Framedlight

  After a gap of a year and a half where I have woefully neglected this blog, I have decided to write a post. It was more a case of having a lot of photos I didn't know what to do with, so I decided this might be an appropriate repository. I am not really a bird photographer, but as my partner Alan enjoys a bit of bird watching, I armed myself with a long lens a little while ago so that I could take a few snaps for him. We went to Bempton Cliffs in South Yorkshire at the beginning of May when the bird breeding season was getting under way. This is the place to go if you want to renew your faith in the natural world. The birds cover every available nook and cranny of the cliffs and the air is loud with their raucous cries. It is carefully managed by the RSPB with a good car park and visitor centre, so not exactly wild, but I don't think the birds care about that. The cliffs are home to a large gannet colony. Always impressive birds which were flying past in squadrons like pelica

We had flown in to the workshop via Porto airport and now it was time to go back and explore this lovely city in more depth. We all spent some time in the Centro Portugues de Fotografia, a museum base in an ancient prison in the heart of Porto. As well as a permanent exhibition of cameras through time there are also several galleries of temporary exhibitions. This time there was an extensive selection of the work of Rune Eraker, a photographer who has devoted four years taking pictures of political prisoners and the gaols they are confined in. A fitting subject for the location of this museum. Looking at Eraker's work was both inspiring and horrifying. For the rest of the day we were free to wander Porto, meeting up again at 5.00pm to eat. Excuse again the large number of photographs. A number are just street photography and the rest somewhat more contemplative.