Peter

Peter

A couple of days ago, I learned that a pillar of the EPZ community, Peterjay80, died at Christmas. Quite a lot of you may have seen his pictures, or read his always-kindly comments. He made no secret of the fact that he wasn’t a great photographer, and that he loved being able to buy and use excellent equipment. His contribution to our community was in other things.

The consistent feature of his portfolio was views of Gloucestershire from the windows of his flat in Malvern: often shot as he was making his morning ‘mugga’ and delighting the rest of us by sharing an exceptional view from up on a hillside. I never tired of the view – like any sky, it was subtly different every day, and I see it as a generous gesture that Peter shared this so regularly.

I think I got to know Peter through messages here when he posted a series of scans of slides that he took in Afghanistan in the Seventies. He was, I think, an engineer by profession – and engineers often see deeper into a country than journalists and politicians. He showed me a beautiful, wild country, inhabited by generous and proud people. Peter commented that Afghanistan has often repelled invaders: he felt the Afghans had a sort of warrior respect for the British – though they repelled us as they have repelled everyone, they enjoyed the game.

At that point in our growing e-friendship, he recommended reading ‘Caravans’ by James A Michener, a story told in the first person by an American, and set in the late Forties or early Fifties. Peter said this was an accurate reflection of the country and people he saw when he was working in Afghanistan.

I met Peter once: we managed to coordinate a meeting at the Malvern Show in 2019, and spent a pleasant few hours wandering round the displays and stalls, before he fed me tea and cake back at his flat. I tried to photograph the view that I knew so well from his page here at Ephotozine, and failed miserably, but that wasn’t the point of the exercise. Really, for me, it was a chance to bask in the light of a good soul.
One final thing about Peter and his photography: he seemed entirely at ease photographing animals, and they seemed at ease with him: his pictures show every sign of a deep empathy with all living things. While he once or twice protested that he didn’t do as well with people, I’ve never seen a comment from him that wasn’t self-effacing, respectful, and gentle – though sometimes underpinned by a raffish sense of humour. There’s more to photography than making a perfect picture. Rest in peace, my friend.