theonlyD800inthehameau
Photography by theonlydeadheadinthehameau
Lens-Artists Challenge: Serenity
Posted on May 13, 2025
Is there a greater epitome of the idea of ‘serenity’ than a graceful swan gliding smoothly across the water – even if everybody knows that below the surface its legs are going like the clappers?
This particular specimen was swanning around in the lake at Linlithgow, in central Scotland.
Lens-Artists Challenge: Break the rules
Posted on May 6, 2025
I have posted a similar image before, but this is a more recent photograph.
On a very still but cloudy day, the reflections of the trees in the little pond we have here in the hamlet were almost perfect. So perfect, in fact, that you may not realise at first glance that I’ve flipped the original image vertically, so you’re actually seeing the reflections at the top of the screen. I thing it adds a dimension of dreaminess to the image.
Lens-Artists Challenge: Cinematic
Posted on April 28, 2025
This week we’re looking for cinematic images.
I took this photo in the desert outside the city of Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates. For me, the main attractions were the strong leading line and the combination of sand, scrub and stone. Oh, and the symmetry of the two slopes.
It’s not too much of a stretch to see this as an establishing shot in a Western, with the added mystery of what could be lying in wait on the other side of that crest……
Lens-Artists Challenge: Go-To Places
Posted on April 22, 2025
This week, John has set us the interesting challenge of showing our ‘go-to’ places. To be honest, I’m pretty happy to be here at home most of the time (not least because it doesn’t involve the hassle of actually getting to anywhere).
We have been very lucky to have traveled to some wonderful places, so I thought I’s just post images from three of my favourite destinations. I don’t think the first two need any further introduction…
This third one may not be quite so familiar. It’s the Corniche in Abu Dhabi as our evening cruise passed the headquarters of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, where I worked for the last ten years of my career. We have many happy memories of our time in the UAE.
Lens-Artists Challenge: Abandoned
Posted on April 13, 2025
Here in rural France, there’s certainly no shortage of potential subjects for this week’s theme of ‘Abandoned’, whether it be old farm buildings or, as here, houses. This particular – and very small – example can be found next to the church in the nearby village of Rancon.
Lens-Artists Challenge – My Last Outing
Posted on April 7, 2025
It’s a particularly timely challenge for this week’s Lens-Artists, because as it happens my last outing was only yesterday (Sunday).
The first ‘big’ local event of the year round these parts is traditionally the annual ‘Fête des Fleurs‘ in the village of Magnac-Laval, about a half hour’s drive from here. It is held in the grounds of the local agricultural college, which is based in this rather grand-looking chateau. I’m always amused by the jaunty tilt of that windvane.
As you can see from the blameless blue sky, the weather was very kind, which is certainly not a given for this time of year.
Lens-Artists Challenge: Wild
Posted on March 31, 2025
Two Arabian oryx bask in the afternoon sunlight on the Sir Bani Yas Island nature reserve in Abu Dhabi.
This species of oryx was getting uncomfortably close to extinction and the establishment of the Sir Bani Yas reserve played a significant rôle in protecting them and allowing their numbers to increase. Here, they are still ‘in the wild’, as it were (there’s plenty of room), but are safe from the predations of man.
Lens-Artists Challenge – Personal Favourites
Posted on March 25, 2025
This week’s Lens-Artists Challenge is a bit of a tricky one – not that we’re being asked to find an unusual subject, or one which we tend not to photograph very often (e.g. last week’s ‘Portraits’).
No, rather we’re invited by Tina at Travels And Trifles to post five of our personal favourite images. I mean, where do you even begin? I -and I’m certainly not the only one – have literally thousands of photographs in my library from which to try and make a choice. It’s almost invidious.
So, in order to make the process of choice more manageable, I hit on the idea of confining my selection to a particular type of image. I’m quite fond of photographing things from a low viewpoint, as a different perspective can prove to be more interesting.
This flower was growing in one of our raised beds and, backlit by the sun, it looked quite striking.
This chandelier hangs in the reception area of the hotel on Sir Baniyas Island in Abu Dhabi.
By happy chance, this helicopter was about to touch down on the helipad at the top of the Burj al-Arab hotel in Dubai.
This is the mightily impressive vaulted ceiling of Beverley Minster.
No, it’s not something from a Transformers movie: it’s an electricity pylon at a shopping centre on the outskirts of Limoges.
Lens-Artists Challenge: Portraits
Posted on March 18, 2025
Like many others. I suspect, I’m not really comfortable with portrait photography. There’s no doubt that it’s an art form in itself – cf. Annie Leibovitz, for example, or Karsh of Ottawa – but I feel much more relaxed focusing (literally) on non-human subjects.
Nonetheless, I thought I’d give it a go for the Lens-Artists Challenge this week and started to comb through my image library. I was very happy – and surprised – to come across this image of a young chimpanzee. It had been misfiled (and therefore forgotten about), but my best guess is that it was taken at Taronga Zoo in Sydney.
As portraits go, I don’t think it’s a complete disaster. The subject is calm, reflective – a little curious, even. And, happily, looking straight at the camera.
Lens-Artists Challenge: Pick A Word
Posted on March 4, 2025
This week, John at Journeys With Johnbo has challenged us to show three or four images united by the same one-word description or subject.
Okay then: how about ‘BEAKY’? All three pf these photographs were taken at the Al Ain Zoo in the United Arab Emirates. I give you, respectively, a duck, a pelican and a vulture.
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