From Breakdown to New Vocation: My Genius Loci Digest Journey

From Darkness To Light

In the late 1990's I had a breakdown that led me - through a journey that took me away from depression - to a new career in photography. What made the grit of the dark days worthwhile was a little pearl of insight that helped me move forward- a different way of observing the world - more sensual, emotive and visual. At the time, I didn’t realise how earth-shatteringly significant this was.

At first, the shift was about survival—finding a way out of the darkness and it wasn’t easy. It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but the little pearl of insight kept me moving forward.

A Fresh Perspective On How We Navigate This World

Over many years of photographing buildings and places, I began to develop way of seeing, feeling, and interacting with the world that recharged my sense of self and quietly strengthened my mental health. It became not just a path to recovery, but a way of navigating through life —a way that’s helped me not only cope, but begin to thrive in a world that isn’t always kind.

What I didn’t know then was how far the journey would reach. Ultimately, it taught me that the myth and poetry that springs from place and landscape helps us see with more clarity deeper truths in a world full of smoke and mirrors.

I didn’t imagine then that I’d one day be sharing those discoveries with a community of others who find something valuable in my journey too.

A Reason For Hope

It all began with a single letter.

In 2003 that letter dropped onto the mat of my home in Rochdale. It told me that I'd won a prize: the Harold Samuel Prize for my thesis on Genius Loci in Architecture. In the scheme of things, it wasn't anything to shout about, but to me, it felt as though I'd won an Oscar.

My tutor told me at the awards that he hadn't seen anybody approach our built environment in that way before - through the ways that it impacts us emotionally. He told me that my work brought about a fresh perspective.

My prize on that day? A 300mm lens, but more importantly: a feeling of affirmation - that I was on the right path.

The Birth Of The Digest

My journey continued and my career in photography, led to my creative writing and my creative writing let to my art.

Ultimately my creativity has provided the lens through which I cope with my anxiety, navigate the complexities of this world and live a fulfilling life.

This Digest has become my centre of gravity and my way of sharing this.

It is a protest, a counter-narrative and an antidote to these uncertain times, and my photography is another way of telling. My aim for this Digest is to share the insights from my mental health journey, from my travels and experiences; to bring enchantment back into a disenchanted world, to engage our sensory literacy and help provide counter-narratives for polarised times. There are many nuanced layers to the past and to us, as human beings. We can learn and grow from that.

'My aim for this Digest is to share the insights from my mental health journey, from my travels and experiences; to bring enchantment back into a disenchanted world, to engage our sensory literacy and help provide counter-narratives for polarised times.'

In a fast changing world this digest focuses on slow time, refinement, relevancy, and ultimately continuity.

This digest revels in the in-between, the transitional, the presence of absence. My camera with its dials and knobs and sharp focus has taken me into the blur of things. Because something can't be measured it doesn't mean that it isn't there. The spirit of things, the essence of place is as real as my shutter button.

'This digest revels in the in-between, the transitional, the presence of absence.'

With my camera, I seek out their whispers captured in the material record.
Their material record is our inheritance, it is saturated with meaning, and it still has lessons to teach us.

Growing A Community

The last 24 months has seen the digest grow to over 2000 subscribers. I get mail (both virtual and physical) from all over the world and people have told me that it has helped them navigate through difficult times. It has also re-connected expats to their favourite places. It has led to new friendships, new discoveries and to the possibility of a new strand in my career.

Andy your work is becoming wonderful, remarkable. A so-called breakdown has been milled into its constituent parts, becoming profound construction: through perception, architecture, the lens and the pen. In your Repton crypt essay a deep description of our social anxiety - and our reason to be.... ( email from a subscriber)

I love everything about making the digest, from the trip planning, to the photography, to the writing. I hope that you get a taste and sense of the places and people I visit - and their wisdom.

This journey continues with the support of readers like you.

If you’ve found something here that resonates—if the journey, the places, the stillness between the lines has meant something to you—I’d be honoured if you’d consider becoming a member.

Your support helps me keep this Digest free and open to all. It keeps Woody (my campervan) on the road. It fuels the time, care and attention I pour into each issue. And it’s already made possible things I never imagined—like Member Powered Photography, which offers free photo shoots to conservation projects that need a helping hand.

But more than that, becoming a member means walking this path together— with more hidden gems and life stories to uncover - valuing what often goes unseen, and keeping space for the quieter things that help us feel whole.

Members get access to special posts, a serialisation of my unpublished book, access to exclusive galleries, VR and video content that I'm so excited to share - it's my way of saying thank you for believing in this project.

You’ll be joining a community of thoughtful, generous people who believe—like I do—that places matter, that beauty matters, and that story and spirit still have work to do in this world.

This journey changed my life

With your help, it can continue - and, perhaps, in small ways, touch yours too.

See Membership Options

I have a limited number of free memberships available for students studying heritage, tourism, architecture, photography, building conservation, history of art, archaeology. Also students studying the built environment and its impact on mental health and wellbeing. If you'd like to apply, drop me a line with your details.