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Commentary.
In the 1971 song “Vincent” by Don McLean he describes one of Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings as having “fields of amber-grain,”
a lovely and apt description.
Here in a view from Morar Cross one merely needs to adapt the description to, “a sea of amber-grey,” as the golden orb dips below the clouds and the Isle of Rum, to warm a darkening leaden sea.
A hundred times I must have come to this coastline.
Its sunsets are a therapy, a sobering moment of solace, meditation, reassurance, inner-peace and confirmation that:-
God is in his heaven, all is well with the world.
Commentary.
The famed “Road to the Isles” owes much of its appeal to the
views of Loch Eilt, half way to Mallaig.
Wooded reflections of mountain peaks above verdant shores give superb views at every twist and turn whether by road, rail or on foot.
Potter himself, on his way to the imaginary “Hogwarts,”
enjoyed the self-same views from the northern shore (in shot).
Spectacular valley, mountain, coastal, beach and island scenery make this route, simply, world-class!!!
Commentary.
Glen Cannich is an amazing, former, glacial valley
in the North-West Highlands.
Loch Craskie and its majestic forests
is a gentle introduction
to the sights that lie ahead.
But what an introduction!
Glassy pool through which
the River Cannich flows.
Contrasting golden Larch and Spruce forests.
From the shade of a deciduous shoreline
to the reflected colours of a blissful Autumn.
It captures the eye.
It captures the heart.
It captures the soul.
And it won’t let go!
Peace, perfect peace.
Commentary.
Ocean, land, harbour – an unusual configuration.
The geology of south-west Argyll provides a series of land-protected harbours and ideal sailing waters.
Therefore, this ancient but mellow coastline of Dalriada is a mecca for yachting marinas.
In this scene, looking west, Tayvallich is one of very few east-facing villages on the majestic western seaboard.
A strip of land shelters the multifarious blue, yellow, white and red craft from the Atlantic elements.
Uncommercialised, unspoilt Tayvallich in early morning reflects the land and water dwellings in a crystal-clear symmetry.
Loch Melfort, Crinan, Tayvallich, Ardfern and Craobh Haven. Hidden jewels in an immensely fractured, twisting and convoluted coastline.
With island vistas and visits to Islay, Jura, Scarba, Luing, Seil, Kerrera and Lismore these cosy, calm and peaceful harbours
act as perfect sanctuaries to the incredible sea-kingdom of Dalriada.
Commentary.
Glen Cannich is an amazing, former, glacial valley
in the North-West Highlands.
Loch Craskie and its majestic forests
is a gentle introduction
to the sights that lie ahead.
But what an introduction!
Glassy pool through which
the River Cannich flows.
Contrasting golden Larch and Spruce forests.
From the shade of a deciduous shoreline
to the reflected colours of a blissful Autumn.
It captures the eye.
It captures the heart.
It captures the soul.
And it won’t let go!
Peace, perfect peace.
Commentary.
Sidmouth clings to a valley between Peak and Salcombe Hills on the Jurassic Coastline of South Devon.
Its Regency to Victorian promenade
has enticed visitors for over two hundred years.
Here, over 50 metres above the popular town, on Peak Hill, its location is well appreciated.
Red Devonian hills and cliffs, archetypal hedged fields, pockets of woodland and convoluted roads wend their way
in and out of this scenic, coastal tourist node.
A balmy scene on a balmy day in early summer.
So where are the toilets?
Agricultural shows, like the Royal Cornwall show attract thousands of people (estimates put this years attendance at over 100,000).
A significant proportion of these people are farmers or other agricultural trades.
now follow my logic:
1) Approximately 57% of British farmers are over 50 years old. According to GOV.UK, 32% are aged 55-64 and 35% are 65 or older.
2) Approximately 1 in 3 men over 65 in the UK experience urinary incontinence, and 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. Additionally, many men experience bladder problems related to prostate enlargement, which affects a significant number of men, particularly as they age.
Now I don't organise large public events - but common sense suggests that you at least think about your audience before you arrange the toilets and the signs.
Some times it's not about the image - it's about the story.
A veces no se trata de la imagen, sino de la historia.
Parfois, ce n’est pas une question d’image, c’est une question d’histoire.
Manchmal geht es nicht um das Bild, sondern um die Geschichte.
Commentary.
Moidart country above Acharacle,
two miles from the “Silver Walk” and Castle Tioram.
Lochan na Fola is small.
The hills are small.
And yet this luxuriant grassy scene works.
The calming effect of green trees, fern, grass, water-lilies, reeds and hawthorn
places nature in charge.
Feels like a thousand miles from the madding crowd.
Escaping the masses is easy!
Just take a few steps and suddenly…….
you’ve made it!
Dismaland - Banksy 2015
The exhibit was built on the site of Weston-super-Mare's dilapidated Tropicana lido, which the anonymous Bristol street artist had visited as a child.
The subversive tourist attraction was conceived as a 'bemusement park', offering a satirical twist on mainstream resorts.
From installations on climate change and consumerism to war, surveillance and the ongoing refugee crisis - for many, the dystopian commentary remains equally as poignant today.
Commentary.
Sunrise just after 05:00 a.m.
Looking north, the lower, eastern bluffs of Ben Lomond
almost appear to meet the western slopes of the Tarbet Hills, like engaged gear wheels.
End of Loch Lomond?
No, it weaves its way through the deep channel between the hills for nearly eleven more miles.
The crenelated slopes of Ben Vorlich rise behind,
to touch the clouds.
Beinn Dubhchraig, 978 metres (3,209 feet,) sixteen miles further north, one of the Crianlarich Hills, an eastern outlier of the mighty Ben Lui, holds distant centre-ground.
The salmon-pink clouds form a sumptuous contrast to the indigo-blue, silhouetted hills, in this panorama of Loch Lomond at its mercurial best.
Commentary.
Affric has it all.
Incredible trees like native Birch and Scots Pine.
Dream-like islands and sheltered bays.
Illustrious and majestic mountain peaks,
and, as in this image,
superb, sharp reflections and silhouettes
against a breathless, glassy loch,
as the sun sets north of west, on this autumn evening.
Its ethereal qualities make for an amazing reality,
that never fails to lift the spirit.
Commentary.
Amberley, in West Sussex, is an exceptional village.
On the eastern side of the River Arun’s floodplain,
tucked beneath the South Downs it boasts:-
a Norman Church and Castle, pub, general store,
Amberley Working Museum and Chalk Pit,
a railway station and many riverside walks,
as well as marshes on the flood-plain full of wading birds,
and, of course, the obligatory tea-rooms.
Even in the South-West peninsula it is rare to get a
village where seemingly over half of the residences are thatched.
It is even more surprising, here, in the heart of West Sussex
in South-East England.
The cottages age from about 300-600 years and the one
in this image is archetypal.
So much to see, so much to enjoy
in an astounding village in a splendid valley location.
Commentary.
Started as a Norman Motte and Bailey castle
almost a thousand years ago,
Arundel Castle is surreal, almost mesmeric,
the stuff of fairy tales,
but it is real.
Home to the Duke of Norfolk’s family
for over 400 years the site was extended
throughout medieval times.
Arundel is a superb, unique town, in a glorious valley,
through which flows a vibrant and beautiful river, the Arun.
But from wherever one looks, north, south, east or west
of the town, the castle dominates and raises this town’s
profile to magical, mysterious and legendary status.
Simply, magnificent!!!
Comments are always welcome and favs most appreciated.
Commentaries y favs son siempre bienvenidos
© Photography of Ricardo Gomez Angel
All rights reserved. All images on this website are the property of Ricardo Gomez Angel. Images may not be reproduced, copied or used in any way without written permission.
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Commentary.
Moidart country above Acharacle,
two miles from the “Silver Walk” and Castle Tioram.
Lochan na Fola is small.
The hills are small.
And yet this luxuriant grassy scene works.
The calming effect of green trees, fern, grass, water-lilies, reeds and hawthorn
places nature in charge.
Feels like a thousand miles from the madding crowd.
Escaping the masses is easy!
Just take a few steps and suddenly…….
you’ve made it!
Commentary.
From all angles and sides Loch Duich is so pleasing to the eye.
Lush, pine-forested slopes beneath rocky mountain heights
reach down to the shore.
The dwellings of Shiel Bridge, Invershiel, Morvich and Inverinate provide a sense of scale to this awesome landscape.
All seasons give inspiring mountain vistas of varying tones and hues, from the slopes of Bealach Ratagan on the way to
Glenelg, Arnisdale and Corran on Loch Hourn.
Such diversions are often missed, but they are the very routes
that overwhelm in their grandeur and beauty.
Commentary.
Strathglass in autumn near Aigas Gorge.
The golf-course gives an artificial, manicured
impression to a valley that is naturally beautiful.
It seems almost unlikely that a man-made feature like a golf course
could blend in, and even complement, such a valley
but, here, now, it does seem to.
This ever-widening river is the result of a confluence
of three others – Affric, Cannich and Farrar.
It is majestic as it curves and flows seawards
reaching the Beauly Firth as the River Beauly.
Even established locals, would put a
tour of this river, and its three source rivers,
high on their itinerary of day-trips
from the Highland capital.
Commentary.
Agatha Christie’s one-time summer residence, the Georgian mansion of Greenway, stands four-square above the luxuriant wooded slopes that cradle the winding blue ribbon of tidal water known as the Dart Estuary.
A plethora of leisure boats continuously meander their twisting navigation between the muddy banks and creeks.
Like the roots of a tree these seeping channels ooze drainage from the fields and woods above into the sumptuous green channel that makes the Dart such an attraction to so many visitors to South Devon.
Through the branches of oak, beech, ash and sweet chestnut
this broken view teases us as to what extensive views might reveal above the tree-line.
Such views are very special and truly exquisite.
Commentary.
Plockton is a wonderful and lucky village.
It often has superb sunrises, because unusually for a West Coast settlement, it faces east.
In the evening, stunning sunsets, behind its headland,
looking west towards Skye, glow fiery yellow, orange and red in the twilight.
Here, from Creag Garadh, south of the village, the seawards view takes in the Black and Red Cuillins and a few other islands of the Inner Hebrides.
If I was to say that this is one of the most beautiful places in the world, I don’t think I would be far off the mark.
Redwing Blackbird. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.
A male redwing blackbird perches on winter vegetation.
Redwing blackbirds, especially when they flock together, seem like some of the most exuberant birds in my part of the world. On the ideal morning, hundreds (or more!) of them may assemble on a tree or among reeds, chirping and singing enthusiastically... only to suddenly and unexpectedly take to the air in tightly spaced groups whose flight patterns are amazing.
I didn't have quite that experience on this occasion, but it was still a worthwhile moment. This bird was perched by itself on this winter wetland vegetation. As the male birds do, he was showing off his bright red wing patches as he faced me , with the wetland landscape barely visible in the distant background
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, "California's Fall Color: A Photographer's Guide to Autumn in the Sierra" is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email
Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.
Commentary.
Salcombe is a prestige coastal village perched on the western slopes of its estuary.
There are small beaches tucked away on both sides of this drowned river valley or “Ria.”
Being sheltered from the open sea it is a very popular
focal point for leisure craft, yachts and holiday-makers.
Placed as it is in the far south of Devon, it enjoys mild, calm
and balmy conditions between May and September.
Occasional winter storms can certainly churn even this
serene scene a few times each year.
It is so popular in summer that May and September
may be the best times to visit, as congestion can become a problem.
Many people retire to this area to enjoy such vistas, every day.
Commentary.
Freshwater Bay is a classic site where the sea erodes the
Cretaceous chalk forming dramatic
coves, cliffs, caves, and stacks.
Azure skies and blinding white rock
create turquoise seas with an emerald green back-cloth.
Truly photogenic, to the nth. degree.
Commentary.
A snow-white tombolo of sand spans the rocky skerries
near Arisaig at Portnaluchaig.
The warm Gulf Stream lapping on to the brilliant shell-sand beaches makes for a myriad of aquamarine bays hyphenated by darker azure blues where submarine rocks and fronds of seaweed break the shallow sandy bed.
Emerald hills and fields fall gracefully to the sea, some capped by pine-fringed sand-dunes.
The sharp Sgurr of Eigg, the undulating volcanic hills of Rum and the serrated horse-shoe of the Black Cuillins make for a stunning backcloth to this stunning coastline.
Made immortal in films like “Local Hero,” this coastal fringe is simply unforgettable.
On a blue-sky day like this in April’s Spring, in an autumnal or winter storm or in the golden hours of a north-western sunset, this place engraves its magic into one’s psyche and soul in an irresistible and everlasting way.
Like McIntyre, you have to return.
I sat in the sand-dunes on 12/04/2018 and drank in its beauty and peace.
My cup runneth over…..
And so will yours!
Commentary.
When you remember an area for nearly sixty years.
When you’ve walked it, absorbed it, luxuriated in it,
camped in it, competed in orienteering competitions here, day and night, taught many children about its culture, habitats, natural history, people, history and geography and seen them come to love the natural world as a result, it becomes very, very special.
When you’ve studied it from “O” level to Degree level, come to know its beautiful villages, their residents and the way of life.
When it is the most wooded and one of the most splendid parts of South-East England.
When it has seeped into your soul.
When you feel its geology, pedology, flora, fauna, history, geography and culture rise through the leather of your walking boots, with every twist and turn you become part of it,
it has become part of you.
When the spirit of the trees, the gurgle of the streams
and the therapeutic effect of wide, expansive vistas
of glorious landscapes speak to you, a bond, a love has been forged that will never die.
Such is this area to me.
Its spirit is in my D.N.A.
I am it.
It is me.
C’est la vie.
Commentary.
A Roman villa takes people living here,
back, for at least 2,000 years.
Saxon villages preceded the Norman, Eynesford Castle.
Church of St.Martin, cottages, houses, inns, Pack-Horse bridge
and Lullingstone Manor “Castle”
were Medieval “inventions.”
Still the Half-timbered and
White Weather-board houses stand
by April-Blossomed trees.
More recent times have brought a Baptist Church,
village hall, Castle Hotel and Five Bells pub.
But now, the iconic heart of the village seems to be
this lustrous ford through the River Darent.
Here, visitors and locals gather by the graceful waters
for the niceness of it all,
if not the customary Ice-Cream van!
Dunes, Sand Storm. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.
A sand storm sweeps across layered dunes.
Here I decided to offer a somewhat more subjective view of a sand dunes scene, photographed late in the day during a period of high winds and a sand storm. If you see this as a calm scene... imaging gale winds blowing across from left to right, carrying large volumes of airborne sand, and the distant views obscured by these clouds filling the atmosphere. It was a wild scene, and I was only able to photograph it for a short period of time.
The question of what is "real" in photographs has long intrigued me. There are few cases in which I believe the goal of a photograph might be to present an objectively accurate rendering of the subject. In fact, I believe that it is actually impossible for a photograph to do that — I like to say that, "All photographs lie." Some who feel differently about this, and who hold that photographs should be "real," point to classic photography when suggesting this. However, if any mode of photography is amenable to creative license, it is black and white photography! The ability to produce an expressively subject image in black and white may be unsurpassed. And here I "went there," with a photograph that aspires not to reproduce objective reality but one that hopes to evoke subjective truth.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, "California's Fall Color: A Photographer's Guide to Autumn in the Sierra" is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email
Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.
Commentary.
Steep river-terrace above the Thames.
Site of the famous Star and Garter Home,
for badly injured War veterans.
Here, from Terrace Field we can see a
broad sweeping meander of the River Thames,
as it catches the light of a setting sun,
near to the much-visited Jacobean mansion, Ham House.
Tree-bound banks take our eye to the horizon.
Beyond and above Twickenham,
the needle-like spire of St. James’s Church,
breaks the horizon, at Hampton Hill.
Never did the Thames look so elegant, graceful and rural as
it does from Richmond Hill,
well within the bounds of Greater London.
Commentary.
Bosham is a dreamy, pleasant village and harbour
along Chichester Harbour’s convoluted coastline of bays, inlets and creeks.
One road around the bay is tidal, only passable at low tide.
Legend has it that it was here that the Saxon King Cnut insisted
The tide retreat to prevent his feet getting wet.
Alas, his power was not cosmic, and the moon’s waxing and waning,
soon saw to it, that he got thoroughly soaked.
I suppose there is a lesson here for even our modern purveyors of power and influence.
Know where and how it ends!
The populous are the ultimate power.
Figureheads are merely temporary custodians.
Commentary.
Bottle green.
Acer red.
Copper.
Gold.
Amber.
Orange.
Yellow.
Higher up the valley,
three rivers become one.
As that river enters this gorge at the southern end, it is the River Glass.
The gorge disguises its flow.
As it leaves the gorge it becomes the River Beauly and its flow is considerable.
The autumn mist gradually clears.
The scents, the ambience, the spirits of the living trees,
make me feel part of nature, not a dangerous alternative.
Thank the Lord, that, like me, so many others value and protect, this, our natural heritage.
Commentary.
On this flood-prone water-meadow by the River Medway
there are campsites, river-side-walks, pubs and a teapot-themed Tea-rooms.
This marvellous seven-arched Medieval bridge has spanned the river
since the 15th. Century and is constructed of local Ragstone.
The bridge takes its name from a former name for the village,
namely, “Twyford Bridge”.
It is probably one of the finest examples of such a bridge in South-East England.
The river is not navigable here as locks and
sluice-gates lower its elevation by almost 4 metres,
just upstream, south-west or left, in this image.
Commentary.
Ocean, land, harbour – an unusual configuration.
The geology of south-west Argyll provides a series of land-protected harbours and ideal sailing waters.
Therefore, this ancient but mellow coastline of Dalriada is a mecca for yachting marinas.
In this scene, looking west, Tayvallich is one of very few east-facing villages on the majestic western seaboard.
A strip of land shelters the multifarious blue, yellow, white and red craft from the Atlantic elements.
Uncommercialised, unspoilt Tayvallich in early morning reflects the land and water dwellings in a crystal-clear symmetry.
Loch Melfort, Crinan, Tayvallich, Ardfern and Craobh Haven. Hidden jewels in an immensely fractured, twisting and convoluted coastline.
With island vistas and visits to Islay, Jura, Scarba, Luing, Seil, Kerrera and Lismore these cosy, calm and peaceful harbours
act as perfect sanctuaries to the incredible sea-kingdom of Dalriada.
Commentary.
Sometimes a telephoto image can help to emphasise
the scale, grandeur, gradient and brutal dominance
of such a volume of water as Loch Ness.
Part of a strike-slip fault-line that reaches the best part of 250-300 miles, from the north of the Moray Firth to Ireland.
Not only does it separate Grampian Scotland from the North-West Highlands but also formed the junction between two global tectonic plates.
The summit of Meall Fhuar-Mhonaidh at 700 metres or 2,300 feet provides a full perspective on this world-famous loch.
Views of 60 miles take in its whole length from Inverness in the north-east to the Nevis Range in the south-west.
Distance and depth. This immense chasm is not just long but deep.
The vertical drop from the peak of Ben Nevis to the deepest parts of Loch Ness exceeds one and a quarter miles.
Awesome may be an over-used word, but not here.
Commentary.
The famed “Road to the Isles” owes much of its appeal to the
views of Loch Eilt, half way to Mallaig.
Wooded reflections of mountain peaks above verdant shores give superb views at every twist and turn whether by road, rail or on foot.
Potter himself, on his way to the imaginary “Hogwarts”
enjoyed the self-same views from the northern shore (in shot).
Spectacular valley, mountain, coastal, beach and island scenery
make this route simply world-class!!!
Commentary.
A somewhat austere, brick-built house,
but in a splendid location.
it is set on the south-east side of
Crockham Hill Common on a wooded hillside
overlooking the Kentish Weald.
The country home of Winston Churchill, during World War Two, his study had views south-east, beyond Chiddingstone Church and as far as the High Weald, near Crowborough.
The grounds are splendid –
ponds, rock gardens, rose gardens, kitchen gardens,
orchards, lawns and meadow features.
Churchill’s beloved art studio is below the house,
still containing his mainly Mediterranean collection of paintings, plus much WW2 memorabilia, shared with
the public by National Trust guides.
Commentary.
Salmon-pink and blue.
Cool, really cool.
What a good job the white sands of this bay
appear salmon pink when still wet from the outgoing tide.
Sometimes colours really complement each other.
The blend of pale-blue river and royal blue sea form a luscious combination with the salmon-pink and peach sand.
Framed by the green banks of Morar Cross, the rocky headlands and the grey-blue peaks of Rum, this view is as cool as it gets.
Modern hues on a timeless landscape.
“I’m gone man, I’m solid gone!” as Baloo would say.
Commentary.
Graceful.
Elegant.
Pyramidal peaks,
sweeping,
curving down
razor-sharp arêtes to cols
and shorelines 3,500 feet below.
The Five Sisters of Kintail give
Loch Duich a smooth, flowing, fluid beauty
and majesty in all seasons.
But in winter these glorious, snow-covered, “wintrified” slopes
take on a splendour that is breath-taking and exquisite.
This is a truly exceptional landscape
on the West Coast of Scotland.
Commentary.
South of Inverness and 550 feet above the Moray Firth
this view reaches 25 miles, north-west, to the whale-hump summit of Ben Wyvis.
The Kessock Bridge (lower right) links the snake-like path of the A.9. between the Highland capital and the Black Isle (middle ground).
Black because it’s low, less snow,
forested, dark green for a sizeable fraction
and fertile with dark, rich, loamy soils.
Inverness has grown in my lifetime from a small town
of 25,000 to a thriving city of 80,000 including the new,
outlying suburban developments.
It is in a classic location where four stretches of water meet.
The mild and fertile Moray Firth, the Beauly and Inverness Firths and the iconic, Loch Ness.
It also sits on the one hundred and twenty mile geological fault line connecting the Grampian Highlands to the North-West Highlands.
The town, as a defensive node, goes back over 15 centuries.
Settlement, however, as demonstrated at Clava Cairns,
extends to over 4,000 years ago.
with colour...
resubmitted, now with completed commentary...
In this, my first new set of achukapicks in almost a year, I have allowed myself just four black-and-whites. The rest are celebrations of colour photography and image-making.
Leaving the four corner images till last, but otherwise working from left to right, from the top:
A beautiful photo by crack jackson jr - everything is perfect, the near hand resting on the bank, the far hand touching the surface of the water, fingertipping the reflection, that lovely fairy-like hue and light, the girl’s fair skin and draping auburn hair.
M is for Mylens and for Marilia and also for the pure magic of the macro world she observes and records, as here in ‘Microcosmic’, brought to us from her very own garden. Much macro photography is coldly microscopic rather than microcosmic. Marilia’s work is never coldly analytical but always a warm celebration.
Ralph (nardell) is one of the nicest people around, and I’ve seen lots of other people say the same. Recently he has been posting emblematic image after image with spot-on title captions. What could be more poignant as a title to an eloquent photo of a broken-heart-shaped leaf still in one piece only by virtue of its stem than “strongest where we started”. Well, it touched my heart.
Pahud has featured in my achukapicks many times. I love the way he and Emilie wander around finding different places to shoot. The results are always pleasing. Not all photos look their best when presented in a grid and I think now I would have been better selecting www.flickr.com/photos/pahud/5103721048/ to represent his work here. But do go to his stream. There is so much there, and most importantly of all both he and Emile clearly adore cameral life!
‘Portrait of a Lady’ by vannessa~ho typifies the elegance and fine compositional touch found in this photographer’s art. There is always a back-story or prevailing mood and atmosphere to be read into her images. Her work is never merely pictorial. She has heart and compassion in abundance.
Notwithstanding the comment about the previous photo, pictorial photography can be perfectly pleasing and sometimes everything the eyes require. The next image seems to me to be the perfect example of such an image. A red polkadot dress, arm holding a white jug filled with blossom cuttings, the thumb so perfectly in focus and all presented against a dark black background. Very satisfying indeed! Thank you Agnieszka.
I like photos of people reading. I really like Hitoshi’s medium-format photographs. So it goes without saying that I like ‘She loves reading’. Hope you do too.
Isn’t ‘Re-bound’ fun? Big coloured bouncing balls held static in the air, girl about to jump (and catch), boy seemingly about to bounce. So fanciful and playful. ..AVA.. (Vanessa Munoz)’s stream really needs no introduction from me.
Paul Grand is a professional Illustrator photographer & artist, and it shows. Such classy image-making. And he doesn’t require an exotic setting to achieve his results, as here in ‘Venice’. On his stream there are many superb images made from photos taken on the Sussex coast near where I live.
As the theme of this achukapick is colour I simply had to include an image by Chaulafanita, a Spanish photographer whose colour work always has sufficient flamboyance to put the viewer in flamenco mood.
Salome Vorfas is a young fashion photographer of immense creativity. I have picked out two images - the next one and the image immediately below it - to give just an impression of her work. Visit her stream and experience the full extent of her imagination and flair.
Oh, the lighting in this next image! Recently I have been discovering more Russian photographers, and Katarina Smurga’s stream is somewhat typical of the mood and style favoured by many of them. It’s a style of accentuated reality, in which film cameras record with fine detail and purity the essence of a scene, with little obvious postprocessing or artful presentation. This is a beautiful example, if somewhat more staged than is usual.
Next we come to our first black-and-white. cmvoelkel (Claire) has fast become one of my favourite black-and-white photographers. She shoots mainly but not exclusively film (and self-develops) but most importantly interprets the coloured world in a way that can immediately see the potential for a monochromatic version of the scene. You only have to visit her stream and you’ll see what I mean. Like lots of her images, ‘boxed in’ has the air of one of the all-time great mono shots. An ageless, classic image.
Rui Palha is a black-and-white magician. He loves semi-silhouetted back views and many of his street scenes are so marvellous they look like crafted, choreographed stagesets, with every step of a leg and every nuance of light timelined and planned. But he writes that photography for him “is to discover, it is to capture giving flow to what the heart feels and sees in a certain moment, it is being in the street, trying, knowing, learning and, essentially, practicing the freedom of being, of living, of thinking...” I am sure Claire (above) feels the same.
I can never resist a beautiful head-and-shoulder portrait. Lou O’Bedlam seems to have an endless supply of female friends to photograph. Some of them are professional models, but there is always an informality in the way they work with Lou that comes across in the resulting photos. This is just a damn nice portrait. And if you’re not a contact of Lou’s yet, make him one now, and you’ll get to see many more damn nice portraits like this.
The story behind the ‘Perfect Accident’ by laurenlemon is as follows; “I set the exposure and focus, handed the camera off and told my sister what to shoot - but she watched, and caught this moment. Little did I know I was shooting on slide film, and would end up getting the roll cross processed when I developed it (not knowing what I shot on the roll either). But it works! I like it! So, this is one of those pictures where everything just worked out perfectly, on accident.” A fantastic accident indeed.
The blue-toenailed, wide-angle delight that is ‘row my boat’ by elsakawai just had to be included here. Such a great frame and shot!
What can I say about Steve? Let’s start by saying he’s a nice guy, and I know that because I’ve been told it by someone whose judgement I trust. But it also comes across in his self-deprecating sense of humour, and in the kinds of comments he leaves. From what I can make out, he has his own business which has been sufficiently successful to let him take a bit of a back-seat so that he can spend his days driving around taking the most amazing photos of the bridges and waterways surrounding Vancouver. He’s represented by a black-and-white shot here, but his colour work is probably more popular with most of his followers. He claims to have only recently acquired Photoshop. I say he doesn’t need it!
Halfway through 2010 Gary Isaacs posted his 200th image, announcing “This has never been for me some sort of gallery where i throw spaghetti at the wall
In most respects i think i’ve said what i wanted to say and like the song says why say it again?
i’m not so sure that i have something else that i’m all that interested in communicating at this time and i don’t want to put up images as some sort of expression of a mindless needy habit
i think there is a kind of power to limiting ones self - working within limitations - and i think a declared ending is often more powerful than something that dribbles out unconsciously till it’s simply over
plus i’m a sucker for symmetry and balance i think this is a good time to step away -
an even 200 - this body of work stands complete because . . . . because i say so”
And so he left. We still have those 200 images and the spellbinding prosepoems that accompany so many of them. But I miss him a lot.
Ekaterina Grigorieva... another Russian photographer... another gorgeous head-and-shoulder portrait. She’s a wonderful photographer. Highly recommend a visit to her stream.
Ilze Vanaga is Latvian and, oh gosh, her ‘Isle of Skye’ photo has to be one of the most beautiful decisive moment photos ever taken. I never tire of looking at it. It carries so much emotion and story. The frown on the older child’s face, her yellow headband, the man looking like he’s just been left holding the baby and not knowing what to do, the baby itself got up in white lace, the ferryboat seating... oh, just so much to savour in the magic of a frozen moment.
What a marvellously autumnal concoction is the next image by Oleg Oprisco. Such a swirl of leaf and dress and hair.
Beautifully warm Gauguinesque body forms in ‘towards the dream’, the image included from martikson.
Next, another reading photo, by Marianna Fierro, which I love especially for its lighting and the way the page seems to be illuminating the subject’s face.
Brooke Shaden is a very gifted creator of images and ‘lined up’ is a fine example of her work.
Bogdan Zwir - Russian again - creates disturbingly surreal portraits and does it very well indeed.
Ha, ha, next up gosia janik and ‘Paula’ show us how to drink a mug of coffee! All the best photographers have fun from time to time, and this is a great mood-lifting photo. Of course, there is much more to gosia’s style and scope than the mood reflected here, but most people will know that already.
I believe passerby3 took the next photo in Bulgaria, where she is currently resident. Wherever, it’s beatifully taken and presented.
‘almost fairytale season’ by Katya / slight clutter is like a beautiful screenprint. Wonderfully judged use of texture layer.
‘Wheat dreamscape’ is the second image aby Paul Grand.
I haven’t much to say about the Aleksey Kovalev’s warm photo of a closed-eye couple, other than I adore the warm sense of loving togetherness it conveys.
In the top left image - ‘Autumn, the year’s last loveliest smile’ - Quizz performs some magic I’ve not experienced before with the photograph’s colour palette. I love the resulting enhancement.
What a dramatic image is ‘the storm came on the seventh day’. A bleakly beautiful composition.
‘The old man drinking’ (bottom left) has something of the quality of her very earliest Polish streetscenes. It is a beautifully observed moment in passing, at once natural and at the same time looking like a painting.
Finally, ‘I’m a fan’ sees Quizz exulting in the light, which she always makes her own.
Commentary.
A snow-white tombolo of sand spans the rocky skerries
near Arisaig at Portnaluchaig.
The warm Gulf Stream lapping on to the brilliant shell-sand beaches makes for a myriad of aquamarine bays hyphenated by darker azure blues where submarine rocks and fronds of seaweed break the shallow sandy bed.
Emerald hills and fields fall gracefully to the sea, some capped by pine-fringed sand-dunes.
The sharp Sgurr of Eigg, the undulating volcanic hills of Rum and the serrated horse-shoe of the Black Cuillins make for a stunning backcloth to this stunning coastline.
Made immortal in films like “Local Hero,” this coastal fringe is simply unforgettable.
On a blue-sky day like this in April’s Spring, in an autumnal or winter storm or in the golden hours of a north-western sunset, this place engraves its magic into one’s psyche and soul in an irresistible and everlasting way.
Like McIntyre, you have to return.
I sat in the sand-dunes on 12/04/2018 and drank in its beauty and peace.
My cup runneth over…..
And so will yours!
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Commentary.
In the 1971 song “Vincent” by Don McLean he describes one of Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings as having “fields of amber-grain,” a lovely and apt description.
Here in a view from Morar Cross one merely needs to adapt the description to, a sea of amber-grey,” as the golden orb dips below the clouds and the Isle of Rum, to warm a darkening pewter, leaden sea.
A hundred times I must have come to this coastline.
Its sunsets are a therapy, a sobering moment of solace, meditation, reassurance, inner-peace and confirmation that:-
God is in his heaven, all is well with the world.
Commentary.
We set off from the “Old Inn,” at Charlestown in Flowerdale as late as 20:30.
It had been a glorious day in North-West Scotland.
We anticipated that in about an hour we could still enjoy the dying embers of a superb West Coast sunset.
We aimed for An Groban, an inland hill about two miles up Flowerdale.
At near to 21:30 we scaled the summit and this was the view that we enjoyed.
Visible is the whole of Gairloch Bay and the Trotternish Peninsula on the Island of Skye, on the left,
Longa Island, is right of centre and on the horizon, the Outer Hebrides, 40-60 miles distant.
Plum and orange clouds, a partially lilac sea, yellow and gold horizon and silhouetted rapier-like headlands are typical of West Coast sunsets.
They are stunningly beautiful and quite unforgettable.
Commentary.
Near the village of Burwash in the East Sussex Weald,
of sandstone ridges and clay vales, stands this substantial sandstone mansion, known as “Bateman’s.”
It was one of several homes owned by the poet and author, Rudyard Kipling.
He lived in this dignified dwelling, in a rural location, for 34 years.
The splendid grounds include flower borders, lawns, kitchen garden, rose garden and pond feature.
Successful authors could probably live anywhere.
It is testimony to the quality of life provided here,
that he chose this location, just south-west of the village.
Commentary.
Sir Christopher Wren’s Masterpiece.
St. Paul’s Cathedral, Ludgate Hill, London.
Circular, Rectangular.
Triangular, Domed and
Square elements.
Pediments, Porticos.
Corinthian and Composite Pillars.
Bell and Clock towers.
Vast Nave.
North and South Transepts.
Internal, decorated, domed ceiling
over The Crossing and aisles.
Whispering Gallery.
Invisible, bricked, cone structure
to support the Outer dome.
Chancel, High Altar.
Statues, Memorial tombs.
Black and white Marble floor.
The largest Crypt, the full size of the building.
Many renowned Honorary Services.
Famous religious works of art.
Final build was Wren’s fifth, to accommodate the views of
Religious, Political and Populous opinions.
One of the finest and largest churches ever built.
English Baroque style with Classical influences.
A saying by Wren’s tomb reads, “If you seek his memorial, look around.”
And we still do. Truly, magnificent!
Commentary.
The Quiraing means “rounded fold” referring to harder volcanic rocks that have slipped downwards over softer Sedimentary rocks.
Being more resistant to erosion, in places, these volcanic remnants stand out of the landscape in the form of strange, pillar-like columns, resembling pointed shards of rock.
This feature is known as “The Table,” a flat, grass-covered, rock platform.
It reminds me of an impossible Golf Green, a thousand feet above the “tee.”
Views take in the long, thin islands of Raasay and Rona, offshore.
West Coast mainland mountains in Torridon can be seen on a clear day and even “Slioch” in Wester Ross, above Loch Maree.
A stupendous place, rock-bound, surreal, mysterious, ethereal and atmospheric.
Perhaps, the Northern Hemisphere’s entrance to “Middle Earth!”
Commentary.
One of the broad shallow bays that make up the northern part of Wester Ross.
Five miles across and four miles deep.
It is viewed here from 120 metres above the river called Little Gruinard.
This panorama shows the whole of the eastern shore.
With the tide out the main beach extends to one and a half kilometres.
The bare, pristine, bluffed, rounded hills
of Lewisian Gneiss fall into the sea and are set against the higher mountains of Coigach, Scoraig and Dundonnell.
This is a superb coastline, rivalling any other stretch,
in the world, for its unspoiled beauty.