Vesna Armstrong Photography

                                                               

On my recent visit to Haworth I took a few random shots I felt would make for some inspired artistic work. Here are the results. I don't think I will ever tire of taking photos of the picturesque, olde worlde Haworth Main Street, but by now, I look at the new image and often think it is just yet another photo of the street and how can I make it different from others. I tried monochrome editing which lends itself well to the character of the street and was quite happy to go for the sepia look, created with a Lightroom preset. I've always wanted to create a dark and ominous image of Top Withens, the ruin high up on Stanbury Moor the location of which is thought to be the inspiration for the location of the house in Emily Brontë's novel "Wuthering Heights". I managed to get a distant shot with quite a good perspective with my long zoom lens; there was no detail in the sky in the original which was perfect for adding a moody and dramatic sky overlay in Photoshop; as a...

My new video comes as highlights through a selection of photographs and video clips of my recent, extremely enjoyable two night stay at my beloved Haworth in Brontë Country.   A very special thing that happened was that my dear photographer friends, Helen and George Coupe came from Lancaster to meet me and it was such a pleasure to spend quality time with them chatting, walking, taking photos and having a meal together.   The places featured in the video are Ponden Kirk and Stanbury Moor, Top Withens and Haworth Moor, Penistone Hill Country Park and Brontë Parsonage Museum. The purple moorland heather, which was my main point of interest on this particular visit, was still very beautiful, but it had already started to go over.  The best thing about the video is probably my encounter with a grouse. What a beautiful and interesting bird it is! I really don't understand how people can go out and shoot them for fun. I'd never seen a grouse from such a close distance...

Prints available in my new Etsy shop .   

Now I have very much taken to creating videos on my iPhone I decided to pair my videography with my love and appreciation of nature by creating a short seasonal movie for each month of the year. Each of the movies will consist of a selection of video clips on nature around me which I took that month. The movies, which I will share from my new YouTube channel , will be accompanied by some still images also taken during the same month.  I am pleased I start my new project with the month of August, the last summer month, characterized by a sheer riot of colour in nature. There is an abundance of  great variety of flowers out there, and berries and autumn fruit are starting to ripen. It is certainly one of my favourite months of the year. Most of the still images were taken in Golden Acre Park, a park in north Leeds I am lucky to live not far from. I love going there at any time of year, but August is an absolute must as the colourful tended gardens are at their very best. 

Today's post is about the video of the fourth and final day of my recent stay in Haworth, Brontë Country. I'd saved Ponden Kirk, my most loved and cherished place, to visit last. I started my walk from Ponden Reservoir, and after a quick catch up with my dear friends Julie and Steve at Ponden Hall, I took the familiar track past their home leading up onto the moors and to Ponden Kirk. It was a great day both for walking and for photography, the moors looking characteristically broody and remote under the overcast, somewhat menacing sky, and the heather that just started turning purple waving in the wind. Ponden Kirk, a gritstone rock set on the top of Ponden Clough hillside, is mentioned in Emily Brontë's novel "Wuthering Heights" as Penistone Crag, and it is the spot where the protagonist lovers Cathy and Heathcliff meet. The views from the rock are breathtaking, for me the most beautiful and impressive I have ever seen. I feel a strong bond with this magical pla...

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