Steve Mansfield-Devine

France

Editor, Network Security at Mark Allen Group

Writer, Journalist and Photographer at Freelance

Freelance author, journalist & photographer. Editor of 'Network Security', 'Computer Fraud & Security'. Author of 'Lady Caine'

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Articles

Stealing the world, one photograph at a time

2 weeks ago | medium.com | Steve Mansfield-Devine

PERSPECTIVEIs the act of taking a photograph a way of ‘appropriating’ the subject? Maybe ‘exploiting’ is a better word. Photography sometimes suffers from a predatory reputation. In the world of the paparazzi, for example, photographers pursue their prey with an aggression that, in at least one case (and if you care to believe this particular narrative), contributed to the death of a princess. One of the leading French photography magazines is titled Chasseur d’Images.
Persistence in photography

1 month ago | medium.com | Steve Mansfield-Devine

PERSPECTIVEFamiliarity breeds contempt, they say. But in photography, re-engaging with a subject you’ve visited before can pay dividends. Shooting the same subject over and over sounds like a definition of madness. But not every photograph is successful. And that is frustrating when you know there is potential in the subject.
Printing photographs the uneasy way

1 month ago | medium.com | Steve Mansfield-Devine

Everything has to start somewhere. And so it was with my photography obsession. It began when I was still in school and resulted in two friends and I annexing a janitor’s storeroom to create a darkroom. I detailed this origin story in a recent article, but there were details I merely skirted over. This darkroom was an ad hoc, ramshackle affair, pieced together by boys with no money and few clues but a lot of enthusiasm. By the way, this is all based on my memories. The details are right in principle.
A photographic awakening

1 month ago | medium.com | Steve Mansfield-Devine

PERSPECTIVEWhat is it about this art that so appeals? For me, the fascination started at the dawn of photography. The act of taking a photograph seems innocent enough, most of the time. Often it is driven by a desire to remember or celebrate a person, a place, a mood or a moment. Or it is a need to document or bear witness. And sometimes it’s just fun. I have pressed the shutter release for all these reasons and more. But when photography gets under your skin, it shapes your experiences.
How photography demands your presence

1 month ago | medium.com | Steve Mansfield-Devine

PERSPECTIVESmartphones carry the risk of distancing us from the world, but a camera is a way of connecting. Smartphones — and more specifically their integral cameras — have been blamed for distancing people from the world. At music events, it’s not uncommon to see a sea of raised phones as audience members apparently record the event rather than living it. To believe the doomsayers, younger people now experience the world through the mediation of the smartphone — they are no longer present in it.
Search & Rescue in Hawaii

2 months ago | cameralux.org | Steve Mansfield-Devine

PORTFOLIOThrowing people out of a helicopter just so you can rescue them doesn’t sound like a rational thing to do. Except when you’re practising for the real thing. The helicopter slowed to 10knots, skimming just 10ft above the water, and on a signal from the pilot the crew chief began pushing people out of the door, watching them drop into the deep waters of the bay. Not that they minded. Every one of them had volunteered for this.
Just settling in…

Feb 27, 2025 | medium.com | Steve Mansfield-Devine

I’m still unpacking, but let’s have a quick chat about what you’re going to find here. Steve Mansfield-Devine·FollowPublished inMachina Speculatrix·2 min read·--My 6502-based homebrew computer, the Zolatron. They say you can’t teach an old blog new tricks. I beg to differ. Machina Speculatrix might be new to Medium, but it’s a blog I’ve been running for some years. I just thought this would be a better place for it. I’ve been a tech writer for more than four decades.
The power of words and photographs

Feb 23, 2025 | cameralux.org | Steve Mansfield-Devine

VIEWPOINTThe interplay between text and image is complex and potentially powerful, and so easy to get wrong. The relationship between images and words has been studied, analysed and theorised to death. And that’s because it’s important. This is dangerous territory. There’s a significant risk of wading into the quagmire of structuralist semantics and its ugly stepchild, semiotics. Terms like ‘intertextuality’ are never far away.
A Night Flight to Remember

Feb 17, 2025 | medium.com | Steve Mansfield-Devine

Member-only storyFlying a tired Cessna through a deep Florida night presented an unreasonable string of challenges. But it helped me overcome some major psychological hurdles. Steve Mansfield-Devine·FollowPublished inEngage·20 min read·--Another aircraft climbing into the dusk as we wait for ‘aeronautical night’. © Steve Mansfield-Devine 1989.
A shadow in New Orleans

Jan 8, 2025 | medium.com | Steve Mansfield-Devine

In the celebratory atmosphere of a festive French Quarter moved a restless spirit. Steve Mansfield-Devine·FollowPublished inEngage·16 min read·--© Steve Mansfield-Devine 1984He emerged from the cave-dark of the bar-room door and weaved slowly towards the kerb, one hand held against the sun, the other holding a plastic beaker of beer, his head bowed, his eyes narrowed against the noon glare. He stopped for a moment, either taking his bearings or selecting a target.