PHOTOGRAPHY
Back in January I wrote a piece on London’s monthly Afro Cuban Music Night and I thought I would provide an update with some images focussing on a few of the veteran percussionists on this scene. I first met David Pattman, Hamish Orr and Patrick Cameron back in the 80s when the African and Latin music … Read more
Out of all the Jewish festival and holidays, Purim, which begins this evening, is one which resonates with me fondly. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the original story of Purim took place in Ancient Persia, apparently in the 4th Century BC. My family originally hailed from Mashhad in Iran, so there is a … Read more
In today’s Guardian newspaper I was reading an article in the Books section in which writers, inspired by Carol Ann Duffy’s poem Before You Were Mine, reflect on photographs of their mothers before they were born. This is connected to the theme of Mother’s Day which happens to fall tomorrow, Sunday March 6. March 6 … Read more
A couple of years ago I wrote a short blog piece here called Valentine Shmalentine! which I thought I’d revisit today, not only as it is Valentine’s Day but because of the passage of time. Since that entry Francino, the old man in the rainbow hat in the Bar Italia image, has died . Dini the … Read more
I had never come across the late American photographer Saul Leiter until recently, just ahead of the current retrospective of his work at The Photographers’ Gallery in London. It’s unusual for me – I consider myself quite literate when it comes to artists and photographers and have separate degrees in both history of art and … Read more
Bombo Productions runs a monthly Afro Cuban Music Night in Dalston, usually on the first Monday or Tuesday of the month. Last week’s session was graced by the presence of the incredible Cuban-born singer Martha Gallaraga, known to many simply as Martica. I don’t normally take photos at these sessions as I tend to sing … Read more
When my father died I made sure I kept his old box of loose, predominantly black and white personal photographs. I found them more interesting than the bound albums which had more formal, traditionally “presentable” images often taken at weddings and bar mitzvahs by commercial photographers or selected posed photographs on holidays and birthdays. Here … Read more
Unlike in Britain and the USA, smoking is still permitted in bars, hotels and restaurants in Japan. However, things are beginning to change. Here are a couple of images I took in November of designated smoking areas in Shinjuku, Tokyo I liked this bilingual pavement sign seen in the Chuo ward of Tokyo, and found … Read more
