Einstein's Stripes

Stripey Day by Jo Bradford

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"Once you can accept the universe as being something 

expanding into an infinite nothing which is something, 

wearing stripes (with plaid) is easy."  

~ Albert Einstein

Your Feet

Grass Beneath My Feet by Jo Bradford ... When I cannot look at your face  I look at your feet.......I love your feet only because they walked upon the earth and upon the wind and upon the waters until they found me. ...Excerpt lines from Your Feet ~ Pablo Neruda...  Well, it has been a few weeks since I last shared some Pablo with you :)   xoxo

Dartmoor Snow Story

The Lonely Tree by Jo Bradford

This is a picture I took earlier this year (in February) when we had unusually heavy snowfall for the South West of the UK.

I had a few spots in mind to visit with my camera on Dartmoor, so we set out for a day trip to Devon for a bit of snowy adventure on Dartmoor.

Just getting there turned into an epic drive in itself, the roads were atrocious across Bodmin Moor, but we made it eventually.

We abandoned the 4x4 in the middle of snowy nowhere and began the hike to the top.  This was slow going as I kept sinking into shoulder deep drifts that had filled the ravines and valleys of the moor, my cameras were weighing me down and I didn't bring snow shoes which would have been sensible.

The snow kept coming down and sometimes visibility was so bad I was sure I would never find anything to photograph.... but on previous visits I had made a mental note of a lone tree on a hillside that I wanted to catch in the snow.

I found the tree eventually - here I am looking mighty pleased to have found it in the snow storm.

After a while spent with the lonely tree admiring it with my camera, I was suitably cold and ready for some action.   We carried on upwards until we reached the top

...  And after all that effort and hard slog for my art.... this was the sweetener that made all that trudging along with heavy gear doubly worthwhile.......

Strapping on the snowboard and making fresh tracks all the way down :)

Here's to all of us who are already dreaming of more snow on Dartmoor this winter.

xoxo

Snowflakes

Powder Dreams by Jo Bradford

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Out of the bosom of the Air.
Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken,
Over the woodlands brown and bare,
Over the harvest-fields forsaken,
Silent and soft and slow
Descends the snow.

Even as our cloudy fancies take
Suddenly shape in some divine expression,
Even as the troubled heart doth make
In the white countenance confession,
The troubled sky reveals
The grief it feels.

This is the poem of the air,
Slowly in silent syllables recorded;
This is the secret of despair,
Long in its cloudy bosom hoarded,
Now whispered and revealed
To wood and field.
~ Snowflakes ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Powder Days by Jo Bradford

South Point Style

South Point by Jo Bradford

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I found this picture in my Barbados file a few weeks ago, and just remembered to upload it this morning.   (Now for sale on Etsy and Dawanda).  What I find most striking is how similar the colours are to the Silver Sea Subtleties Pictures I took in Cornwall last week.... posted a few posts below this one {scroll down to see what I mean}.

I have been making Midnight excursions on to the frosty Moor this week with some old cameras and a very warm coat.   More on this later.....

Jo x

Green Island Studios Calendar is here!!

It’s that time of year again!


Time is fast running out to get your hands on my 2010 calendar.  Themed around my most popular series “By The Seaside” these little works of art come in a loose leaf format.  

12 unbound sheets each with a beautifully printed 5”x5” artwork with the month printed  underneath, the page measures 5″×7” overall.

Every calendar print is hand signed by me and stamped on the back.

These unbound artworks are perfect for sticking to your noticeboard, fridge, desktop or wall, use magnets or hang them up with clips, pegs, ribbon or whatever you have lurking in your stash drawer.  They work well in small desktop frames or easels, of which there are many to choose from on Etsy, take a browse round and see what you find...

And at the end of each month you can trim off the calendar section, leaving you with 12 beautiful prints from Green Island Studios, ready to frame, hang or give away as gifts.  (If you can bear to part with them)

The calendar sheets arrive gift wrapped in coloured paper and tied with a decorative ribbon.  They can be sent direct to your friends and family as gifts if you wish, and I can include a personal message, so just let me know at checkout 

Here is the list of 5x5 artworks you will receive in your 2010 Calendar.

January - "Blue Beach Days 2"

February - "”White Horses"

March - "Sun Showers"

April - "Cumulus"

May - "Lighthouse Lane"

June - "Riviera"

July - "Sea Pinks"

August - "Immersion"

September - "Golden"

October - "Afternoon Social"

November - "Meeting Place"

December - ”White Water, Green Sea"

European buyers...visit my gallery HERE 

America & the rest of the world... visit my gallery HERE

I hope you had a good November folks 

Jo 

xoxo

Silvery Seas

I have just spent 10 days away from home and my studio, working with the media on a military exercise on Salisbury Plain.  I got so used to sleeping outdoors and being in the fresh air all day that I am actually missing it now that I am home, even though we lived through some unbelievably bad weather, gale force winds and a lot of rain.  While I was on the exercise, I missed the sea of course.  It seemed strange not to have my daily outing to the shoreline with a camera in hand.

First thing I did when I awoke at home after my trip, was to head down to the seashore and drink it all in.  I took an old Argus 75 TLR camera that I have modified to make these TtV photos and an old bellows style polaroid land camera from the 1950's too.  The silvery sea and grey day did nothing to dampen my pleasure at being back where I belong {sigh}

It's good to be home  :)

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 :)

Bliss Mention

It's 'Roid week over on Flickr and I have been enjoying the bi-annual opportunity to participate and share with all the other PolaNerds around the world - there is some truly beautiful work there this year.....

I was really pleased today to realise that Mrs French over at Bliss picked one of my polaroids to feature in her post about "Roid Week.  {Thank you Mrs French}  :)

Jo x

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 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

Summer Dreams

© Jo Bradford 2009

Is that the date already?

I just can't believe that summer is nearly over....

Here in the UK, we are having something of an indian summer right now... So, as you can imagine, I am making the most of every last chance to get my fill of sunshine, blue skies, white fluffy clouds and warm(ish) evenings....

I hope that where ever you are in the world, that there has been a bit of sunshine in your life this weekend too!

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Summer Dreams {fine art photography by Jo Bradford}

Polaroid, My Long Farewell...

© Jo Bradford 2009

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As the last ever Polaroid film reaches it's expiry date next month, the long farewell to a lifelong friend has begun for us Polamaniacs. I say long farewell because I have stocked up on over 100 boxes of (mostly out-of-date) Polaroid pack film. Due to it's age and the delicate nature of the chemicals, the film needs careful care to preserve it for as long as possible. I am not in a position to treat it to a cryogenic solution, so I have had to get an extra refrigerator for my studio, especially to store it all in. I will take my time using it - making sure each shot really counts and thereby dragging out my long goodbye for as long as possible.
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© Jo Bradford 2009

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For lovers of the integral type of Polaroid film (the consumer kind that pops out immediately and after a few seconds the exposure is ready), you can relax. As those ambitious guys of The Impossible Project have bought the Dutch integral film factory and are planning to put a new and improved version of the old Polaroid integral film into production in 2010. That's if they can get the design and manufacture sorted... they are currently having a hard time getting all the components to fit together and work as a whole.... If you have a mind for science, or know exactly where the guys can get their hands on a 2 micron thick layer of latex that can easily be coated onto a gelatin base, then get on over to their website and offer them your help. They are calling out for it... http://www.the-impossible-project.com/.

© Jo Bradford 2009

Sadly, for lovers of the good old peel-apart variety of Polaroid film, (professional pack film as it's also known), our days are numbered. The peel-apart factory in Mexico has not been bought by anyone, nor does it look like it can be salvaged now having been abandoned months ago. So it appears unlikely that this type of film will be resurrected. I am very sad indeed :(

© Jo Bradford 2009

So that is why last summer I bought up such vast stocks of it (basically every box I could get my hands on) before it disappeared from my life forever. And that's why I plan to use it slowly and wisely... it is already one or two years past it's expiry date - hence the dodgy colours and the mistyness, but I love it... and that's that!!© Jo Bradford 2009

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And finally, the Observer Newspaper, this weekend, gave eight of today's leading photographers a Polaroid camera for the day, and asked them to capture their final instant images to celebrate the fact that the last Polaroid films expire next month. Take a look at what Mary McCartney, Nan Goldin and Martin Parr did with theirs

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2009/sep/06/photography-art

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Have a good Monday my friends, Jo xoxo

© All contributed content, all rights reserved

polamania abides

Hi Folks!

Let's hear it for the weekend!!

© Jo Bradford 2009

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Today has presented itself as another great chance to catch up on some more scanning of my backcatalogue while hubby is out at work and the weather is grey and lifeless...

I have unearthed several more boxes of polaroids - yes yes... I confess to comitting the cardinal sin of storing them in stacks in boxes... such a no-no!!

© Jo Bradford 2009

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So here are three fairly recent polaroids(circa May 2009), made with my Polaroid ProPack which has an ultra lo-fi plastic lens. The camera is a total bitch to use without getting spots of sun reflection on it's horrbily imperfect lens. This is what causes those strangely eerie, ghostly pale markings on the pictures. One has to just accept that you will have them in the image and go with it, all part of the ProPack charm!!

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© Jo Bradford 2009

I love how polaroids look, the way they seem to embody memories, dreams and childhood recollections. And best of all I love the process.... the peel apart film, that blue stinky caustic gook of clothes and skin ruining chemicals.... and of course the time to contemplate life while waiting for the exposures to "cook". That's what combines to make it all feel so much more like real photography than digital sensors and micro chips.

Enjoy :)

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© All contributed content, all rights reserved

Adventures with Pinhole

I'm feeling pretty chilled today, listening to the wonderful sounds of Grizzly Bear, Devendra Banhart, the Notwist and Andrew Bird, a wonderful soundtrack as I busy myself scanning some work made over the past few years in good old analogue styleee It has been heart-warming and satisfactory in so many ways to come across lots of work I had forgotten I had made as I continue to unpack boxes of work into my new studio after my recent move.

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Back in 2007 I was running workshops out of Green Island Studios where my students would make their own pinhole in my darkroom in the morning and then in the afternoon we would go to the local woods to make use of them. Day two would involve processing and printing their creations. A great time was had by all!!!© Jo Bradford 2007

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Here is a taste in the form of a fun bit of colour chemistry paper and a homemade pinhole camera made from a shortbread biscuit tin with a hole in the lid. The hole is covered with a small cutout section of a coke (soda) can that has a pinhole punched in it, which is taped to the biscuit tin.

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I taped this biscuit tin to an old tripod using a ton of gaffer tape and used it demonstrate how to make an exposure to the assembled group in a nearby woodland beauty spot. I stood on the bridge over a fast running stream that meanders through the woods to make this exposure. You can see the stream has a small waterfall in it and the exposure was just long enough to achieve a smoothed over blur as the water rushed over the rocks on it's way to the sea

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© All contributed content, all rights reserved

phoenix like

Original Thought by Jo Bradford

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Well I really thought I had killed my beloved Pinstripe Orchid when I moved recently. The poor thing must have hated the vibrations and winding country lanes in the back of the van... I guess it is no way for such a glorious creature to travel!!

Anyway, within 48 hours of moving she had dropped all of her flowers and was looking very sorry for herself. Thankfully, I can report that 8 weeks later, after a lot of gentle nurturing and coaxing (and a new sunny spot in the windowsill), she has produced a whole new stem of flower buds and the first three opened this week.... yeay!!

My beauty is back, long may she reign as queen of my houseplants

xxxxxx Hope by Jo Bradford

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© All contributed content, all rights reserved

Apartment Therapy Feature

I love apartment therapy - so you can imagine my pleasure when I realised that I was featured in a layout themed around silver on Apartment Therapy San Franciso Edition today!! Yeay... I am one happy lady, thanks apartment therapy.... delighted to have been featured... click the link below to go and look....

Click here to go to Apartment Therapy

Flying Longboarder Surf Substance

Flying Longboarder Exhibition

I am very excited to announce that later today it will be the opening party of the Flying Longboarder Surf Substance Art show tonight in Comillas, Spain. Here is a link to the Flying Longboarder site..

All images by Jo Bradford
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I have sent 12 sea themed pictures to sunny Spain to represent Green Island Studios and the UK in this gathering of 8 surf artists from around the globe. Flying Longboarder is on scenic Oyambre Beach in Comillas (Cantabria, Spain) home to a fine selection of surfboards, surf fashion, & stunning surf photography books, and not forgetting the awesome art you'll find on the walls by yours truly :)

All images by Jo Bradford
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My work will be exhibited alongside some very interesting artists such as Califonia's crazy cartoonist and friend of the stars, Gomez Bueno, and the talented French painter DL, and of course Hector Barrero, whose gorgeous photo appears in the flyer at the top of this post.

All images by Jo Bradford
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© 2009, All contributed content, all rights reserved