Trevor Gale's Photopraphy Page.

A passionate interest of mine is Photography, in which persuit I still use actual film, both black-and-white and colour. I have a small darkroom where I develop all film material, and also do various prints. I have had a number of exhibitions of my material. For obvious reasons it is not really easy to photograph in the darkroom, but you can see me in action below:-

A couple of other views of the darkroom, with the colour analyzer etc., follow below:-

I work in either 6 x 4.5cm or 6 x 7cm, using Mamiya professional camera equipment, which although heavy is still in my opinion well worth the extra effort involved in its' use. I also have a complete lighting set-up for the times that I do portraiture work. Usually I'll take the 6 x 4.5 outfit with me when hiking or generally where I have to carry a lot of kit, since it is lighter, but the last couple of times I have taken the 6 x 7 kit on a hike as can be seen:-

...and another, closer one of me using that kit up above Wengen in Switzerland:-

Some of the equipment I use, as illustrated on my engineering page but applicable here, I like to make myself: this link shows one such exercise into the making of things in the home workshop.

Just some of my efforts in photography are presented here, please note that definition and quality is not that which I would use for exhibition, rather it is to give just an idea of some of the directions I take in photography as a whole. Here are some of those efforts, sometimes accompanied by the idea text / script as appropriate. The following two are pictures from the opening of my first exhibition in Wassenaar, Holland.

..and another of the opening; my Father-in-law on the right who unfortunately passed away on June 1st 2007...

I also do portrait series shots as well as natural and landscape photography, and some of these can be seen below (again, please note the quality is lower than I exhibit and file sizes reduced for web page use).

Firstly, the series Golden Eyes:- Once a while ago a Door was opened...

And the step taken through that doorway
Was just the first step towards a new unknown
Entering new levels, but not climbing the stairs -
Rather being so lifted upwards by the result of thoughts
Of things never dreamed of as possible, any more,
And yet they are.

What a revelation indeed.

And yet there you stand, or rather cannot stand -
For you are taken by new thoughts, new ideas,
In the direction of a new, yet unexplored area of your mind.
Almost overtaken by the plans for new expression
And the acquisition of new knowledge, new ability
And yet you know.

What a revelation indeed.

To guide, to temper, to control this new energy
Is the next challenge, to gain a new understanding, of yourself
After so long being convinced that your reserves were emptied.
Old experiences, old feelings, old ways of thinking,
Suddenly return, but as if new and resurged with youth
And yet experience.

What a revelation indeed.

If you are faced with such a new level of activity,
Involved so creatively, generating new images,
Connecting with the past but elevating it to new heights,
Able even to attempt to project that image -
You are privileged indeed - and you have found
A new phase of Life which must never be denied:

What an Elevation indeed.

For you are not the old, not the young, not the past,
But the new, matured.

So use your vision and take it all in, and be glad to use
Your golden eyes.

Next some of the 'Elemental Forces' series:- Of Fire: an introduction.

Of Fire, from the massive fireballs which are the stars and the Sun,
without which we would all be non-existent, lifeless, never being
allowed to evolve, having no past and no future - and no memory.

But we are not without; for millions of years we have been given the
Fire of the Sun to allow us to evolve, to develop, to become one of
the so many forms of Life on this Earth, - which at the same time is
host to the searing heat of the desert, inescapable, and the heat of
the night which we have created in our cities...

But our own fires, our grates, our hearts: these are different, for
they keep away the devils and the wolves from our caves, they
keep us alive in our winter shelters, and they keep us warm, safe
and comfortable in our own little castles, and they help to make our home.

It may be cold outside, but we are on the inside, protected: relaxing
after dealing with the day, with the warmth of your very own Fire, contented.

FCTG : 6-May-2000

Of Water: an introduction.

Of Water, spawning Life for aeons. From the stormy oceans, the
rough seas, the torrents of waterfalls into rivers and streams in the
country to the small brooks at the end of colourful fields.

To be without water would mean the shrivelling end of all we can
view, the powers and paths of Life just left as mere skeletons.

But we are not without; for millions of years our planet has evolved,
from the great unknown swampy quagmires of our pre-history to the
rivers and water-wheels harnessed by our elders not so very long ago.

We surround ourself with water - and yet we do not drown; rather
we control it: we sail on it, we water our crops with it, and at home
we make our meals with it, and we drink in that gentle clear
essence, washing away whatever might ail us. To water!

FCTG : 7-May-2000

Of Wind: an introduction.

Of Wind, swirling around our globe and determining our weather
and our destiny, blowing in high altitudes at speeds we cannot
relate to; and nearer the ground with such force we cannot withstand.

From the hurricanes and tornadoes that tear up all structures like
so much matchwood, to the wild storms that for centuries have sent
our best ships to the bottom of the oceans, to the gales that blow
over the coast and put fear into fishing communities, to the winds
which bend branches and scatter the leaves, to the breeze which
cools us on a hot summer's day, and the gentle brush of a butterfly's wings.

Wind is in all these forms; but without it we would never breathe,
without it we would suffocate in stagnation and the seeds of life
would never be spread.

Yet we are not without it, indeed we cannot resist it; for all time it
has brought us both change and comfort. Think of what we would do
without its gentle flow, its relieving touch as we recline in the sun's glow.

FCTG : 22-June-2000

Of Earth: an introduction.

Of Earth, the planet rich in so many facets yet made up by Nature
to be all-powerful, reminding us now and again that we are but
guests upon its massive surface. Just as there have been massive,
awesome guests during creation before us which have bowed before
the forces of our mother Earth to make their last exit from the
stage of evolution.

Without Earth, we would have no home, no crops, no food to hunt,
indeed we would literally have no place at all.

Yet we are not without; but strangely we begin, and we end, as a
part of this very Earth; and as we can observe, other Life also
springs from all the goodness in the Earth, to be nurtured or tended
until mature.

What a wonderfully diversifying array of gentle beauty surrounds us;
let us leave our mark well and model just a little part of it.

FCTG : 9-May-2000

You can E-mail the author of these pages (Trevor Gale) by using this link.