The Rush of Life (Resetting)
Kevin's Letter of Intent
If this lovely lady can run a marathon, I can pick up my camera again.
For the duration of the pandemic, I’ve been concentrating on keeping healthy, both from a physical point of view and a business point of view.
It hasn’t been easy. But here we are, almost forty years after the pandemic began…….time to hitch on those running shorts, take a deep breath and hit the road again.
Kevin Mullins
28th January 2022
One Life - Live It
AN ESSAY (of sorts) BY KEVIN MULLINS
The inspiration for my “essay”, if you will, is the last image in Neale’s recent post.
I’ve been at pains to think of something for my turn in this cycle for a while.
We’ve all been locked at home, and, thankfully, here in the UK at least, we are starting to see the sun again.
However, I don’t have any considered stories.
So I have effectively taken a mashup of some recent images that define my world at the moment.
But the thing is, that world is beautiful, and of course, Gemma and I have had our crazy arguments and the kids have driven us mad at times, but generally, I’ve seen this period as one of reflection and certainly of one that makes me realise this is our only life.
We have one life. We can bitch about it, or we can live it and love it.
Images in this collection are from my X100V, a prototype X-E4 and even my phone.
Not content with two dogs, Guinea Pigs and her brother. She now has a MASSIVE horse.
I actually don’t know whose feet these are. Not mine.
I feel like in this world of Zoom, this is what people think I look like now.
When your little brother uses the soap to wash his little brother bits in the shower.
The cuteness is disappearing. Now it’s all LED Lights and “Dad can I have a new graphics card”
But we taught him to ride a bike, finally.
Keep well, keep safe and remember that there is one life - live it.
Definition 38 | Stay at Home, go to Work, Don't go to Work, Stay at Home
Definition 29 | In Loving Memory of our Dog Sofa
DEFINITION 020 | NOTHING COMPARES 2 U
Definition 012 | STAY AT HOME
PHOTOGRAPHY & TEXT BY KEVIN MULLINS
“Sometimes I get to feelin’
I was back in the old days, long ago
When we were kids, when we were young
Things seemed so perfect, you know?
The days were endless, we were crazy, we were young
The sun was always shinin’, we just lived for fun
Sometimes it seems like lately, I just don’t know
The rest of my life’s been, just a show”
We’ve had quite a bit of this
Well these are the days of our lives, for sure.
This event will certainly affect my business as a professional wedding photographer massively (no work for me from the end of February to at least September), I’m reminding myself constantly that, I’m in a far better position than many.
Whilst governments around the world use this to score political points, and I’m cocooned in my house, there are people with no roof over their head, no access to water or medical care. I consider myself lucky in that respect.
I don’t have any client work to do, so Neale James and myself have decided to publish our Podcast daily in an attempt to bring some normality to our listeners days. Do listen if you can – you can find it on all good podcast networks by searching for The FujiCast.
March 22nd 2020 - Not Going Out
It’s not just a case of staring at the wall
As many have discovered, spending time at home with the family has been rather therapeutic. I’ve been spending this first week or so rearranging weddings and sorting out mortgage holidays and fighting with the government over my [not happening] business grants.
And because of that, I’ve not had the inclination to document this time. I just haven’t felt the passion for it. However, I have forced myself to take a few snaps. Albie and I have played about a bazillion games of chess – which I adore.
Gemma and I have been amazed at how well our two are playing with each other and celebrating the time together, rather than fighting in any sense at all. It’s difficult, of course it is, but as a family, I feel like we are stronger.
We are not on the coalface, like the Chinese were, or my European brothers in Italy and Spain are now, nor like the USA are about to be.
I’ve also taken a few moody portraits of the kids as I pretend to be David Bailey.
We are lucky, again, in that respect.
This series was meant to be about our definitions and one thing is for sure, we are all, every person on the planet, being defined somewhat now.
This will end, soon enough. When it does, let’s not forget the love.
In the meantime, here’s a picture of my whippet. She doesn’t seem to be affected at all.
KM.
Breezy the Whippet
DEFINITION 004 | HOPE PREVAILS
BY KEVIN MULLINS
“But he could not bring himself to say he loved her; not in so many words.”
We have become defined, in Britain, at least, more so over the last three years than any other time in my living memory.
There are swings and roundabouts, there are ups and downs, there are good and bad, there is love and hate and there is social politics on a grand scale.
Either side of our barriers are words of wisdom, correctness, wrongness and ego.
What is defining me right now?
Being me. My family. Our lovely world. Our love for each other as humans.
In Britain, we have developed a sense of magnitude, perhaps.
A sense of fortitude, maybe?
Even, incongruously , a sense of independent structure.
But wherever I look, whatever I see, Britain, and British people are still the same.
Family first.
Crazy dips in the Ocean in winter.
Dogs.
Holding hands, supporting each other.
And for everything else, there is always a nice cup of tea.
Change nothing and continue consistently.
GENERATOR
Guidance: Change nothing and continue consistently.
Assignment: Today you must shoot abstract images, in your least comfortable orientation (portrait or landscape), using your longest focal length and your oldest camera.
BY KEVIN MULLINS
In my case, this has manifested itself as the original FinePix X100 with the Tele Converter lens.
The TCL wasn’t really designed for the original X100 and I’m not really designed for abstract photography nor vertical orientation.
Going back through my main commercial photography (weddings), I think I’ve shot no more than 50 vertical images in ten years.
