Archive for the ‘farming’ Tag
41 Day 250 – Boughs, Buds and Blossom 2 comments
41 Day 241 – Ok So It May take Me a Little Longer Than Planned….. Leave a comment
As the header states, this year of photography blogging may just take me a little longer than I planned, but that’s just the way it goes. I started out with the intention that i would photograph something everyday, easy i hear you say, but then when you begin it becomes clear that you become more fussy about what you shoot and what you post! Well that’s whats happened with me, I wont settle for the quick shot of a sunrise, or a piece of fruit at lunchtime, I want the images that you only seem to see gracing the covers of magazines, shot by professionals who have then spent days editing the original into something it never was! Only I wont edit! Then there are the shots that you only see when you are driving, and you are unable to capture due to the other commuters around you hustling and jostling you on their way to work. Of course there is always that amazing shot that you couldnt get because at that moment you didnt have your camera…..but sometimes you know there is more to life than a photograph, sometimes you have to stop and look with your own eyes, and committ the image to your own photographic memory banks…..there forever, to be recalled at will wherever and whenever, un-blogged, un-processed, un-spoilt!
41 Day 222 – Beauty in Death 4 comments
These are the last couple of shots from last weekends wander in the snow, which has now completely disappeared overnight mainly due to the rain and high winds that we now have! Hopefully I can move on to some more Springlike images!! Although these dead and decaying seed-heads have slumber like beauty all of their own…
41 Day 221 – Curiosity 7 comments
Now you may have heard of the saying ‘curiosity killed the cat’ (as a cat lover I’m not a fan of this saying!!) but have you ever heard of ‘curiosity killed the sheep’?? As a seasoned lover of sheep I just had to stop at the side of the road and take a photo of these chaps, all huddled together feasting on a recent delivery of fresh hay, bringing a little taste of summer meadows back to them. I was shooting from a fair distance as sheep are usually quite timid creatures, choosing to rush off in the opposite direction at the slightest movement, but these little guys decided that I warranted a closer inspection, bunching closer as they edged forward, safety in numbers, still on their toes and edgy but definately bolder than the average sheep. I just loved the contrast of their thick dark brown wool against the snow, they looked so warm and cosy, almost huggable (I dont think sheep hugging is an offence??) but what I loved was this particular sheep in the middle of the flock who seemed less interested in the hay and more interested in me, almost like he is playing hide and seek! Also note the various coloured ear tags…..a sheep fashion statement maybe?
41 Day 219 – Gated Isolation 7 comments
I set out last year to photograph all that is around us, everyday life that seldom achieves recognition as a way of teaching myself how to use my camera. I have photographed lots of different things since I began, and more and more I am trying out my own ideas rather than copying others or play follow my leader. My logic behind this is that those people can obviously do it a lot better than me, so I am leaning more and more towards going my own way, finding a different perspective on the ordinary, but all the time finding inspiration in others. This shot is one from the weekend, id spent a good couple of hours wandering the parklands, noticing others with cameras, observing their endeavours…. all the time wondering what they had on their memory cards yet feeling as though I wanted to do something far removed from their creations. So, feeling a little despondent I headed home along the lane that I travel almost everyday on my way to work and that’s when I saw the views I had created in my mind, the single hedgerow cutting through the snow laden land posted a few days ago, and a single gate left open, faded string reaching out on the icy breeze, the only movement in an otherwise frozen vista, the gate open but to where with the horizon lost in the glare of the snow, stubble standing rebellious above the whiteness and a feeling of glorious isolation…inspiration indeed.
41 Day 217 – Black and White Winter 12 comments
Finally winter has arrived here in Leicestershire and although it got off to a slow start it has continued to snow over the weekend and is still falling hard as we speak. Yesterday I decided to risk it and drove over to a local country park although the roads had been cleared and so it was quite a picturesque drive. The park looked beautiful although the sky was still heavy and grey, and so I made the most of the quiet (think most had decided to stay at home) and took a steady walk round before it got too cold to shoot! Here is just one of the shots, as I may not get chance to shoot over the next few days I will upload some more this week.
41 Day 216 – Portrait of a Sheep 3 comments
I can hear you all now, portrait of a sheep??? I happen to love sheep and whats not to like? Ok so they may not be top of everyone’s most favourite animal list but they do make remarkable sitters when your looking to practice your camera techniques! This one was part of a small flock belonging to a local smallholder, at the time I think they thought I was bringing them food, but this chap posed long enough to achieve some quite unusual shots by reducing the light around his face which left a lovely almost back-lit effect highlighting his mop of woolly fleece! After a few moments realisation dawned that there was no food and they turned away, luckily the owner arrived with a fresh supply of pellets and I left with a couple of rather nice low light portraits!
41 Day 215 – Hazy Sunday Afternoon 5 comments
Just a quick post as I have dinner on the go and I cant remember how many times I have burnt my evening meal whilst blogging! So, whilst out walking yesterday on what turned out to be a glorious Sunday afternoon (before the snow!) I managed to take a few photos, this one particularly caught my eye, shot almost directly at the sun it gave a lovely misty glow to the solitary tree standing bereft in the middle of the field….
41 Day 196 – Last Gasp Colour 2 comments
I haven’t really had chance to go wandering over the last week and so this evening I was looking through the last shoot which was whilst I was following a towpath walk, I say shoot but it was more like a ramble by the time I had trudged across a very muddy ploughed field, mastered 3 stiles and slipped down a very steep bank whilst avoiding a really large area of flooded grassland! The weather wasn’t at its best due to some low lying mist and the light was very flat to say the least. Undaunted I continued for 4 miles until I decided to head for home, turning off the towpath and back onto the lanes that lead to a village known as Stoke Golding. Now I have cycled around and through this village many times but walking allows you to take note of the small things that go unnoticed when your in the car or on 2 wheels. The village has a long history and is most famous for being the sight of the rural coronation of the first Tudor Monarch Henry VII following the battle of Bosworth in 1485. The village was originally known as just Stoke in Saxon ages, but Golding was added around 1570 when the word signified ‘crowning’ however the word is now obsolete from the English Language. In 1381 the Saxon village was home to 130 residents but now is the home of over 2000! There are many old properties that display plaques denoting famous residents and one shows a plaque detailing the sight of one of the first mangles! Nearing the end of my rural ramble I took the path through the field that leads back towards my home but as I made my way across the field I noted a bright pink display alongside the edge of a small pond in the middle of the field. The pond was edged with the most wonderful flowers growing quite randomly but the colour against the grey of the day was simply stunning, the image today is of those beauties, a last gasp breath of Summer amongst the grey haze of an approaching Winter.
41 Day 181 – Teazels 3 comments
This was a lucky find, I was diverted round one of the local villages on my way home due to one of the roads being closed for repair work and so it gave me an opportunity to go a different route home. Sitting at a junction I looked across and saw these beauties, standing tall and looking almost out of place, so I turned the car round and parked on the grass verge and got out to take a closer look. Now getting close to teazels is quite difficult as they generally seem to like wet areas, and having work wear on and 2” heels it was quite a challenge to keep my feet dry especially after all the rain of late. But, I managed a couple of quick shots before the traffic started to build up and I needed to move on. I may return soon to try some more interesting angles, but this time I will take my wellies!
