I was rummaging around in an old hard drive today and came across this forgotten image from 2009. It reminded me that I have been promising myself a return trip to the American Southwest for a long time. Monument Valley and a full moon; a magical experience. I didn’t really know what I was doing with the camera back then; I’d love to have another go now.
Fields of oilseed rape are in full bloom right now.
Oilseed rape is not a subtle crop. Each Spring it blazes out its presence in the English countryside, briefly turning this ‘green and pleasant land’ into something far more extroverted.
I took the opportunity to capture some of its moods twice last week, near Wisley in Surrey and the village of Northchapel in West Sussex. It was interesting how the colour changed with the light, from acid yellow to something far more mellow, with a hint of amber.
The farmer of this field has sown his crop right over one of the many public rights of way that criss-cross the meadows here.
What footpath?
I am delighted to have been accepted into Landscapes by Women, a collective of inspiring photographers with a growing presence in the industry. My fellow members not only have strong portfolios but they also educate, lead tours, inspire through lectures and contribute images and text to prestigious publications here in the UK and beyond. I am honoured to be in their company.
By why Landscapes by Women? In this emancipated age, do we really need a group specifically for women? Landscape photography is a male dominated field. There may be purely practical reasons for this. Issues of personal safety complicate being out alone with expensive kit in remote locations and low light. Although there are many exceptions, generally women take the larger role in raising children. It can be hard to chase the best light when tea has to be made, homework supervised, bedtime stories read. I can’t count the number of times I have watched beautiful light through the window while cooking dinner. 
I hasten to add that I wouldn’t have it any other way. I feel privileged to be a mum and consider it the best and most important job I will ever have. But you can see why landscape photography might favour the men.
However, there are more female landscape photographers now than ever before. Landscapes by Women celebrates that fact and aims to ‘show that regardless of any challenges women face, we can bring unique and compelling images’. I would love it if you had time to visit the website and see for yourself. You can also find us on Facebook.
I can’t believe it’s been well over a week since my last post. I am really neglecting Focused Moments at the moment. Shame on me! But there have been good reasons for my lapse. It’s been an eventful few weeks, photographically speaking. There are some really exciting projects beginning to come to the boil but they are time-consuming. I am not ready to write about most of them yet but there will be lots of news in the next few weeks, fingers crossed. In the meantime, I can share a nice little surprise from this morning. One of my images of poppies from last summer is presently featured in the window of a gallery in Barcelona. If you have been around here for a while, you may remember that I love Barcelona, so you can guess how pleased I am. The picture below is courtesy of The Shed Gallery. I wrote a post all about The Shed in the Autumn; you can find it here.
As I am going to be recording lots of news about my photography, I am also going to write occasional posts featuring other photographers and artists whose work I admire. Any small successes I enjoy would never have happened without the inspiration I derive from the work of others and I want to share that here.
Are you on Facebook or Twitter? I have been developing my pages there and would love it if you had time to pop by and say ‘hi’.
It’s been a busy couple of weeks and this post about my trip to the Gironde Estuary, France with Ocean Capture is long overdue.
The tour is called Stilt-fishing huts of the Gironde, so a lot of our time was spent photographing some of the 400 or so carrelets on the estuary’s North shore.
These beguilingly delicate structures are so fascinating and so photogenic that Jonathan Critchley, the tour leader and owner of Ocean Capture, sometimes found it difficult to drag us away to do essential things like eat, sleep and, of course, as we were near Bordeaux, drink wine.
Jonathan is a great photographer, and I recommend a visit to his website. He’s also a super host and an all round nice bloke, and he plays a mean game of table football! We stayed in La Maison du Meunier, a delightful bed and breakfast hotel on the quay in Mortagne sur Gironde, where we were made to feel at home. Even though we were only there for three nights, I missed it after we left.
If you ever fancy a photography adventure in a beautiful, unspoilt region of France, I can thoroughly recommend this one. I liked it so much, I have booked another trip with Ocean Capture for next Spring. Now I just need to save some pennies!
I have many more images of the carrelets and other sights to share and a slideshow in the pipeline, but the next post will be something rather different, the images taken on a street photography day with Amateur Photographer magazine in London.
ISO 50, 200mm, f/11, 86seconds
Some more carrelets. The tour is called ‘Stilt Fishing Huts of the Gironde‘, so there will be many more pictures of these delightful little structures. Also, a proper write up of the trip is in the pipe line. I can’t remember exactly which filters I used for this shot, but I am guessing the following combination: .6 ND hard grad, .9 pro glass and circ. polariser.
I liked this image of Western Australia’s Pinnacles desert for today’s post if only because there is no water in it whatsoever.
Walton Bridge
Last month I posted some photographs of the floods along my local stretch of the River Thames, between Weybridge and Hampton.
Hampton riverside
As many will know, the Thames has burst its banks again, only more so.
Walton Bridge from Thames Meadow
I took these photos today and yesterday. If you are not familiar with the area, these images will not have as much impact but, for locals, the inundated landscape is a weird and frightening sight, strangely beautiful at times, but bringing suffering to so many.
Fire Brigade rescuing people from flooded homes
The people I saw being evacuated were outwardly cheerful, putting a brave face on a horrible situation.
Walton Quay
Sadly, more rain is forecast for tonight and the rest of the week – I fear the worst is yet to come.
The Thames claims Walton Lane
Focused Moments 