It’s Good to Talk – Men’s Mental Health

I recently went down to the Barn at the Bears Paw in Frodsham to talk to a great bunch of lads who attend the “Good to Talk” meet-ups. Men’s Mental health can often be thought of as a taboo subject but times need to change, it’s ok to admit you have problems and it is a bigger man that can actively seek help. I witnessed firsthand what a great job Nathan does at these sessions and what a real positive support network they all provide for each other.

Photography at times has been my mind saver, a place where I can go and turn off the world, the amazing places it has taken me, and the people I meet, photography just keeps on giving. If I could encourage others to experience just part of that, shine some light when things feel dark, and just share the pleasure photography gives me it would be great.

These are the slides from the presentation

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I was born and raised near Lancaster and as a child enjoyed many a day walking up the fells and mountains of the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales. Striding Edge on Helvelyn being my favourite memorable walk. Despite this affinity for the hills, my first photography moments, back in the early eighties, involved rally cars rather than Landscapes. I moved to Runcorn in search of engineering work in 87 and the old film SLR was left in cold storage and is still there now. My interests lay elsewhere for a while and when marriage and children followed, my photography was just family and holiday snaps for about 25 years. Around 2015, inspired by a work colleagues Iceland pictures, I bought the same camera, a Canon SX50 Bridge camera, and my interests were well and truly awakened again. Later upgraded to a full frame Canon 5D MKII and then the MKIII which I currently shoot with. This time around my photography interests are focussed on capturing the beauty around me. I really don’t mind where that might be found. The mountains, lakes and waterfalls inland, the crashing waves or boats becalmed at low tide along the coast, or the magnificent architecture in our cities. I just enjoy the whole experience of being out there taking images, you don’t always need to be in the very best locations, in fact the majority of my photography is taken within 5 mins drive from my house. Finding beauty on your doorstep, where there was seemingly none, is often more satisfying as you have to work so much harder. I enjoy passing on my passion for photography to others by providing photography 1 2 1 tuition and hosting photography workshops. You can also purchase my images as prints or canvas.

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