Gift of the Day

From one bird to another by Jo Bradford

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It was passed from one bird to another,

the whole gift of the day.

The day went from flute to flute,

went dressed in vegetation,

in flights which opened a tunnel

through the wind would pass

to where birds were breaking open

the dense blue air -

and there, night came in.

Excerpt from Bird ~ Pablo Neruda

Gift of the day by Jo Bradford

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You will already know from this blog, that I enjoy Neruda immensely, and simply can't resist an opportunity to use his poems for inspiration - the poem bird supplied the inspiration and the titles for these two new pictures. Thanks Pablo xx

Walking The Dog

Copyright Jo Bradford 2009

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So, as you can tell by the infrequency of my posting at the moment, I am pretty rushed off my feet workwise. When things get hectic it can be too easy to forget to get out of the darkroom, stay away from the computer and just get some fresh air and exercise. That's when I am always glad to see the waggy tail and expectant expression in Charlie's big brown eyes. I am lucky to have not just the seaside on my doorstep, but also an amazing old woods and the moors within a 10 minute drive, so when it comes to walking the dog, I am spoilt for choice. Charlie loves splashing round in the river and he never tires of charging around in the trees at the local fir tree plantation.

These pictures were made on recent excursions with my furry friend :)

A Boat Beneath A Sunny Sky

Riviera II by Jo Bradford

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A Boat Beneath A Sunny Sky

A boat beneath a sunny sky,
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July -
Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Pleased a simple tale to hear -

Long has paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die:
Autumn frosts have slain July.

Still she haunts me, phantomwise,
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.
Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.

In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:
Ever drifting down the stream -
Lingering in the golden dream -
Life, what is it but a dream?

~ Lewis Carroll~

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Riviera I by Jo Bradford

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Recently I was commissioned by the gorgeous Venetia of VenetiaJewelry to make a vintage style photo themed around boats and fishing for her "other half" who is a fishing and boating nut. I spent a while working through various ideas and eventually came up with a few different pieces. In the end my personal favourite was this diptych called Riviera.

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These pictures are now available for sale in my Etsy shop along with a couple of other boat themed pictures that I produced while working towards the commission.

Set Sail at Sunset by Jo Bradford

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Click here to visit the work in my Etsy shop...

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© ALL CONTRIBUTED CONTENT, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Shutter Sisters Feature

Hello all!! I am still wading through the many photo jobs I have done in recent weeks, which has not left me much time for blogging {nor eating, sleeping, walking the dog :( }

I am very pleased to have had one of my photos featured as the Daily Click over on the Shutter Sisters website last week. What an honour... thanks muchly Ladies xoxo

The eagle eyed amongst you will notice that this is more work from the same beach shoot I featured here just a few posts ago... scroll down through the recent posts to see one of the other pictures from this same lovely evening on the beach. You can go see my picture on shutter sisters for yourself at

www.shuttersisters.com/the-daily-click/2009/10/20/jo-bradford.html

Revisiting my past

Hello there.

I have been a stranger to this blog over the last fortnight 'tis true, but with good reason....

I have been very busy making new work!! Yes, I have shot over 2000 pictures over the last two weeks, and as if that wasn't enough I have just completed a fascinating course in high end fashion & beauty retouching too.

I had the opportunity to take the course free of charge and decided it would be an interesting feather in my cap to have the skill. One interesting side effect of taking the course has been my renewed interest in portrait photography. Way back when, at the beginning of my career, I dabbled for a while in portraits of musicians and artists who were in my work and social circle (back then I worked part time as a music talent scout).

I was always more drawn to the free expression of art photography though, and in the end that is where I have focused my career and studies. It has been a wonderfully refreshing experience to revisit this early interest of mine recently. I will post some of the results of this revisitation here sometime soon.

In the meantime, I have also been showing some tlc to a lot of my old cameras in the collection too, and I have been out and about again with my trusty, and newly refurbished Polaroid 240 Land Camera. Today's picture is a shot I tool a few weeks ago after a sunset surf with my husband, after getting out of our wetsuits we sat together with a hot chocolate and watched the sea as it calmed itself, and I took this shot of the peaceful scene.

A farewell to summer

"On The Breeze" and "Come away with me" by Jo Bradford

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The people along the sand

All turn and look one way.

They turn their back on the land.

They look at the sea all day.

~ From Neither Out Far Nor In Deep by Robert Frost

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"One more" by Jo Bradford

Feeling fine!

Citrus by Jo Bradford

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Morning All!!

I am still working hard, ploughing through my back catalogue, searching for forgotten treasures to hand over to Getty to look after for me..... It has been a cathartic experience looking through all those boxes of photos and dics, negatives, and old albums and slides, something I should have done years ago. It has really helped to focus my mind about what I am doing now, my plans for the near and distant future and so on. An added benefit is how great it feels to just get my studio tidied up - yes, I am actually filing everything away properly once I have checked it out, how frightfully organised of me!! I have never felt so uncluttered and clear of head.

On the subject of feeling clear headed, I am doing a detox at the moment, and I am a full week into it already. I have been drinking lots of water and fruit juice, eating regular small meals and avoiding caffeine and alcohol (sigh) too. I am already feeling the benefit, I have lots more energy and my hair and skin feel great!! Here's hoping this inspires you to do something soothing for body or soul too - I heartily recommend it!!

Love Jo

xoxo

© ALL CONTRIBUTED CONTENT, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Fashion Inspirations

Sea Pinks by Jo Bradford

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It is always nice to hear about my art turning up in weird and wonderful places. Thanks to Violetta who spotted my Sea Pinks picture and dropped me aline to let me know that back in June my Sea Pinks picture was used on ShopStyle as an inspiration palette for a little summer outfit by Medeous. Pretty girlie, but cute too :)

On the subject of friends...

What to do with a few bottles of wine and some very wet weather...

I am lucky to have some very talented, creative and beautiful individuals to call friends. The photos in todays post are all of my friend Rhiannon, who could definitely work as a model if she wasn't busy with her PhD in Biochemistry.

The make up for this shoot was done by another friend, Mairi Gordon, whose career as a make-up artist in on the up right now, and so it should be... her work is brilliant.

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Mairi and I will be making more work together over the coming months, as we had so much fun doing this with Rhiannon... So watch this space....

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See these pictures full size over at my Flickr....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jobradford/

Contemplating friendship

Silver by Jo Bradford

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“Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” Albert Camus

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I love the ring of these words by French existentialist philosopher Albert Camus.

Camus was something of a James Dean character, whose life ended tragically early when his sports car collided with a tree. His wonderful words in the form of political essays, plays and short stories won him a Nobel Prize in his lifetime.

Literary masters aside.... I think friendship is just as beautifully summed up by the inimitable Charlie Brown in his words to Snoopy ...

“Are you upset little friend? Have you been lying awake worrying? Well, don't worry...I'm here. The flood waters will recede, the famine will end, the sun will shine tomorrow, and I will always be here to take care of you."

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© Jo Bradford 2009, ALL CONTRIBUTED CONTENT, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED