Lens-artists Challenge: Resilience
Posted on January 14, 2025
In the parched desert outside the city of Al Ain, in the United Arab Emirates, some hardy bushes can demonstrate the resilience to cling to life even in the harshest of conditions.
Cellpic Sunday: Poinsettia
Posted on January 12, 2025
With the festive season over, our poinsettia was starting to shed its leaves all over the floor, so it had to be expelled from the house. Its temporary new home is the back step, where it got very wet from the almost constant rain that fell last week.
Monochrome Madness: Places of Worship
Posted on January 10, 2025
This is a detail of the carving over the east door of the Collegiale in Le Dorat – a massive church, although neither abbey nor cathedral. The presence of the small statue – no doubt of a saint – and its contrast with the curves of the repeated arches adds interest to the image.
Cellpic Sunday: Incongruous Pink
Posted on January 5, 2025
The French countryside is pretty rugged, especially in the winter, and any signs of human habitation or exploitation are usually no more than utilitarian and predominantly in shades of brown or green.
Accordingly, it was a little unusual to find that this nearby farm gate was secured with a tie in two shades of pink.
Last On The Card December 2024
Posted on January 2, 2025
I took this photo as the sun set on New Year’s Eve. Darkness is falling on 2024 but high in the sky an aeroplane is heading south, to a hopefully brighter future.
Cellpic Sunday: Christmas Fayre
Posted on December 29, 2024
The ‘superette’ in our local village is pretty well stocked with fresh and prepared food, the more so at this time of yea. This is the display of some of their Christmas specials from this year, including such local….er, delicacies as veal sweetbread vol-au-vents and beef tongue in sauce.
We’re French, but not that French, so we stuck to roast beef…
Lens-Artists Challenge: Last Chance 2024
Posted on December 27, 2024
As I recall it, there was nothing that particularly stood out about this shot when I took it, about a week ago, but a closer look on the big screen rather than the smartphone made me think it’s actually a half decent composition.
It was taken down by the river in the old part – the quattiers pittoresques – of Bellac, our nearest town, when I was standing in the middle of a (very) old stone bridge.Apart from the tranquiity (it’s an area that isn’t that easy to access by car, so is usually quite quiet except in the tourist season), what stood out for me was the multitude of leading lines that draw the viewer in.
There’s the river itself, disappearing into the downstream distance, as well as the ripples in the bottom right, caused by the water flowing through the arches of the bridge. Additionally, there’s that low wall on the left. Mainly, however, it’s those trees and especially their reflections.
Well, I like it anyway…
Lens-Artists Challenge: Winter
Posted on December 10, 2024
Against a blameless blue morning sky, a very cold, clear night has put a spectacular bloom of heavy fros on the bare branches of these trees in one of our fields.
Last Photo November 2024
Posted on December 3, 2024
The last photo I took in November was this defiant geranium, gamely hanging on in one of our raised beds.
The blooms are low-hanging, but these creaking bones couldn’t face the prospect of having to kneel on the path to get the shot – I might not be able to get up again – so I used the front camera on my iPhone. I think it turned out okay.
(No editing of course, because them’s the rules.)
Lens-Artists Challenge: Five Elements
Posted on December 1, 2024
This week’s Lens-Artists Challenge, set by Sophia at Photographias, asks us to feature the four classical elements: air, earth, fire and water, but with metal as an addition.
Ideally, a single image would include all five (and so probably qualify for a notional bonus point. Unfortunately, I could find nothing in my library that would achieve that quintuple whammy, but I managed to include the full set in just two images.
Air and fire are accounted for by this shot taken at a firework display celebrating the United Arab Enirates’ National Day (which, coincidentally, comes round again this week).
As for the rest, here’s some dew (water) on a spider’s web woven on the back of a metal (sic) chair in our back garden (earth).
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