About my photography

I already had a sense of the importance of recording a moment in time. The simplicity in the act of clicking the camera shutter belie it’s influential effect. But David Fuentes photos ( see "Black & White" gallery ) made me see how artistic, informative and inspiring this medium can be. Since then I have been experimenting, trying to capture beautiful moments! Times that tickle the inside of your soul and awaken a sense of contentment, that despite all that is wrong with the world or your personal life it just feels great to be alive. Sunshine, fiestas infectious laughter. I'm not looking for sensationalism and sadness ............It's amazing how resilient and adaptable the human race is. You see in the poorest of cultures it's not about riches and possessions it's far deeper than that lets concentrate on whats good and its mostly FREE!! ....see its how you view things I find beauty in the oldest of objects!

Hence....... “Interesting Angles”, rusty old fishing boat doors (the one’s that weigh the nets open) the salt from the sea oxidising the metal creating such wonderful colours and patterns, from the continual use day after day, old and interesting I say.

In..... “Life at La Vila Port” see how the sleeping port comes alive and bustling as the boats come home after a day at sea .

The flat I rent overlooks the marina and fishing port of Villajoyosa or La Vila Joiyosa depending if you speak Castellano or Valencian dialect, the translation is the jewelled town, apt ode for such a colourful place it’s just perfect for observing life.

The Impetus That Drives Me :-

My photography will always have certain limitations (but I think this actually heightens my sensitivity towards my subjects! and to fully appreciate life itself) I am limited to instantaneous moments dictated by a back injury, making it difficult to stand still or even sit for long periods. So every moment is precious to me as I have to lay down a most of the time it's to reverse the effects of gravity and of course the weight of my head (there must be some grey matter up there or is it heavy oak!!).........OK so it could be frustrating.. ..but well........

It's probably why I have crazy moments in my life.......Like when I took a flight to Mauratania ( west coast Sahara) on a whim to visit David who was working there...had to buy a standby one way ticket & worry about the rest later....I only have 3 photos that he took, and thats when you realise how important they are!!

And then I know not many women would class being invited to go out on a fishing boat a fantastic opportunity but having checked if there was somewhere for me to lay down I was really excited." Aboard Cantal " Video & SLR cameras sporting freezer bags! 3.45am only other signs of life-alley cats doing the night patrol. Just one thing I forgot to ask until the moment arose! servicios?? hmmmm!! 3 crew members just covered their eyes and laughed (that'll be none then I gathered from that helpful sign) Anyway this led to probably the funniest and most embarrassing moment of my life, a story fit for a book easily equal to Bridget Jones fire mans pole situation. Friends seem to find my antics amusing, so maybe one day I’ll tinkle those laptop key’s.

When I first spoke to my very patient web designers Clare & Lynne about my idea, they asked me how many images do you think hmm! hadn’t really thought. How about 6 categories and 10 images in each they asked? that sounded okay. But once I started to sort through my photos the categories were growing, and now I had in excess of 200 images and still rising. And now just 1 category has 200 images alone. Although some images are duplicated in other galleries for ease of search and presentation purposes. I just love the effect of grouping all the Shining Images ” together, and it is a "Gallery" after all so presentation is paramount.

And how things have grown I've now taken over the development of this new database driven site . Now I travel to new destinations regularly to capture the varied landscapes, the fascinating diversity of the human race, the cultural differences and the architectual wonders of the world that is there to explore if you have'nt the time or the funds you can experience every step of the way with me!!

Sunlight is our most important and powerful element to life. But the only time we can see the full strength embodied is via reflection off of a shiny smooth surface such as water, metal etc. and how I love this effect in photography

That is how the name “Shining Image” evolved, just in case you were wondering!

Now a lifes work I think so I invite you to please browse through the gallery and ENJOY!!!!