Oh, to be like George!

Now, let's get one thing clear.

George and I have never met.

We live on the opposite ends of the planet.

He's in Britain, I am in Australia. 

We have corresponded very briefly on social media and he has commented on my work a couple of times.



We are many years part in age,

We live in so different social and cultural worlds

But I would give anything to spend a day with this man.

Here's a few reasons why . . . .

I stumbled onto George's photos quite by accident a few years ago and have been a fan since then.

They are simply quite beautiful.

I am often moved by  beautiful works of art.

I am also moved by the simplicity of this natural world.

George seems to be able to capture both in topical and heartfelt photographs.

He takes pictures of everyday things.

Sometimes buildings.

Sometimes a well-worn path in some grass.

Occasionally he takes himself in a humorous pose.

A postbox.

A book.

A broken tooth.

Everything he captures on film is real.

George is real.

And that is what I appreciate about him.

George connects us to his life and the world around him

It is not a life one could call exotic.

It's just living.

And in all its simplicity,

he captivates us!

We are drawn into his world and find interest in his daily posts.

We see what he sees

and are privy to his thoughts.

Every photo has a comment

Every shot has a reason

Sometimes there is a theme or link flowing through his collections.

Sometimes they are random.

Then it happened

One day I was browsing the Philofaxy blog and I saw a post by Jane O.

I immediately recognised the photos

They were George's!

But not just his usual fare.

No trees or churches or car parks or sky.

These pictures contained an amazing revelation.

George uses a Filofax!

A pocket, ragamuffin Filofax.

As I scrolled down reading Jane's excellent post
I was lost in the heady pictures of paper, old and worn.

Tiny ballpoint pen writing;

photos and notes;

quotes and words;

thousands and thousands of words

and a drawer full of used pages from years gone by.

Bits of magazines and text and lists and lines;

sticky taped edges and rounded corners.

We see his thinking

all on paper.

It was a intimate and revealing article

sharing another part of his life.

It was not about photography,

but Filography!

His binder was old, cut up and creased.

The paper - well-turned and haphazard.

And I loved it!

I couldn't believe how amazing this collection of notes and scrawls seemed.

It was George's thoughts, feeling and observations.

It was his memory and his life.

It was part of him

and how he sees the world.

It contained his investment in the written word

the spoken word

the printed word.

It was a real treasure in every sense of the word.

In leather and paper.

And it made me happy.

In these days of bromances and mancrushes - a thing I must say I don't subscribe to,

I think I have found someone who makes me want to aspire to be something just like him.

I could never dare to copy his style or habits!

I couldn't.

That is completely George.

His binder is him.

Uniquely George.

But I feel quite privileged to be able to be an observer in the rich and quiet life of genuinely remarkable man.

George.

You may not want to hear it,

but we salute you.

You may think what you do is perhaps mundane and ordinary

but please believe me

you really do live a life less ordinary

and we are all the better for it.

All photos in this post are owned and photographed by George Redgrave.

You can find George's vast amount of work on Flickr here or here

And some interesting videos on YouTube here
or just simply Google him - it's quicker

KFROZ