Simon Crofts

A chance encounter near North Berwick

admin — Tue, 14 May 2013 10:53:23 +0000

North Berwick was famous for its witch trials at which over a hundred witches were accused. It all started because James VI, while returning from Denmark in a ship, was hit by a storm. Many of them confessed under torture to meeting the Devil and attempting to sink the ship, and were burned.

It was reputed that witches sailed to sea in a sieve. Or as Shakespeare wrote in Macbeth:

“Aroint thee, witch!” the rump-fed runnion cries.

Her husband’s to Aleppo gone, master o’ th’Tiger;

But in a sieve I’ll thither sail,

And like a rat without a tail,

I’ll do, I’ll do, and I’ll do.

Meet Joe, the Green Man

admin — Sun, 12 May 2013 19:08:28 +0000

Last night Sylwia and I caught a glimpse of the Green Man resting in the forest. Well okay, we took his portrait. Joe was utterly charming and patient with us while we experimented in the forest on tank traps left over from World War Two.

Alnmouth

admin — Fri, 10 May 2013 20:29:31 +0000

Every time I take the train to London. I look out of the window of the train as we pass Alnmouth and always think “I must go there one day’. And of course, never do.

Well today, we did.

An impromptu Rembrandt-style portrait of Sylwia in nearby Ellingham Hall

The harbour entrance is idyllic

When we arrived, we joked that there was bound to be a big white van parked in the middle of the harbour view. There always is. So we went for a coffee, sitting outside in the cafe’s yard with a view out across the golf course to the coast. And a minute later, look what parked in front of us (and incidentally on top of the ‘Keep Clear’ sign)

A football pitch, Northumberland style

I must down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship, and a star to steer her by

The trail is actually from a horse:

… who wasn’t welcome on this path:

Many houses in the town suffer from obsessive-compulsive hedge trimming. While we loved the town, and the hedges were truly impressive, we’re glad we live in a nice big city.

We had a chat with a local who asked where we lived, and of course we told him Edinburgh. We turned the conversation to Alnmouth, and told him how lovely it was. Every time we did, he nodded in agreement, then added wistfully: “Edinburgh’s nice” and “I really like Edinburgh” and “I do love to visit Edinburgh” and “how long does it take on the train to Edinburgh?”

Maybe we won’t move just yet.

Beltane Part 2 – the preparations

admin — Thu, 09 May 2013 20:26:40 +0000

I have made a small selection of some of the pictures that Sylwia and I took of the preparations for Beltane. An enormous amount of effort, dedication and organisation went into the weeks in the run up. It is fascinating to see these Celtic pagan traditions being kept alive, and reinterpreted, in a modern context – Beltane is not a historical reenactment, but a living, constantly evolving collective experience:

All images © Sylwia Kowalczyk and Simon Crofts

Beltane Fire Festival

admin — Wed, 08 May 2013 22:33:40 +0000

Last week Sylwia and I photographed Beltane, the ancient Celtic festival welcoming the onset of summer (or spring, depending on your point of view - anyway, the relatively warm part of the year) as part of a project that we are working on at the moment. We photographed some of the preparations as well as the night itself – I’ll do a separate post with a selection of preparation images, but here are some from Beltane night itself. The whole thing was an impressive and extraordinary spectacle, and an awful lot of fun to take part in, hard work and exhilarating at the same time, and an interesting technical challenge – because for most of the night there is very little light except that from torches and bonfire.

A handfasting ceremony under way:-

KISS

admin — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:56:07 +0000

I like this philosophy in photography: Keep it Simple, Simon. Or for that matter, Sylwia. Talking of which, this is a portrait of Sylwia. Actually, it was a test photo for another picture, with Sylwia standing in to test the light. It doesn’t matter why it was taken, I like it for its simplicity and honesty, the lack of manipulation, the strands of hair that have gone astray, and of course a pretty girl – my wife!

Beltane, pagan fire festival is approaching…

admin — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:40:13 +0000

“We buy human hair”

admin — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:47:15 +0000

Whenever I passed this window in Krakow and noticed a change, I took a photo, starting nearly ten years ago. Styles have been subtly evolving (and the sign placed in the window reads “we buy cut hair”). I haven’t photographed it for about four years now, but plan to pass through Krakow in June hopefully, and will do so then. It’ll be interesting to see what’s changed in the last four years.

Snowy Edinburgh

admin — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 22:04:11 +0000

The recent snowfall reminded me of this, taken a bit earlier on in the year

Picture post – a mirage in Krakow

admin — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:07:02 +0000

When we get hungry taking pictures, I noticed we start getting interested in taking pictures of food. In this case, I was already becoming very thirsty when I thought I saw an oasis: