Several lifetimes ago, I used to go to York, and Yorkshire, quite regularly, and pretty quickly got used to the local’s penchant for, shall we say, blunt speaking. Oh, and Betty’s Tea Rooms. So I’m not particularly surprised to discover that Tim Parkin, an outstanding landscape photographer, and writer of an erudite, informative, and entertainingly blunt blog, is from Yorkshire.

Quite honestly it’s refreshing to find somebody who quite clearly is photographing and writing for his own enjoyment, doesn’t particular mind upsetting any egos, and doesn’t beat about the bush.

I like his photography too. He knows when to apply restraint, goes for natural colour, and doesn’t go overboard with the Velvia stuff. His work reminds of that of David Ward, both in style and approach, but he’s carving out his own visual language.

So, a strong recommendation from me - great photography and a lively blog. Can’t be bad.

ps - oh, and he helped me fix my RSS feeds. Thanks, Tim!

pps - and If they’re not fixed, it’s my fault, not his

I picked up on a new website today "Focus", which seems to have just got started and presents a couple very well produced and interesting video documentaries about two leading lights of Flickr. The first is about macro photographer, Brian Valentine. The second is about the prolific Icelandic photographer, Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir. I actually discovered the site through Rebekka's blog, and this is where the strange doings come in (cue creepy Twilight Zone sounds). This evening I wanted to send my complements to the people at Focus, and went back to Rebekka's blog to find the link ... only to find the post has been airbrushed out of existence. It is still in my RSS reader archive though. I wonder why this is ... seems a very professional operation...although there is something a little strange, not to mention screwed up, with the Vimeo hosting. I think we should be told. UPDATE - well I have been told. Rebekka doesn't like the music and is unhappy about the edits, so she's decided to keep quiet about it. I can see what she means about the music, but I just tuned out.

Well, this, I have to say, was totally unexpected. A few weeks ago, I received an email from Alice Burton, of the British photo magazine Outdoor Photography. She told me she wanted to make this site "website of the month". I was pretty stunned. First, because the sheer quality of the 3 or 4 sites featured monthly is pretty intimidating. Secondly, because the photo part of this site has been in practical hibernation for over a year. But it's true. And here's the proof: I've been reading OP since pretty much issue 1. But I never thought I'd get anywhere near being featured in their pages. So, just for this one post, please forgive me if I'm just a little bit unsufferably pleased with myself. Wait a minute... it's not the April 1st edition is it ?

An area of this site which is perhaps even further off the beaten track than the rest is the photo links page. The main content is a list of photography web sites which I like and want to recommend. I try to avoid the obvious stuff, and also to keep it to a reasonable length. I've just added a new link, to photographer Nicholas Pye's site. Take a look - you might like it too.

I've mentioned this before, but I really strongly recommended Alessandra Meniconzi's website. Actually, to be brutally honest, strictly speaking I recommend her photos, because the website has greatly overgrown the size that iPhoto can gracefully support, and, to be frank Alessandra, you need to sort it out 😊

But anyway, try starting here, then explore the rest of the Iceland pages. One photo, for me, really stands out as a work of inventive genius. On the road to Patreksfjörður in the West Fjords, there is an abandoned beached fishing boat. It is interesting but not really photogenic. But Alessandra has photographed it from behind a rain streaked car window, giving it a strange, magical air. In that weather most people would not even stop - but she has seen a brilliant opportunity.

I believe some of these photos will be published in due course...something to look forward to. Then maybe she can sort out the web site!