Welcome to Gavin Duley's Home Page

"To persons standing alone on a hill during a clear midnight such as this, the roll of the world eastwards is almost a palpable movement. The sensation may be caused by the panoramic glide of the stars past earthly objects, which is perceptible in a few minutes of stillness, or by the better outlook upon space which a hill affords, or by the wind, or by the solitude; but whatever be its origin the impression of riding along is vivid and abiding. The poetry of motion is a phrase much in use, and to enjoy the epic form of that gratification it is necessary to stand on a hill at a small hour of the night, and, having first expanded with a sense of difference from the mass of civilised mankind, who are dreamwrapt and disregardful of all such precedings at this time, long and quietly watch your stately progress through the stars. After such a nocturnal reconnoitre, it is hard to get back to earth, and to believe that the consciousness of such majestic speeding is derived from a tiny human frame."
Thomas Hardy, Far From the Madding Crowd, Ch.3

Welcome to the home page of Gavin Duley. I am a botanist, a photographer and an œnology student. This web site presents some of my photography, as well as my writing on topics such as photography and computing and other interests. I also own the domain wodewose.org, and some other stuff of mine can be found there.

As with pretty much every web site ever designed, this site is under constant renewal and change. Check back from time to time to see what's going on. I do hope you enjoy your visit!

"Looking down at the earth from 12,000 feet, I felt then that my life was in perfect perspective. It was a sense of oneness with the universe -- I belonged to it, just like the crystals forming on the wing tip. At that moment I knew that all my anxieties and failures and pain were shadows on the wasteland. Admiral Byrd, an unbeliever, experienced something similar in Antarctica, in his own way. He described it as 'a feeling that transcended reason; that went straight to the heart of man's despair and found it groundless'. It seemed to represent the ultimate destination of all our journeys."
'Igloos and Nitroglycerine', p169, Terra Incognita, by Sara Wheeler