I’ve never been one for New Years resolutions but have to admit that this time of year offers the opportunity to take stock and for renewed vigour of past endeavours. For some time I have been playing with various photographic projects and with the recent formation of the group and the prospect of an exhibition later in the year I find my thoughts returning to unfinished work. It would seem to be the perfect vehicle to motivate myself and to a large degree this has been the case. Projects can obviously be separate entities but in this case I find that they are beginning to merge to one end, that being printed works to be hung on a gallery wall. This also brings the added bonus in that, hopefully, I won’t be frantically chasing around later in the year with nothing to exhibit.

One of my projects revolves around a local common, somewhere close to home that I can visit without always committing too much time but equally somewhere that inspires me to create. I find myself visiting often and in all weather to ensure a full body of work and to ensure I can give a clear representation of the changes through a calendar year, as well as conveying some of my own feeling for the place.

Although this image is certainly one of my favourites of the last few months I don’t necessarily see it as representative of the finished work, I would like that to feature quiet images too. I was there only yesterday morning and came home with a couple of images that I quite enjoy but which certainly won’t have mass appeal. Very different from the drama of the first image but still very relevant to what I would like to convey.

However this is yet another advantage of a project. So often images have to stand up to scrutiny in their own right but as a wider body of work a more contemplative image can find it’s place. Whether either of these images make it to print remains to be seen but both have given me a great deal of pleasure in the making.

As the year progresses and my mind turns to what to include and how I’m going to present them I shall share my thoughts with you again. So far I am confident that I have ended each month with an image or two that I would like to use irrespective of how they may be received. Mind you I would like to think that the best is yet to come, even if not this year.

So as you start the New year I wold urge you to consider a photographic project or two. If, unlike many of those resolutions, you stick with them I can pretty well guarantee that you will create something that you will most likely find very fulfilling. If, like me, you choose a small area of your local patch you will also find that familiarity often brings it’s own rewards. As the seasons unfold and you learn to see the less obvious it can be very surprising what a visit can reveal, inwardly as well as outwardly .