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alien earth
There are lots of lifeforms on the planet which have that touch of the weird and alien about them. The ocean and the insect world are teeming with them. But among the plant world there are plenty of odd specimen, and as regular readers of my blog know I love to photograph fungi. We’re past the mushroom season, alas so I’ll have to wait until August/September before I can capture their odd glory again, but in the meantime there are always lichens! Here’s a lovely duo I photographed recently. Due to all the storms we’ve experienced lately there are tons of branches and trees knocked down in the woods I…
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after the sun, the rain
After a blast of sunshine this morning the rain rolled in as I was out walking the dog in Coole Park – luckily I was wearing the right clothing for the inclement change. The light was so grey at this point in the afternoon that several of the photos I took looked just as well in black and white. This image looks better larger – just click on it. It’s a good example that rain can have its advantages, if you ignore the damp and chilling aspect of it! The turlough in Coole Park is huge and has swallowed up many of the trees. I’m used to this sight, as…
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the world will open if you wait
There are times when I go into the woods and it seems to open up and show me vistas of ethereal beauty. Those heart-stopping moments don’t always translate well to photographs. Photographing inside of woods is difficult. It tends to come out as one undifferentiated blob. Plus, there is the constant problem of the shade from the canopy (as a rule I never use a flash). Every now and again the mystery combines with good light and gives me a decent image. Of course, like all images this is just an approximate, but it is close enough to make me smile. Today I found entire sections of Coole Park carpeted in bluebells.…
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freshly minted leaves
I love the colour of freshly minted leaves after they break free from their sticky cocoons. They are soft, vunerable, and vividly green. The potential of a long summer shines in them, especially when golden evening light pours across their trembling veins. I took this shot from below, looking straight up at the leaf, suspended in all its glory. With much to watch in the undergrowth, and at eye level, in woodlands you can sometimes forget to look up, to the snatches of sky in between the looming treetops. Yesterday the wind gusted through the branches, and it sounded like the sea: waves crashed in the distance and washed up…
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this evening
Evenings like this make up for the remorseless grey days of winter.
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old magic persists
Tree, water and moon at dusk. It’s still beautiful, despite the rows of houses stacked upon each other. Even in the urban environment the old magic persists.
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intimacy
Winter is upon us, but here is an image of a golden autumn evening in one of my favourite places to walk the dog: Coole Park.
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Dessicated heart
A drop of love would make it beat again.
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shake up the sky
I always say trees and sky belong together. I snapped this a few days ago, and I love how the cloud formations seem like cartoon movement ripples or sound lines radiating from the tree. As if it is hollering out: Wake up! Spring has returned!
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going monochrome
I’ve been experimenting with changing some of my recent photographs of trees to black and white, and taking a slightly arty style. In some of them I’m using sepia tones. I start with the base image, go with my instinct about which filter works best and start building layers of effects. Of all the creative work I do artwork and photography are probably the most satisfying. I lose massive chunks of time when I get involved in it because it absorbs my attention completely. It’s also the work that has no pressure attached: I do it simply for my pleasure. I’ve mentioned before that woods and forests are where I…