Vesna Armstrong Photography

I had almost resigned to the fact there would be no usual Christmas still life from me this year. Time was running out, and I still had not had a remotest idea of a composition for my image. Then I saw on Pinterest this photo , and suddenly ideas started pouring into my mind. I have seen hundreds of Christmas decor photos on Pinterest this season, and none of them did anything in terms of giving me inspiration, but this beautiful, simple image unexpectedly just did the job. I had a bit of a trouble post processing this pic and spent more time than I normally would trying to achieve the look I had in mind; still not quite sure if the look is there, but I am pleased my festive still life is here after all, and just in time for Christmas. All the elements of the image are part of my this year's Christmas home decorations. The little hanging red hearts are from my beloved Zagreb. They are called Licitar hearts and are a traditional symbol of the Croatian capital. ~ Happy Chr

Being a stalwart Brontëite, I am lucky to live near quite a few Brontë landmarks, one of the most beautiful being the 17th century Oakwell Hall . Charlotte Brontë visited here when the hall was a girls' school as she was considering setting up a school in Haworth with her sisters. The Hall is featured in her last novel "Shirley" under the name "Fieldhead". Even if it had nothing to do with the Brontës this place would still be one of my most cherished haunts being a fascinating historic house with beautiful landscaped gardens, surrounded with hundreds of acres of woodland and nature trails. I've visited Oakwell Hall twice this month, both times mainly to experience traditional Christmas atmosphere as there were Christmas events taking place on both days. On both occasions it was a beautiful winter day, cold but filled with low glowing sunlight. Sunday 1st December - Deck The Halls On arrival I took some pics of the back of the house from the gardens and

On Monday I went to Haworth for a very special reason: I am lucky and very grateful that I was able to quit my part time job and take early retirement last week. The first thing I wanted to do is celebrate the important turning point in my life by spending a quiet and relaxing day in my beloved Haworth. It was a beautiful, bright and sunny winter day; not my favourite sort of lighting for photography any time, but it didn't matter. What mattered is that the weather was conducive to a refreshing walk on the moors. I only went as far as Penistone Hill, but it was all I needed to cleanse my mind and prepare it  for a new life of freedom and fulfilled, but slow and stress free way of living. Back in the village I had to take yet more photos of the Brontë Parsonage, probably the only place I will never tire of taking photos of. I thought it was also a good time to visit St Michael and All Angels Church, the church where Patrick Brontë preached and where all the B

This post has been long overdue sitting in my Blogger drafts for months, so I thought I'd finally finish it off and get it ready for publishing. When my beautiful and talented niece Haidi came to stay with her partner Bruno back in August there was one thing we had to make sure happened: a photoshoot at Top Withens, a landmark farmhouse ruin near Haworth in Brontë Country. The location was possibly an inspiration for the location of the house named Wuthering Heights in the famous novel by Emily Brontë. Being a Brontëite, inspired and intrigued by Emily Brontë in particular, I often walk to this place and spend some quiet and reflective time there. Some of my photos of Top Withens can be seen in this post . I've always wanted to photograph a young female model at this remote, lonely and weatherbeaten location in a photoshoot reminiscent of Cathy Earnshaw, the main heroine of the novel. Cathy falls ill and dies young amidst a passionate and troubled love affair with Heathclif

Last Sunday I attended a literary talk event organized by the Brontë Society. The speaker was Rowan Coleman , an acclaimed writer from Hertfordshire who has recently written books inspired by the Brontë Sisters. The venue for this most enjoyable talk was the very beautiful Holdsworth House Hotel on the outskirts of Halifax. It is a 17th century Jacobean manor house surrounded by stunning landscaped gardens. It has been privately owned through centuries by people of wealth and distinction, and in 1963 it opened to the public as a hotel. Awed by the photos of the house I'd seen on internet prior to the event I decided to arrive a bit earlier and have a look around the gardens and the exterior of the house. It was a cold, dull and drizzly day.... It was lovely to meet the charming and friendly writer Rowan Coleman and listen to what she had to say about herself, her writing and her books. She talked about her Brontë inspired novels- "The Girl At the Window", publis