A Milton Keynes Journal
At first glance, Milton Keynes might seem pretty boring — and that was my impression too. I didn’t move here out of choice, but for work, like many fresh graduates who can’t afford to be picky. Yet living here has made me rethink what “boring” really means. Why do people cherish the so-called mundane, the overlooked moments and little details, even when we all acknowledge they’re boring? Maybe it’s because they’re not staged. Everyone experiences the ordinary, and a photo of someone buying milk or leaning against a railing resonates because we see ourselves in it. It may be boring, but it’s ours.
Emergence (2025)
This photograph holds a special place in my heart. A lone figure moves through the thick mist enveloping Bletchley town, with a residential block looming in the background. Beside the older woman, the imposing building seems almost ephemeral, dissolving into the fog.
We pass each other often. Bletchley is a small, quaint town, where familiar faces gradually become part of the landscape. In her, I see a reflection of myself, wandering day after day. For now, photography gives my wandering a purpose, a reason to keep moving and observing. Yet having a reason to wander does not make me immune to the fear of solitude.
The place I’ve called home for the past four years. It’s a town in transition, and while change can be uncomfortable, it is often necessary. Documenting a place that some might dismiss as a “flavourless town” is not always easy. It challenges me to navigate the space between my own interpretation of the place and the lived realities of its people and community — between what I observe and what I choose to make of it.
Double Presence (2026)
For a brief moment, the tree behind the wall and the shadow of another tree, standing out of frame, appear to align. Two separate forms meet across the brick surface, one rooted in the landscape, the other cast by light. The shadow becomes a second presence, briefly sharing the wall before the changing light makes it disappear.
The image of the tree and its ‘borrowed’ shadow coexisting reflects how the same place can exist in different forms, shaped by perception and constantly changing. Everyone who has visited, lived in, or hopes to visit Milton Keynes carries their own expectations and impressions of this young city, each seeing it in a slightly different light.
Remember Milton Keynes for its concrete structure, its glass-fronted shopping malls, and its carefully planned geometry.
Remember Milton Keynes for its vast green spaces, for the windy path towards the Light Beacon in Campbell Park.
