Water Colour

 I have decided to post something abstract for today. I wonder whether you can tell what this is...

The clue is in the title.

It is not a watercolour painting, it is the colours of water, created by throwing a rock into the river and photographing the moment of impact, or the moment just after impact. I love to do this because it always throws up some interesting images and with a selective crop and little colour adjustment I think I have created a really cool abstract image. 

Each time you look at the image different things stand out, for example I can see at least three different types of animal, I can see a black faced sheep, a little yellow gecko, and a little duck chick (or maybe a little rubber duck). As the water is thrown upwards and outwards it catches the light and it looks like brush strokes.

Next time you are by the river why not try top capture something like this, you might be surprised by the results.

Pile On!

 Whenever I stop near a river, as I did recently during a walk near Beddgelert in North Wales, I will try to build stacks of river stones and photograph them, before putting them back in the river or on the river bank where I found them.

I try also to take the photo from an angle that lines up with the background although I try to keep the background out of focus, with just enough detail to make the image work. For example in the second image the angle of the stacked stones lines up with the light rock in the background. Sometimes the images work best in colour, especially if I have managed to find stones that match the colours in the background but for todays images I thing black and white look best.

It doesn't always work and it can take several attempts to achieve the image I want. This sometimes means getting wet too as I  find the right position.

While this is a fun activity for me and | like the stacks I don't like to leave them when I am done. For me it is about capturing a moment and then leaving things as I found them and for other people to enjoy the natural landscape. 

When Skies are Grey

 I have been working from home today, and all day long the sun has been shining and there has hardly been a single cloud in the sky. So, I was looking forward to finishing work and getting outside for a nice evening walk along the sea front. But as I turned off my work laptop I realised that the sudden gloom in my  home office is not because the nights are drawing in (we have past the summer solstice after all) but because there is a weather front coming in and the sky is now heavy with dark grey clouds.

As an antidote for that I thought I would quickly post some beautiful, bright and colourful shots of some flowers taken not so long ago in the gardens at Erddig. Hopefully these images will give your day a little lift just as they have mine.

You're welcome.

In an Orderly Fashion

 

So this follows on from yesterdays post (if you haven't seen it please take a look).

I really love the orderliness of the workshop, with all the tools neatly stored in their proper places.

I think the setting really suits black and white images, which is how they were shot. It adds to the sense of age or history. But when I edited the first image in colour I was really struck by the richness and warmth of the wood and that is possibly my favourite image for today.

I love the detail in the cabinets, the marquetry patterns are simple but beautiful, and all that just to store chisels. Marquetry is something I have done in the past (and will do more when I retire) and I know that even for a simple pattern like this it will have taken time and skill and it shows that the craftsman has taken care not just over his tools but how they are displayed.

Many years ago I had a holiday on the Norfolk Broads and I went into a photo studio in Stalham where I bought a black and white print of tools silhouetted against a window. I really liked the picture and I had that in mind when I took these images. Although that was a good image I am going to say I like mine best...

That Grinds My Gears

 I recently visited Erddig, a National Trust property in North Wales. It is a lovely old house in beautiful grounds, it has a rich history and is a place I have visited several times in the past with my family. 

On this occasion it was a bank holiday and the place was heaving, there was no space in the car park and there were so many people it really was not the quiet day out I had envisaged. It was a harsh reminder of why I normally stay home on bank holidays.

I didn't bother going into the house itself, the thought of having to squeeze through masses of people was too much so I stayed outdoors and tried to enjoy the gardens. I got some nice shots of some flowers and I managed to find a quiet corner to sit and reflect and as the afternoon wore on many of the families had left and a more calming atmosphere descended before it was time to head home once again.

On the way out a National Trust volunteer reminded me that there was a smithy and wood workshop just off the courtyard and so I popped in for a quick look.

For me this was, perhaps curiously< the highlight of the visit. I love this sort of place, I love the smells, the old tools and machinery and I love the memories that come flooding back of visits to my grandparents. Both my grandfathers had shed/workshops with lots of old tools which they looked after carefully. On Saturday afternoons we would spend time talking and tidying and sometimes making things or mending things.

It also makes me think about how much things have changed and how we have become such a throwaway society compared to the past when we would routinely restore and mend things That makes me sad so i am going to stop here and go back to remembering  my Saturday afternoons with my grandads.

Dilly Dilly

 

Here are a couple of shots of some lavender flowers as they emerge in my garden.

We used to have a massive lavender plant in our front garden, planted in an old chimney stack. It was so large it would beat against our window when the wind was blowing. I was a beautiful display of colour and so fragrant. No one else had lavender in our street and it was nice to see people stop to admire it and to take in the scent.

Sadly it got so old and woody so it has been replaced with some younger plants which are just now coming into their own.

They are such beautiful flowers, and the scent is so relaxing, it is no wonder that lots of hotel rooms use pictures of lavender to soothe their guests.