Hardy spider

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Rachael

Hello there!

This tiny spider has been hanging out in my olive tree for weeks now, happily oblivious to freezing temperatures and snow. It is a colourful and rather acrobatic addition to my garden.

And, for my next trick…

“Imperio!”
Moody jerked his wand, and the spider rose onto two of its hind legs and went into what was unmistakably a tap dance.
Everyone was laughing — everyone except Moody.
“Think it’s funny, do you?” he growled. “You’d like it, would you, if I did it to you?”
The laughter died away almost instantly.
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Exploring moss

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Rachael

Today we had sun! I celebrated by photographing backlit moss with my Raynox DCR250 macro conversion lens attached to my 100mm macro lens to get really close.

Moss really is surprisingly beautiful and interesting when you get close to it.
Like a forest of tiny trees casting long shadows in the afternoon sun.

A single strand of gossamer was caught in the moss.

And I found the tiniest of baby snails on one of the stems. The only way to see it was on the screen at native resolution.

I haven’t been blogging much recently. I need to concentrate on my degree for the next few months and there just doesn’t seem to be enough time to blog and keep up with everyone else’s blogs, and take images, process them, study, be a mum and wife, keep house, etc etc. So I am going to blog once a week for a little while now and hopefully do better at reading the blogs I follow.

‘A rolling stone gathers no moss, but it gains a certain polish.’ Oliver Herford

My first exhibition private view

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Rachael

Thursday was the private viewing of Albion, The Shed Photography’s exhibition at the Cock n Bull Gallery in Shoreditch. It was super to see my images on the wall, especially my London City shot, blown up huge and attracting attention, handily placed as it was next to the champagne.

If you are in town any time between now and 4th March, do consider popping by. You can always treat yourself to some beautifully authentic English cuisine in The Tramshed afterwards. Perhaps we could meet for a coffee?
My other exhibited images:

Dunstanburgh Castle

Storm Approaching Birling Gap

Cobb Cottages

Who, or what, are you?

Medicine for the Soul
See here for a walk through of the complete exhibition.

All Hail The Dawn!

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Rachael

A waking fly greets the new day.

“A day is a miniature eternity.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Believe every day that has dawned is your last.” – Horace

The delicate art of dumping your camera on the ground

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Rachael

I haven’t been around much in the last week as I have had my first ever bout of flu! Needless to say, I haven’t been taking photographs, so here are a couple of shots from last year, revealing how unkind I can be to my camera. It doesn’t seem to mind being dumped onto wet grass, thanks perhaps to its weather seals. I love the unpredictability of this sort of shooting.

Rhubarb, Celery and Pomegranate

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Rachael

What a lot of fun I have had today photographing fruit on my lightbox. I liked the colours of this particular combination of healthy food.

My little A4 lightbox was a nice investment. I think it set me back £50 but it has repaid every penny.

I love the curliness of rhubarb and celery strings.

And the rhubarb’s bold, graphic stripes.

And best of all, the fridge is now full of delicious fruit for endless weekend snacking. More foody madness tomorrow.

Snow seeds

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Rachael

The snow had begun in the gloaming,
And busily all the night
Had been heaping field and highway
With a silence deep and white.

Every pine and fir and hemlock
Wore ermine too dear for an earl,
And the poorest twig on the elm-tree
Was ridged inch deep with pearl.

-James Russell Lowell, ‘The First Snow-Fall’

Moongazing Concorde

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Rachael

Instead of a moongazing hare, a moongazing concorde. Except that its windows/eyes are covered in snow.

This 40% model of the famous aircraft used to be at the entrance to Heathrow Airport but, with the demise of its full sized brethren, the model was decommissioned. It now stands sentinel at the entrance to Brooklands Museum and Mercedes Benz World in Weybridge, Surrey.

My first exhibition

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Rachael

I am excited to have some of my images included in this forthcoming exhibition. If you are in the neighbourhood, I would love it if you could pop by. Follow this link for more information.

I don’t yet know which images have been selected by the exhibition curators. Here are a few of the possibilities:

Last Light at Kimmeridge

The Cobb at Lyme

Dunstanburgh Castle

View from City Point, Moorgate.

Storm Approaching Birling Gap

Cobb Cottages

Blue hour, La Corbiere

If my images don’t float your boat, there will be lots of others that might, and some beautiful paintings and sculpture.

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow…

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Rachael

“Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow will stop my delivery”

It’s the slogan of the pony express, but I thought it would do for this postal rider too. Good to see the postal service still worked today even if no-one else did.