On The Road Soon

I had a thumping good report from the specialist at the LRI recently, and that in itself, has given me a massive energy boost, which is very welcome, as we are at present, getting ready for a four week trip to the Norfolk coast. 

More later, but I have to pack, more than usual and for me that is an immense task in itself, especially when it comes as to what to take in the way of photography equipment. Nearly a year since my diagnosis but the fight does on. Enjoy the summer, stay strong and never surrender.

 

 

The Weight Of It All.

 The Streets of Leicester UK and elsewhere are part of my medicine. Just like the fabulous NHS treatment, the exercise, the juicing and my Faith, Street photography energises me in ways I can't explain. These images are from the archives, London and Leicester, and in a few weeks time, along with my dear wife, I will be walking the pavements/sidewalks in the English seaside town of Hunstanton in the county of Norfolk, making images of seaside urbania, and no doubt loving every second.

I will be shooting on film, the old fashioned way, black arts  etc, then scanning the negatives into my batter old (but very functional) laptop. What is different now to say 25 years ago, is the weight of the camera bag, It wasn't uncommon for me back then to tote around two cameras, four lenses and forty rolls of film. But as I now walk with a stick, and much more slower, its down to one camera, two lenses and three rolls of film.  Light and manageable, and I am so looking forward to it.

The week ahead and I have a phone appointment with my specialist, lots of exercise and days of good juicing. Walked three miles today, a little tired now. Stay strong and never surrender.

Weekend Reflection.

 

It's been something of a mixed and strange week. Reflected I think in my images all made in the last fourteen days (three of which are here), but that's street photography - no rules as such, just snap what interests you. At the time of writing, I'm on a 7 day Blood Pressure check (day 4 today), so far things are looking reasonably good. The cancer drugs have increased my blood pressure (as I have mentioned many times before), but from this week, it seems to have settled down, and I'm fairly certain it's the increase in exercise.

We are off into town soon, walking of course, and this will add to the recovery. I will take a camera of course, what I will snap is anybody's guess. My telephone appointment is coming up soon, with the cancer specialist and I always look forward to this. My monthly injection and blood tests are next week. Another busy time. Stay strong and never surrender.

Wise Up.

 Some old people never learn (I seem to be one of them where photography is concerned). Yesterday, I packed my camera bag to the brim and walked about my local district, with a couple of stops at church and my brother-in-law's gaff. All ok, so it seemed until I got home and the aches and pains invaded my upper body, big time. I could not shake them off, despite a dose or two of Paracetamol.

Photography, as I have said many times, is part of my day to day routine, in the fight against my cancer. Not just taking street images, but being out and about, in the fresh air, walking, all of which adds up as another medicine. But it's no bloody good, If I keel over under the weight of film, cameras, lenses and a laptop. I have to now cut down to the bare minimum, and that's what I will do.

For the next seven days, my surgery has instructed me to send them daily blood pressure readings, which I do via one of their apps. The medication I'm taking has pumped up my BP, so we have to find a new way to keep a lid on the hypertension, as well as fight the cancer (Philip as i call IT). It's not going to be easy, but if I continue to work on my fitness, stay positive, a solution will be found. Probably lots more walking around the streets, making images? who knows. Stay strong, never surrender.

Monthly Walk To The Surgery.

 I expected more in the way of traffic this morning, after the Easter break, but the streets were more or less empty. It was time to hand in my monthly prescription at the local surgery, so I grabbed my small camera bag and went on my way hoping to find some interesting images. The concentration wasn't as sharp, a bad night's sleep and some back ache put paid to that. The phone alarm pinged for my first medication and after downing the four tablets (blood pressure), with a glass of cold filtered water, I made my way slowly to the surgery.

On the way home, I made just four images, and I only got these because I walked a slightly longer way home. Walking plays a big part in my cancer battles, which in itself can be boring, but carrying a camera fuels the creative eye, and that is part of the fight too. Not the best of images shown here, but I always enjoy the process. Stay strong and never surrender.

Easter Monday

 

Many years ago, I made this image, while staying in Vienna with a family friend. I had forgotten all about it until recently, when I was using time over Easter to sort through images, slides, and files from days gone by. Back then, I was in reasonably good health, was in full time work, and looking forward to my retirement. However, with my full time occupation as a Product Photographer, creatively I was dying, and shots like the one here, were few and far between.

Since my diagnosis, nearly twelve months ago, part of my recovery has been to go out on the streets of Leicester and elsewhere, making images of the day to day (Mentioned this before), and what an impact it's had on me. Cancer for me, is not all about chemo drugs, hospital visits, tests as important as they are, it's what I can do for myself, and photography is playing a major part in pushing me on (just like the weekly juice moments. 

So I'm going to start adding more images and make this into a cancer/recovery/photography blog, and this is no April Fool. I sincerely hope that you have had a wonderful Easter, go well with your own process of recovery, look after each other, Stay strong and never surrender.

I Can See Clearly Now.

I had an early morning call with the Opticians this morning. All went well, no major problems, so the rest of the morning was spent on the streets, with two close friends who are also photographers, shooting day to day life. So (one may ask), if your sight is good, why the blurred image?.

The answer to that is 'why not'. Before my diagnosis, I had been experimenting with movement and 'fuzzy' image making. And I have grown to love it. One of my Christmas presents was an excellent book by the photographer Isabella Berr, who's images are mostly out of focus, so today, it was kind of a homage to her.

What is all this have to do with cancer I hear you scream. Well, everything really. While I'm making images, I walk, move, think, compose, stride out, getting fitter and it's all very much part of the fight. Being out in the cold, clean fresh air, and sometimes rain and wind, stimulate me, and the whole process fuels my energy. It works for me, and countless others I suspect.

More of the same tomorrow. Stay strong and never surrender.