Bright Sparks

Bright sparks, creative hands, young minds. Working with three local artists - Colm Docherty, Sam Jones and Sandi Kiehlmann.....

...local kids explore their creativity - discovering textures, drawing and sketching built  and natural environment, using natural materials as artistic tools and resources and more....

These workshops were run as part of the beautiful and extraordinary Julie Brook exhibition at the Burgh Hall Dunoon - art inspiring art inspiring our bright sparks.

All images are ©Burgh Hall Dunoon and Powan Ltd - If you would like a print of any of these or other images on the blog or to find out more about my work, please contact me at www.therainboweffect.co.uk or powanmedia@gmail.com for details on sizes and prices, and please feel free to post a comment! Feedback is always gratefully received - thanks for reading!!

Little Red

Having spent a lot of 2013 wishing I lived somewhere a bit more urban and frenetic, looking at the superb street photography of colleagues and peers with envy, I came to the decision at Hogmanay that:

a) Envy was a pointless, tiresome waste of time - I'm never going to move again (probably).

b) I should capitalise on the extraordinary environment I am very lucky to live in.

With this in mind, I began to think how I could use the breathtaking landscapes that surround our wee wooden house in a way that suited my passion for photographing people. And so the idea of the 'Little Red' project was born.  

The idea was to frame the landscape in a way that emphasised its sheer size, wild and remoteness by using a small figure captured in each frame, often gazing out to the land or lochs, or moving through the spaces. The winter in Argyll is a bleak and beautiful season, full of washed out, muted colours and often overcast skies. By dressing my figure in red she or he would be a distinct presence throughout the images - and the size of Little Red would emphasise also a sense of isolation in a vast space.

250 raw images later, which were distilled down to 45 and a final cherry pick of the 10 strongest images - here is Little Red:

If you would like a print of any of these or other images on the blog, please contact me at powanmedia@gmail.com for details on sizes and prices, and please feel free to post a comment! Feedback is always gratefully received - thanks for reading!!

Magic and Sculpture

A bright and sunny Saturday morning- we walked in the sun, we looked at fantastic sculptures, we sat, lolled, rolled in the grass, climbed on the rocks, captured a Damselfly, collected beach booty, admired flowers and more sculptures, ran around, patted dogs and generally had a wonderful time.

Magical place in a magical spot - the Caol Ruadh Sculpture Park - you should go! 

If you would like a print of any of my images, please contact me at powanmedia@gmail.com for details on sizes and prices, or post a comment and I'll get back to you you! Feedback is always gratefully received - thanks for reading!!

Let the Stars come out....

As part of the forthcoming Dunoon Film Festival, the Burgh Hall are hosting a small but perfectly formed, free photographic exhibition "Stars in Scotland".

Curated by Glasgow-based journalist Alison Kerr as part of a research project and featuring a stunning selection of scenes capture by photographers for the Evening Times, The Bulletin and The Herald, it boast iconic images of bygone Hollywood royalty at work and play on Scotland's fair shores - Cary Grant, Judy Garland, Mae West, Judy Garland, to name a few.

Most fascinating perhaps are the reactions of the Scottish crowds meeting and greeting their idols, especially the wonderful image of the Glasgow weans meeting Roy Rogers and Trigger - there are small faces that tell a million stories. I was lucky enough to capture some more modern day reactions from folk at the DFF Programme launch.

The exhibition is currently running and will run until the end of the DFF on 16th June. Please check with the Burgh Hall for opening times. Come and be charmed and leave starry eyed.....

Spring Greens - Wild Garlic #3

April showers, warmer weather, much rain. Wild Garlic is abundant on the edge of the forest so for our third year we have been foraging, nibbling and cooking like it's going out of fashion.

First job - a batch of Wild Garlic Pesto - made just like normal pesto but with ramsons instead of fresh basil leaves.

Since then we've made carrot and wild garlic broth with green lentils, roasted a cod loin wrapped in wild garlic with olive oil and lemon juice, constructed a splendid pizza with wild garlic pesto instead of tomato sauce and topped with enoki mushrooms, feta, goats and mozzarella cheeses. 

There's been a plethora of wild garlic and mushroom pasta sauces, various tarts loaded with goats cheeses, mushrooms, wild garlic, some pan fried potatoes with chilli flakes, onion and wild garlic.

Aubergine, spinach and wild garlic curry is in the planning stages....it's a delicious time of year!

It's the small things....

A fruitless day wrestling with finances, so took a small stroll round by the river for a breath of fresh air. Spring seems slow in arriving, but good news, the wild garlic has come on a treat since the last visit two weeks ago. Much greenness, little buds, shoots and blossoms everywhere, if you look closely.

It's the small things that put it all in perspective.......