Vesna Armstrong Photography

As usual, in between taking pictures of landscape and scenery, I have fitted in some still life work as well. To me still life is very important part of my photography; it is a must do for every month of the year; it is what gives me a true sense of creative achievement in this wonderful pursuit that photography is to me. In the current winter months I have chosen three very different themes. Winter, with its absence of flowers and colours in the nature, is a good time to do some, what I call, non-floral still life work. I simply look around the house for some objects that I could use to create a story around, while at the same time putting together a visually engaging set up in which the elements interact well with one another. This time it was my antique brown poison bottle and a reproduction of an old bill of fare I bought in the Mother Shipton's Cave Attraction gift shop in Knaresborough. This is a found still life which I saw in my friend's lovely house in Hawort...

These days I seem to always stick to colour photography. However, on this particular occasion I ended up dabbling with black and white sepia. Here is how and why. It was a Sunday morning and my third and last day in Haworth. I arranged with G and a friend to come over for breakfast and then go for a walk before driving back to Leeds. I thought a walk around the nearby Leeming reservoir would be nice and relaxing on this winter day. We drove a short distance to Oxenhope and started our walk from the village post office. All along the walk there were extensive, breathtaking views over the reservoir, the village of Leeming and surrounding areas. I always enjoy looking at sweeping, distant views, but, to be honest,  photographs of most of them leave me quite indifferent. It was mainly an overcast day and the diffused light and pale colours of the winter landscape made my photos look quite flat, insipid and simply lacking impact. I thought I had to do something with the photos to make...

It was a very cold, but bright day when I left Leeds for Haworth on Monday morning. As I got off the bus at the bottom of the cobbled Main Street I turned my face up towards the sun and felt the usual surge of happiness and excitement at simply being here; and the more so this morning because I was on my way to the amazing Ponden Hall , possibly the model for Thrushcross Grange, or even more likely, Wuthering Heights. I thought I'd walk up to the top of Main Street and get a taxi from there; that way I wouldn't miss out on any possible photos of my favourite street in the world. By the time I got to the top of the street the sun was already hidden behind some rather ominous clouds, and by the time I rang for a taxi it was snowing heavily; large, thick flakes, whirling in a gusty wind were settling fast on the ground and in no time the place was blanketed in white. The taxi driver quite understandably wouldn't take me to Ponden Hall as the snow storm was likely to be ev...

Last Friday was a gorgeous winter day in my favourite Haworth. It was very cold, but the mellow winter sun was out all day. I waited till it got quite low to go for a little stroll with my camera. I loved the blue shadows and golden highlights. The Parsonage Museum - the home to the Brontë Sisters, the Victorian literary geniuses. In the middle on the right there is the Old School Room, where all of the Brontë siblings taught. It was built by their father, the Rev Patrick Brontë. Later on the day I took this photo, a private view of the new exhibition to mark Emily Brontë's 200th birthday took place here. The path behind the Parsonage, which is a path to the sisters' beloved moors. For me it is impossible to walk along here without Charlotte, Emily and Anne in my mind. The wonderful, for me downright magic Main Street, where photo opportunities never run out. This is Changegate, called the Ginnel in the Brontës time, which leads to Lord Lane. I though...