Vesna Armstrong Photography

I have always been attracted to the White House which can be seen from the heart of Otley high up on the hill in the middle of Chevin Forest Park. This particular misty October Sunday morning seemed like a perfect time for a first visit. I got to Otley fairly early and set off along the lovely cobbled Station Road that has beautiful houses and front gardens towards the entrance to the park. I was delighted with the misty scenery. The White House was built at the beginning of the 18th century and was a farm house at the time. Today it is the Visitors's Centre for The Chevin Forest Park. There is also a cafe for refreshments that was open but on this occasion I did not go in as I was not ready to stop exploring yet. I walked past the house into the woods and as I did so the sun slowly started to show through the trees creating a magic atmosphere. By the time I got onto Johnny Lane leading down back to Otley the mist had lifted altogether and the misty morning turned into a beautiful ...

I wish I could easily find out the names of all the lovely plants I come across. I came across this one on my way home from work one evening. There was a lot of long stems with beautiful red leaves hanging down over someone's fence. I guess it is some type of vine. I thought I'd cut a few stems for some autumn still life work. An idea came quickly to me to use an old earthenware beer bottle to prop up a stem and form an arch. Then I thought of "The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady" I have had for a while. It is in the form of printed manuscript and is full of beautiful drawings from nature. For my still life with the red leaves I chose a page with just handwriting on it and the one with the "October" heading seemed particular suitable as it underlines the autumn theme and suggests the time of year the image was made.

I first visited Otley, a little old and picturesque market town in Mid-Wharfedale years ago. I was very impressed straight away but it is only recently that I actually fell in love with it. I realized Otley has everything I love in one place - unusual and quaint shops, antiques and vintage shops, charity shops, a great florist's, cosy traditional tea rooms, charming streets and passages as well as beautiful countryside on its doorstep. And all that with just half an hour pleasant drive from my home! I go to Otley every other week now and always come back very happy with a few good shots and a goodie or two in the shopping bag. Photographing Otley is going to be an ongoing little project for me and I will be posting five images at a time as I finish processing them. Here is the first lot.