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Submitted by mimi 10/09/09 6:09 AM GMT
As we enter Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, entering from Stage left is our next artist to shine. The unique username will take some a bit to figure out :)...take a few minutes to browse his gallery, sprinkle generously with comments and all congrats can be left below. Welcome nigelmoore know to us as Nigel Moore. Here is his gallery.
A few years ago the idea that I might be able to put together an online gallery would have had me doubting my sanity. Thinking that I might receive any recognition for it would have had me seriously worried about men in white coats. So thank you my friends for this terrific honour. I am, almost, lost for words.
I don’t suppose I need to tell you my real name, but for those of you who haven’t worked it out yet there’s a clue in my screen name. No, I really didn’t use my imagination there did I? If I’d known then that I was entering into a long-term relationship with this site I would probably have tried a bit harder.
I came to photography relatively late and it was a slow burn rather than a sudden passion. After occasionally dabbling with film cameras I bought my first digital, a Fujifilm with 2.1 megapixels, in the late 1990’s. I liked using it so much that a few years later I bought a little Nikon, which I thought was the bee’s knees. It was during a walk with it and a couple of friends one Sunday that I took the picture that became my first Caedes post. It was of a green weed against a background of green weeds and I thought it was fantastic because I liked the green and it had water dripping off it. So that evening, which I know from my Caedes page was the 15th January 2005, I went on the internet to look for somewhere to share it.
I had already visited Caedes and come away with some great images. Russ (heidlerr), Pierre (ppigeon), Tracy (camerahound), Paul (paul_gerritsen) and Michael (photoimagery) had all featured on my desktop. So I took the plunge, and I posted my weed. I was so proud of the two positive comments it got that I had it blown up, framed it and put it on the wall.
It wasn’t until two years later, after a trip to the Balkans fired my imagination and sent my Nikon into overdrive, that I posted my next images. In July that year I decided I was ready for my first DSLR and bought a Samsung GX-10; after many happy days and much learning with that camera I have just allowed myself to upgrade to a (used) Canon 5d.
I have mixed feelings now when I look back at that weed. I see how little I knew compared to how much I thought I knew; but I also see how much of an impact photography has had on me since then. It has changed the way I look and see, taken me to places I would never have gone and introduced me to people I would never have met. It’s a journey that I have been lucky enough to share with so many friends here on this site, even if the dripping green weed that started it all has been consigned to history and will never see the light of day again.
It would be hard to choose a favourite from my own gallery because each image has memories attached. If pushed I would probably say ‘Seat’ even if that does draw attention to yet another lame choice of name. My favourite Caedes moment is much easier to choose. It would be the get-together in Bradford in 2008 when I got to see who was behind the avatars and virtual friends became real. I was amazed when some of you travelled to the UK to join us and one of these days I might just return the favour. You can put down that gun and put the ‘gators back on the leash right now Momma.
Easier too is thinking about my inspirations on the site. As well as those I’ve already listed I have often returned to look at the galleries of Milo_Anderson, d_spin_9, jma55, kodo34, dmk and, before it went missing, RKG. Aktait’s ‘Bubbles’ and Mannie3’s ‘Hello Mr Sea’ would be in the front running for my favourite picture. If I have one wish for this community it is that we open our eyes more to images of people.
Outside photography I do work, as a consultant to public sector housing organisations in the UK and a translator for an astronomy institute in Spain. I was born in Lichfield in Staffordshire, England but consider myself a Southerner after living in London and the South East for the last 27 years. I am proud of my adopted identity, regardless of what some jealous Northerners here might have to say. Thou shalt have a fishy, on a little dishy... It’s alright boys, we know it’s grim up there.
That must be almost enough words from me but I’d like to say two more thank you’s before I retire squinting from the spotlight. One is to all of you for all of this, and the other is to Caedes and the mods for all their hard work and generosity. Now, if I can just avoid tripping over that chair I left sticking out of my gallery, I’ll move off and get out of your way.....
