Vesna Armstrong Photography

It was the first of December, the day Christmas season officially starts for me, and I was in my favourite place in the world - Haworth, Bronte Country. Yes, of course, there is so many places I have not been to, and there always will be, but it is highly unlikely any other place would ever grip me with so much charm, feeling, meaning and intrigue. On this particular occasion I came here to do some Christmas shopping as I love to support the wonderful independent shops on Main Street as much as I can. And, as usual, I couldn't possibly not take a few pics before I left. I feel no need to accompany these photos with text; I'll let the photos speak for themselves; I'll let the magic weave its way wordlessly. ~Merry Christmas and Happy New Year To All My Readers~

Every year in the past few years I tried to create a classic tabletop Christmas still life. This year I thought I'd do something slightly different for a change and simply work on a shot of my kitchen window instead. My kitchen window sill is somewhere I like to express my love for seasons. Here I make regular arrangements consisting of current fruits of nature. Come first of December, Christmas time starts for me, and my window changes from autumn to winter/Christmas. I like traditional, Victorian Christmas, so I choose things the Victorians used in their celebrations. For a floral part there is a living poinsettia which I placed in a brass pot. I love the red of its leaves; red is the essential colour of Christmas and always has to be dominant for me. Next, there is a silver bowl that I filled with natural festive things, some of which smell gorgeous: holy sprigs with their red berries, pine cones, cinnamon sticks, dried oranges (sliced and whole), pomander (orange studded wi...

A while ago I decided to stay in Haworth as often as I can. One or two night getaway to my favourite village makes me happy; to me waking up in Haworth is something life is worth living for. The last time it happened was a month ago - Sunday, 30 October, the day before Halloween. G and I arrived at the village about 11 o'clock, and after a good English breakfast at the recently refurbished "Villette" cafe, we headed for the moor to do a little portrait photo shoot with G being my model! (blog post to follow in not a very distant future, I hope). Back in the village we watched and followed the Halloween Parade, and then it was time to check in to our room at the Old Registry Bed & Breakfast - the Duchess Room. Our room was on the first floor, its window to the left of the skeleton in this image. The scene next door outside the "Sleeping House" Bed & Breakfast. This was the Halloween Parade starting point. Our beautiful and eleg...

Monday 31 October, Halloween, was one of the most beautiful days I can remember in my life. I woke up in Haworth with G, and it was a glorious autumn morning - sunny and very mild. After a sumptuous breakfast at my favourite Old Registry (best ever smoked salmon and scrambled eggs) we drove to Oxenhope station to start a walk featured in the "Walking with the Brontes" book. Yorkshire in England is not the place with the most spectacular autumn colours in the world, but autumn is still a very beautiful season here just like everywhere else. And I believe the colours were at their best when we did the walk. We parked in the large car park outside attractive Oxenhope Station, and I soon started looking for my opening shot. It had to "scream" autumn, so I walked over to these beautiful trees with yellow and orange leaves and positioned myself so I could use them to frame the station building. I liked how the red detail on the building complements the autumn colours...

As a keen Bronte Society member I attend the very enjoyable literary lunch every year, but this is the first year I have blogged about it. Social photography is not my forte, to be truthful, so here are just a few quick snaps from the event. This year the Literary Lunch was held at Midlands Hotel in Bradford, a short journey from where I live in Leeds. It is a very elegant and opulent three star hotel built at the end of 19th century. The beautiful French Ballroom where the event took place. I loved the green and gold decor and glittering chandeliers. The sunlight streamed in through large French windows making the room feel warm and inviting. Kitty Wright (apologies if I didn't catch or spell the name correctly), a Bronte Society associate, gave us all the introductory information regarding the hotel and the agenda of the day. Each year there is a featured talk on a Bronte theme, and this year our speaker was Juliet Barker, one of the highest authorities on the...