2 Questions

Sue from La Chanson de Phoenix sent me a couple of questions to answer a while ago. They were great questions that I have spent a great deal of time thinking about.

QUESTION 1
Every good photographer shoots not just from an artistic point of view, but from the passion rising deep within. Show, or describe, one photograph that evokes emotions within you, and then explain the emotions behind it. Don't be shy; we really do want to know.

This one was very difficult for me, as there are a handful of photographs that I have taken that evoke different emotions within me for different reasons. However there is one photograph that, when I look at it, fills me with the most incredible feeling of sadness and helplessness.

The photograph was taken during my tour of Poland in 2006. It was coming up to the end of the trip and we had arrived in Krakow. After touring the most amazing salt mines during the morning, we took a trip Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Our first destination was Auschwitz-1 (the first camp). I had seen many documentaries over the years but nothing had prepared me for the impact of actually being there. A room full of spectacles, a room full of suitcases, a room full of human hair….. The emotional transition from something that I read about to something that was real and in front of me was overwhelming. After an emotionally draining visit, we then went on to Auschwitz II Birkenau. The weather had changed, the sun went in and the sky filled with grey storm clouds and rain. Our small group split up and went in our own directions. I chose to take a slow walk up the middle of the camp alongside the railway line. The rain fell, disguising the tears as I cried. I slowly wandered down to the gas chambers… the sense of helplessness and death lay heavy in the air. I knew that I could simply turn around and walk out of the camp, but inside me I felt for the millions before me that didn’t have such an opportunity.

I learnt so much from that day… about me… about the world we live in… about what is important…. and about the things that really aren’t that important after all.

Below is a photograph that I took that day. It was taken from the window of the main control tower. Every time I look at this photograph, it takes me back to the day I walked down that track. It stirs the same emotions inside me. This is the photograph that I have chosen.


If you want to read more about my trip to Poland, then please feel welcome to visit the post "Adventure - A Tour Of Poland"


QUESTION 2
As a worldly man who loves culture and food, surely you have tasted and eaten many delectable treats from different regions. Which food would you choose as your favourite 'comfort' food, and why?

I do love food of many ethnic origins, but if I have had a bad day or bad week at work, or am feeling unwell then there is nothing I would turn to more than traditional English cooking. There is something about English food that I find truly comforting. I think it has something about the sentimental attachment of “mother’s home cooking” from childhood. With that, my mother was, and still is an amazing cook.

There is one dish that always makes me feel great, even on the darkest of days and that is home made mince beef and onion pie with peas, cabbage and mashed potato, topped with a rich beef gravy and a small dollop of tomato ketchup. Mmmmmmm, just the thought of it feels me with warmth and comfort.

I guess this means I will be obliged to do a future post with a blog 'photo-recipe' for it. So, watch this space.....





Thanks Sue, I found these questions most enjoyable to answer. I would love to know how the rest of you would answer them, so open this to you all as a Meme. Please let me know when you have posted your answers as I would be really interested to read them. Also, if anybody else has any questions they would like me to answer, then I would be more than welcome to do so.

Kindest regards,

Graham x