Vesna Armstrong Photography

Friday, 16 October was one of the most memorable days of my life. G and I stayed at the wonderful Ponden Hall , a 17th century house with lots of Bronte family connections. It is situated above the Ponden Reservoir, in my beloved Bronte Country. It is a private home but the owners Julie and Steve generously decided to open three rooms for bed and breakfast over a year ago. G and I arrived to Haworth very excited about 12:30. It was too early to go and check in so we had lunch in the "Cobbles and Clay" and wandered around a couple of shops before we made our way up to the Hall. I had met Julie before when I went for a "Tour and Tea" she organizes for those wishing to just have a look around the house rather than stay. And yet I did not expect us to be regaled on arrival with tea and home made Victoria sponge. It is not what you normally get when you check in to a B&B and is just one of  many kind things the lovely hosts do for their guests. After a good chat...

I am one of relatively few amateur photographers who do classic still life photography. I am not sure how or why I developed the passion for still life. It may be the extra dimension of creativity it offers a photographer in that he/she creates the image from scratch rather than merely takes a shot of a "found" scene. Or it may simply be a fine sensitivity to the aesthetics of a harmonious interaction of objects put together. Whatever it is, I regularly feel an urge to create still life images and I do not think that will change for as long as I take photos. The change of season we are just going through - the end of summer and beginning of autumn - automatically saw me looking for inspiration and subsequently conjuring up a still life composition in my mind. There were so many colourful fruits of nature to choose from. I pictured the cheerful, rustic sunflowers in the old earthenware jug as the main focus of my image. A few stems of the orange red crocosmia flowering in th...

I woke up to a lovely early autumn morning. There was a fine mist up on the distant hills and the air was fresh and mellow. I knew the mist would give way to a beautiful weather later on. It was a perfect day for my planned trip to the Bronte Waterfalls up on the Haworth moor. G and I passed it on our way to Top Withins three weeks ago but it was a Sunday and there were far too many people around to experience properly the idyllic and inspiring spot. I made a mental note to return before bad weather set in. Now the day had come I could not wait to get ready and set off. G gave me a lift to the Morrison's car park from where I took the 760 bus to Keighley. It is an hour's drive, quite a long journey but I always enjoy it. The bus goes through Calverly, Shipley, Saltaire and Bingley, towns which are all of interest to me either from the photography or shopping point of view. I also spend some time reading on the bus and usually have a sandwich I prepare at home for breakfast. ...

I love animals and I simply adore dogs and cats. We used to have two ginger and white cats but they both met the same mysterious death in the park adjacent to our house so we decided not to have any more cats. We could not face burying another cat and just could not forgive ourselves if another one died on us. We would love to have a dog but we feel there would be times when it would have to be on its own for too long and that just would not be fair on the dog. So I was very pleased when my friend asked me if I would look after her dog Jasper just for one evening and the following morning while they were away. She asked me if I would just feed him but I said I might as well take him for walks too. I ended up having him overnight at our home. Jasper is a lovely crossbreed between greyhound and border collie. He is a very good-natured and well behaved dog. He felt comfortable with us and did not act any differently from how he normally does at his own home. I liked taking Jasper out ...

Top Withins (or Withens, both are correct spellings). What an incredible place! It is just a farmhouse ruin with a weather beaten tree next to it on top of a hill amidst windswept moors, but if you know anything about its history and background it becomes a most charming, evocative, inspiring and atmospheric place you can imagine. The farmhouse is believed to be the location model for Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights in her novel of passionate love and revenge. The novel is considered to be one of the greatest works of fiction ever written and even many who have not read it are familiar with the names of some of its characters and places. It was a bit breezy but sunny, a perfect day to do the 6 and half mile circular walk on the bleak but beautiful moors above Haworth. From the photography point of view a grey and moody day would probably suit the location better in terms of creating drama and atmosphere, but I am sure it is more pleasant to explore such an untamed terrain in fine...

One of the things that make me happy is having an idea for the season's still life. On this occasion the idea actually came from the Trevillion Images wish list which they send to their photographers every Monday. When I read that bags were one of the sought after subjects my vintage satchel I use on daily basis immediately came to my mind. Since it is really an old style school bag (the kind of which I had as a schoolgirl too), and children and students are just back to school and uni/college now I thought I'd pair it with a nice notebook (my garden diary), a fountain pen, and an apple which is a symbol of learning and teaching. The composition is quite simple and unusual in my opinion and I like the fitting paper texture and desaturated tones underlying the vintage look.

Every summer I like to go to some beautiful English gardens to capture the essence of summertime with my camera. In fact to capture not just the essence but the entire exuberance and magic the season brings along. I was very excited when I learned about East Riddlesden Hall, a National Trust property near Keighley, not far from where I live, and very easy to get to. I was surprised I had not already known about it. It is a beautiful 17th century manor house with delightful gardens. I first had a look around the house, a rather hasty one, as on this occasion I wanted to concentrate on outdoor photography, and then I walked in the gardens losing myself in their beauty and in taking photos. I was thrilled to find so many shots. My favourite garden is Mollie's garden, a secluded garden which children help maintain. It is shown in the last four images. I spent a lot of time there marveling at so much wonderful detail. The whole place is just amazing and I am very pleased to have discove...