My wife and I are in Sydney at the moment for business meetings, and last night we had dinner with friends.

Wayne and Libby Pashley are amazing people.

Professionally, they are top of their tree.

They are sound designers for motion pictures, and they're not only the best in Australia, they're amongst the best in the world.

What's a sound designer?

Imagine going to a movie in the cinema, and you're watching the pictures but there's no sound. What they do is they create the sound.

The sound you hear in movies is there because of the work of the sound designer. It is one of the most complex crafts in the filmmaking process.

And Wayne and Libby do big movies.

Their credits include:

• The Great Gatsby
• The Lego Movie
• Happy Feet
• Babe

They recently finished working on MAD MAX – FURY ROAD, George Miller's fourth instalment of the iconic franchise. That's a big sound job, as you can imagine.

Oh and they've also done some of my films too…

They are special friends and special people.

Last night Wayne told me an amazing story.

Shortly after Christmas, their cat went missing. They loved their cat. And it had never gone missing before. But they couldn't find it anywhere.

They searched everywhere.

For days they walked through their suburb, calling out the cat's name, knocking on neighbours' doors, printing up posters to put on power poles, phoning the animal shelters and the local council – all to no avail.

They were becoming more and more frantic.

And upset.

Their children would break out into tears at he mention of the cat's name.

Still it remained missing.

Wayne and Libby had a friend staying with them at the time, and so they had to be bright and cheery with their guest, but underneath it all they were grieving.

It was as though they'd lost a member of their family, which I guess they had.

Now, Wayne is not a religious person. He's not a regular church goer, but he does believe in the kind of stuff that Jen and I believe in.

A few days after the cat disappeared, Wayne was dismantling their Christmas tree. He reached up to take the angel off the top of the tree, and as he grabbed it something induced him to say to the angel:

Angel of Mercy, please bring us back our cat.

He said this out aloud to the Christmas decoration.

As he was putting the angel away in it's bag, he heard Libby outside screaming with delight:

WAYNE, GET SOME FOOD! I'VE FOUND THE CAT!

Wayne was stunned.

Absolutely stunned.

He told me, across the dinner table last night, that he heard Libby's voice literally ten seconds after he'd spoken to the angel, just as he was about to put it away.

Okay, that's an amazing story, right?

It's true.

It's what happened.

I told Wayne that what I've learnt so far from those that I've interviewed for my PGS film is that things like that will happen to those that believe, or wish to believe, to validate and encourage that belief.

Like getting the perfect parking space.

Little ticks of encouragement.

Anyway we had a glorious evening together. We stayed late, swapping stories, catching up on stuff, laughing a lot, while the restaurant staff piled chairs up on tables around us.

We didn't want to leave, there was so much to talk about.

And as we walked back to our cars in the dark, and as we hugged and said our goodbyes, I thought about the powerful nature of our friendship.

Of the powerful nature of true friendships.

Of love, really.

It's something very special, and something to be treasured.

(Rick, a work mate, with Jennifer, Libby, Wayne)

(Taken with my iPad camera.)

(Notice the correct amount of headroom)

The book I’m currently writing, Photo Camino, is principally a guide to taking photos on the Camino.

However I am peppering it with a few anecdotes.

Here I post an excerpt of what happens when someone offers to take a photo of me…

I pity anyone who offers to take my photo. They don’t know what they’re getting themselves into. First I instruct them on what to do, which straight up offends them, because of course they know how to take a photo. These people are usually the ones who ask. “Which button do I press?”

I then watch like a hawk as they take the shot, and I know immediately that it’s not going to be any good. They proudly hand me back the camera, kind of like TAH-DAH! and wait for me to check it and tell them what a great shot they took.

So I check it, and of course the shot is completely unacceptable.

I show it to them and explain patiently where they got it wrong – mainly framing and headroom issues, but sometimes they’ve got the focus wrong too. And then I ask them to do it again, which stretches the newly acquired friendship somewhat. So begrudgingly they take the shot again, and again I check it. And again it’s not right. So once again I tell them what’s wrong, and how they can do it better – ignoring their growing sense of enmity towards me, as if it’s MY fault that we have to go through this charade.

So they take another shot – and it’s better but not perfect – and then we take another – and by now I can feel their barely suppressed rage radiating out towards me like heat from a wood-fired stove – and being a pilgrim, I forgive them.

Often it’s focus. They somehow or other get the automatic focus wrong, which to me is incomprehensible, so I put the camera on manual focus and pre-focus for them. I make sure the exposure settings are correct, remind them of the framing and stress NOT TOO MUCH HEADROOM, and then finally when I’m sure that they can’t possible get anything wrong, I allow them to take the shot.

I ask to check it once again, and for a moment I get the feeling they’re about to hurl the camera into my face. But they hand me the camera, their agitation now undisguised, as if they had some place better they needed to be. 

By now the sun is setting, we’re losing light anyway, and the memory card is full. The shot is ok – not great  but ok – so I thank them, using all of my not inconsiderable charm, and watch as they walk quickly away, breaking into a run…

Please – help me out here.

I want to discuss the twelve most iconic shots on the Camino in the book I’m writing – Photo Camino.

Here is my list –

1. The gates or bridge at St. Jean
2. The Virgin on the Route Napoleon
3. The metal statues at Hill of Pardon
4. Burgos Cathedral
5. The winding road
6. The Meseta
7. Lyon Cathedral
8. A yellow arrow shot
9. The Crux de Ferro
10. 100kms to go marker
11. Standing in square in front of Santiago Cathedral
12. Shot with Compostela

Please give me your comments and suggestions –

Better still, give me your top 12 iconic shots…

I’ve been quiet lately, in part because I’ve needed to withdraw and consider what has passed, and what’s ahead.

But also I’ve had my head down writing the Photo Camino book.

I’m now 20,000 words in, and I’m on track to have the text finished by the end of January. I’m thinking the book will be about 50-60,000 words.

It will then require editing and proof reading, and then design work to include various photos and illustrations.

It will be a practical guide to photography on the Camino, covering such topics as what camera to take, how to shoot landscapes, the most iconic images you’ll find along the way, how to avoid too much headroom in a shot 🙂 and so forth.

It will also, I hope, be stamped with my “voice,” and will be peppered with relevant photographic anecdotes.

It will also include a lot of my photography, but only to illustrate certain points that I’m making in the text. It’s not a coffee table photo book – it’s a practical guide. That said, there should be some nice shots in it.

I’m finding it hard to write. (I find all writing hard though…) I’m writing the book for those that don’t have a clue about photography, and yet at times I do have to explain some technicalities. I’m keeping it simple though.

Ultimately, every part of the book links back to the Camino, and the unique challenges and opportunities that a pilgrim / photographer will face.

The book will also touch on the philosophy of using photography to “see” along The Way, and to intimately connect with your surroundings, and those that you meet.

I hope to have it published by March or April, in time for those spring and summer pilgrims who might wish to get some tips before heading off on their journey.

If there are any subjects you think I should include, please let me know.

(billpgsblog@gmail.com)

I’ve settled into a daily routine which I wish to maintain throughout the year, and indeed throughout my life. It’s based on the daily routine at the Parmarth Niketan Ashram, in Rishikesh.

They begin their day at 5am, before sunrise, because from a yoga perspective that’s the most potent time of the day. So I wake up at 4:44am, and by 5am I’m doing my pranayama, then my yoga, then 25-30 minutes of mediation. That takes me up to 7am.

It sets me up beautifully for the day – and if needed, I have a 20 minute nap in the afternoon. I’m usually asleep by 10:30pm, which is how Jen and I saw in the New Year.

Interestingly, I notice that I am now able to do asanas that even a few months ago were impossible because of my bad knee. The yoga is getting in there and doing wonders. I do believe yoga is a magic pill. I’m even thinking of trying a long walk without my knee brace.

So at the moment I’m pretty boring.

There’s a chance that Jennifer and I might be going to Turkey sometime this month, to do some filming for the PGS film. We’re waiting to see how things unfold.

If we’re meant to go, then we’ll go.