It’s not Christmas and I don’t have seven swans a-swimming, only the lone one above photographed in a local park during a Covid lockdown. But I do have seven other birds from various locations across the world. I hope you enjoy this ornithological world tour!
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Is there such a thing as an ordinary object? And is ordinary the same for everyone? One thing that travel teaches is that one person’s ordinary can look extraordinary to another. The things we take for granted in our lives, the little things that make life easier, may not be the same in other parts of the world, or may not exist at all, at least for the average family.
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As a child I loved to see butterflies in our garden of course. But I was also fascinated by caterpillars, daddy-long-legs, even worms! Today I see insects and other bugs mainly as potential subjects for photography. I love to stalk bees as they move from flower to flower.
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There’s something very photogenic about the strands of seaweed we find on the shore. The colours are often rich, the shapes sensuous and sculptural. When I walk on a beach I often find myself pointing the camera downwards, looking for seaweeds, almost as much as towards the sea.
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There’s a feeling of autumn in the air as we reach the end of August and head into September. And that's even though recently we’ve had some of the loveliest days of our rather patchy summer. Some leaves are beginning to turn, or even drop, and there are berries on many of the street trees in Ealing.
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It’s Pick a Word time again. Another month and another set of five words from Paula to illustrate. Always challenging, always fun! And as always I've trawled my archives to find some words that I hope fit her choices.
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Our images don’t have a particular job to do, they can stand alone. And the viewer is free too, to interpret them as they wish. They can follow the image’s ‘suggestion’ or search for other meanings – or none. With that in mind I have selected some favourite black and white shots to share.
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I am not a typical ‘beach person’. I fry in the sun and get easily bored just lying around. And having taken the trouble to fly to a foreign country, I want to see and experience the culture that makes it unique, not spend time in an environment that differs only a little from place to place. And yet, I love the sea!
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Photographs are a wonderful way of capturing the world around us. Whether we’re aiming for pure realism or something more creative, for the most part we include recognisable subjects in our images. But without context, photos don't always give a proper sense of scale. They lack the cues, context, and perspective that our eyes and brain use to judge size and distance in the real world.
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Photography is nothing without light, of course. And light plays a crucial part in creating shadows and silhouettes. Shoot into bright light to silhouette your subject against it, or let the light fall directly on your subject to cast a shadow.
