. But I was sure that I could reveal some good photos despite that.

So what do you do? You just try and capture some moments of your daughter messing around and being a perfectly normal seven year old. I tried to capture her exploring the streets and being absorbed by the whole ambiance of the place. She became part of the scenery, and blended in perfectly.

I was just there purely to observe and record the day on film, with one eye in my camera and the other on Kate. It was a good day.

Looking back at those moments reminds me of how quickly time seems to slip by without me realising that I am getting older. She of course is slightly older, and possibly slightly less “insouciante” or carefree, but my love for that girl is still as strong as ever.

Stonehenge is something different for most people. For some it is a historical site in Wiltshire, and despite not being part of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, still remains pretty special. For some more “alternative” folks, it’s an ancient spiritual centre, and just happens to be on converging energy lines. For some it’s a day out with the children.

We had come back from a cruise that had taken us around the Canary islands, Lisbon, and Galicia in Spain. Thank you Mummy, and thank you Daddy! I think they felt guilty about us always coming up to see them in Northumberland, and wanted us to get a different holiday experience. Well, different it was! But that is a totally different story, and the photos can be found in the Olympus Trip 35 article.

So our ship docked at Southampton and we still were in the holiday mood. I remember as a small boy visiting Stonehenge, and thought it was “the” opportunity to introduce my family to the site.

It seemed slightly smaller than I remember it. As do most things if I’m going to be honest with you, but the majesty of the stones remained. As did the wonder at the fact that these stones had been dragged overland from Wales, and put into place, with the joints still being “rock solid” and down to the nearest millimetre. I work in a factory that does industrial woodworking and I know what we can do with modern tools and technology and yet here, this massive construction was put together using basic tools.

The children were just taking in the whole experience, and rather bemused at the sight of Japanese tourists being shoved around the site and taking the obligatory selfie. They also seem quite bemused by the amount of school groups being led around.

I preferred, as often as I do, to just take my time and take it all in and get some photos of the place. With the 40 mm zuiko lens I was getting some lovely environmental shots that you can see below.

My wife, however, was in tears. Crying her heart out. She later confided in me telling me how she just felt overcome with emotion. Maybe those lines of energy for those alternative folks might have something in them…