The Glory of the Garden

“And the Glory of the Garden it shall never pass away ! ”

— Rudyard Kiplling

When I arrived back from Yoga on Thursday the sun had just begun to surface after a shower and everything in the garden was sparkling - it looked quite magical!

It was as though this fennel plant was hung with diamonds

And the seeds looked almost as spectacular, as did a late sprig of lavender with this bee on board

I suddenly found the last to lines of Kipling's poem running through my head "and the Glory of the garden shall never pass away" and went to look up the whole thing, which though a tad on the jingoistic side I do rather like, and wonder if it was inspired by his own lovely garden at Batemans in Sussex which I have visited several times. I am going to quote it in full here.

OUR England is a garden that is full of stately views,
Of borders, beds and shrubberies and lawns and avenues,
With statues on the terraces and peacocks strutting by;
But the Glory of the Garden lies in more than meets the eye.
For where the old thick laurels grow, along the thin red wall,
You'll find the tool- and potting-sheds which are the heart of all
The cold-frames and the hot-houses, the dung-pits and the tanks,
The rollers, carts, and drain-pipes, with the barrows and the planks.

And there you'll see the gardeners, the men and 'prentice boys
Told off to do as they are bid and do it without noise ;
For, except when seeds are planted and we shout to scare the birds,
The Glory of the Garden it abideth not in words.
And some can pot begonias and some can bud a rose,
And some are hardly fit to trust with anything that grows ;
But they can roll and trim the lawns and sift the sand and loam,
For the Glory of the Garden occupieth all who come.

Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
By singing:-" Oh, how beautiful," and sitting in the shade
While better men than we go out and start their working lives
At grubbing weeds from gravel-paths with broken dinner-knives.
There's not a pair of legs so thin, there's not a head so thick,
There's not a hand so weak and white, nor yet a heart so sick
But it can find some needful job that's crying to be done,
For the Glory of the Garden glorifieth every one.

Then seek your job with thankfulness and work till further orders,
If it's only netting strawberries or killing slugs on borders;
And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden,
You will find yourself a partner In the Glory of the Garden.
Oh, Adam was a gardener, and God who made him sees
That half a proper gardener's work is done upon his knees,
So when your work is finished, you can wash your hands and pray
For the Glory of the Garden that it may not pass away!

And the Glory of the Garden it shall never pass away !

Rudyard Kipling

All of this then inspired me to do the first piece of art journaling I've done for ages

My sparking moments this week literally were sparkling - hope yours were too

Meditation Weekend

““Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” ”

— Thích Nhất Hạnh

Last weekend I went on a meditation course organised by my Yoga teacher and the Traditional Yoga Centre. I have never done anything like this before and I really didn't know what to expect. These are my impressions of the weekend.

In bud

Four wonderful teachers, keen students, some experienced, some meditation virgins, some from my yoga class.

Refreshments, fruit, herbal teas, biscuits, nuts.

Mats, blankets, things to make you comfortable.

Context, theory, explanations, science.

Chanting, I love this.

Breathing, focussing on your breath, concentrate, drift., concentrate, drift. Itchy nose - to scratch or not to scratch? Hard

Count breaths, loose track, begin again,

Focus. will I ever be able to do this?

Sending love and peace around the universe

Beginning to bloom!

Carried Away With Grunge?

I think I have mentioned previously that I am currently taking a photoshop grunge e-course and am really loving it - the problem is how to stop myself getting completely carried away and adding grunge to absolutely every picture I take.

Yesterday I popped out to a local stately home I haven't visited in a while. Its a National Trust property the Vyne near Basingstoke. The building has a fascinating history which you can find out more about by reading this article.

True to form I don't have any grand pictures of the facade but here you can just see it peeking out between the trees across the lake

Something different to see on this visit were a number of art installations around the house and garden - unfortunately there are no details on the website nor was there info to pick up so I can't tell you mud about the artists or their concepts, and I have to say that some of the NT volunteers were clearly not smitten by the whole thing!

One of the main pieces was a fabric tree with birds and flowers situated in the tapestry room with roots descending into the room below via the fireplace, seen here together with some lovely wooden pomegranates, a symbol of Catherine of Aragorn who apparently visited with her husband Henry viii

This picture only shows a small branch of the tree against he background of the room but the tree in its entirety was huge!

My favourite installation however was in the library

I loved all the little cut out figures and of course really couldn't resist grunging up this one

Out in the grounds the most impressive feature was the summerhouse which also had an installation of birds partying - they were really spread about the space so didn't lend itself to photography, but this might give you an idea of the summerhouse, the birds and the beautiful garden around it

Inspired by the installations I decided to try my own artistic concept by merging the summerhouse with the fabric tree and one of the birds - I'd love to know whether you think it works.

One final ungrunged picture from the way back to the car park - the green on these willows and their reflections was just stunning

Hmm only two with grunge, not bad at all considering my current obsession, see you soon and keep sharing the sparking moments!

Digital Enhancement - The Root of All Evil?

Yesterday we visited a small local craft fayre. There was a variety of goods on offer, including some very attractive pottery, some wonderful coastal paintings and some photography.

I was drawn to a stall selling cards of flower and wildlife images, with close ups of flowers very similar to ones I have taken. On the stall there was a notice saying that none of the pictures had been digitally enhanced, no Photoshop had been used in the making of these pictures. I checked with the photographer if this included Lightroom and it did, the photos were, he said, straight out of the camera. There was an implied inference of moral high ground here.

I suppose it all comes down to why you are taking pictures in the first place. To capture the moment? To preserve the beauty of the scene? To record the facts as they are? Or to make art? I'm not suggesting any of these are mutually exclusive, rather that they are a variety of lenses through which we can view our photographic images.

This is a photograph I took of a deckchair at Shanklin earlier in the week. I took it because it epitomised the seaside of my childhood - I haven't seen a deckchair with a canopy in years - yet unenhanced it doesn't quite capture what I felt to be the vibrancy of the scene.

I feel this second version is a far truer capture of what I was experiencing when I took the photograph. I was experiencing a vibrant seaside resort in full swing on a sunny day in August not a faded out of season vibe. So I cropped the photo a little, bumped up the contrast, clarity and vibrance and enhanced the blue in the picture. I have chosen this example as it is easy to spot the difference between the two pictures. Often the digital enhancements I make are much more subtle, barely visible at all.

For me there is something about honesty here. If I am viewing a photograph in a guidebook or botanical guide, I want to be able to identify the plant or see the view as pictured. I don't want the removal of unsightly pylons to make the scene seem other than it really is. If, however, I am looking to hang a picture on my wall or buy it on a card I want it to look as good as it can, whilst preserving the essence of the subject. I don't for example see anything very wrong in bumping up the vibrancy of the blue on a sea scape, especially if you have seen the sea just that colour blue on a previous occasion. Nor do it see enhancing the colour of a flower to highlight its vibrancy an unforgivable sin, merely exaggerating its jewel-like appearance to give increased pleasure.

This is a photograph of a waterlily straight from the camera. Below is the digitally enhanced version. In addition to the usual adjustments to clarity and contrast etc I have taken down the exposure a little, cropped the image to give greater focus on the lily, and removed a small insect from a petal and a distracting blemish from a leaf - is this version less 'essence of lily' than the other? Not to my mind.

The old adage 'the camera doesn't lie' is of course the biggest lie of all. As a photographer you select the angle and perspective from which you take the photographs, you chose what to include and exclude. In post-processing you enter your digital darkroom to develop your photograph in the way which most resonates with your experience of the view or object that you have taken. It has always been thus.

The advent of Photoshop has however allowed the possibility of new dimensions to our photograpy by adding textures and blending photographs together. I have recently started a new Photoshop course called Fine-Art Grunge which takes photography to a whole new level. This is not about capturing the reality of what we see but rather using individual photographs as tools or matter to create art. I am still very much at the beginning of this journey but am loving it!

I took these photos in the silversmith's in Newport on Friday, they make the most amazing silver spoons. I used the photos I took to play with some of my techniques from the new course - here are the results.

This is a fairly minor adjustment with only a couple of layers - I got braver!

And the final one where I went a bit OTT with the number of layers and textures

Lots to learn on this course so watch this space!

In conclusion I believe that all forms of photography are valid and that none has moral superiority over another. We all have our individual realities and if several of us were asked to write a description of the same photograph we would all write something slightly different, highlighting the different features that spoke to us as individuals. The truth is perhaps that we all see life, pictures, and anything else you care to mention, through the lens of our own interests and experiences so that the viewing of the picture is a dynamic experience. Long live diversity!

I would love to hear your views on this topic so do leave a comment and get the debate going.

Shalfleet Revisited

On Sunday I visited the house we lived in from when I was ten until when I was thirteen. We were able to do this because the current owners had opened it under the National Garden Scheme.

When we moved to the house it was a dream come true for my mother whose passion was gardening. At last a huge garden to do just as she wanted with, and what a challenge! While the back garden had been kept under some sort of cultivation by the previous owner, the bulk of the garden had been allowed to run wild so that a the point at which we moved in it it was six foot tall with nettles and grass. The first task was to clear it and keep the lawns mowed. Practically a full time job for my mother who didn't work outside the home.

It looks a little different now!

The house, a Georgian cottage, has been extended: a walled courtyard turned into an additional room and an orangery and new garage put in the place of the old sheds and pig sties. I am pleased to be able to say this has been very well done and looks very much in keeping with the original building. There have been pains to preserve original features and the sash windows on the front of the building look as if they were the ones that were there when we lived there.

The front gate appears to be the same too

The back garden has changed from the vegetable patch we had

into a series of charming garden rooms

The front garden too has been landscaped

Sadly we were only able to live in this beautiful spot for three years before work took my father back to the mainland after 30 years on the Isle of Wight. Leaving the garden nearly broke my mother's heart and I'm sure if her spirit is anywhere to be found on earth it would be here.

I wil leave you with a mix of past and present and hope that your week has had many sparkling moments.

Gentians on the Isle of Wight?

Last weekend we went for a walk up on Tennyson Down which is one of my favourite places in the world. You walk along an ever narrowing chalk escarpment until you reach the end of the world (or rather the Isle of Wight) at the Needles rocks and lighthouse.

The Wikipedia entry on the Needles Lighthouse tell us the following:

The Needles Lighthouse was built by Trinity House in 1859 on the outermost of the chalk rocks near sea level. Designed by James Walker, it cost £20,000. Constructed from granite, it stands 33.25 metres (109.1 ft) high and is a circular tower with straight sides.

It replaced a light tower on top of a cliff overhanging Scratchell's Bay, which was first lit on 29 September 1786. Its height of 144m above sea level meant it was often obscured by fog and sea mists.[1]

In 1987 a helipad was added to the top of the lighthouse, and it became fully automated when the last keepers left on 8 December 1994.[1] One of the last three remaining manned rock lighthouses in England and Wales, before automation it was staffed by a three man crew operating a 24 hour watch, serving one month on / one month off, living in rudimentary conditions in three levels below the light.[2]

When I was a child this was a manned lighthouse without the helicopter landing pad on the top. Early each December there would be a picture in the local paper of the Christmas food going out by boat with the men on the Christmas shift. It must have been a very tough life!

In the middle of the down, on the highest point, lies Tennyson Cross, a memorial to the great Victorian poet who lived in the lee of the downs towards Freshwater Bay. He was apparently often to be seen striding across the downs in his trademark cloak and hat and is rumoured to have composed some of his greatest work up here

At the bottom of the track that leads from Highdown pit up on to the down there is a visitor information board detailing some of the plants and wildlife one might expect to see. I was astonished to see that one of the plants listed was the gentian which I previously associated solely with alpine regions.

Up on the downs the flora mostly consisted of some small harebells and some kind of thistles, then I spotted them, the English gentians, perhaps not such a brilliant blue as their alpine counterparts but gentian shaped all the same, and just like the picture on the information board !

Continuing our walk towards the Needles we had a wonderful view of my other favourite walk on West Wight, Headon Warren, where the heather was just beginning to turn purple across the cornfields

The shadows on the top picture are of the clouds scudding quickly above the sky and I admit to using a bit of artistic licence (AKA photoshop) on the bottom picture.

The habitat over on the warren is very different, perhaps because the land is slightly less exposed. Instead of the large swathes of springy turf there are tangles of gorse, heather and brambles interlaced with honeysuckle.

The view of the needles is different too, classic but less iconic than when viewed from above.

This walk was one of my sparkling moments last week - I'd love to hear about yours

At the Beach - Then and Now!

As I reflect back on the sparkling moments of the last week or so, its the unexpected that makes me catch my breath and say wow! A couple of moments this week that stand out. One was noticing that the garden was full of butterflies in a way it hasn't been for years (presumably because of the awful summers we have been having) . The second was the realisation again of how much I love the freedom of being by the sea in warm weather, breathing that wonderful air and walking along the beach with my camera.

I love the beach at any time of year but in the school holidays it becomes a fun filled bustling kind of place with the cafes busy and the children in and out of the water and crabbing in the rock pools. It was a very special time for us and our son when he was young and I love seeing other families enjoying the beach.

My discovery this week is that you can scan in very old, small, poor quality photographs run them through Lightroom and end up with something half decent. This was very good news as I am planning to start a new blog documenting my childhood on the Isle of Wight in the nineteen fifties and I want to include some family history in this. To wet your appetite, here are some of my father's family having fun on the beach in the early twenties - I love the top two of my dad and granddad having fun and am amazed by the clothes they consider suitable for beachwear in the bottom one! I think their beach experience may have been a little less comfortable than ours.

We think these photos may have been taken in great Yarmouth, there is a train station in the background almost on the beach - anyone recognise it?

I'd love to hear about your sparking moments of the week so please add a comment - see you soon!

The Last Party

This week has been all about preparing for our son's 21st party. We are very lucky in that we have a garden that is well suited to summer parties, of which we have had many over the years. When we moved to this house over thirty years ago we used to have a big party every summer and invite everyone we knew. Although we always provided food, in those days we used to rely on our guests to bring their favourite tipple with them, and often close friends would bring a salad or a pudding. In addition to that a gang of close friends used to turn up early to help set up.

We had different themes for the food every year including curries and a number of different types of BBQ. One year for example, we went with a Mediterranean theme - there always seemed to be plenty of people to do the cooking - though I do remember that one year Brian's then boss got stuck with it for ages!

As time went on and we had our son, parties grew less frequent and more formal, focussing on major events. Our 25th wedding anniversary in 1998 was the first time we went the whole hog and hired a marquee for our celebration barn dance ( you really can't rely on the english weather in october!) we choose a harvest festival theme as the church was decorated for harvest when we married and spent hours decorating the tent.

The food had a harvest theme too - I got our local catering college to make this harvest loaf

I don't think this photos have come out badly considering they were pre-digital and had to be scanned in!

After our 25th we had big parties for our 50th & 60th birthdays ( mine was a surprise party organised by my wonderful cousin as I had decided I didn't want to do one for myself) and our son had a birthday party every year until he was 13 (we got very good at making themed cakes - the pirate treasure chest was my favourite) but this week it was time for the last party, our son's 21st.

Looking for a marquee ( people were going to need to sleep somewhere!) I found this wonderful local company who supplied beautiful indian tents including furniture - I just couldn't resist!

From then on the party developed an eastern theme with curries for the food (the only time I've ever repeated myself) and lots of lamps and lanterns adorning the garden - we've collected quite a supply over the years and we bought these Chinese lanterns back from our trip to Vietnam in the spring.

The tent came with its own lantern too

i think we bought these lanterns for the barn dance, or maybe it was my husbands 50th?

So why is this the 'last party'? . A number of reasons I think. For one thing we plan to move in a couple of years after we retire, and we are unlikely to ever again have such a perfect party house. Another reason is that I have been there, done that, and got the T-shirt - several T-shirts in fact! time to do something different. I have also realised that party planning has been a major outlet for my creative energy over the years, but possibly one I don't need any more since I discovered art and photography. Also it's really tiring and we haven't got quite as much energy as we once had. So how are we celebrating our Ruby Wedding which (DV) will happen in October? We are going to a Hotel in Cornwall for the weekend, with friends who are also celebrating their Ruby Wedding - Yay!

In the meantime I will leave you with this image of the clearing up after this week's party - see you soon

Brideshead Revisited?

I really love York, I think it's my favourite city in the country. Not only is it crammed full of history from Roman times to the present day, it's also stuffed with beautiful buildings, a great selection of independent shops and lovely cafes and restaurants. It has a real buzz about it.

We were there last week for our son's graduation and have been there on a number of occasions over the last 3 years, but I haven't really taken many photos. Why? Partly I think it's the style of photography that I enjoy, in that I don't really do panoramas, or photos of icons unless I can find a new angle on them. Rather, I usually focus on the detail (the more rust the better) and take many more photos of nature than I do of buildings. Also as I have written about in a previous post I don't do pretty. I managed to take one photo of York this time round, mainly because of the glorious colour of the evening sun on the stone of the lantern tower, spotted as we were on our way to have dinner.

At this point I thought I would review previous pictures I've taken in York and include a couple here. When I looked however I only found about 5 and I didn't like any of them very much - they were mostly bits of houses obscured behind flowering trees and didn't really give any sense of place. So I have decided not to include them.

Other than the graduation ceremony itself the highlight of this trip was a visit to Castle Howard - again no panoramic pictures of the grand facade, you can watch either of the versions of Brideshead to see this.

Brideshead Revisited - The Complete Collection (Digitally Remastered) [DVD]

Starring Jeremy Irons, Anthony Andrews, Laurence Olivier

Brideshead Revisited [DVD] [2008]

Starring Emma Thompson, Michael Gambon, Matthew Goode, Ben Whishaw, Felicity Jones

Instead, as usual, I have focused on the small elements that took my fancy in the house and garden. To be fair, I don't love Vanborough and the Palladian style of architecture or Capability Brown style gardens. I was however drawn to the sheltered rose garden and the rather grand fountain. First though we went round the house which was only partially open due to the filming of a drama called 'Murder at Pemberly' Austen sequel? the mind boggles!

The first room that really caught my attention was a child's bedroom which is not mentioned in the guide book

I loved the old toys especially the ship

I was also drawn to this bust in the antiques corridor, apparently collected by the 4th Earl when on a trip to Italy in 1738, and this detail of a Burne-Jones stained glass window in the chapel

Now to the outside, the view from the Boar Garden was impressive,

but what really drew my attention was the Atlas Fountain installed in 1853.

Its not the kind of thing I normally like but it looked so right in the grand surroundings and the play of the water on the statue is quite magical, as were the vista's on every side of this giant water spout.

Even if I had wanted to take a panoramic view of the front I wouldn't have been able to as there was scaffolding up for the filming and large numbers of white vans parked out front!

On to the Rose Garden - the perfect time to see it in all its glory, though again the prettiness didn't attract the photographer in me, although the gardener was very impressed.

I particularly liked this, with the seeds reminding me of pomegranates, I think it was a peony

Back to York and a couple of final photos I took while having lunch outside before driving home

This is the herb garden by the patchwork museum and co-incidentally our favourite Italian,

and I'm including this one just because I like it!

Sparkles to Share

Family

This has been a very family orientated week with my niece's baby shower on Sunday and my son's graduation from the University of York on Wednesday ( if the chancellor looks familiar its Greg Dyke). Both were lovely occasions and really made me count my blessings.

Books

A book that I have been reading off and on for a while, and have just finished, is 'Steal Like an Artist' by Austin Kleon. Lots of good stuff here and I have decided to keep a log book as suggested by Austin. This is not a journal but rather 'a little book in which you list the things you do every day'. I kept a gratitude diary for over a year so am hoping to combine the log book idea with this and make sure I capture the 'sparkling moments' in my log book, or in my case log app as I hate writing!

Steal Like An Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told Me About the Creative Life

By Austin Kleon

Discovery

This week I signed up for anew e-course, the Renaissance Woman's Tool Box. I spotted the link on Kelly Rae Roberts sponsor page and before I knew it had signed on the dotted line. I have been majoring on art and photography courses this year so this is something a little different. Starts next week - very exciting!

Photography

I am lucky enough to either run courses or attend events at Hilliers Gardens where as well as displays of plants and shrubs, they also often have 'Art in the Garden' exhibitions. I only had about 15 minutes to nip out and take photographs on Monday but it was well worth it.

I really love delphiniums, but they are a flower you don't see a lot of so I was thrilled to see this display.

Even without the 'geraniums red' they bought this poem to mind - this is just an extract

“There once was a Dormouse who lived in a bed
Of delphiniums (blue) and geraniums (red),
And all the day long he’d a wonderful view
Of geraniums (red) and delphiniums (blue).”

— A A Milne

See you next week, and in the meantime do share your own sparkling moments in the comments section.

Introducing Week of Sparkles

“The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.”

— Henry Miller

Today I'm trying out what I hope will become a regular feature on my blog 'Week of Sparkles', where I share with you some of my sparking moments of the week and would love it if you would share some of yours in the comments section. Anyway, here goes!

Film

I have been watching an amazing documentary about British photojournalist Don McCullin. It has been hard to watch as he has documented some terrible atrocities, but what gives the sparkle is the way in which his soul and his integrity shine through the horror he is capturing and the fact that someone has had the courage to record what has happened gives hope to the world in the long term.

“I don’t just take photographs, I think”

— Don McCullin

I saw this on the BBC as part of the Imagine series, so it is probably available on iPlayer, otherwise you can get it from Amazon.

McCullin [DVD]

Starring Don McCullin

Discovery

Stuff about the demise of google reader had been all over the net this week with various people suggesting replacement programmes. I didn't use google reader and to be honest I wasn't sure (and still don't know) exactly what it did. I have never been really good about keeping up with other people's blogs and always felt vaguely guilty about it, mostly reading the few that were delivered into my in box. So I decided to give Bloglovin' a try and I'm really lovin' it! It works brilliantly. especially when using the app on my phone or iPad, and makes it quick and easy to keep up with everyone's blogs. You can find it here or by clicking on the Bloglovin' button on the sidebar of this page.

Books

As always I have more than one book on the go, but this weeks sparkle winner is 'Life is a Verb' by Patty Digh. I love the way she interweaves the stories of her life with her quest to live 'each individual, glorious day with more intention', though I have to admit I haven't been doing the exercises, something to go back to perhaps?

Life Is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally

By Patti Digh

Photography

Limited opportunities here this week but I did go to London for an appointment and afterwards got my camera out on the walk between Oxford Circus tube station (having learned that getting the camera out of its bag helps immeasurably with the process of taking pictures!) and one of my favourite clothes shops. These are my favourites of the pictures I took.

I really wanted to see this couple sitting at this cafe!

I loved the fabric on this bag that someone was carrying!

I was intrigued watching this guy prepare the mixture for the bubble pipes outside a Moroccan cafe ( you can catch a glimpse at the right hand side of the bike photo) - I'm sure there is a whole terminology surrounding this, but I have no idea what it is.

I love reading the blue and in this case green plaques on the London buildings. I especially love the idea of a 'Man of Science' even though I have no clue as to who he was. I was getting my husband to proof read this and he was horrified by my ignorance as his college science society was named after him as an alumnus.

I thought this new cafe looked really cool with its iPad on every table and a lovely condiment tray.

These were some of my sparking moments of the week - I would love to hear about yours

Blooming True and Other Stories

This post is mainly about my experience of the Bloom True on-line painting class I have been taking for the last 5 weeks led by Flora Bowley but before I start sharing my experience of the class I have a new treasure chest to share with you. I am still processing my holiday photos from the spring and this short video focuses on our visit to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Cambodia, Land of Temple, Road and Lake from Barbara Evans on Vimeo.

I'm not going to give a blow by blow account of my Bloom True journey just to say its been fabulous - the course has been holistic rather than only about painting and painting techniques and this has worked well, engaging your whole being, body, mind and spirit, in the process. Throughout the course I worked on two paintings and I am going to illustrate the story of one of them from start to finish. Flora's technique is based on adding many, many layers to each painting and practicing non- attachment and intuitive painting to further each canvas - much harder than it sounds!

My first painting started like this

Then progressed to this

Followed by this

Then this

and this

Still going!

nearly there now!

and finally!

I'm not of course absolutely guaranteeing that it is the final final version, so watch this space! What of the other painting I hear you ask - well having been through a tree phase its current iteration is an elephant which I am not loving, lets just say it has a way to go!

Vive La France!

Last weekend we popped over to France. It was actually a 'booze cruise' in that the primary objective (excuse) for going was to buy wine and beer for our son's 21st birthday party next month. Although, as my husband pointed out, it would have been a lot cheaper to save the money we spent on the hotels and meals and buy the booze in our local Tesco.

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly we can get to France via the tunnel. We left home at 7.15 and we were in the supermarket in Calais buying wine at 12.15 (French time + 1 hour)

Wine bought, we headed along the coast to Boulogne where we were spending our first night. As we headed off to walk along the beach the first thing that struck me was the amount of blue everywhere.

These balls were lining the road in front of our hotel down to the aquarium and the beach. Once on the beach I loved the colourful lines of sand yachts bearing testament to the exposure of the coast line!

After a very windy stroll along the prom, we headed into town to have a look at the shops, passing the fish market which still had a few stalls open.

Reaching the town centre my eye was caught by this antique shop which proved to be a veritable treasure trove of photographic opportunities.

I even ended up buying one of these gorgeous art deco soda syphons

The next morning we visited the Maison de Beuriere a 19th Century fisherman's house which has been furnished in the period and came with a very helpful guide who recommended that we visited the fishermen's memorial on the cliffs above the town. We were unable to enter the chapel but were very moved by the memorial stones which describe the sailors as lost often giving the name of the boat and year rather than the date.

The museum guide had also told us that the fishermen in a neighbouring village were so poor they couldn't afford any kind of home so they built houses using boat hulls for roofs. There is apparently one of the original houses left, but we couldn't find it and had to settle for a picture of the ones they had built in the holiday park!

After a quick lunch it was off to our next destination the Parc du Marquenterre in the Somme estuary. This is a bird sanctuary that we have visited on several occasions but only in the autumn so it was interesting to see what birds were there in the summer. As it turned out the highlights were probably the storks,

some of whom were nesting, and the avocets a beautiful bird I hadn't seen before.

Then off to our hotel in St Valerie sur Somme - I have been trying to book a room in this wonderful gothic pile for years but it's always been full - this year success at last!

Great details and stunning views too! Although sadly our room overlooked the car park.

The next morning it was off to the market to buy some goodies to take home.

If you haven't tried one of these little flat peaches you haven't (if you are a peach lover) lived! Sadly the only place I've seen them in the UK so far is Borough Market which is not very local to us. I also loved the green of the samphire and the attractively displayed waffles

After a traditional lunch in the market brasserie it was time to head back across the channel. But first there was just time to pay a flying visit to the medieval city.

Where we discovered this charming square, full of ancient houses and flowers.

Au revoir till next time!

A Weekend on the Wight - The Horse the Hero and the Manor

Sunday was a special day at National Trust property Mottistone Manor, it's the only day of the year that the house is open to the public. This year was even more special because, in the morning, guided tours were being given by members of the Seely family who gifted Mottistone to the trust in 1963, going on to lease it back from them, which is why normally only the gardens are open.

The house was mentioned in the Doomsday Book and the older part of the building which in this picture looks to be made of lighter stone was build round a saxon long house. The house now is a charming example of a small tudor manor house that has been sensitively renovated by the architect John Seely. there is also magnificent tithe barn.

this extract from the Brook Village Website gives some information about John Seely, who as "the second Lord Mottistone, was a talented architect who, together with his partner, Paul Paget, formed the firm of Seely and Paget in 1926.

One of their first commissions involved designing the opulent former Eltham Palace for Stephen and Virginia Courtauld and their pet ring-tailed lemur.

They restored many damaged church buildings after World War Two and restored parts of Windsor Castle in the 1960s. They also became surveyor to St Paul’s Cathedral, where the candles on the choir stalls are called ‘Mottistone candles'.

The Shack in the grounds of Mottistone Manor was used by the architects as a retreat and country office. Built in the 1930s, it is an example of Modern Movement design.

Local examples of John Seely’s work include Mottistone Manor, Little Brook and Shalfleet Church Hall. It is he who is to be thanked for gifting much of Mottistone to the National Trust and ensuring that the countryside, coast and downland did not become overdeveloped in the 1960s".

The shack in the garden is still there and is unique with its original fittings - unfortunately I was not able to get the right angle to take a successful photgraph of it though! Here are some flowers to make up!

The real joy of the day was the guided tour of the house by the current Lord Mottistone's sister. No photography was allowed ( understandably as this is a home not a museum), however if you are interested in catching a glimpse of the interior some pictures can be found here. Hearing the stories from a family member really made them come alive; especially when she spoke about her grandfather known as 'Galloper Jack' and his charger 'Warrior" who managed to get through the whole of the first world war, pretty much the first to the last day, relatively unscathed. It is said that some of the adventures of Michael Murpurgo's War Horse we based on Warrior. For tales of Victorian 'Dering Do' Galloper Jack and Warrior can't be bettered. Galloper Jack's biography has been written by his grandson Brough Scott and more information can be found here . You can also purchase the book of course.

Galloper Jack: The Remarkable Story of the Man Who Rode a Real War Horse

By Brough Scott

Tour of the house finished, we continued look round the garden enjoying the carefully tended borders.

before making our way up through the bluebell woods

to the Longstone. A megalithic site, the only one on the Island, roughly contemporary with Stonehenge.

We stopped to savour the views before taking a circular route back to the manor. We dropped in at the farm shop on the way home where we found this barn with particularly photogenic occupants.

A Weekend on the Wight - A Busy Day

Last weekend was a holiday weekend in the UK and for once we were blessed with good weather. We had a fab weekend and I thought it would be nice to relive it by inviting you to join me. First up on Saturday morning we went into Freshwater to shop at the butcher, the baker, and the fishmonger. We do this every Saturday when we are down and each time I feel grateful that these fabulous local shops are still here! While we were there I noticed the Horse Chestnuts were in bloom (very late shows you what a dreadful spring we've had!) and, probably for the first time, really looked at the individual blossoms.

Back home to drop off the shopping before heading for Cowes, we noticed a lot of yachts with brightly coloured spinnakers in the distance; so we went down to the cliff to see what was going on. A race was obviously in progress and though we checked the local paper we never did find out exactly which one we were watching. Both Hurst Castle in the distance (on the mainland side of the Solent) and the much nearer Fort Victoria make a dramatic backdrop for the boats.

We visit Cowes quite frequently, I love the atmosphere, the shops and the general sense of a place dedicated to the sea. I have taken many pictures here over the years and today I decided to focus on things I hadn't noticed before. In the case of the first it's because its not always there, but today the beat lead us up the High Street. You don't often see a good old fashioned 'tea chest' skiffle group these days!

The second thing I noticed was this piece of machinery - I was planning to go into the yacht haven to look around for photographic inspiration but unusually it was locked up, so I had to make do with the quay by the ferry terminal where I don't usually linger.However I did notice this

On the way back from Cowes we stopped off at Newtown which in one of my favourite places on the Island. I lived in a nearby village but my best friend lived here and I was a frequent visitor. I always think of this house, which I have know since childhood, as the 'enchanted cottage' but in a good 'fairy godmother lives here' rather than a bad 'wicked witch lives here' sort of a way. I have however never see it look as amazing as it did last weekend with an absolute riot of clematis and wisteria virtually covering the entrance porch and front door. I know I said a couple of weeks ago that I don't like pretty - well this is the exception that proves the rule!

The outbuildings are scarcely less attractive than the house with this carefully placed boat prow just waiting for would be photographers to come by.

Then on towards the quay, glimpsed in the distance across a sea of buttercups

Walking along the edge of the marsh before crossing the footbridge, enjoying the gold of the gorse in the distance

And finally arrival at the quay with boats marooned on the mud at low tide

Back to the car and home for a cuppa next, but it was such a lovely evening we couldn't resist a final walk to the cliff, where the sea pinks looked misty and the gorse glowed in the evening light

Stay tuned for the next episode where we meet a medieval manor, a hero and a war horse.

Time and Place

I am now drawing towards the end of Kat Sloma's 'Sense of Place' class. The theme for this week is time, inviting us to compare photographs we have taken over time in the same location. My first thought was to use photos taken in my garden, but after a review of my photos I realised that one place I visit and photograph on a regular basis is London's South Bank at Waterloo.

I am going to start in the spring. These pictures were taken in April 2012 shortly after the announcement of a hose pipe ban due to the drought - hasn't really stopped raining since!

Despite the floods the carousel and the stunt riders were going strong.

Moving on to early summer there's lots to capture - to begin with a whole crop of new installations appeared.

My installation of the year was these green colanders - I never did find out exactly what they were supposed to represent

Into high summer and a faux beach with brightly coloured sand appeared, housing a children's playground. There were wedding parties in fancy dress and this rather splendid motorcycle and sidecar decked out for the jubilee.

In to autumn now and I have to admit to having taken these photos the previous year. We had been in the National Theatre and come out to discover a pink landscape - I have really never seen anything like it. We walked along the embankment marvelling at the glowing pavements and the reflection of the sunset in the Festival Hall windows.

Finally its winter, January 2013 to be precise; but still something of interest to photograph

Looking at these pictures its no wonder that I always make a point of taking my camera when I visit the South Bank at Waterloo. For those that don't know it it is a relatively small area in relation to the different sights, sounds and activities that take place there in an average year. I think I will have to repeat this post next year to see what differences I can capture.

On another note, don't forget there's still time to enter the postcard giveaway. Just pop over to my Facebook page here like it and leave a comment, you can view the postcards in the FunkyRosebud Studio Store here

Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap

This will be the second time I have participated in Kat Sloma's swap and I would thoroughly recommend it. It's very simple; you send 5 cards to Kat who redistributes them to swappers around the world and you get five back, plus a bonus card from Kat herself. (I rather suspect that most of us include a bonus card for Kat too).

I chose to send 6 different cards and sent them off in rather a rush just before going on holiday - this means that I now don't know which ones I sent except for the two I have had news of (this is much better than last year when I didn't find out if anyone had received my cards - and it is such fun when someone posts them on the Facebook page or emails to tell you of their safe receipt!)

The first of my cards appeared on Facebook right at the beginning of the swap - I was so excited. the picture is of a window of the George Hotel Yarmouth dressed for the Queen's Jubilee last summer. The George is a wonderful old building formerly the residence of the governor of the Isle of Wight. King Charles 1 spent the night there on his way to imprisonment in Carisbrook Castle and ultimately his death at the hands of Oliver Cromwell.

This is the second card I had news of and I was moved to receive this message from Will who lives near Boston

'I received your post card yesterday...Rodin's "The Thinker" with the Einstein quote. Very nice. Doubly so since it arrived the day after the Boston Marathon bombings'

Now to the cards I received. First to arrive was a fun Yoga card from Sassy, very apt as I have just started yoga classes. it was closely followed by a fun monocrome design from p'shaw designs which had this hand written quote on the back

“Creativity is thinking new things,
Innovation is doing new things.”

— Theodore Levitt

Next up was a violin and bow on exhibition in the musical instrument museum in Arizona from Deanie Houghtaling, This card had a quote too, printed on the back this time.

“You don’t make a photograph just with a camera. you bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved”

— Ansel Adams

this was followed by this Colourful mixed media piece from Tina Wittmer, this time with a quote on the front

“I prefer drawing to talking. Drawing is faster and leaves less room for lies.”

— Le Corbusier

Then we get to the 5th card, the one thats really got me thinking about why we participate in the swap. Obviously I can only speak for my own motivation. I do it because it's fun, it's a way of exchanging real as opposed to virtual art across continents, and it fosters connectivity and community. Other benefits might include additional traffic to my web site but they are extras. Overall I see the swap as an exchange of gifts between artists. When I received my 5th card I was surprised to see that the artist's website and email address was printed prominently over the photograph on the front of the card, thereby diminishing my pleasure in the art. On the back of the card was a promotional statement, so I guess the artist uses these as business cards. Nothing wrong with that of course, but for me it didn't capture the spirit and generosity of the swap. Plus it really spoiled much of my enjoyment of the picture, taking away from the concept of sharing gifts. For that reason I am not posting a picture of the card on my blog.

Finally I received Kats's lovely card - thank you so much for organising the swap agin Kat, I know you have also inspired a number of smaller swaps in some of the other artistic communities I am involved with.

I Don't Like Pretty!

Well I do really, it's more that it doesn't inspire me, it doesn't make my soul sing. Perhaps to some extent it's a case of familiarity breeding contempt. I am lucky enough to live somewhere where there's lots of pretty, thatched cottages, quaint streets etc. I find I have very little interest in taking photos of them.

Last week I visited Hilliers gardens near Romsey. Sir Harold Hillier was one of those adventurous types who headed for foreign climes to collect new plants and bring them back to the UK. The gardens were looking splendid, absolutely at their spring best, very pretty in fact. The star attraction was the magnolia avenue in glorious full bloom, very pretty indeed, so pretty I took a photo, but I don't like it. The magnolias became a blur of pink and white prettiness and from a distance you can't see the individual blooms (this may just say something about my lack of skill as a photographer of course).

What drew my attention instead was the interaction between the magnolias and the sculptures in the garden, or the white of the magnolia and the intense blue of the sky, the colours, textures and contrasts that capture the essence of the blossom for me. This is what makes my soul sing.

After the gardens I went into Romsey to have a look round. Plenty of pretty to be seen here, houses gardens etc. My eye was drawn to the abbey. Difficult to take a good photo of the outside, couldn't get the perspective, but inside was lovely. So many little details, shafts of sunlight coming through the windows and landing on different objects or parts of the building, but you couldn't call it pretty, glorious is more the word that springs to mind.

A Different Kind of Workshop

On Saturday I went on a photography course in London - it was different. the first difference was that it was focussing on using a particular piece of equipment , my new flash gun, the second was that we were working with a live model. This was something completely new for me and something I didn't feel entirely comfortable with, having strong views about young people, body image and size 0. Our model Mina was, of course delightful, but I still found the process strange and challenging.

After some basic instruction about our flashguns we set our iso to 100 and began to experiment with different shutter speeds and aperture as well as modifying the strength of the flash. It was interesting to notice what effect all of these settings had on the depth of shadows around the model.

Next up was our introduction to 'ghosting' a technique where you combine the use of your flash gun with a slow shutter speed. In general I found directing the model odd and difficult and initially I was unsure about what to ask her to do during these shots.

Off to the great outdoors next - or as good as it gets in this corner of north east London on the first sunny saturday in April. I was amazed at the number of people picnicking and barbecuing on a relatively small green space. We were there to practice using our flash guns for backfill however so limited opportunities for sun worshiping!

Finally as we were on our way back to the studio to finish up, one of the other participants was experimenting with releasing the shutter at the same time as zooming in on the subject - this was my attempt, it was really hard to get the timing right, but a look to play with maybe?

What next? practice, practice, practice!

Stop Press - Amazing Discovery!

Stop Press - amazing discovery! In order to take pictures you have to get your camera out of your bag!

I was in London yesterday. I had an appointment in the morning then planned to have lunch and go for a photo walk. But you know what, it was pouring with rain, not a hundred percent of the time, but kind of 15 minutes wet, 10 minutes dry - you know the kind of thing.

After lunch it was dry so I wandered aimlessly around the shopping center near the Olympic Park looking for inspiration. (This is not where I had planned to go but had the merit of being mostly under cover). I have taken pictures here on several occasions and the shine had rather gone off. I really couldn’t see anything worth getting my camera out of the bag for.

Then I spotted some Rosemary bushes in pots outside Jamie’s Italian, not terribly exciting but the most interested thing I’d noticed. I got out the camera and took a few shots and leaving the camera round my neck wandered on. It was as if the sun had come out (it hadn’t) suddenly I was aware of all sorts of interesting things to capture.

I was drawn to the window displays

The lovers

The bike racks

And, in particular, to this little boy chasing a red balloon

I honestly don’t think I would have noticed any of this if my camera had still been in my bag. The act of taking it out seems to have been the catalyst for really opening my eyes to what was around me.

Family

Books

Discovery

Photography

Film

Discovery

Books

Photography

These were some of my sparking moments of the week - I would love to hear about yours

Stay tuned for the next episode where we meet a medieval manor, a hero and a war horse.​

On another note, don't forget there's still time to enter the postcard giveaway. Just pop over to my Facebook page here like it and leave a comment, you can view the postcards in the FunkyRosebud Studio Store here

Stop Press - amazing discovery! In order to take pictures you have to get your camera out of your bag!

Stay tuned for the next episode where we meet a medieval manor, a hero and a war horse.