Happy New Year!

I hope you are staying healthy in whatever your new normal is.

For me, Winter is my time to catch up on reading.

A few of my recent reads:

Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Neil (about Big Tech, privacy and the intrusive nature of social media. After reading it, I wanted to shut down every one of social media accounts.)

Longitude by Dava Sobel (Many who know me, know that I am a bit of a watch and clock geek, this is the fascinating story of how the problem of longitude was solved – loads of drama in this one)

Beyond the River by Ann Hagedorn (A re-read, the story is about my 4th Great-Grandfather, the Reverend John Rankin, a noted abolitionist and leader of the Ripley, Ohio Underground Railroad.)

Five Years to Freedom by Nick Rowe (This is a re-read. I had the honor to photograph Colonel Rowe for Outside magazine way back when. It is the story of his imprisonment in Vietnam. He told me he wrote the book in a few days. He locked himself in a room, started on a bottle of Jack Daniels and when he could smell the jungle, he started writing )

My Creative Space by Donald Rattner (My former assistant, Kristian Thacker suggested this when I started reworking my office space. Loads of excellent examples on how to create a space that encourages creativity)

48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene (Trying to understand the corporate mindset – fascinating look into how gain power and hold it. Robert Harris of the Sunday Times said “master class for Machiavelli”)

New music:

Echoes of Life by Alice Sara Ott. (She is my favorite classical pianist and this is her first album since being diagnosed with MS. It is an wonderful collection of primarily Chopin pieces)

Raise the Roof – Alison Krauss and Robert Plant (My favorite bluegrass vocalist and of course, Robert Plant. I was lucky enough to see Zeppelin several times and even luckier to have met Allison Krauss. Delightful album – two singers I never thought would cross paths and they create magic on their second outing.)

Portsmouth 1980 – Wishbone Ash (for fans of twin guitar 70’s hard rock. Wishbone Ash at their peak. Live performance that is a jaw-dropping monument of how good this band was with Andy Powel and Laurie Wisefield on guitar.)

Personal work:

I’ve started retracing my flights from my Chesapeake book and shooting areas that I missed – this time via drone or even my 16 foot tripod. Thinking about creating a new book about my favorite estuary.

New Website:

Recently, I completed an intense nine week boot-camp in the realities of advertising photography with Christine Force, a former photography rep in New Zealand. One of the assignments was a complete rebuild of a website with loads more personal work. Please take a look and check out the site at: camerondavidson.com.

The Archaeobotanist’s Garden

My wife Linda is an Archaeobotanist. (basically an archeologist who studies ancient plant remains). She has created a new blog focused on her garden and what she does with all the goodies that she grows – everything from making home-made vinegar to incredibly tasty Paella’s from heritage tomatoes. thearchaeobotanist.com

Thank you for reading.

Cameron