Hazel Thorn Silversmith: Exquisite Work at New Designers 2014 Exhibition

Next week the New Designers 2014 graduate design exhibition starts in the Business Design Centre in London. Amongst the exhibitors is my step-daughter Hazel who has just completed her M.A. at the Edinburgh College of Art. Hazel is a silversmith and her work and that of other ECA graduates will be on show from June 25-28 on Stands J20 and J21.

I am of course completely biased but I think Hazel's work is wonderful. I find the shapes, patterns and colours fascinating, complex and beautiful and the imagination, dedication and skill needed to produce the works extraordinary. The photos here were taken at the Graduate Show at ECA last month. There is a bigger selection of more formal images on Hazel's website. Hazel also writes a little about her work and explains its connection to 'wild places and natural objects'.

RouteBuddy Mapping Software Review

I've been using RouteBuddy for several years now and find it excellent both for route-planning and for use in the wilds with print-out maps. Most recently I used RouteBuddy for the TGO Challenge. I've just written a review of the software which you can read on The Great Outdoors website here.

Filming in the Lake District with Terry Abraham: Ready To Go

The next week I'll be in the Lake District making a backpacking film with Terry Abraham. The weather forecast looks good - we'll have to go back to do some filming in the rain! After the snow and storms we had to deal with when making The Cairngorms In Winter it'll be nice to have some warm sunny weather as well as a light pack and much less gear. I'm also looking forward to enjoying the Lakes landscape and some spectacular high level camps. Until last year I hadn't been backpacking in the Lakes for many years and I'd forgotten how good it can be. Now, due to Terry, I've been there twice recently. Once a year ago before the launch of The Cairngorms In Winter and once to film a winter camp for Terry's lates film Scafell Pike: Life of a Mountain.

Rattlesnakes & Bald Eagles: Pacific Crest Trail Book Update

Camp by a frozen Chicken Spring Lake in the High Sierra on the Pacific Crest Trail. Scan from Kodachrome 64 transparency.

Creative Scotland, the public body for the arts in Scotland, has rather plush modern offices in an old traditional building in the centre of Edinburgh. A few days ago I made my first visit here for a meeting with Bob Davidson of Sandstone Press and Heather Macpherson of Raspberry Creative Type to discuss the design and photographs for my book on the Pacific Crest Trail.

The meeting was productive and the book now has a cover and a shape and a size. I've almost finished writing it too but what's going to take time is the photographs. I had forgotten just how difficult it is dealing with slides rather than digital images. Just keeping track of them all and linking my scribbles on the slide mounts with the digital scans is proving quite hard, especially as these pictures are over 30 years old and I can't quite remember exactly what some of them show!. Pictures that look fine as transparencies don't necessarily scan that well either so images can only be selected after scans are made.

The result is that publication has been put back and Rattlesnakes and Bald Eagles won't now appear until October. I'm sure it'll be worth the wait!

Six Moon Designs Fusion 65 Review

On The Great Outdoors Challenge last month I used the new Six Moon Designs Fusion 65 pack. I've now reviewed it for The Great Outdoors. You can read my thoughts on the magazine website here.

My only real complaint about the pack is the colour. It's only available in gold and white. I prefer more subdued colours - and the bright white panels really mess with camera metering!

Indiegogo Project: Helvellyn with Mark Richards, a film by Terry Abraham.

Terry Abraham at work in the Lake District

Later this month I'll be starting to make another film with Terry Abraham about backpacking in the Lake District.

This isn't the only project Terry is working on however. He's also making a film with artist and writer Mark Richards about Helvellyn and is seeking funding for this through Indiegogo. You can see a teaser for the film on the Indiegogo page here (though those who've seen Terry's films won't be in doubt as to the quality of his work), along with more information.

I think this should be a great film. Please give Terry and Mark your support.

Kickstarter Project: Francis Tapon's Unseen Africa

Kickstarter and similar crowd funding resources are an excellent way for projects that aren't conventionally commercial to get off the ground. Kickstarter is how Terry Abraham funded The Cairngorms In Winter. Without the support of many people we couldn't have made that film.

One Kickstarter project currently seeking funds that looks very interesting and worthy of support is writer, explorer and long distance walker Francis Tapon's The Unseen Africa , which will be a TV series about Africa that looks at all those aspects of the continent that aren't usually covered, presenting a view of Africa far from the usual one of  'poverty, pestilence and pyramids'. Through Kickstarter Tapon hopes to raise the money to make a pilot episode to show what the series will be like. He is in Africa now. Here's a short taster


There will be an outdoor theme in the series as Tapon plans on climbing the highest peak in every one of the 54 African countries. (How many of the peaks can you name? I managed three - I really don't know much about Africa).

I think this project is worthy of support and I hope it goes ahead. Have a look at the Kickstarter page and see if you agree.