A warm welcome to new members of The LSP Society, whether you've migrated from Patreon or started supporting The Lifeboat Station Project for the first time.

I wrote a post in our our app a couple of weeks ago opening up to the fact that I'm not very well in my head and my heart at the moment.

Many of you have kindly got in touch to ask how I'm doing and I'm afraid that I'm still not doing so well. This is proving to be another tricky time after a very challenging couple of years and I just haven't been up to writing or talking about it in more detail.

However, it's high time to drop you a line with a few more words on the matter...

Despite best efforts, not least creating an incredible foundation of support over recent years, I've had to pause my travels because making new work on the project has become financially unsustainable.

After keeping The LSP alive for two years during the pandemic, we now find ourselves in an unfolding economic crisis. I'm finding it impossible to generate new income that keeps pace with spiralling costs.

The most obvious cost is fuel but there are many others too, including:

• Studio rent (increased by 9% earlier this year)
• Studio energy bills (doubled this year)
• Conservation materials (nearly doubled since Brexit)
• Chemicals (up around 30% since Brexit as well as looming supply issues)
• Accommodation (Covid considerations mean I'm no longer able to stay with lifeboat families on the coast)

Of course, I'm also contending with spiralling domestic costs from our mortgage to energy and food. You undoubtedly know the score on that front.

As a further consideration, had I gone ahead as planned this month, much of the journey would have been unworkable due to the elevated and sometimes extreme heat.

Not only is high heat the enemy of wet collodion (the photographic process I use) but it makes things uncomfortable for lifeboat crews being photographed in their personal protective equipment.

This latest pause has been a very sad and tough call to make but please know that I'm not quitting.

It's been particularly tough in the wake of the enormous effort and resources I ploughed into Mission 21 during March and April.

That was my first time on the coast with the project in over two years. I more than picked up where I left off in March 2020 but even that wasn't enough to put things back on an even keel.

If you'd like a reminder of so much that was great about that mission and the project, remember to have a read/listen to the words/recordings in the blog post I published last month.

Furthermore, here's a gentle reminder of the wonderful film Sean Tucker made too: