Autumn Bursts Forth & Twister

Seb: Hey, guess what, it’s AUTUMN. If last week didn’t make that clear, hopefully this does. I’ve never actually seen chestnuts still clutching onto the tree like this — normally they’re scattered about underneath the tree!

I was actually out to take some photos of the trees themselves — there’s a beautiful avenue of ancient chestnuts nearby which I thought would look good at sunset. We’re talking proper, thousand-year-old gnarled and twisted trees that have been around since England was invaded by the Normans. I’ll upload another one tomorrow, so that you can see what they’re like.

But anyway: I looked up, as I always do, being tall and all, and I spotted some chestnuts glinting in the warm, yellow sunset. That ‘golden hour’ has never been more obvious!

This photo is an attempt at staying true to my ‘landscape soul’, while still catering a little more for those that like interesting detail in their photos. And those that like bokeh, of course.

Abi: The fair has come to town- and when I say fair I mean a selection of rides manned by neanderthals, underscored by a lingering smell of fried onions and a soundtrack limited to dance tunes from the mid 90s.

I rarely take any photos at night, I set out this week with a vague idea of capturing light and movement (maybe some people) with no clear idea of what I was really doing. This is a bit of a departure for me so things can only improve.

When I was at school this fair was something approaching a big deal. It has dwindled in recent years but the sounds and smells are just the same as they always were. Only instead of cider the kids are most probably on Ketamine or something. Probably.

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Click the images to visit our Flickr streams. You can comment either here or there!

Newton’s Apple & Shoe Porn

Seb: I’m in two minds about whether I’m going to make this something deep and meaningful, or if I’ll just let it stand for what it is.

This apple is the fruit of a direct descendent of Newton’s apple tree.

Someone obviously scrumped an apple from his garden and planted another tree at the Cambridge Botanical Gardens. I then scrumped this apple and brought it back home to photograph. The actual tree from which Newton’s apple fell from died, so these stolen progeny are all that remain!

I didn’t want to do ‘yet another macro’ of the apple, so you get an experiment in ‘landscape still-life’. It works! (Though it’s a shame the tree is not alone in a field, eh? But I love the colours on the trees behind!)

As for the deep and meaningful bit, you’ll have to check my blog. It’s about Newtonian physics and racism — not for the faint of heart.

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Abi: I find myself in London this week sans chocolate sauce, so very little thought went into this shot. I visited the V&A museum and saw these shoes as part of the History of Fashion exhibition. Although I am not really a “shoe girl” I think we can all appreciate this sexy pink and gold encrusted pair…

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Click either photo to visit our Flickr streams.

Balloon comedian & It’s all about the cake, or how Sebastian found Abi

Seb: I should probably preface this by saying he is a member of my family. I don’t actually go around taking photos of little boys, asking them to tie balloons to their ears — that was all his idea. I just pointed the camera in the right direction (which just so happens to be the most important thing with photography, by the way).

I got a new lens this week — a Sigma 50mm — so expect to see a lot more photos like this. I’m building up to doing some journalistic work/people photography. The idea is to hit up somewhere like India or South Africa and head to the slums or the wild undergrowth. I’ll also be doing some portraiture and live music work.

I’ve always been good at catching just the right moment, but the key to photography (other than pointing in the right direction!) is understanding your tools. The only way to do that is to take lots of photos!

If you like this kid, I have a few more photos of him to share…

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Abi: Ah Cake!. It can unite or divide nations, it can be used to celebrate or commiserate and it is power is not to be underestimated. Make no mistake, cake is VERY important to some people. Who knew that somewhere, deep in the bowels of some forum, there are a whole bunch of self employed artists who, quite simply love cake. And this photo is partly dedicated to them.

I won’t go into the details of who did (or didn’t) speak first. I won’t elaborate on the fact that when Seb did eventually address me, it was to tell me off about something. I think you will agree that it was not the best start. I would even go so far as to say it is a wonder we are friends at all.

So this week’s image is a comment on the bonding powers of cake and one persistent, hairy photographer. Enjoy.

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To visit either Flickr stream, click a photo!

These photos will likely find their way to Flickr eventually, but I need to get them all up here now, or I’ll forget about them. It’s crazy how many photos I have taken that never quite make it to the public domain. Either I get side-tracked, or I don’t like the photo at the time — or sometimes I just have too many go through and I don’t want to swamp my various sites with page after page of photo.

So, if you don’t want random photos of me and my friends, or a pretty landscape, you can navigate away now. Otherwise, scroll on down. Notes are attached to the images as usual — hover over them to read ‘em!

I’m still feeling pretty rough. Head feels a bit groggy… a bit… tight. Going to try and write something for tomorrow now… and drink some more water.

Out with the Old & Puddle of ink

Abi: I have to admit, the days immediately following New Year always make me laugh to myself. It never ceases to amuse me how suddenly, we are all expected to snap back into shape, like whippets after the festive season and then spend the rest of January feeling bad about it.

The New Year is also an opportunity to clear out, replace and take stock of the things that perhaps no longer feel right to us. Like Children, we outgrow our toys as our lives become busier and our worlds expand.

I saw this heap of bin bags outside the charity shop on my way into the city. By the looks of things, someone had had a damn good rummage through as they were all open like this when I found them. It made me a little sad to see that someone had so obviously outgrown the things that perhaps a year before had given them such joy only to be replaced by something better, newer, more expensive.

And if that is not a metaphor for life, I don’t know what is.

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Seb: You have to try and guess what it is!

So, a few days ago, on New Year’s Eve, it was a full moon. It was actually a blue moon — the second moon in a calendar month — AND… get this… there was also a partial lunar eclipse. If you’re a landscape photographer and itching to do more night-time photography, such conditions are more than enough to a photographer like me, er, aroused

… (if I didn’t think my sister could see this, I’d insert a whole paragraph about the physical excitement photography elicits in me) ..

But get this, the moon was TOO HIGH IN THE SKY. So it was basically impossible to do anything with. Bah.

This photo was taken about 3 minutes before Big Ben tolled in the new year. It’s more of a proof of concept than anything else. I took photos like this back at college, when I was 16. I want to do some more!

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Clicking either image will send you to Flickr, where comments, notes and tags abound.

This is my house, just before we moved into it. The photo was probably taken in 1995.

I’ve almost forgotten what grass looks like. What the sun looks like. What frickin’ daylight looks like. Europe is currently the land of eternal twilight. Admittedly, I wake up around 2pm so I’m not doing myself any favours, but the cloud coverage is so thick, so ever-present, so OPPRESSIVE that it just stays DARK. The only patch of sunlight was a few days ago — you saw the photo of me and my sister right? — and the photos I’m sharing with you today are a few hours after that, just before sunset (though when isn’t it sunset in the Arctic Circle of England…?)

These photos are from all around my estate. I don’t think I’ve really showed you where I live before, other than my immediate garden. I live in the coach house of a Victorian estate. The estate itself totals about 300 acres (150 hectares?) — small fry by American standards I guess, but quite big here in the UK. There’s a manor (photo below), and a farmhouse (no photos, but it’s not as pretty as the manor anyway), and a bunch of smaller lodges and ancillary buildings.

[So, this is where I had a power cut yesterday... now I'm going to continue!]

If you look at the photo above, that middle section is ‘new’. Originally there would’ve just been an arch there. The brown/red bit is cobbles — they extend behind the house too. Lords and ladies would’ve left their coach and horses behind the house (there are iron hoops on the wall to tie horses to), and then walked up to the manor, probably through the orchard (which is on the corner of our land). I live on the left side, in the oldest part of the house (the right side is extended and modified).

Behind the camera is the swimming pool (which I think I’ve shown you?), and way off to the left is the formal garden (which I recently used for 52 weeks).

Anyway, have a look through these photos. I’ve made a few notes where necessary! Incidentally, it’s finally starting to thaw. And it’s only one and a half months until Spring!! .. ..

I’m not sure if this is my new favourite landscape… or if the next one is…

This is the one I ‘leaked’ exclusively to Facebook. It’s a lot prettier here on the blog without Facebook’s shitty JPEG compression though. Look at the PINKS.

If you’re trying to get your bearings, my house is to the left of this frame, and the farm is to the right (a long way away)

This is my house, just before we moved into it. The photo was probably taken in 1995.

I’ve almost forgotten what grass looks like. What the sun looks like. What frickin’ daylight looks like. Europe is currently the land of eternal twilight. Admittedly, I wake up around 2pm so I’m not doing myself any favours, but the cloud coverage is so thick, so ever-present, so OPPRESSIVE that it just stays DARK. The only patch of sunlight was a few days ago — you saw the photo of me and my sister right? — and the photos I’m sharing with you today are a few hours after that, just before sunset (though when isn’t it sunset in the Arctic Circle of England…?)

These photos are from all around my estate. I don’t think I’ve really showed you where I live before, other than my immediate garden. I live in the coach house of a Victorian estate. The estate itself totals about 300 acres (150 hectares?) — small fry by American standards I guess, but quite big here in the UK. There’s a manor (photo below), and a farmhouse (no photos, but it’s not as pretty as the manor anyway), and a bunch of smaller lodges and ancillary buildings.

[So, this is where I had a power cut yesterday... now I'm going to continue!]

If you look at the photo above, that middle section is ‘new’. Originally there would’ve just been an arch there. The brown/red bit is cobbles — they extend behind the house too. Lords and ladies would’ve left their coach and horses behind the house (there are iron hoops on the wall to tie horses to), and then walked up to the manor, probably through the orchard (which is on the corner of our land). I live on the left side, in the oldest part of the house (the right side is extended and modified).

Behind the camera is the swimming pool (which I think I’ve shown you?), and way off to the left is the formal garden (which I recently used for 52 weeks).

Anyway, have a look through these photos. I’ve made a few notes where necessary! Incidentally, it’s finally starting to thaw. And it’s only one and a half months until Spring!! .. ..

I’m not sure if this is my new favourite landscape… or if the next one is…

This is the one I ‘leaked’ exclusively to Facebook. It’s a lot prettier here on the blog without Facebook’s shitty JPEG compression though. Look at the PINKS.

If you’re trying to get your bearings, my house is to the left of this frame, and the farm is to the right (a long way away)

This is what I call a missed opportunity.

Standing at the highest point around, stuck behind trees. No way out, no clear view of the fjord. A soft, tangerine glow reflecting off the water and filling the air. Stuck behind trees. Evening birds tweeting, my friend gently tugging at my arm, leading us towards our destination. ‘But the fjord’s over theeere!’ I swear, I can stick out my bottom lip like a frackin’ petulant heroine when necessary.

To put this gold and crystalline, clear sunset into perspective: out of 18 days in Norway, only one of them was fully clear — my last. That’s when this photo was taken.

Actually, I tell a lie. As I sat on the bus, heading towards the airport at 5 in the morning, the most beautiful dawn I’ve ever seen greeted me. But of course my camera was in damn my bag, in the hold of the bus… another missed opportunity. Blah!

I may have to invest in a high-quality compact camera that I can keep in my trouser pocket…