Invitation to an Autumn Walk

I though I would like to invite you to join for for a short photo walk in my neighbourhood (can you call a load of fields a neighbourhood?). We are going to start in the garden go out the gate turning right along the farm track past the farm then up the lane and back in by the main drive - not as grand as it sounds there are a number of houses!

 I am always amazed by the treasures I discover in my garden, new perspectives, small details, changing seasons.

I don't often stand at the back of the trellis  in our dustbin area and take photos looking out -  it gave a new perspective on the plants in the bed. Walking down the garden I was struck by the sun on the beech hedge we planted last year, it was so bright you would have thought it a pile of gold, and I loved the bright yellow of the Forsythia leaves by the gate.

Walking down towards the farm I loved the frost tracks on the grass with the brown leaves providing a contrast.

 Past the farm now - we could take this footpath but I think we'll continue on up the lane. When you're on a photo walk its important to keep looking in all directions to find the beauty around you and especially important to look both up and down!

 Nearly home now with a chance to admire the winter fields to our right as we turn in the main drive, and straight ahead as we head back towards the house. I hope you enjoyed our walk together!

A Taste of Poitou Charente

Folowing on from last week's post I have put together a short  slide show  giving a flavour of our French holiday. I hope you find it relaxing - enjoy!

A Taste of Poitou Charentes from Barbara Evans on Vimeo.

Not taking photographs in France

At last the French holiday post which as you can see I actually started when still there!

Having got to day four of our trip so far we have been to our local small town of Parthenay, the Marais, a marshland with inland waterways and picturesque villages, and La Rochelle a medieval port on the Atlantic coast. I have taken very few pictures! Only 265 Why? On a weekend on the Isle of Wight I often take several hundred, why not here?

Perhaps it is because everything is new yet familiar; pretty houses, stone walls, flowers. New because I have not been to this exact location before, familiar because I have been to many similar places. Some of the best views are panoramic, I can't do these justice without a wide angle lens. Anyway my passion is for the small view, the detail, the sacred in the ordinary. 

 

This is the first time I have been on holiday with my new camera, the first time I have tried to make a distinction between 'holiday snaps' which perhaps can be seen as photos of record  of the 'I was here' variety and something I am more emotionally engaged with.

 

I think this is also related to one’s phase of life and the law of diminishing returns. The first time we took a car to France was in 1976. We were living in Cornwall at the time so we landed in Roscoff and drove first to the Dordogne with its beautiful medieval villages then on via the Corniche de Cevennes  to Provence where we stayed for a few days before driving home. I was a fabulous holiday everything was new and interesting. I had previously only been to Paris, Belgium and Austria all of which were very different  - there were photo opportunities galore, novelty ruled.

 

During the nineties and noughties  we visited various parts of Europe with our son, seeing  familiar places and scenes afresh through his eyes, and visiting some attractions that might otherwise have passed us by. Though happily for us he was always very keen on castles and other old buildings (now reading history at university). Now when we travel in familiar parts of Europe it does feel a bit, been there, done that, still nice, but subject to the law of diminishing returns.

 

On son joined us for the last few days of our holiday and I realized this was the only point at which we paid to go in anywhere (this was partly because we had saved one of the key trips until he arrived). So we visited the maritime museum at La Rochelle the day of his arrival followed  by Fontevraud and  Chateau de Breze the following day. I like to think this was partly because we were not in an area with loads of major attractions, but rather lots of pleasant places to visit, but I think we will need to keep an eye on ourselves during our next trip abroad!