FOR AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT: I use a fair bit of Inov-8 kit. It’s simple, it fits, and it works well in the UK hills. I have neither been paid for this review, nor been given the shoes by either Inov-8 or Accelerate. Okay, so what am I reviewing here? The shiny new Inov-8 X-Talon Read more…
A collection of writing by the epitome of the reportage photographer, Henri Cartier-Bresson; The Mind’s Eye, Writings on Photography and Photographers. Henri Cartier-Bresson is perhaps(anyone else for Robert Doisneau?) the most influential photojournalist the world has ever known. A co-founder of Magnum, civilised observer and skilled artist. The Mind’s Eye Read more…
Ah, Easter break last weekend; you enjoyed longer days and longer runs. And a realisation about socks. You need some new ones. You’ve time before May Day weekend though; but there are so many socks … So how about trying Injinji toe socks? Odd things. Odd, but comfortable and effective. Read more…
Not really running kit this, but post-run maintenance kit. Weekend. You’ve been out in forest or fell. Places deep in mud, glorious mud at this time of year. Inevitably, whatever shoes you use, you’re bringing dollops of that mud back home, stuck in the tread. Which of course needs removing. Read more…
Doing reviews? Freebie time for me. Ah, yes, well; no. For now certainly, no freebies. Everything I’m currently reviewing here, I’ve bought. With my own money. Yes, even that frighteningly expensive vest(that review’s going up later, in spring) and that huge Jean Gaumy book(that review for autumn). The kit is Read more…
Trekking poles, we know they can help whether uphill or down. We also know they’re often designed by Captain Complex; heavy, bulky and slow to set, or light and beyond flimsy. All this of course means many of us leave the things in the shop or at home.
These Trail Blaze poles from Mountain King may just change your mind. Super light(115-135g), fixed length(110-130cm), anodised alloy body, tungsten carbide tips, folding to about a quarter their open length(pic 1) and quick to rig they’ve got me using poles again.
Now, I’ll admit to a little bias here. Henri Cartier-Bresson remains an inspiration to me. He and many of his contemporaries like Lee Miller, Robert Doisneau, Bill Brandt and Eve Arnold combined great technique, visual awareness and a deep sense of our shared humanity. And they allowed the stories they told to speak.
Notwithstanding my personal bias, this is a sumptuous colection of portraits; the first to be drawn entirely from the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson. The ferocious aquiline face of Samuel Beckett glaring off leftward challenging you, open the book, see what he cares.