January 2024 Updates, welcome to the new year, a dose of the flu and a sad farewell to my beloved Aunt Jane and good, good friend Mick Skivington.

Welcome back to my little piece on the web

It was my birthday yesterday (21 again!) and a pleasure to be writing this blog again after what seems like a very long month. Sadly this new year has seen the passing of two people in my life who I always thought would be around. My Aunt Jane passed away from cancer earlier this month leaving my Uncle, my cousins and their extended families. She was a lovely woman. She always was polite and I never heard her say a bad word against anyone, except supporters of Peterborough United. She was a huge fan and very involved with Northampton Town football club (The cobblers) and took it very seriously. This often served as a niggling point with another Uncle of mine, who did not share her enthusiasm for the cobblers.

Aunt Jane never forgot birthdays and was always good at getting me and my siblings presents at Christmas and birthdays. Aunt Jane was always welcoming when we went to her house, always making us feel relaxed . I know she will be badly missed by my Uncle Ralph and cousins, not to mention her many grand children and wider family. Her death came as a surprise to me as I was not aware of her condition, so all the more sadder. Until her passing I could never visualise a time when she would not be in my family life – she was always there. A constant.

She was a good Aunt and I still find it hard to think that she is no longer with us. I will miss her.

This month also brought the passing of a good friend of mine, Mick Skivington.

I have known Mick for many years, so much so that I have forgotten just how we first met. He was a brilliant wedding photographer and new his stuff about cameras. Initially he was Newark based until moving closer to Nottingham to be closer with his partner Sue. .

A great and well repected Wedding photogrpaher, Mick knew his trade. He was not a perfect man (none of us are) he was a man with foibles, but he was a fun person to know and above all he was my friend. Mick taught me darkroom printing of pictures in black and white, which was quite brilliant to see the photos come out of the stop baths. He was a skilled plasterer and the only man I know that could plaster a wall while wearing a three piece suit! Mick had at one time also worked as a stand up comedian, and always had a quick line in funny comments when needed. I can visualising him saying one of his pet lines when finishing a story. 'Bloody nightmare.' he would often say as a full stop. I liked Mick and will miss him greatly, but not as much as his partner and friend Sue. Like my Aunt, I always thought Mick would be here forever and i prefer to remember him how he was before his stroke. So thoughts are with Sue and rest in peace my old friend … see you again someday x

There was to be a shoot this month with the lovely Singer / Model Alexis Victoria Hall at the Boardroom Studio, but had to be arranged until the 1st March as I was very heavy with the cold at that point. On arriving back from time away with my parents, someone very kindly donated their flu to me. I intern donated my piece to Amy. We have both suffered with it, Amy taking work off for a few days during the worst of it. We are both better now after fighting it for the whole of January, but it has left me deaf in my left ear and with bruised muscles on my chest (coughing fits) as well as blood clots in the same area. Apart from that we are both fine and dandy!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my parents for putting up with us both over the new year period, as its always nice to get away and see them. Thank you Mum and Dad x

We have a studio shoot this month (February) with two models, Zoe Birtwhistle and Lydia Clifford at the studio. So am looking forward to that, as well as anything else we might find to take pictures of. Amy now takes out the small Ricoh GR camera with her when she goes into town to shop. She has taken some great street photography images, which have been put up on the www.streetsofyourtown.co.uk website/ Also added to that website are some more images from our recent visit to Mum and Dad’s of both the journey home and from a dilapidated row of shops in ruin. All of which are below.

That is about it for this years stater. I do hope your all well and I look forward to seeing you all again at the end of February/

Take care x

October Updates, and adventures with Parcel Farce as well as a brand new website to look at !

Welcome back to this months updated blog for October.

The season has defiantly changed, not that we had much of a Summer in the first place, but it is obviously autumnal now. So what has been going on this October? Well medically speaking I have been quite good this last month with only a few off days. Although I did have my thumb nail fall off. I had caught it in a Taxi door I was exiting a while back and bruised it. It did not hurt, just throbbed. But this month the whole thing just gave up and dropped off. Oh well, I never liked that nail anyway I keep telling myself.

I have been engaged with an ongoing battle with Parcel Farce this last month, trying to point out that I no longer have proof (from 2010) that I purchased the camera went missing. I attempted to point out that when I took out the extra insurance on the camera for its safe delivery, they never asked me if I could prove ownership. They only asked what is in the box and its cost. I then learn that the insurance the post office counters sold me was not in fact insurance, but instead a 'compensation scheme.' This is all semantics I pointed out as that is different from the policy I was told and sold by the Post Office. So on that grounds they offered to pay me a whopping ten pounds more for my troubles. So the amount went up from forty pounds (camera + P&P = $450.00) to a staggering fifty pounds! Well their generosity knows no bounds and I am left feeling completely shafted by them. They sent a cheque to my door even though I rejected the pittance they offered me – just to prove a point that their customer care was not worth the paper it was written on and that the great British public should watch out as they are being misled and lied to by Parcel Farce and its agents.

But on a more positive note, I have a brand new website for you all to see. Its called ‘Streets of your town' (www.streetsofyourtown.co.uk) and it features the street photography I have been doing for a while. There is a blog with the site, but it will only get updated when something new is added or I have an observation to tell you all about. Certainly not religiously at the end of every month as this blog is. Most of the images were taken locally to me and its still a work in progress. It also gets me out of the house more and getting some fresh air for a change. I thought about starting a new project page for it here on this website, but decided that to give the subject its own web space was better, as this website is almost full to capacity. Please go and have a look, I hope you enjoy it.

So more shoots coming up in November with two happening on the same day and in two different cities. I shall tell you more when they happen, and after it has wore me down for the week. A thank you then this month to the usual suspects. To Amy for her help. To Chris and the staff at Brambles Florist and Flowers To Yours. To model Marie Jean Saxton and studio owner Phil Lynam. A special thanks also to James from ACEABC taxi firm for getting us safely to the shoots every month. .

Keep smiling and enjoy the rest of this Halloween blog. Thanks x

July Updates, what turned out to be a very busy month and a lesson never to send parcels to Romania !

Welcome back to my little corner of the web.

There were two shoots this month and a shoot taken on the last day of June (so technically for all sakes and purposes this month) Blessed with four great models to work with Mercybongo and Carl Tilson. Maryna Sedin and Marie Jean Saxton, they have kept me busy snapping and editing.

We also managed to travel to my parents home and see them which is always good. Not just to get away from our house, but to spend quality time with them is worth the journey. I managed to do one of the shoots on location in my Fathers lush garden as well as them taking us to Rushden Lakes for some magazine shopping and photo taking around the buildings. It was fun,Amy and I loved it, So thank you greatly to Mum and Dad x

Now here is a word of caution …. if your thinking of sending anything to another country (in this case Romania) you might want to think again about it. I sent an old camera to a man in Romania who could chip the camera so as to make it take Infrared images only. I know I already have a camera that does that, but I wanted a higher spec and it made use of my trusted old Nikon D3. So I sent it via the post office carrier (I shall not mention their name here!) at the princely sum of £50.00 only for the empty box coming back to me a few weeks later! Apparently it got as far as Bucharest and customs did not like it and sent it back, but between there and my front door some thieving turd helped themselves to it. Returning the empty box like trying to rub my nose in it! The Royal Mail recommended I call the Romania Customs and ask what happened to the camera? but that is as futile an effort as a one legged man in an arse kicking contest! Taking the piss obviously, I think they just said that to get rid of me. It worked. Although I have put a claim in, I have still not heard anything from the carriage company, and don't hold out much hope. Oh well, I guess some things just were not meant to be and I shall not do that again. Lesson learned.

Hope you enjoy this bumper month of pictures to make up for last months lacklustre offering.

x

May Updates

Welcome back to Lujon Rael online portfolio

As I sit here writing this months blog, I am thinking on ideas for future shoots and so far have come up with four ideas. It will be a chance to work again with some old favourites like Monalisa Moyo and some new faces both in the studio and on location. But talking of new faces, I got to work with the lovely Ukrainian model Maryna Sedin this month. She was awesome, but more about her and the shoot later.

As June is arriving, Amy and I are looking forward to visiting my parents for a few days and weather permitting, take some fresh images of the garden.

As well as to enjoy their company as well, better than looking at the same brick wall for a change.

On a sower note, has anybody tried getting in touch with the NHS recently? I received a snotty letter through the post telling me I have not contacted my local Podiatry service in a while and should do soon if I don't want to be referred back to my GP. Well this just is not true, as I tried and several occasions over several weeks to call them and they either say they are busy with an automated answering machine, or just don't pick up at all ! I have tried everything to get through just short of getting the Ouija board out and seeing if that works? Maybe I should cut off all my toes and send them to the hospital or better still serve them all up for tea like Harold the barrel? Oh well. I am sure I will survive.

Enjoy this months offerings and hopefully see you all again next month.

With or without my toes.