Roses are Red... or at least this one is!

The most beautiful things can often be found at home. After spending a day visiting places where I spent a lot of time as a child, I came home to find this rose on the kitchen window sill.

The sweetest flower that blows,

I give you as we part.

For you it is a Rose,

For me it is my heart.

Frederick Peterson

Magnolia Grandiflora

Another from the series of macro shots. Here I got in so close to the flower that you can see the individual grains of pollen.

I love to watch thy sculptured form unfolding,
And look into thy depths, to image there
A fairy cavern, and while thus beholding,
And while thy breeze floats o’er thee, matchless flower,
I breathe the perfume, delicate and strong,
That comes like incense from thy petal-bower;

C. P. Cranch

Up Close and Personal

I've been trying out a little macro work recently. This was taken at Ystradfellte where it is almost always damp. The trees are covered in a huge variety of mosses and lichens.

The trick to forgetting the big picture is to look at everything close up.

Chuck Palahniuk

Decay

This is a of a piece of wood on the forest floor, the soft moss covering the bark and the wood slowly decaying.

I have always looked upon decay as being just as wonderful and rich an expression of life as growth.

Henry Miller

Dusk at Pwll Pen-y-Fan

This was taken in Wales, near to where I was brought up. Although a very simple and classic shot, I like the different textures of the sky, the water and the rushes in the foreground.

Desolate

It's been a long time since I posted here, but my camera hasn't been idle. It's been a traumatic 12 months for me and maybe this will be reflected in my photos. Comments,as always, are appreciated.

There will be more to come in the next few days.

Shadows and Reflections V - The Olive Branch

This is a strange one. It is the shadow of the olive tree on my balcony made by the light reflecting off the window of the building opposite - so both a shadow AND a reflection. I like the simplicity of the photo and the very muted colours.

Every man had a different idea of what's beautiful; and it's best to take the gesture, the shadow of the branch, and let the mind create the tree.

William Faulkner

Dyeing for leather!

This was taken on a trip to Morocco. In the heart of the Medina at Fes there is a leather dying 'factory'. The stench was appalling but the colours of the dyes (a lot more than you can see here) and the men working, were very interesting to watch. I like this photograph because without the man for scale, it becomes a completely different picture!


Mere colour, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand ways.
Oscar Wilde

Shadows and Reflections IV

This one was taken during a fashion photo shoot. You can just see the photo grapher's knee. I like the shapes in this picture - almost like a Matisse.

Praise or blame has but a momentary effect on the man whose love of beauty in the abstract makes him a severe critic of his own works

John Keats

Shadows and Reflections III - Self Portrait

This was taken while on holiday in Australia. I was lying on the sun deck and taking photos of my friends dog and saw my reflection in his eye. I really like this one! What do you think?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Margaret Wolfe Hungerford

Shadows and Refelctions II - Underwater

This was taken on the Promenade in Nice after a rainstorm. There was a large puddle which allowed me to take this photo which is almost entirely a reflection of the subject. I rarely take 'posed' pictures but I like this one.

Beauty is a primeval phenomenon, which itself never makes its appearance, but the reflection of which is visible in a thousand different utterances of the creative mind, and is as various as nature herself.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Shadows and Reflections I - The Runner

This is the first picture from a project I have been working on. This was taken from my balcony, quite early in the morning during the Nice Demi Marathon

Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.

Martin Luther King

Waves again

A strong breeze brought the waves up this this time - it was a beautiful sunny day and a few braves souls were running and dancing in amongst the waves, enjoying the forces of nature. An absolute must for one man and his camera.

When you do dance, I wish you a wave o' the sea, that you might ever do nothing but that.
Move still, still so ,and own no other function.
William Shakespeare, The Winters Tale

Heart of Stone

Another one from the beach in Woolongong, Australia. The rocks there were amazing - so many different colours and textures. I spotted this and really liked the way the erosion of the sea had created a series of hearts, one on top of the other.

Keep a green tree alive in your heart and a songbird may come to sing there.

Chinese Proverb

Waves

We had the most amazing waves here in Nice yesterday. It wasn't particularly windy but the waves were crashing over the promenade wall. Mostly, the sea here is very calm and the waves little more than ripples. Here is a short video and a few photos showing how big they were!











The shattered water made a misty din.
Great waves looked over others coming in,
And thought of doing something to the shore
That water never did to land before.

Robert Frost

Almost Made It.

I took this picture on a visit to a little village in the hills behind Nice. I saw this egg with an unborn chick inside and found it both sad and beautiful.

But there is suffering in life, and there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it's better to lose some of the battles in the struggles for your dreams than to be defeated without ever knowing what you are fighting for.

Paulo Coelho

A beautiful dawn

I don't normally get up before dawn, but on this particular morning I was so glad that I did. The light was amazing and the colours kept changing as I watched. I should get up early more often! I took this picture standing on my balcony.

When you arise in the morning,think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.

Marcus Aurelius

Butterflies

I sat patiently for quite a while waiting for one of the butterflies in my parents garden to land in front of me - and was rewarded with two at the same time.

"Happiness is like a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you."

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Pebbles

Taken on the beach at Nice. The humidity in the evening had made the pebbles wet and highlighted their various colours - not normally seen during the day when they appear mostly grey. Can you spot my mobile phone?

"Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find that you have crossed the mountain."

Marilyn French

This is one of my favourite photographs. I love the colours, the shadows and the lighting. Taken at Morjim beach in Goa, India it looks like a windsurfer but in fact it is a kite that was just about to be launched - you can just make out the guy controlling it in the water, just above the woman and child heading towards the water.

"Imagination is the highest kite one can fly."

Lauren Bacall