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On my walk by the Royal Docks one morning at the start of March, one of the things I noticed was the overwhelming feeling of peace and tranquillity despite the road noise and the aeroplanes landing at London City Airport which is next door to the dock. These rowers enjoying their morning exercise were right next to the runway of the airport which is to the right of the picture.
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Another image from my foggy morning walk in London when I was there for The Photography Show. I loved this art deco. building and its reflection. It was built from concrete in 1933. Sadly it is derelict at the moment but there are plans to renovate it for business use, I hope they do a good job and keep its character.
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The SheClicks challenge for February was ‘Music, Instruments and Musicians’ – a subject I don’t know much about! I decided to borrow a musical friend’s instruments for an afternoon and create some black and white close-up images.
I was really pleased to find out yesterday that one of my images (the violin) has been selected for the gallery. You can see the selected 25 in the gallery on the SheClicks website: www.sheclicks.net/gallery.
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This time last week I was preparing to go up to London with my SheClicks gang to The Photography Show. This year it was held in the ExCeL centre in East London, an area I did not know at all. I was booked into a hotel for 3 nights and I was determined to get out at some point with my camera and in the end I managed two walks. On Monday morning I woke up to very misty/foggy conditions and I had to get out. I took my Lensbaby Sol 45 with me which was perfect to add a bit more softness to the view.
Another catch up post with some pictures from the November SheClicks challenge of 'Autumn'.
There's so much to photograph in Autumn but also it's a challenge to find something a bit different. With my entries I tried to cover several different aspects of Autumn, from the fading summer to almost winter.
Great tit on a sunflower head
Autumn flowering crocus
Field maple leaves
Stag in Bushy Park
Silver birch trees in the fog
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It’s snowdrop season! I’ve not had the chance to get out yet to photograph of this year’s flowers so here’s one from a few years ago.
I hope this picture is going to ‘sit right’, every time I look at IG the images in my grid look different! Anyone else confused with the changes!?!
Have a lovely weekend everyone.
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In October I had a little flurry of making multiple exposure images. I belong to a wonderful all ladies’ photography group (SheClicks) and each month we are set a challenge theme. In October we were set the theme of ‘multiple exposures’ (ME). In the past I have occasionally made ME images but last October I tried hard to make ME images wherever I went. We are able to submit 5 images for the monthly challenge. My first was the mountain image in the previous blog.
The next image (top left here) was made at Deal Pier which I love. It’s not everyone’s idea of a seaside pier but I love the Brutalist architecture and the elegant modern lamps. We visited it in October and I knew I wanted to make a ME image there for the challenge.
The next image (top right) was taken whilst walking along the South Bank one evening with a group of SheClicks friends. I loved the contrast of the cool blue-grey buildings and the warm lights but wanted to make more of orange so, at the time I created a second image to layer over the image of the buildings.
The third image here (bottom left) was created from two images of leaves, taken at a local garden, merged in with two circles created in Photoshop. Playing with the blending modes of the layers I loved the slightly Art Nouveau/Japanese feel.
The last image in this set of four was created from pictures taken at the same garden as the leaves, again with shapes added in Photoshop. I used the colours of the shapes to emphasise the colours of the flowers (Japanese anemones) and the beautiful blue sky.
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A little mountain multi-exposure to start the Autumn season. My Sony A6700 doesn't allow me to make multiple exposures in camera so I use Photoshop which allows for so many options, which means so many choices! This is made from four files taken from the same spot. I love the late afternoon soft light and colours.
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The start of September has really brought a change in the weather. I'm still hoping for some sunny days but you can tell autumn is just around the corner. Over the last few years I've spotted some of these huge 'dandelion clocks' appearing in the fields locally. I believe they are called Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon, meadow salsify, showy goat's-beard or meadow goat's-beard. Whatever they are called, I think they're rather lovely!
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Another summer image, this time from an evening walk in a local field a couple of weeks ago. The field has been planted with a mix of plants beneficial to wildlife which includes a (unknown) yellow flower which really glowed in the evening light.
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Just a summer flower, I loved the colours in this dahlia (have I mentioned I hate pink!) and those in the background, they just say 'summer garden' to me.
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Once again it has been too long since I posted a picture. I've not stopped taking pictures over the summer, I taken too many and not spent much time sorting, processing and uploading! It's been a funny old summer weather-wise and all of a sudden there are hints of autumn in the air so I am going to try and get some summer pictures posted before summer disappears.
This is an image from last summer. I love to photograph Rosebay Willowherb and it's one of the subjects which every year I try and find a new way to photograph it. I loved the summery feel to this image.
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Another from the picture from the local woods and a great sign of spring. I just love the simple beauty of the white flowers against the spring green.
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Whilst I was out in the woods the other day I spotted (excuse the pun!) so many ladybirds, a real sign that spring is here and that summer might even be around the corner. I loved the pop of red against the green.
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This time of year the blue flowers are very abundant, lots of bluebells and lots of forget-me-nots. I love how the flowers change colour from pink buds to blue flowers which fade to lilac as they go over.
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The bluebells arrived so early this year. I am lucky to have a few in my garden so I don't have to go far to try and catch a bluebell portrait. Sadly I didn't get out to find a carpet of bluebells this year so I've added a picture from a couple of years ago.
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For me, one of the highlights of the end of the skiing season in the Alps is the appearance of the wild crocus. As the snow recedes they start popping up, the white ones pop up first followed by the purple. This year they all started springing up suddenly over a warm weekend and were just looking lovely when winter returned and buried them under a blanket of snow and they were gone again.
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Well, at long last it's feeling like spring is here and in between the showers, I've manage to get out and about and enjoy the flowers and spring colour. I've now got lots of pictures to sort through and share.
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I hope everyone is having a lovely Easter weekend.
I realise I haven't posted a picture for ages, it's felt like winter has gone on forever this year and I've not really got into Spring mode so here's a picture from last November. I went to the amazing Crosby Beach with the lovely gang from SheClicks.
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One of the surprising things which kept catching my eye in Venice was the lamp posts, they are so distinctively Venetian. They provided regular punctuation marks along the seafront promenade day and night. In the fog, they looked like friendly guardians with outstretched arms.
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One of the things I loved most about being in Venice in January was the very civilised time at which dusk and dawn occurred! Dawn was around 7.30am, well before the streets got busy but dusk was around 5pm when the streets were bustling with tourists and locals on their way home. It was just magical to watch day turn into night with a backdrop of beautiful buildings changing colour by the minute.
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This time last year I was looking forward to what turned out to be a wonderful week in Venice but I realise I've not shared many pictures from that trip here. I thought I'd start with a set of three images of gondolas, an iconic symbol of Venice. I was so lucky with the weather and the light, a wonderful mix of sunshine and fog. The first image (left) is an in-camera double exposure. Let me know your favourite image.
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What a difference a day makes! These pictures were taken at Southport pier when I was there for the weekend with the wonderful ladies from SheClicks. The colour image was taken on the Saturday morning when we had a glorious sunrise whereas the mono image was taken on the grey and gloomy Sunday morning. Two very different atmospheres taken in the same location just 24 hours apart, the weather making all the difference.
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More sand ripples, I just love them, one of the things I can't help photographing at the beach! I love the subtle colours and soft lighting in this little scene.
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In November I went to the wonderful Crosby beach near Liverpool with a lovely bunch of members of SheClicks (an all female photography group). We were blessed with just the most gorgeous light and I loved the enormous beach and all the figures scattered across the sandy landscape. I could have spent a week or more there. Here are just a few of the many pictures taken that day.
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Happy New Year! I've been looking back at some of my favourite pictures from the ones I've shared and also the ones with most response on Instagram this year.
I chose my favourites (top) before I looked at the Instagram statistics (lower set) and it's interesting to compare the two sets.
I also looked at all the pictures I've taken over the last 12 months and realise how few I've actually shared so I need to share more I think! The time seems to vanish so quickly!
I've enjoyed taking pictures in a more urban setting this year but I've not shared many of those.... they've taken a while to grow on me, perhaps I will share some of those whilst I'm waiting for the next flower season to start.
I wish you all a wonderful 2024!
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Another little mushroom picture. Autumn is just about over now, it seemed to all happen so fast this year and winter is already here. I'm no expert in fungi but it seemed like a good year and I saw some new (to me) varieties this autumn.
This was my favourite new one, a Hare's foot inkcap. I love how delicate they are, their caps are translucent. They have a fairly short life span with the visible part lasting just 24 hours which makes them extra special when you find a beautifully open one.
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I love to go to the beach, partly because I don't get to go very often and the landscape is so different to that of my everyday life. This month I am so pleased to get to spend two weekends by the beach! This picture is from a trip to Broadstairs, a huge beach with so many details to photograph, I definitely want to return. This weekend I am going 'up north' to the coast at Crosby, I can't wait!
I already have so many pictures waiting to be processed and sorted..... I hope to post more soon.
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Autumn is well and truly here and this year, more than ever, the mushrooms seem to be springing up everywhere, so here's a little fungi for you!
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Every year, for the last 5 or so years, a local farmer has sown a flower mix in a field in our village but this is the first year there have been sunflowers too. They are not giant sunflowers, most of them are smaller than me but I have loved to see them dotted through all the other plants. One morning we had some lovely fog so I headed straight down there to enjoy the soft light and the flowers disappearing into the mist.
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I can't believe how quickly the summer is going, already I can feel hints of autumn in the air. The meadows are fading but it's still possible to find little beauties in the fields. Of all the Umbellifers I think this one is my favourite. Some people call them Wild Carrot, some Queen Anne's Lace or Bishop's Lace. They appear later in the summer and form these huge buds whilst the seeds develop. I love the delicate pattern and the spiky frill under the flower.
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It's a gloomy and damp start to September so I thought I'd share a bit of summer colour in the hope that summer hasn't finished just yet!
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It's been a strange summer and I've not got out and about to photograph as many flowers as I'd like or process the pictures I did take. A couple of weeks ago I did manage to go to a sunflower field which was full of towering bright yellow blooms but what really caught my eye were the spikey buds, just about ready to burst open.
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I've still got a few early summer flower pictures to share whilst I am busy trying to capture the next wave of flowers. The alliums seemed to open slowly this year with the slightly later and slower start to summer and this gave me lots of opportunity to enjoy the big buds bursting with tiny buds!
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I usually sort my pictures on rainy days but we haven't had much rain in the last month so I have been out and about making pictures rather than selecting and processing. Now I am a bit behind and need to catch up and share with some pictures with you.
I photographed this little orchid hiding in the grass at the beginning of June, it was just starting to open and I loved the way the stem curved. When I spot orchids I really feel summer is here.
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I have taken so many pictures of flowers this month but I need some time to sort them out and choose some favourites so I thought I might share some pictures from this time last year. As I've said before, I am hopeless at recording the names of the flowers I have photographed (must try harder to do that! I think this might be Lilium pardalinum or the Leopard lily, it was hiding in a wooded area of the garden in between some ferns and a few foxgloves.
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I do love photographing in winter but I must admit I also love it when the flowers return in spring. I found these little blue flowers whilst on holiday in the Alps. There were lots of them dotted around a steep slope under trees which led to lots of fun trying to balance at silly angles and photograph them!
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Bluebell 2023
It's been a wonderful bluebell season as ever although I didn't get out as much as I would like. I did manage a wonderful afternoon with my photo buddies last Sunday in the woods photographing bluebells and the trees, what could be better!
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It's been a busy few weeks and finally I have some time to get out and about with my camera. Here's a picture of a little pinkbell from my garden from last year whilst I work on some new pictures.
I hope everyone in the UK is having a lovely Bank Holiday and enjoying the typically damp Bank Holiday weather!
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I was soooo lucky during my trip to Venice earlier this year to experience some beautiful weather. I hoped for fog but I didn't expect sun and fog at the same time, it was magical, it made the Venetian colours sing and some of my favourite pictures from the trip were taken on those days. Here's a trio of images taken in these conditions, I love the mix of the blues with the warmer orange colours.
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One of the things I loved about Venice was the reflections in the water. The buildings and boats created brightly coloured reflections, contrasting with the blue water. There are not many trees in the heart of Venice but around the Biennale Gardens there are lots of green spaces and trees. This is a reflection of a tree on the edge of that garden and I love the fluid lines and harmonious colours.
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I've not yet had a chance to get out and about to photograph many spring flowers, this is a picture from last year. I loved the layers and layers of petals of this little white Ranunculus plant which I had in a pot on my windowsill. I had a plant with multi coloured flowers this spring but I'm still deciding how to process the pictures of that beauty.
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The first few pictures of architecture from Venice. I loved all the buildings in Venice and in particular those around St Mark's square where these are from. I loved the pale stone and the wonderful shapes and patterns. I could have spent the whole of my week just photographing in and around St Mark's Square. I hope you like these images of architecture, there's more to come! |
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Happy Easter! Sorry, I'm a day late! I thought I would share a picture of a passion flower for Easter. The passion flower is linked in Christianity to the Passion of Christ and parts of the flower symbolise different things within the Easter story. You can read more on the Kew Gardens website, click here.
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Happy Easter weekend! I had planned to post some pictures from Venice today but I thought it would be more appropriate to share a spring flower in the sunshine. I hope you have some lovely weekend plans.
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I love Snake's head fritillary flowers and every year I try to photograph them in a new way. This image of a potted plant was taken earlier this month enabling me to take an image with a white background and a high key look.
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Happy Spring Equinox! To celebrate the official start of spring I thought I'd share a picture of these tiny little crocus I bought from the supermarket. I kept them on my kitchen windowsill where they glowed when the sun shone through them.
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I'm loving all the colourful spring flowers which have been popping up over the last few weeks. You have to catch them quickly as they don't last long!
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I'm so very behind with sorting and sharing pictures. I am still working on my pictures from Venice and spring is springing up everywhere so I've been enjoying the flowers too!
Whilst this years flowers are popping up, there are still some beautiful faded flowers from last year. I loved how delicate these hydrangea heads were and the golden colour.
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The snowdrops are already out and I've not managed to get out and capture any yet! I thought I'd share a picture from the past, taken locally on a walk along a woody footpath full of early blooms.
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I've not posted much recently as I've been off on a little adventure. I have been to Venice via the Alps and, needless to say, taken quite a lot of pictures! I always find photography in the Alps hard, especially in the winter and this year, when there has been a serious lack of snow, it was even harder.
Here's a picture taken on a glorious afternoon walk. I have often seen this distinctive tree but until now, I have never managed to get a picture I like.
I hope to have some pictures from Venice to share soon and the snowdrops are already out and calling me to get out and photograph them.
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As temperatures finally start to drop across Europe I thought I'd share another picture from last year in the Alps. I do love it when the cloud swirls around the trees and mountains, changing the view constantly.
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Looking back at sunny, wintry days in the mountains. I love it when the trees are loaded with snow and everything just looks magical.
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Instagram best 9
It's the time for looking back over the past year. I'm not one for concentrating on chasing stats but I do find it interesting to see which pictures others like and compare that to my favourites. So, here's two grids of 9 images, the first is those which gained the most likes on Instagram (where it's easy to compare 'likes') and the second grid is nine of my favourite images I posted this year. Interestingly there's only one image on both grids.
Doing this exercise made me realise how many images from this last year I've not got around to posting, must do better next year!
Wishing you a great start to the New Year and a very Happy 2023.
My Favourite 9
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Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas time and best wishes for 2023!
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There's been some wonderfully icy conditions recently, sadly now gone. These provided lots of unusual photo opportunities. I loved the way these air bubbles had formed in a pond with a few contrasting orange leaves.
I hope your Christmas prep is going well!
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Happy winter solstice! From today the days get longer, yay!............ and sunrises get earlier, boooo!
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Oh my goodness, I don't know where autumn disappeared to this year. One minute it was late summer and the now we already to seem to be in full winter! We had a lovely few days of fog a week or so ago, before the hard frost and a sprinkling of snow arrived. I did manage to get out and about with my camera one foggy morning to enjoy the colours and have a little bit of a play with multiple exposures. (click on the image to see it larger)
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I’m so pleased to have two images selected for Round 10 (Silhouettes) of the Camera Jabber Photographer of the Year.
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Two of the things I love about autumn are golden leaves and the low sunshine which makes beautiful shadows on buildings. This picture was captured in Italy and I just loved the mix of the urban structure, nature's lovely shadows and the fallen leaves which caught on the gate.
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A look back to summer for Remembrance Day
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The beech trees in our local woods are just starting to turn from green through yellow and there's a few golden leaves starting to appear. This picture is from last year, now I just need it to it stop raining so I can get out and create some new pictures.
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After some lovely bright days, we're now coming to the damper part of autumn with lots of puddles and heavy showers to knock the leaves off the trees. I took this picture last year, I just loved the contrast of the red leaf against the bluey-green of the weed in the water.
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I have a soft spot for dahlias, they remind me of the very happy hours spent gardening as a child with my dear friend Eric. Eric grew prize winning dahlias and sweet peas. We grew so many varieties in his small garden, so many colours, shapes and sizes. This one was part of a display in a botanical garden with over 150 types, it was wonderful but my favourite was this gorgeous deep red one, sadly there weren't any names to identify this beauty.
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We're coming to the end of flower season now but I've not yet had a chance to get out for the autumn leaves. These little cyclamen are one of the first signs autumn is on its way and this year that seemed earlier than ever.
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Another picture from the beautiful Oxford Botanical Gardens, I just loved the simplicity of the leaves and the shadow against the conservatory wall.
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Oh my goodness, it's October already and I'm not finished with summer yet! Here's a little triptych from the Oxford Botanical Garden Greenhouses. I took these on a @SheClicks birthday meet-up. It's always such fun meeting up with a bunch of ladies and their cameras and the Botanical Gardens were gorgeous, can't wait to do it all again soon.
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It's been a busy couple of weeks and all of a sudden it feels like mid summer has flipped into late summer or even early autumn! I've a few more summer pics before we slide into autumn colours. This summer's heat has been wonderful for some flowers, not so great for others. The Agapanthus at Wisley seemed especially good this year and I really enjoyed photographing these tall, dramatic flowers. This one with a wonky stem just called out to me to photograph it.
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I am hopeless at recording the names of the plants I photograph but this one I did! It's Allium Senescens, it's a tiny allium, only about 20 cm high but a hugely attractive to the bees and butterflies and such a delicate colour. It was lovely to disappear into the mini world for a while to photograph it.
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Another flower I have 'discovered' this summer are Heleniums, also known as Sneezeweed!!!! What a name! I love the really rich colours of many varieties, they just shout late summer and the bees just love them.
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Every year I find a new favourite flower which seems to follow me around on my walks, challenging me to photograph it! This summer it was chamomile. Every field I visited seemed to have a large patch and I even found a whole field of it but it was a challenge to find a picture!! After several weeks of trying finally I found this patch just after the sun had set, another twilight capture ? Swipe for an overhead behind the scenes shot.
I love walking at twilight, just as the last bit of sun is disappearing. I spotted this one stem of Rosebay Willowherb one evening whilst crossing a field on the way back to my car. The colour just sang out against the other plants in the field, I had to stop and photograph it.
This summer has provided some amazing colours and you probably know by now, I do love colour! This picture was created on a glorious evening on Salisbury Plain, we'd gone to watch the moon rise but it hid behind a cloud ? Thankfully there was so much else to enjoy there including the amazing sky (in the opposite direction to the moon!). Sometimes I love to use ICM to catch the just the colours without too much detail in the landscape.
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I do love to be beside the sea although I never seem to get there as often as I'd like, but perhaps that's part of what makes it special. I had a lovely late afternoon wander between the Witterings earlier this summer. When I arrived there was thick cloud but as the sun dipped in the sky the cloud broke up and it turned into a glorious evening. See below for a behind the scenes view I grabbed as I did a quick walk back to my car much later than planned! As ever!
Happy #WorldPhotographyDay!! I've had such a busy summer and have taken so many pictures, I'm quite overwhelmed with selecting some to share. This one was taken early in the morning walking the local public footpaths on one of the hottest days of the year. I'd planned to be home before it got too hot but as ever got distracted taking pictures so I was a bit warm capturing this summer scene. Swipe for a behind the scenes/second view of this lovely field. You might have seen that tree before!
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Happy Monday morning! As the temperature climbs higher I thought you might like a picture of a mountain stream to cool you down. Just imagine dipping your toes into the icy snow melt. I hope you can all keep cool over the next couple of days.
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I think the mad temperatures have influenced the edit on this one, somehow these colours seemed right for the heatwave! Hope you're all keeping cool. Have a fab weekend!
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It's orchid season and in some places it seems to have been a bumper season. As a child I thought or orchids were either tropical beauties which grew in far away jungles or something mythical! I don't think I saw an orchid in the wild until I was in my 20s and I love finding them popping up in a field on a summer's day.
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I love summer umbellifers, they come in so many variations but I will admit I find it hard to distinguish all the different types. I think this is ground elder, but I'm not sure! Let me know if you know for sure. I loved the pompom flowers on the end of each stalk. See below for more of the flower and leaves.
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It's poppy season in the UK where I associate them with high summer but, when we went to Italy in late April, where it felt very much like spring, I was surprised to see how many poppies there were singing out against shades of spring green. Sadly many of the poppies were in completely inaccessible places! To get to this one I had to climb up some ancient city walls (on a permitted path)...the things we do for a picture of a poppy!
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I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend! It's foxglove season and I love the way these tall spires pop up in the woods and how the white ones really sing out against a dark background especially in the evening.
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I just love the colour of these Irises, such an amazing blue, or is it purple?
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May was a fab month for photographing flowers for me, I managed to get out and about and now I have a little pile of pics ready to process.
Astrantias are one of my favourite early summer flowers, I have white ones in my garden but I also love these deep red ones too. It was pretty windy when I took this and I was challenging myself to really use my Lensbaby Sweet 50 which I've never really felt I've got to grips with so I was pleased to achieve anything that day but it was so nice to spend time watching the flowers bob around in the breeze.
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Part of going to the mountains for me is visiting to the massive lakes, there is always so much to see and photograph and it's so relaxing. Mostly I go for natural subjects but I also love architecture and of course I love colour so it's not a surprise that I really enjoy the patterns and colours (and peace!) in harbours. I've often taken pictures but I don't share many, so here goes with one taken on Lake Garda in April.
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Over the last year I have really enjoyed photographing near water but somehow I've not posted many for a while. At the weekend I went to the Dorset coast and spent a good few hours wandering along the pebbly beach. I spotted a beautiful large pale flat stone on the water's edge which made for a lovely background for shadows from the small waves.
These Three Cornered Leeks grow like weeds everywhere in my garden, in the flowerbeds and the lawn and I do love them even though I have no control over them, so delicate and pretty and it's always fab to lie on the lawn in the grass and capture their lovely flowers.
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I was fortunate to be able to spend some time last month in the Swiss mountains and near Lake Garda in Italy. I have been to the mountains many times but never in late April. There was a lot less snow this last winter season so spring came early which meant I got to see the thousands of crocuses which cover the mountains. It is truly a beautiful sight.
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The bluebells appearing is, for me, the end of spring and the start of summer. I didn't think I would get out to see them this year but I managed a last minute day trip with a friend, and it was a fabulous day. I loved the mix of the bright green new leaves against the wonderful blue/purple of the bluebells. This patch is definitely going in the diary for next year!
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I'm so pleased to have an image shortlisted in the Camera Jabber Photographer of the Year competition.
Thank you to CameraJabber.com for choosing my picture and thank you to mpb.com for lending me the Sony 90mm Macro lens I used to take the picture.
I have taken so many spring flower pictures recently, I think I better start posting some! Hope you're all enjoying springtime for those in the northern hemisphere (and enjoying heading for autumn colours for those in the south).
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It's so nice to see the flowers coming out and everything seems to be bursting at the moment, faster than I can photograph and process the pictures! Here's a picture of a Hellebore, the earliest flowers in my garden, taken last year lying on my very damp lawn but I love looking up at them.
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Another winter pic before spring kicks in. I love winter shadows and snowy, frosty rivers so I was super excited when I spotted this scene, there is something so magic about winter light and colours.
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Well there might be signs of spring around but I thought I'd look back to our October trip to the mountains. The first snow had just arrived and I got so excited by the icy puddles! I had so much fun exploring all the details but I had to work quickly as the temperature soon rose and the ice started to disappear before our eyes.
I was having a little sort out of pictures and found this one from 2 years ago!! I am surprised I'd not uploaded it before so here goes.... I love the way these reeds dance and sparkle in the winter light, I need to go and visit them again. I hope you're having a fab weekend
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Happy World Snow Day! I couldn't not post a picture today as I love snow! This picture was taken last year when I got up early for what was forecast to be a snowy walk but there was not a flake in sight, I was so cross but went out anyway. Half an hour later I was in an amazing blizzard with huge flakes, turned out the snow was running late, as was I by the end of the morning, my hour walk took more than 3, it was too gorgeous to go home!
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I'm slightly struggling with making new pictures at the moment which is why I haven't posted much, but whilst I puzzle that one out I realise I have lots of pictures from last year I didn't get to share so here's an ICM from the lovely cold snap we had in January 2021. I hope you have all had a good start to the new year.
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Well it's been a strange year with so many things not going to plan, it's all been a bit discombobulating. I've found photography hard in the second part of the year which is why I've not posted much and it's interesting that my pictures which have received the most likes on Instagram are from last winter. I try not to get hung up on stats but I do find it interesting to see if follower favourites are also mine, and many of my favourites are in this grid. So on to 2022, who knows what that will bring but I wish you all the best and may your year be full of wonderful moments.
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I was looking for a picture to share with you today to wish you all a very Merry Christmas but struggled to find one suitable which that had been taken in winter months... Then this one popped up which was taken on a very early morning walk in July but somehow I feel it has a winter feel... I'd love to see that tree in the snow!
I hope you all have a lovely day planned, I know for many this is another Christmas where plans have had to be changed, thinking of you all.
Another picture from an Italian lake, this time it's from the lovely Lake Orta. This picture was taken on a lovely afternoon walk around the lake, so many little details to enjoy. See below for the lovely location #BehindTheScenes
It's been a crazy few weeks and I've not got out with my camera for ages but I have a heap of pictures from the summer to share. We were grateful to be able to escape to our favourite Swiss mountains this summer with an added bonus of a short stay next to Lake Maggiore which was gorgeous. One of the things I loved about that part of the trip was early morning walks by the lake. I found a little beach with lovely waves generated by the ferries which criss cross the lake. It was so hypnotic and addictive watching the waves, so relaxing!
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I loved Paul Sanders aka @discover_still 's thoughts on Instagram about the 'little things' . I must admit I've been over thinking my pictures recently, thinking they are not 'wow' enough, Paul always manages to remind us all of reasons (if we need them) why we shouldn't overlook the everyday. Thank you Paul. If you're on Instagram check out Paul's Friday morning inspirations!
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It's funny how sometimes things leap out at you that you've not noticed before. I'm not quite sure what this flowers is, anyone know? I'm guessing at knapweed but I'm really not certain! Anyway this summer I suddenly noticed them everywhere and how unusual their construction is, great fun to photograph with a macro lens, when they stop dancing in the wind!
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Just a little water pic from our local woods. This summer I've been quite addicted to photographing water, it's so hypnotic, now I have heaps of pics and it's hard to pick favourites. I love the colours in this one, there's so many and I didn't notice the red/brown tones until I started to process it.
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Summer is fading and I'm missing glorious summer flower meadows already but also can't wait for autumn colour.
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I've been having a good sort out through my summer pictures over the last few days. I like to allow my pictures to ferment slightly on my hard drives, sometimes that process takes longer than others and at the moment they're taking a while to fully ripen! I think I'm mixing my metaphors there! This summer water seems to have been a favourite subject, it's so calming to watch it constantly changing so here's the first of a little collection.
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The rain this summer hasn't been great for my roses! I only have two bushes, I think this one is my favourite, I love the shape (and the fragrance!) but it catches and traps the raindrops and makes the petals rot. I keep giving the flowers a good shake but it's a challenge with so much rain! This one survived long enough for me to get in close with my macro lens. Swipe to see the full flower.
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I am suddenly aware that autumn is knocking on the door but it feels like summer hasn't really got started! ... and I feel like I've not really caught much of summer with my camera this year, last year we had so much more of summer to catch! This was taken in a typically British summer day, I was wearing full waterproofs and keeping a waterproof bag on standby, ready for my camera!
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After last year's feast of poppy fields this year in my area there were only a few small groups, not the mass of red however every year we love to hunt for these pretty, delicate flowers. This year I have spotted them mostly in mixed 'wildflower' meadows, grown partly for the benefit of the bees and bugs but I have to admit to loving this trend too!
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Oh my goodness another week has whizzed by! As life gets back to 'normal' it's also getting busier and faster! Which makes the quiet time with my camera all the more valuable. This was taken on an early morning walk to a local stream ... 18 months ago I didn't realise how many lovely spots by streams there are in our village or how much I enjoy photographing the water trickling by. I'm not sure what caused the line across the water here, at first I thought there was something physical, a piece of string etc, but no, the water just formed a strange ridge which I found fascinating.
I hope you're having a fab weekend
I love astrantias (and so do the bees!) and I'm very pleased they will grow in my garden. However this picture was taken at RHS Wisley where they have lots of different varieties, I'm feeling the need for a few more in my garden now!
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It's been a while since I posted anything, I've had a new computer which whist super duper and much better than my old one, did not want to play nicely with Lightroom! Thank goodness, after much fiddling, backing up and re-transferring we've sorted the problem now so I can get back to sorting and processing pictures! This is a pic from foxglove season, taken in a little shady spot in the woods as the sun was just sneaking in.
Hope your week has gone smoothly!
Another seasonal favourite - ferns, just love them! Always trying to find new ways to photograph them. I hope you've had a good week and a chance to enjoy the little things.
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There are lots of little things I love about summer, well all seasons to be honest! A summer favourite are the fields of buttercups which suddenly appear out of nowhere, I love the carpet of yellow flowers which bob in the wind and every year I love to sit in amongst them with my camera and capture them, a simple pleasure!
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Just some lily pads (or is it lillypads?!) I just loved shapes and colours.
This was taken at RHS Wisley on one of their photography mornings where they have a limited number of early morning tickets so a few people get to enjoy the quiet gardens, if you are local, it is really worth getting up early for and it's becoming a regular get together for some of the SheClicks gang, such a lovely bunch of photographers.
Another picture from our trip to South Wales. I loved this bit of beach where there was a small river running down into the sea causing lots of lovely ripples. I was very glad to have my wellies on so I could get in close and enjoy a bit of a paddle. I hope you're having a fab week.
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Happy Monday Morning and Happy Summer Solstice!
It's not feeling very summery out there today so I thought I'd share some sunny foxgloves with you. These towering spires of flowers amaze me, the way they shoot up so high so quickly, nature is just amazing, I love that the bees love them too.
Gosh, it's been so wet here today, hopefully the plants will love it! It has given me an opportunity to have a photo sort out. I thought I'd share this one which sort of looks like raindrops but it was actually the splashes from water pouring from a pipe into a small local river, swipe to see behind the scenes and the gorgeous river.
Hope you've had a good week and have nice plans for the weekend
Oh my goodness, the time is flying and with all the beautiful weather I've been busy photographing and not busy sorting! So many pics on my hard-drive to sort and select to share. This one is from my garden, I love Aquilegia plants, they pop up all over my garden and I've no complaints about that, I'm very happy about free flowers! Right, better get on sorting some more pics!
Hope you're having a fab week
I've been lucky to spend the last few days on the gorgeous South Wales coast. We rented a flat right by the beach, I had plans for late sunset walks and early mornings on the beach but the weather didn't quite play ball! We had a gorgeous first day and after that we had fog, rain and wind which made photography difficult but it was still beautiful. This was taken on our first evening, I love the huge Welsh beaches, whatever the weather.
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I love the Three-Cornered Leek which fills corners of my garden at this time of year, I understand it's edible but I've not tried it yet, it certainly smells good and garlicy, anyone out there eat it? I love to watch the bees dash from flower to flower, which is one of the reasons it gets to stay even though it spreads like mad!
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The last few weeks have been a bit bonkers and I've not got out much with my camera, finally yesterday I got out for a walk and realised how much the woods have changed, summer has arrived! Meanwhile I've not posted much from early spring so I've some catching up to do. This is one image from a misty morning in the local woods, I sort of think it looks like a double exposure but it's not. These trees are now full with big green leaves, nature changes so quickly!
Happy Monday! I hope you're having a good start to the week. I thought I'd share a picture from a trip to the beach a couple of weeks ago. The forecast was for a sunny evening but we arrived to cold wind and grey skies, I have to admit to being disappointed, the sun came out eventually which was lovely. When I look back at the pictures I find my camera much preferred the grey gloom....... Which do you prefer at the beach, sunshine or grey gloom?
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A few weeks ago I joined some of the SheClicks gang at RHS Wisley for a get together. For most of us it was the first chance to meet and the first chance to be at all sociable since the lockdown started to ease, it was a marvellous day on so many levels, so much so, we're doing it again on the 22nd! Ladies - Come and join us if you'd like! I thought I'd better share some of the pictures from that last trip before I make a new stack!
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Another picture from an early morning walk in the woods. Many of our woods are 'man made', they're commercial forests with trees grown in rows, which in some ways I find a bit odd but in between the regimented bits nature does her own thing. I loved this silver birch shining in the sun at the end of a long corridor of dark trees, definitely crying out for a picture.
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It only seems a short while ago I was longing for the spring flowers to arrive and now, already, some have been and gone. One of my favourites this year was Amelanchier - or at least that's what I think it's called. Our local woods are full of it and there was a week when it was just glorious, but now it's gone and there are new flowers just starting to burst out, there's always something lovely to enjoy.
Hope you're having a fab weekend.
The bluebells are now here properly now so I thought I'd jump on the train of bluebell pics. I've managed to spend a couple of early mornings in the woods, it's so lovely being there as the sun comes up, listening to the birds singing, just wandering around the edge of the flowers with my camera.
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As 'Lock-down' eases and we're allowed once more to travel about I've spent less time in the local woods and I'm surprised how much I've missed watching the seasonal changes. The bright green leaves of the silver birches seem to have sprung so quickly and I love how they glow in the sunshine against the dark trunks of the pines.
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Lonely bluebell! This one was taken 10 days ago before the main bluebell season got going (in some places it still hasn't) and the lovely blue carpets hadn't appeared, it just called out to me to be photographed. I got absolutely filthy crawling about on the floor of the woods trying to capture its best side!
Hope you've had a fab week.
This spring has not been kind to the magnolia flowers, we have had so many cold nights and even some snow, two things delicate flowers don't like. I was pleased to catch these in between cold snaps.
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I'm sure I've told you this before... I love to walk in the woods as the sun is going down, so many details are highlighted by the low sun, such a gorgeous time of day.
I hope you are all having a fab week and (if you are in the UK) are enjoying the sunshine..... Any fab plans for the weekend? Any day trips planned?
Happy Monday Morning!
Last week I had a couple of lovely early morning trips to the Fritillary field, it was amazing to see it all covered in the most amazing frost although the flowers were rather weighed down. Once the sun came up the flowers soon perked up, covered in sparkly jewels. Such a magic time.
This year I've had more chance to actually look at daffodils and narcissi, there are so many shapes, sizes and colours, I can't believe how long the season is..... and it's given me the chance to choose some favourites. I've decided I prefer the paler, smaller varieties and ideally those with an amazing scent, I had no idea they could smell so amazing. This is a new favourite, Narcissus Toto, I wish I had bought more, they will be on my shopping list in the autumn.
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I just love the colours and sparkles you see in a woodland pool.
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I had a proper photo sort and process at the weekend and now I've a stack of pics to share. As I mentioned before, this year I bought some snakes head fritillaries at the garden centre and having some of these beautiful flowers to spend time with, I realised that in addition to the beautiful flowers, the leaves have such elegant curves.
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It's been a super year for blossom, I've taken so many pictures, it's hard to pick a favourite or two. I hope you are able to get out and about to enjoy this wonderful time of year.
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I'm loving the woods at the moment, everything is just starting to burst, in a couple of weeks there will be a green canopy but at the moment the sun is still shining through the bare branches.
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Happy Easter everyone!
I adore these Fritillaries. The first time I saw them was actually a drawing by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, it was a drawing, I didn't think they were real! When I learnt they were, I never thought I'd be lucky enough to see some and now I am lucky enough to live near a field of them. With all that's going on I didn't know if/still don't know if I will get to visit the field this year so I was super excited to find this one in my local garden centre and now I have hundreds of pics of this lovely flower! Yay!
Hope you're having a lovely weekend.
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Happy Easter! I hope you have some signs of spring around you and hopefully a little sunshine. I've been working hard in my garden and have bought a few spring flowers which are great to photograph in their pots before I pop them in the flower beds.
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My goodness, what a couple of weeks, there's been so many flowers calling me to photograph them I'm seriously behind on sorting and processing. It's always so lovely to be outside and with spring in the air I can't resist. Here's a pic from a couple of weeks ago when the bees were busy collecting pollen in the warm sunshine. I now need to get busy with some new pics! ? Hope you've been able to enjoy some spring sun.
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Another image from evening walks in the woods, one of my favourite places.
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Well spring is officially here! And we've passed the equinox, the days are now longer than the nights, yay! It may not feel very spring like out there today but the flowers don't seem mind, they're still blooming, brightening any grey days.
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Continuing the golden theme.... I love woodland sunsets, it's magical the way the light highlights plants and gives everything a golden glow.
I hope you're having a good start to the week
Well snowdrop season is nearly over and I have so many pictures, I have had such a lovely time finding snowdrops and photographing them. I found these on a walk late one afternoon and the light was so gorgeous, I love how light changes a scene.
Hope you are having a lovely weekend.
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I can feel the colour coming back! One from my local woods. Hope you're having a good week.
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I love spring flowers but it still feels like winter so I'm not quite ready for lots of colour which is why I've gone for a mono edit. Years ago I planted a few hellebores in my garden and I love to lie down next to them and get right in amongst them with my camera, especially if there's a bit of spring sunshine.
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We've had lots of foggy mornings recently but I've nothing ready to show so I thought I'd share this one from the mountains last summer. I love when the fog swirls around the trees with the view changing every second. Hope you're having a good week.
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Oh my goodness, this week has flown by. I have taken stacks of pics, not in love with many of them (yet!) but that's how it goes sometimes. I am surprised how many clumps of snowdrops I've found locally which I didn't know about so now I do have lots and lots of pictures of these sweeties! This pic is from a few weeks as the snowdrops were just coming out.
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Another picture of my favourite sparkly field, I just love it! Winter light is just fab for bringing out the sparkles. Hope you're having a fab weekend!
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Happy Monday everyone! I'm already missing the frosty sunshine from last week!
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I can't lie, there's been times this last week when I've been sooo cold but the weather is on the turn and I am going to miss the frosty sunshine. I hope the warmer temperatures will bring out the flowers.
Hope you're having a lovely weekend
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I can't believe where this week has gone, I have been loving this sunny, icy weather and I've been out and about lots with my camera.
This field was planted last spring with a mix of beneficial plants, it was beautiful in the summer, buzzing with lots of bees and I am so pleased it's been left to go to seed, the birds are having a feast! It's so pretty when the morning sun is on it after a frost, lots of sparkles!!!
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One from the other magical Sunday when the landscape was suddenly transformed, it was just so beautiful and peaceful, the only noise was the gentle tap of snowflakes falling on my jacket ..... The question is will we get more this weekend? I fear it will be just a touch too warm. We will just have to wait and see!
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There's not a lot of colour around at the moment but then suddenly nature surprises you with a woodland full of colourful sparkles.
Hope you have had a good week and have some nice plans for the weekend even if it is a bit grey.
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There's been some good times and some not so great news over the last few days, trying to focus on the good and I'm loving the spring flowers popping their heads up to bring some cheer.
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Like many in the UK, this weekend saw me trying to make the most of an amazing sprinkling of snow whilst also #StayingLocal. I Love Snow!!!! The low light levels gave me the perfect opportunity for a little Intentional Camera Movement in the local woods.
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I've noticed this year for the first time that January is an 'in between phase' in the garden, there's still beautiful traces of last summer alongside the start of this year's flowers.
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Slowly the colours and the light is starting to reappear, January is turning out to be a long old month but I see signs of spring coming.
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Loving the little things! Just an icy puddle!
Hope you are all doing okay
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One from last year... I love these grasses, I have hundreds of pictures of them. I love the way they catch the winter light and sway in the breeze, I can get lost in watching them for hours. It's going to be while before I get to enjoy them again, I'm glad I have lots of photos to remind me of peaceful times wandering in the grasses.
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I've been slightly struggling with the weather recently, I'm seeing lots of beautiful pictures of crisp, frosty landscapes and all we have is grey, flat light. I'm sure there's a way to embrace it but I've not found it yet! 🤣 I went for a mooch to one of our local streams the other day, we have had so much rain, it was much fuller than usual which meant different patterns in the flow. It was lovely to lose myself for a while in the constantly changing lines on the surface of the stream.
Hope you've had a good week despite all the uncertainty.
How are you doing today?
I hope you don't mind another mountain picture? It's one from last winter. I love being in the mountains, it's another world and I feel the need to be there in my head today even if it's going to be a while before I can visit again.
Hope you're having a good start to 2021! I've not got out with my camera yet, but I've lots from 2020 I've not shared yet. Here's one from a couple of weeks ago when we had some amazing fog, I keep looking at the forecast hoping for more or even a little snow but no luck yet!
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Happy New year everyone! I'm not going to talk about the bad stuff 2020 brought, just the good and photography has been just wonderful for me this year, it's been a place to disappear to, to escape all that's been happening and a place to meet some lovely like minded people. I have had plenty of opportunities to do something I love doing and for that I am very grateful.
The collage (above) of pictures are the ‘top nine’ (based on viewer likes and comments) of 2020 pictures on my Instagram account. All of the images are from the 2nd half of the year due to doubling my Instagram Followers over the course of the year so I've made a second grid (right) of some of my favourites from the first part of the year.
I wish you all the very best for 2021, stay safe, look out for each other, have fun!
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Dreaming of snowy mountains.......
(picture from September)
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Who needs electric lights when the rain drops provide the sparkles! Happy Christmas everyone, I hope you have a lovely day (even if it's not quite how you'd planned it!)
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How's your Christmas prep going? Despite having less to do this year I'm still behind schedule!
Usually at this time our thoughts are turning to plans for a trip to the mountains but that's on hold (possibly stopped for this year!?) and since we have no snow here (yet?!) I thought I'd share a snowy picture from the mountains in August believe it or not!! Happy Christmas Eve!
How are you doing? What a strange time! Everything is changing so fast it's hard to know which way is up!! I've not been out with my camera much, it's been so gloomy, wet and muddy. Here's a pic from a couple of weeks ago. I'd only planned to be in the woods an hour, after nearly 4 hours I was just about to head back to the car when this leapt out at me, well, what can you do?! It would be rude not to stop for a few pics.
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I'm having a quiet morning sorting pictures and enjoying the last of the Sky Arts 'Artist of the week', sad it's the last one, anyone else been watching? I love hearing the artists talk about their work, it's fascinating.
I thought I'd share a little diptych from our trip to the coast in November, I loved the contrast of the sand and the shiny seaweed. They told me how they wanted to look in the picture, they wanted a muted not quite mono look so I couldn't argue!
How's everyone doing? We had a grey and damp start here but the sun is now out but is it going to last? Need to get some chores done and get out there with my camera! My picture is from a rather gloomy afternoon walk a couple of weeks ago, whatever the weather there always seems to be something to catch my eye!
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Happy Friday everyone! Hope you've had a fab week. We started the week with some amazing weather conditions and I had a couple of wonderful mornings in the local woods photographing the trees, lovely calm moments amongst the seasonal madness.
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I thought I'd share a picture of one of my happy places, how could you not be happy sat looking at such an amazing, calm view. Taken in September
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As you might guess I love colour but as winter creeps in I'm finding I'm having to work harder to squeeze the colour out of the landscape but it's a fun, relaxing sort of hard work. Hope you having a colourful week .
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Since I can't get to the sea, I shall just have to imagine. Can you guess what it is?
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Just another couple of fern leaves! Hope you don't mind my addiction to photographing leaves!? Two for the price of one here, I thought they made a nice pair, hope you agree?
Hope you're having a good weekend.
Another picture from our pre-lockdown trip to the sea. This was taken from the cliffs above Ringstead Bay, Dorset, the sky was amazing, nature put on an amazing show.
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As the colours are fading fast I feel the need to squeeze in a few more autumn colour pictures before winter sets in properly.
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Four pebbles!! Sometimes nature places things so beautifully you just have to capture it, one big wave and it was gone!
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Yellow leaves in a woodland stream. This was only taken a couple of weeks ago but went past the other day all the leaves were gone, autumn is nearly over and winter is coming, I wonder what delights it will bring.
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I posted this picture to Instagram yesterday, I wasn't sure if it would work on social media as it's so pale and detailed. Sometimes it seems that pictures need to be loud and colourful to be noticed.
In the local woods we have an area planted with a variety of eucalyptus plants, it's very odd but on a foggy morning you really could imagine you were in the middle of an exotic jungle - apart from the cold and the lack of koalas!!
Anyway, I hope you like it and are having a nice calm and peaceful Sunday.
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Just a little fern leaf, I love them, I can't come back from a walk in the woods without a few pictures of ferns. The shapes are addictive, I loved the curl of this one.
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It's a very grey, windy and damp day here so I thought I'd share an image from a sunnier day a week ago when the woods were looking magical.
Just before lockdown started we managed to squeeze in a quick trip to Dorset, to the coast!! I'd not managed to get to the sea before in 2020 and I do love being by the sea. We arrived to the most amazing light, it was so dramatic and beautiful. We got a little damp on our walk but it was really worth it, I would not have swapped it for blue and sunshine!
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We went out for a walk today and I realised how the autumn colours are already starting to fade, there's still some gorgeous beeches and silver birches out there but lots of trees are looking starting to look bare or brown So I thought I'd brighten up the day with a picture from just a couple of weeks ago, the seasons are changing fast but luckily there's something about every season I love.
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I had a wonderful trip to the local woods on Friday, it was misty and damp with a hint of sun, couldn't have been more perfect. I love beech leaves, as I child I spent many happy hours in huge beech woods, kicking the golden leaves and running around the big, solid trunks. Sadly we don't have quite so many beech trees where I live now but lock down has allowed me to find a few pockets hidden in our mostly conifer woods. I was a happy bunny when I spotted these leaves glowing against a dark background.
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I'm a bit late to the fungi party! This is the first year some have caught my eye. I fell in love with some little porcelain fungi, so simple, delicate and light. These were up a tree so I could get right underneath them, I was fascinated by the gills - see I'm learning the lingo! I'm looking forward to finding more.
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We will remember.
For those who are kind enough to follow my pictures who are not British, you may be wondering why there is often a wave of poppy images shared in November by British photographers?
In November, in particular on the 11th and on the second Sunday of the month we remember those brave men, women and animals who gave their lives in wars all across the world. Why poppies? Poppies were the flowers which flowered in the battlefields at the end of World War One.
Usually many people gather to remember, but this year everything is different, but we will still remember.
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I think this will be the last of my pictures from my summer trip to Italy, I've got lots of autumn pics waiting in the wings.
It's been a funny old week, I hope all those in lock down are doing okay and are able to get out and about with cameras and/or just a walk, so necessary for keeping our heads straight
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As everything seems to getting a bit weird again I thought you might like a calming dreamy landscape from Lake Como. Hope you have a lovely weekend planned
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On my trip to the mountains I seemed to surrounded by water in one form or another mostly lakes, waterfalls, rivers and a fair bit of snow. This picture surprised me when I processed it. The sun was right behind the top of the waterfall, so parts were really, really dark with loads of contrast. When I put the pictures into LR and lifted the shadows I realised the rocks were covered in golden lichen. When I took it I thought this was going to be a mono image, I'm glad I had it in RAW and not mono!
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Over the last few days I've managed to get out and photograph some local colour but whilst I sort and process some of those pictures I'll share a few more pictures from Italy.
As I've said before I loved being around the lake harbours, there were so many things to see and photograph. These little flowers clung on to the harbour walls adding a little colour to the hard grey stone walls. This one was taken first thing in the morning before the street lights went out.
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Another picture from Lake Como. I loved watching the reflections in the beautiful blue water, so hypnotic and relaxing.
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Another picture from our wonderful late summer trip, this time from Lake Como. We stayed in beautiful Gravedona just 2 minutes walk from the lake which gave me lots of opportunities for lakeside walks before breakfast. It also helped that sunrise wasn't until 7.20!!!
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Photographically I'm feeling a bit seasonally discombobulated! (Love that word!) On our trip to the mountains we experienced 'late autumn' then 'summer' followed by 'early winter'. Of those phases the snowy winter bit was probably my favourite but I don't quite feel ready for sharing winter pics yet so I'm going to hold onto those for a while. My other favourite thing was photographing water, I love the mountain streams and beautiful lakes
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Just a leaf but how many colours!!! I love the changing seasons and this tropical leaf has summer at its heart but autumn is creeping in.
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As for everyone, my 2020 hasn't quite gone according to plan and for that reason I am extra grateful for being able to escape to the mountains this summer. When we arrived summer was just hanging in, fighting off autumn, by the time we left autumn was fighting off winter's arrival. When we arrived I was super pleased to see a few flowers still blooming on the mountains. Now I am back I have 2 weeks in isolation to sort and process photos!!
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Hello everyone, I hope you all survived Storm Alex if you are in Europe. We have had a soggy, windy couple of days and it's not much better today so I hope you have some nice indoor projects to enjoy.
I've been tidying up summer pictures and thought you might like this one, it was taken on a sunny day (do you remember those!). I loved the way the reeds flowed and waved with the river, have a fab Sunday.
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Just starting to get into the swing of autumn, love the golden colours, will there be any left after Storm Alex visits!?
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I've not quite got into autumn mode yet so I thought I'd share this one which was actually taken back in May but I think the colours are much more appropriate for this time of year. As I've said before, I've loved exploring our many local woodland pools this year, so much variety, there's always something new to photograph.
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As summer slides away I thought I'd share another summer picture, try to stretch out the warmth! I love these flowers and they seem to have followed me this summer, I've seen them in lots of places. To me they look like dancing fairies, although I understand they are actually "Whirling Butterflies" which I think is just as lovely.
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Love it when the evening sun sparkles through the trees.
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One of the surprises of this summer has been how many woodland ponds there are locally and how many have beautiful waterlilies growing in them. I find myself wondering whether they are entirely wild or were they planted there? I associate waterlilies with formal gardens in stately homes and botanical gardens, I never knew I could find them in our local woods!!!! A really beautiful surprise.
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I love walking in these woods, the trees just reach to the sky. I don't do multi-exposures very often but they do seem to capture the many rows of regular trees as you walk by so well.
The colours are definitely on the turn, there's a hint of gold in the ferns. It's been a difficult year but there's been some amazing summer moments, let's see what autumn brings.
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Happy World Photography Day!! I feel like I should post a really special image to celebrate but what to choose? All my pictures are special to me so I went with this one, it says a lot about my summer 2020, happy times exploring my own doorstep and realising how lucky I am to have such beautiful places so close to home. We have been blessed with some amazing weather too this summer and I love the sky in this picture.
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I'm loving the carpet of purple developing in the woods now and it looks so good late in the evening on an after supper photo walk.
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Happy Wednesday everyone!
I'm just about finished sorting my poppy pictures!! I think I will split them up a bit so this is a set of red poppy pictures taken on a stormy afternoon. As ever, love to know which is your favourite.
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Happy Swiss National Day to all my Swiss friends and followers. I took this picture in Switzerland last summer, I thought we are all in need of a rainbow or two at the moment. I wish you a fabulous weekend wherever you are.
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Does anyone else find high summer the most difficult season to photograph? I love summer days, being outdoors in the sun and wind on a hill somewhere but I find these are the times when I make the fewest pictures. Sometimes I need to stop looking and just lie in the grass and let the pictures find me!
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I've been having a bit of a sort out and catch up, I've taken so many pictures this year!!
Every now and again a subject appears (often a type of flower) and I can't stop photographing it and then it takes me ages to pick out my favourite pictures. One of my obsessions this summer has been foxgloves, this year they were everywhere and looked fabulous for several weeks, so here is my 2020 foxglove collection, I'd love to know which picture is your favourite?
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Like most people, I've been staying local recently but last week I needed to go to Pewsey so I decided to take the opportunity to visit the Pewsey Downs. It is a really beautiful area and it was wonderful to get out and about into a big space again. The weather was wonderfully changeable, perfect for lots of pictures.
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Last week when it was so hot we walked in the local woods quite a bit. I love the majestic trees, grasses and ferns and feel so lucky we have this on our doorstep.
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This summer I found a beautiful meadow full of all sorts of beautiful grasses. The day I found it was sunny but the wind was howling, blowing the flowers and grasses in every direction. I'm looking forward to a return visit.
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I have been lucky enough to have lots of fields of opium poppies locally and I've been able to spend time sitting in the sunshine photographing these beautiful flowers. Having said that I will admit they have challenged me but I'm not sure why!! I think it's partly because I really don't like the colour pink but I find them soooo beautiful!
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Like many at this time of year usually we would be thinking about a summer trip somewhere, for that's very often the mountains. This year who knows whether we will get to travel but I am so lucky to have lots of pictures, many of them still unsorted/processed, to look back on and enjoy and I know the mountains will still be there waiting for us.
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It's poppy time and who can resist them?! I have been so lucky this year with fields of both the wild red and the pink opium poppies nearby so I've had the chance to make several trips out to make pictures, which means I've got heaps of poppy pictures!!! Thought I'd start with an image of the classic red poppy. I'll share more when I've had a sort through.
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I remember the first time I saw Astrantia flowers, I was up a mountain in Switzerland and there were lots dotted along a path. I was captivated by them, certainly couldn't believe they were wild flowers!!! The shape is just so amazing and they are so delicate and complicated.... And now I have some in my garden and this year they have flowered better than ever. Next step, propagating so I can have a carpet... Oh, and perhaps to get some red ones too!
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Recently I've loved finding quiet secret spots next to woodland streams and pools. Sitting by the water watching the surface constantly changing is totally hypnotic, so relaxing.
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So how do you like it?
If you are reading this, hopefully you have noticed that I have refreshed my website. I wanted to streamline the content and reorganise the layout. I hope you like it. It's not quite finished yet, I intend to add more pictures from my archive, but if I waited until I was 100% happy, well I'd never press 'go' .......... I realised my website will always be 'work in progress'!!
If you spot something that isn't working, you can't find something or you would like to see more of something, please let me know.
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Can't beat a finding a nice big patch of cow parsley on an evening walk
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When I went into my garden yesterday morning and spotted a tiny shaft of light sneaking under the fence to catch the edge of this Welsh poppy I had to dash for my camera. Even though we're allowed to travel further now, I'm still finding so many things to photograph on my own doorstep!
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My photography group set a triptych challenge last month and it was something I really enjoyed doing. As soon as I saw the amazing colours in this river and the watery swirls I knew it would be a great subject for multiple images.
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I am spending so much of my outdoors time in the woods at the moment so my feed won't be quite as varied as it sometimes can be.
I have found numerous lovely small woodland pools which I didn't know about before, anyone else seeing their home patch in a totally different light?! I found a real corker this the other day, but I've not even looked at the pictures yet, fingers crossed. I hope you are all well and not too stressed with this strange situation.
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I've been spending a lot of time walking in the woods recently and everything has been changing very quickly. Two weeks ago there were only a few trees bursting into leaf, now everything is becoming very green.
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It's bluebell season and I'm lucky enough to have some beautiful places to see them within easy walking. I didn't have to go far to photograph this one, it's growing just outside my front door!
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How many colours can there be in a mountain stream?
How's everyone doing? I hope you are well.
I must admit I am loving being outside whenever I can at the moment so my isolation project to sort, process and upload photos has stalled until it rains!
I feel odd posting at the moment given all that is going on.
I am not going to be able to get out and about to take more pictures for a while but I can sort through and process old pictures. I hope it's okay to keep posting.
Someone once told me that I create 'calm' pictures, I hope that by continuing to post pictures I will bring you a small moment of calm or a brief distraction.
Hoping you and yours are all safe and well.
I feel like we all need a bit of sparkle today.
Hope you are all doing okay
I never get tired of views like this especially on days like when I took this picture earlier this year. The scene constantly changes before your eyes with bits of mountains disappearing and reappearing moments later.
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Spring is on its way.............. I hope! Hard to believe with this damp weather!
'Tis the season for snowy mountains
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Having learnt to ski at the grand old age of 27 (!) I wouldn't have ever thought I would be able to go 'off-piste'. It's not something I get to do very often, the conditions have to be 'right'. I love being away from the crowd where there are few signs of infrastructure.
Last year we did a short run from the top of the mountain back down to the valley, a route the locals rattle down in double quick time. The day I got to go the landscape was so beautiful with snow wind blown into all sorts of magical shapes and patterns, I had to stop every 5 minutes to take a picture or 10! It took a very long time to get to the valley floor!
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I love walking in the woods at anytime of the year. In the winter when the trees are bare the shapes of the trunks and branches against the sky are what catch my eye. In the winter there is more of a feeling of light and space especially on a bright clear day.
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Having been struck by the lurgie over the last couple of weeks, I've not been out much with my camera but I've had some time to look back at some of the pictures I took this time last year. It was a very different winter to this one, colder temperatures and lots of snow in the mountains. This image is a composite - the 'reflection' is created in my computer.
So you may be wondering why this picture is in the 'arty impressions' section of my website? Well, it's not a true, exact, faithful photograph. As mentioned above, the reflection has been created in post production so I think of this as being an impression of the view rather than a 'postcard' exact capture of the view.
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Winter sparkles through the trees
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Counting down the days until I'm in the snow again! Promised myself I'd post more pics this year, we're a week into 2020 and this is my first post - #BrokenNewYearsResolution!!
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As the sun goes down on 2019, I wish you a wonderful 2020 full of lovely moments
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Another picture from my trip to RHS Wisley where I spent lots of time in the greenhouse, one of the things that caught my eye was these beautiful delicate trailing orchids.
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I just heard that it's #InternationalMountainDay! Most of you know that I do love being in the mountains. Believe it or not this picture was taken in July this year. There was so much snow last winter, it lasted long into the summer, who knows what this winter will bring.
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I'm not so keen on the winter cold, but I do love the winter light and the last few days have been very special.
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I took a trip to RHS Wisely a couple of weeks ago, there was lots to see despite it being the 'off season'.... I loved all the hundreds of shades of green in the greenhouse.
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It's the season for remembering..............
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Usually I don't process my pictures until well after I've been out and about finding them, but sometimes they just call at you for some attention quickly!
The other day I went to the seaside, it was nearly dark by the time I got onto the beach and it was a bit cold, windy and damp but still totally gorgeous.