Little Tin Houses
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JOURNAL

To The Coast

Ahhh, the trusty little plastic point and shoot camera, documenting little moments and making them look mysterious and moody. This roll was mostly shot on the west coast… in particular, Firemore beach. Fox absolutely loves this beach and come spring, I’m quite tempted to tow my caravan up there and just stay for the season. Half joking, half not.

You’ll recognise a few snippets of a particular tin house that has made an appearance here a few times… this was a quick trip back to cairngorms to check on said caravan.

The rest were shot on a little lochside park up that we keep to ourselves, somewhere near Oban. Sometimes, it’s nice to keep a spot a secret.

Amy Spires
Heading North, Heading West

After a turbulent few months in life and work, I’ve found myself back on the road. No more base, no more tiny coffee shop, just a van and my imagination. Oh, and a few power tools. I’m back to living on the road, creating and selling online, and having more time to wander.

I didn’t actually pick my camera up for the first couple of weeks… I needed to adjust to my situation and let my brain settle back into ‘van life’, and I’ve always found that I go through phases of not touching my camera, and then carrying it with me everywhere I go for days on end. I had one of those bursts recently, after we headed towards Wester Ross and spent some time working in the area (Steven is still making coffee, just for other people). I’m definitely inspired by new areas, and the excitement of stumbling upon a little knacky building I’ve never seen before. That’s where the joy of photography is for me.

I’ll be working on my print shop more, filling homes with little doses of highlands tin buildings, as well as my usual assortment of projects, so hopefully my next burst of photography energy won’t be too far away in the future.

I’m throughly enjoying my time up in this area… with little trips back towards Moray here and there to get our retail/decent food shopping therapy. Quiet beaches, old war bunkers, sleepy villages with mountains in the background. It’s exactly what I needed after a chaotic year. Fox has settled right in to life on the road and I have never seen a happier, more content little dog. He’s particularly in love with Firemore beach and knows exactly what to look for out the window to see if we’re headed that way for the night.

Amy Spires
Point & Shoot

Last year I sold my 35mm camera, a lovely black Nikon FM2n that I’d had for years. I always said I’d never sell it, but living in a tiny space means I tend to get rid of things after not using them for a certain amount of time. I’d only shot medium format for the last year or so, so away the Nikon went, and what do you know…. a few months later I get the urge to shoot 35mm again. I tried to squash it by using my big mamiya more, not wanting to buy another camera, but It feels a little silly to me to be lugging the heavy beast around when I just want to quickly shoot some day to day moments that I’d like to remember. So, I’m now the proud owner of a little plastic point and shoot canon sureshot, and I love it. There’s no thinking involved, it just sits in my pocket and I can pull it out, point….. and shoot.

Lesson learnt…. do not sell cameras if you’ve ever loved them.

Here’s the last few weeks on 35mm film… rainy days by loch morlich, brief spurts of sunshine in the cairngorms, my tiny home, and lots and lots of photos of Fox and our walks.

Amy Spires