Yellow field before the storm

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Rachael

Many of my images are inspired by paintings. I think the same basic compositions work in both mediums. In this image I was inspired by the watercolours of Michael Morgan RI, an artist whose work I greatly enjoy. I was recently lucky enough to acquire two of his originals which, together with one of his limited edition prints now provide permanent inspiration on my walls.

Which artists inspire you? Feel free to post examples of your work below. I find the crossover between genres interesting and would love to see what influences my fellow photographers!

Little White Cottage

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Rachael

This image is a little more arty than my usual style but, despite appearances, it is still a photograph. It is made from three exposures, one sharp:

one panned:

and the third, a ‘texture’ made from a close up of the whitewashed walls of the cottage:

The cottage is Le Don Hilton, also known as La Caumine de Marie Best. It stands on the wall above St.Ouen’s beach with spectacular views of the surf and sunsets. It can be rented from Jersey Heritage and makes a charming, if basic, base for surfers. A more straightforward shot of the cottage appears in my earlier post, Jersey Shores.

A lover of the meadows

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Rachael

Therefore am I still
A lover of the meadows and the woods,
And mountains; and of all that we behold
From this green earth; of all the mighty world
Of eye, and ear, – both what they half create,
And what perceive; well pleased to recognise
In nature and the language of the sense,
The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse,
The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul
Of all my mortal being …

William Wordsworth, ‘Lines composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey’ (1798)

Hopeful green

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Rachael

‘A child said What is the grass? fetching it to one with full hands,
How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any more than he.
I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of the hopeful green stuff woven.
Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord,
A scented gift and remembrancer designedly dropt,
Bearing the owner’s name someway in the corners, that we may see and remark,
and say Whose?…
And now it seems to me the beautiful uncut hair of graves.’

Walt Whitman, ‘Song of Myself’ (1855), 6

April has been a month of rain for us here in England. As I travelled in a taxi through Hyde Park this morning I noticed how gloriously green everything was, drenched in refreshing spring showers. So today’s post is simply a celebration of green.
The top image was taken in the churchyard of St. James’s, Weybridge.