December Month of Extraordinary Light

“Above the cloud with its shadows is the star with it’s light”

— Pythagoras

December was a month when I noticed beautiful light. Light is more precious during the winter when the days are so short and often, like today, so murky that it seems as if there is no daylight at all.

Three days shone out for me in December. On the first I visited the Christmas Tree Festival at the medieval church of St Thomas in the centre of the city. Different organisations and charities decorate trees in a multitude of ways and the results are stunning.

What absolutely made the whole thing was the afternoon light streaming into the church and casting a golden glow

The medieval 'Doom' fresco was rendered vibrant by the light

The second day of extraordinary light was just before Christmas. We had friends staying and took them on a trip to explore Cranborne Chase a little known but amazingly beautiful part of North Dorset. The weather forecast had been poor so we were delighted to find a sunny and slightly misty day which made the countryside look magical.

The village of Ashmore the highest point in Dorset

We ended the day in the Saxon hilltop town of Shaftesbury watching the sun go down

The final picture in this set is Gold Hill, made famous by the Hovis advert and the Oliver Read / Julie Christie version of Far From the Madding Crowd in the nineteen sixties.

For the the final set we're off to Brighton for our post-Christmas visit to my 94 year old mother-in-law. It was freezing cold and blowing a gale but I ventured down to the promenade to capture the sunset - and boy was it worth it!

The final photo of the post is a tad grainy but I like it because it shows both piers, The West Pier in the foreground and the Palace Pier now known as Brighton Pier. You can also make out the starlings that gather there every evening.

Brighton or Bust!

I was hoping my first post of the New Year would be something profound and inspirational, you know the sort of thing - my dreams for 2014 - how I choose my word of 2014 and its meaning to me (it's 'Courage' by the way), or other grand designs. The fact is, however, I've been stuck at home since before New Year with the worst cold and cough I've had in years and while I'm managing to remain generally quite positive my brain really isn't functioning anything like well enough to do profound and inspirational. So instead I'm going to show you one of my favourite bits of Brighton, where we were staying with my mother-in-law just after Christmas.

For most people I suspect Brighton conjures up images of the Pavillion, the Seafront, the Pier ( or possibly piers though that's a mute point) but for me its the North Laine shopping area. Brighton's Lanes have been well known for decades sporting expensive shops and antique emporia, but within the last 30 or so years an different shopping scene has appeared full of alternative shops and well, fun.

There's fabulous graffiti

Great Signs

Brightly coloured shop fronts

And a host of ethnic, vegetarian and vegan cafes to choose from

Amazingly the sun was warm enough and the street sheltered enough to make sitting outside a positive choice even if you weren't a smoker - and of course here is always a story to tell

Then there are the goods - a huge variety and these are only what you see on the street

The shops are all quite small inside and many were crowded so I thought twice about taking any pictures

and finally the people - the Balloon Man

The Busker

The inevitable mobile phone user

The stall holder

and of course the shoppers

The reason I really like it here is because it's vibrant and varied - and that includes both shoppers and shops. At a time when our high streets (if they still exist), are full of clones and the shopping malls are even worse, it is a real pleasure to see individual enterprises flourishing - and who could resist these feminist, empowered legs?

Photographic Simplicity - Take 2

“As I have practiced it, photography produces pleasure by simplicity. I see something special and show it to the camera. A picture is produced. The moment is held until someone sees it. Then it is theirs.
”

— Sam Abell

Well I did it! just posted day 31 - athough I have to say I don't think I could carry on for another month. The days just after Christmas were the greatest challenge as I could only upload via my iPhone which I found very frustrating.

The weather has been pretty rubbish here heavy rain and gales so it was a bit tempting to keep photographing the Christmas decorations and lights!

though I did come across this little tableaux in the garden which I think of as 'essence of oak'

“I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.
”

— Lao Tzu

This stick on the dots calendar seems to embody a combination of simplicity and style

Just as this Michelin Man I spotted on a vintage truck at the Christmas Market embodies a simpler bygone age.

Back to the Christmas tree lights, before going outside again to see the leaves under the rose bush

This Buddha was the only picture where I "arranged a set"

The following day I was struck by the light on this hand blown glass ball hanging up in the window and I took a series of photos during the day with the different light and looking in slightly different directions, I chose the simplest to post in the Flickr group

But thought you might be interested in seeing some of the others

“Progress is man’s ability to complicate simplicity”

— Thor Heyerdahl

This one I prepared earlier and sent to my phone so that I could post it on Christmas Day

And this was our Boxing Day walk in the woods

I thought our Norwegian Christmas Cake met the criteria because of its simple shape and simple ingredients; almonds, egg white and icing sugar.

Almost there now, next up was some brollies in Brighton although I don't seem to be able to access the picture I actually posted so this is a similar one

“I am completely attracted to the idea of simplicity, or at least removing things that seem unnecessary when trying to get an idea out there.
”

— Demetri Martin

An almost abstract steamy window - followed by party dresses on a street stall

And finally this is it! Todays post for 31st December 2013 (with a few added words) huge thanks to Kim Manley Ort for setting this challenge and a very happy 2014 to you all - take care and see you next year.