[silkstone]

Occasionally I take pics because someone pays me to, but that is the least important aspect of photography to me. Mainly it's because I'm a sentimental old b****r and I like looking back at things I've done and places I've been, Photographs and Memories...

Some of my photos may have artistic merit, and a few are covering cracks in the plaster, but mostly they're a record of things that will never happen again. Lately I've been taking photos of the village where I live - perfectly ordinary photos of ordinary things and ordinary folk, but which may seem extraordinary to people a few generations hence. Hopefully my pics will survive longer than I do, and may eventually provide the same fascination that we get today by looking at photos of bygone times.

In fact I would encourage everyone to do more of this. The street, village or town where you live may not seem very photogenic, but in years to come people will be interested to know what it looked like in the good old days of 2005. Everyone takes photos of things that are attractive and touristy, but everyday life is ignored. That's why the films of Mitchell and Kenyon are so important and enlightening.