My J around Malham Cove an eternity ago

Walking back from a stroll around Malham Cove.

I’d forgotten the aim of this blog: to share photos that matter to me and offer now and again a word about photography and photographers; I was so busy thinking about where to go next with (my ) photography that I couldn’t bring myself to post.
Yes, I am for the first time in my life thinking of going beyond being a little Jacques Henri-Lartigue photographer of my world. I’ve always submitted photos however personal with the hopes that a tiny element in them might appeal to viewers other than myself, might resonate with their own experience and emotions and I offer you this portrait of my J with the same hope.
Life is over before you know it: a damp trail in the North, a bit of light through the mist, a shout to my J that turned to smile at me, an instant , a treasure, it’ll never happen again just like that…Yes a photo I really care about .

John Wredford Photographer Freelance editorial photographer that has spent the last ten years living in the Syrian capital Damascus. Currently in Istanbul Turkey.

In one of my previous posts I joked about not being Jacques-Henri Lartigue ,famous French photographer who lead a life of great leisure . He grew up at the same time that photography was growing up. As far as I know, money never was a problem for him .Looking at his wonderful portfolio he appears to have spent his life like very rich people do, travelling , enjoying the sites, sitting in the first rows of major sporting events and shows and so forth. In my post I was complaining about having to go out and make a living to be able to afford taking pictures after having stayed up most of the night to prepare some prints for a client.

How stupid  to say such a thing ! Compared to many of  my human brothers and sisters, I am, and many of us photographers are, all Jacques Henri Lartigues of sorts , going about our lives in the relative wealth ,peace and security that we enjoy in our respective countries, indulging in photography as a leisure because we have the time and money to do so.

Just back in the UK, after three weeks travels in my native  France, via Holland and Belgium, where I enjoyed life very much like Jacques-Henri did, just on a much smaller budget and took photos, just like he would have, of a world out mostly to enjoy itself, I couldn’t bring myself to post one of my little Lartigue’ moments…

Thankfully ,there are photographers who do something very different with photography, who are not content to be the Jacques-Henri Lartigues of their own little safe worlds and John Wredford is one of them.  He describes himself as “a photographer on the loose about the Middle East” .

In a time where many of us need to break away from superficial views about the Middle East in general and Syria in particular, his blog is vital …

Please visit, follow and share….

http://johnwreford.wordpress.com/