Last of three, and the one that surprised me. I went to Utah expecting the American story and came away with a French one, and I didn’t work that out until I got the pictures on a screen and started reading the writing on things. Two armies, two months apart, same sand.
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Forty minutes up the road from Pointe du Hoc, and a completely different kind of remembering. At Pointe du Hoc it’s in the ground. Here it’s on the houses, on the church, in the street names — and on a black plaque outside somebody’s front door that took me a while to properly read.
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Back to Normandy after seven years, and this time west into the Manche. I got out of the car at Pointe du Hoc at twenty to four and back into it at Utah just after seven. This is the first of three posts from that one afternoon — craters, concrete, and about six hundred thousand other visitors a year.
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A day trip to Paris with my daughter Kate in July 2020 — the Louvre, the Pyramide Inversée, and more steps than anticipated. Shot on Fujifilm XT2. Republished six years on.
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I had been noticing these fields for weeks from the car window — flat wheat and telegraph poles in the north of the Vendée, golden in the evening. One night, on the way home from dropping my daughter off, I had the X-T2 on the passenger seat and finally pulled over. The Helios 44-2 was on the front of it. I was back in the car in under half an hour.
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A heartfelt father’s day in Edinburgh during festival season—magic shows, St. Giles Cathedral, Greyfriars Bobby, and a geek bar surprise. Northburiian Summer, Part IV blends travel, faith, family, and memory in a moving personal essay about parenting, loyalty, and the quiet magic of being present with your children.
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Father-daughter memoir: Edinburgh 2025. After years splitting time between three kids, a dad gives his 15-year-old daughter solo “Dad time” in Scotland. She rejects H&M’s body-shaming, claims a tartan étole, and chooses a claddagh ring—right hand, heart free. A legacy of belonging. Not travel writing: who we become in places we’re given.
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Lyrical UK travel writing meets documentary photography. Preserving Northumberland’s soul through M&S sandwiches, pub pints, and the sacred “incense at mass” of smoked fish.
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Back in Alnmouth, summer takes a slower shape. A walk with my dad, a hello in the village shop, an espresso and muffin at Scotts. Nothing dramatic, just small rituals that somehow mean everything. This is Part 1 of Alnmouth 2025—a story of home, family, and quiet moments.
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Balancing film and digital photography is a challenge many photographers face. In this piece, I explore my dilemma before the China Orchestra Tour: should I shoot film or go digital? Weighing nostalgia, practicality, and travel restrictions, I ultimately chose the Fujifilm X100F. Here’s why it was the perfect choice.
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Discover the transformative power of black and white photography in this “The UK Chronicles” footnote. Learn how to convert color images to black and white using Adobe Lightroom and techniques to preserve depth and emotion. Explore the unique aesthetic and emotional impact of monochrome photography, showcasing stunning UK landscapes and capturing the essence of travel experiences.
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