jonnybaker

fecundity

this year turned out to be very fecund when it came to squash at the allotment!

it's up!

unlocked exhibition at ealing police station - photo by edmond terakopian

the last week has been so brilliant. our local photography group has had this crazy idea for an exhibition outside so that we knew people would be able to see it and feel safe. that thought led us to pondering whether we could use ealing police station as the canvas - that took a few creative leaps in itself. fast forward a year after thinking why not give it a go and unlocked is up! it looks incredible.

install of unlocked exhibition at ealing police station - photo by edmond terakopian

i am so proud of what the group has achieved. we have liased with police, fundraised, hired cherry pickers and installers, worked out what's need to clean a building and print on vinyl, curated a powerful set of images reflecting on the last 18 months and the moment we are in. seeing the building being jet washed in preparation and then the photos arriving and being installed at the beginning of last week felt so exciting.

install of unlocked exhibition at ealing police station - photo by edmond terakopian

this weekend we had the opening with a hundred or so photographers, sponsors, friends and family and some passers by stumbling across it. 

unlocked exhibition at ealing police station - photo by edmond terakopian

sometimes in an exhibition people say what's your favourite photo or whatever. but for me what i love about this is that it's about the whole. it's the impact of seeing all the photos together that has so many resonances of the last eighteen months. we hope it gives people a chance to look back and reflect and to look forward. i didn't want to post a photo before the opening as i liked the idea of a surprise for those coming. but now it's up and there are photos around i want a record of it on the blog. if you are in ealing do go and see it. if you are somewhere else in the world or country then here is gallery of the images which you can look through. click on a photo and you will get some info on it.

edmond terakopian who is a fellow member of the group took some wonderful photos of the install and of the police station with the images on that really gives you a feel for the scale of it which he has given me permission to post - all the photos in this blog post are his (thank you!)

i have loved being part of the planning group. thanks to ealing police for saying yes, to our sponsors gogar services, fujifilm, clarion futures and all the individuals who have given to support the project and especially to our photography group for being bonkers enough to think we might actually pull this off.

unlocked exhibtion opens in september

it's been a crazy adventure but i can now tell you that the photo exhibtion unlocked is going ahead. it will be on the outside of ealing police station with 35 photos over 5 storeys. it will be a huge piece of public art. it is going up to be part of BEAT festival which runs over the two weekends of 11-12 and 18-19 september but will remain up for a few months (we hope) and of course is visible in daylight hours any time. the exhibition explores the experience of the last 18 months both looking back and looking forward. i have photos in it which i am really excited about. this is the biggest scale exhibition i have been part of. it's been a fun ride to raise money through crowdfunding and sponsorship - i am very proud of our little photography group. we have jet washers, cherry pickers, installers and printers lined up. ealing police have been really helpful all the way through. there is an opening event  - if you want an invite to that get in touch. but i hope you get to see it. no doubt i will post photos for those of you who live far away! i really cannot wait to see it myself.

suffolk and norfolk

just back from a lovely two weeks holiday - a week in suffolk and a week in norfolk. i had been to suffolk before but not so much norfolk. this is holkham beach which is a terrific 5 mile or so stretch of sand in north norfolk. it was great to get a break, switch off email and notifications and chill out. for anyone interested there is an album of photos on flickr here (of course)! right now to catch up on email and all that...

season of plenty

my mum always used to call this time of the year the season of plenty. we have an allotment and have been eating raspberries, strawberries, beetroot, potatoes, chard, courgettes, blueberries, gooseberries, blackcurrants, runner beans, peas... i just love the colour of these redcurrants

unlocked - over half way

you get those jokes about the good news and the bad news. this post is one of those in relation to unlocked - the photo exhibition we are planning in ealing.

the good news is we have managed to raise over three thousand pounds towards the total of 5.5k. one member of the photo group secured two thousand pounds sponsorship from fujifilm which is amazing!

the bad news is that ealing council have not yet backed the project. this is slightly exasperating as to become a crowdfunding project they have to approve it so you jump through quite a few hoops. so you assume this means they have decided they will back it to some degree. but apparently this may not be the case. we still wait to see... and meantime we have to go ahead and arrange people to do the installation and printing so have given ourselves a deadline of the end of july which will be make or break. we have also applied to a couple of other local foundations/trusts too. but again not sure we will hear in time. so it's squeaky bum time for sure. 

so send a prayer up for us! and if you want to back a local photography project of course we'd love you to - you can do so through the crowdfunding page. money will only get taken at the end if we reach our target. it's weird for me because this is not my usual thing so i have not raised for arts projects n this way. 

unlocked

i am part of a local photography group. as a group we have planned an exhibition as part of BEAT 2021. given all the uncertainties due to covid we had been exploring outdoor options for exhibiting and through a series of connections have ended up with ealing police station agreeing we can use the front of their building as a canvas for our next exhibition! it is huge so will have quite an impact. the exhibition is called  ‘UNLOCKED – looking back, looking forward’ and is a reflection on the strange times we find ourselves in, the things we have noticed over the past year and our hopes for the future.

of course it is going to be more costly to pull off so we are in the process of raising funds for it. on contacting ealing council they now have their own crowdfunding page for community initiatives and projects and steered us in that direction. as part of that they will consider backing a project but like to see a group raising funds and demonstrating commitment themselves. so whilst we hadn't anticipated it this means we have ended up with a local crowdfunding page for unlocked. if you'd like to support the group then you can pledge here. we are 10% of the way there at the time of writing this post.

and then there were three!

welcome to the world olivia wren baker b. june 2 2021. there were some very excited big sisters. it was a joy to be called in the middle of the night to look after flo and thea while olivia was born. she is granddaughter no 3. joy! there are a few photos here 

blossom watch

the national trust have a blossom watch day encouraging you to find a tree (or more) and take some photos and enjoy the wonder that is blossom. And tag your photos with #blossomwatch so I thought I'd join in... a few photos here

a child's view

flo, one of my granddaughters loves taking my camera and taking photos. the camera is huge and very heavy so it's quite impressive to be able to use it even. she is 5. last week we met up outside at prospect wood and she took a lot of photos which i have put into an album - flo's debut. i love the way you get a child's eye view of things - looking up. it reminded me of alec soth's exhibition at brighton biennial a few years back where he was not granted a work visa so his daughter (i think) took the photos he exhibited.

aerial a1 tent

about a year ago i backed a kickstarter. it took a while due to various lockdown challenges but finally the aerial a1 tent from opeongo.camp arrived. it suspends between two trees and whilst it looks hammock like it has two straps which mean it is very stable by comparison. it happened to be the coldest night for a long time so was glad i had got the underquilt with it! it's perfect for prospect wood as we have so many straight conifers and not a lot of flat floor space that is bramble free.

when two worlds collide

congrats to stephen radley on his unsung hero award for amateur photography 2021. he runs regular workshops and retreats on the theme of contemplative photography and mindfulness which he developed since leaving the military 5 years ago. i titled the post when two worlds collide because i am a photographer and part of what i like about photography is that it helps me notice and pay attention similar to what stephen describes - that's one world. the other world is pioneering and stephen attended the make good week we run a few years back to develop his idea for what has become soulful vision. it's exciting to see how it has developed. he has written a piece about it over on the pioneer blog.

nothing is clear

sign of the times

fallen frozen stuck

2021 starts with a swing!

yes literally! the first day of the year was spent at the wood and the latest addition to go with the pirate ship is a swing for the grandkids (though as you can see it is adult friendly too!). it seems to have worked quite well - i decided to use hammock straps to suspend it. so far so good...

our friends have got an owl nesting box so we hope that owls like ot and come to nest there this year which would be exciting.

and latest wooodland toy is a char cloth tin which was fun to try out - it makes char cloth from cotton to use as firestarters in case you wondered.

perfect way to start the year - just hoping that we can share it with more people later this year...

nhs star

i have added more photos to the nine elms advent trail album - jen and i cycled in for a view of things we missed - this time in daylight

follow the light

jen and i cycled in on what turned out to be a wet and windy evening to go round the nine elms advent trail. it's quite a big area and due to building work not straightforward to work out where you are going so it is quite a trail. we probably managed half of it but enjoyed it and hope to go back. it's outdoors so it's socially distanced and all that. our walk was punctured by news that christmas in london is under tier 4 so it means our plans to see family and grandkids are scuppered - feels like a depressed london today. i definitely feel in need of a bit of light in the darkness. big thanks to betsy and others who put this together.

i have added a photo album here - as ever in the dark i had to work quote hard to get anything like a half decent photo but i do quite like that challenge.

the local park

maple fire