Vesna Armstrong Photography

The best thing about my job is that I drive through beautiful countryside to and fro work. This image was taken last Sunday on my way home, on a cold but glorious afternoon. I had been watching the scene and waiting to find it in a best possible lighting. I parked the car in the village pub car park and strode the short distance back to the scene. Typically, by the time I got there the sun was swallowed by dark grey clouds and I felt my excitement ebb away as the scene lay drab an uninspiring before my eyes. I looked at the clouds wistfully and thought: "I'm not moving away until the sun comes back". I started taking a few shots just so I get used to seeing the scene through the viewfinder and find a good composition. And sure enough, just as the old saying goes - good things come to those who wait - sunshine was back and lasted just long enough for me to snatch a couple of shots. That completed and made my day. I did not matter if I did not do anything else that day. ...

This is one of those scenes I come across completely by chance, when I don't expect to see good photo material at all. I was driving back home from the car hire company when I caught a glimpse of it on the left hand side of the road. I didn't stop, I didn't even have my camera with me but I drove back there the following morning. It was a most beautiful morning to start with but typically by the time I got to the park it clouded over pretty heavily. I didn't mind too much as I am a textures user in post processing and textures tend to work better on images taken in diffused lighting conditions. I love crocuses but usually I find them difficult to capture in an interesting way. It is the little red house on top of the grassy bank that makes the image for me. Its red colour and tiny size give the image a storybook, dreamlike quality. I decided to treat it in that vein further and used a Gaussian blur in post processing to emphasize the dreaminess. As usual, G was the firs...

I love my little dining room with its south facing windows. It is still a tad early to go out to try to capture the signs of spring here in Yorkshire. We have had some beautiful warm and sunny days but although the nature is waking up it is still pretty wintry out there. Mind you if you are a nature photographer there is already loads to keep your shutter clicking, but I am a scenery photographer and need to wait for another couple of weeks to go by. And while I am waiting  I have been taking pics at home where it is easier to create a feeling of spring right now.

I must admit the idea for this still life is not mine. I have seen one or two old coffee grinders used in a similar way with things other than coffee beans. I chose blueberries because I love the combination of red and dark blue tones. I bought the cup and saucer specifically for this image although  I would have wanted them to be a bit smaller. Was taken with the concept of making a drink but also a humorous idea of seemingly making blueberry juice with a coffee grinder. It is one of the things I strive to convey in my still lifes when I use more than one element  - a concept....a bond that unites the elements. But oh, did I struggle to process this image the way I had it in my mind!! I really wanted a dark look ( I am a happy person but I do like dark, moody images) but it was not easy because the wall against which I shoot is just too light. Time to buy/ make some backgrounds!