Still Life With Demijohn and Enamel Pots

Christmas is time for families to be united and their members to enjoy each other's company, and since I live far away from my Mum I miss her the most at this time of year. The only comfort for me are the memories of those few days we spend together each year, and of course, the photos I take on my visits. This one was taken last June while Mum and I were preparing a big family barbecue in her outside kitchen. Inspired by the beautiful light streaming through the glass ceiling I suddenly had to stop preparing the food and started looking for objects to photograph. Mum gave me a funny look but knew better than say anything. She remained quiet and patient while I was moving unwanted things out of the way and setting up my still life on one of her cookers. She has lots of old, vintage stuff around the house so it was not difficult for me to find a pleasing arrangement that suited my taste for the old-fashioned. I made sure I included her lovely little red enamel mug with white spots out of which she keeps drinking her tea despite its being worse for wear now.

O Christmas Tree!

Every year I create what I call a "Christmas image". I am only looking to post one, so it needs to be special and not too girly or cheesy. A chance to go out and look for some nicely lit scenes are normally elusive to me for whatever reason so I usually rely on still life work. I was really struggling to think of an appealing set up this year and had already begun to panic a bit when suddenly an idea struck me the other day while I was in the bathroom taking a shower: why don't I take a shot of one my favourite decorations - the wooden Christmas tree in a frame I bought years ago?! I like it very much because it is all made of a natural material, wood, and because it's so simple. All I needed to go with it was something red (not only because I love red in photos but also because it is the main Christmas colour). I immediately thought of the little metal Santa boot I bought the other week. I really like the wood and metal combination and the idea of Santa hanging his boot on the Christmas tree frame. I added a wall texture to the image in Photoshop and slightly desaturated the colours to make it look more vintage. Merry Christmas!

Walk Around Adel, Leeds, 05/12/2012

It was a very cold but beautiful sunny day. Ice remained in shady places throughout the day. I soon warmed up walking around with my camera and felt so alive and happy. Life is good at the moment!

Adel Crag

Old School, Adel, Leeds, 5/12/2012

I came across this charming old disused school house on the way back to the car from a lovely wintry walk around the village of Adel, a short drive north from where I live. I love the withering late autumn hydrangea and red berry shrub against the old stone brick wall. They add to the sense of abandonment. As I stood there taking pictures I felt myself being taken back in time when there was voices and sights of children playing and running around.

Untitled

G. and I came across this wall plaque with deer horns in a lovely gift shop and decided we had to have it for our dining room. It is a replica but you cannot see that easily. I thought of an image of deer skull by Joan Kocak, one of my favourite fine art photographers, and instantly felt inspired to create a still life with my new purchase. Joan's deer skull is that of a much large deer and she used a shrivelled pear, presumably to symbolize decay, whereas I have used an exotic tamarillo fruit, its upright stalk mimicking one of the deer horns. Here is a link to Joan's image: http://www.joankocakphotography.com/detail.html?folio=PORTFOLIO&sortNumber=6&gallery=stills&skipno=0.