By Anne & Steve, Indie Cambridge July 2025
Martin is a man after our own hearts, a creative Cambridge maverick – highly motivated to complete his projects through thick and thin.
You’ve probably come across ‘A Cambridge Diary’, which he began in 2010 as a personal photography project. His motivation was that there seemed to be very little recording of everyday moments in the lives of ordinary people in Cambridge. He decided to take a picture of everyday life, every day and post his photographs on a Facebook page. Over the years his creative style has developed and so has his following. Whilst his pictures do include both ‘town and gown’ he avoids the established hackneyed imagery in a move to try to change the way that people see Cambridge. Mmmm, where have we come across that idea before?
Time & Space
The second book in Martin’s photographic trilogy from his much-loved A Cambridge Diary project. With a photograph for each day of the year, Time & Space leads the reader towards and into the global pandemic. The book is a striking visual record of a historical era, with images that capture the desolate streets, alongside stories of people searching for normality and perspective during these lost years.
Martin’s photographs are theatrical, dramatic, cosy, clever, fantastical, poignant, witty and romantic; everyday scenes made extraordinary by a shaft of light, an unexpected gesture or an odd juxtaposition.
He’s an engaging writer too. His style moves from short and snappy to ponderous and reflective, from historically insightful to personal and anecdotal. He’s good company, his natural train of thought occasionally spilling into longer vignettes - a ghost story, a folk tale - wherever the mood takes him.
The book gradually settles down into post-pandemic life, so do the people, and Martin is there to capture the return of the routines and rituals, the joy and the humour, the quirkiness and the tenderness of human life on the streets of Cambridge.
Martin's first book 'Town & Gown' is heading towards its third re-print and the third book in the series 'Light & Shade' will be available in November 2025. You can find out more about the project here.
