More from the dishwasher

Two more still life pictures from the dishwasher.

There’s still life in the dishwasher!

Each time I open the dishwasher I find at least one still life arrangement staring back at me!  I’m sure its because I see patterns all around me  –  that’s how I am!  Maybe still life pictures are not as popular as was once the case but in the next two posts I shall be offering a pair each day.

 

 

A few more birds

The dunnock and the robin are among our most common and friendly garden birds.  Both are small and the robin is noticeably much smaller than his American cousin.

In the sheep field are the larger birds; the jackdaws, a kestrel, a red legged partridge and a magpie.  They are less keen on the camera’s presence and it will be obvious from the quality that these pictures were taken from some distance.  Indeed, the kestrel was perched on a tree guard more than 100 yards away.

The jackdaws, who regularly visit in groups of 6 – 10 at this time, are gathering dried grass for nesting.

 

The red legged partridge came to the edge of the field but, disappointingly, always remained partly concealed by the bars of the fence.

 

 

It must be Spring!

It was a warmer day and the sun shone ceaselessly, at last.  The birds were noisily happy and I saw my first brimstone butterfly of the year.  The rooks and crows busied themselves building nests in the bare, topmost branches of the tallest trees.  It must be spring!

Abstract 157

Glassware, seen through the frosted panels of the cabinet, produce a pleasing, colourful abstract picture.

About lines and textures

I was attracted by the contrasting textures of pebble, seaweed and sand,

and by the simple, abstract hieroglyph of a strand of seaweed.

Feather on the sand

I felt there was a metaphor in this image: but the meaning of the metaphor is different for each of us.

 

Beach at low tide

A sandy beach at low tide is often a magical place to be.  The receding sea can leave abstract patterns, often similar but never the same.  The damp sand and the shallow pools reflect whatever light and colour the sky has to offer.

Simply spectacular!

My eyes need a rest!   A minimalist still life.

Abstract 155 ‘Red Glow’

The Man in the Iron Mask

The object in the first picture began life, I believe, as part of a fishing boat.  Obviously it has outlived its original purpose and, because of its weight, now serves as a mooring point for a rowing boat.  I was attracted by its colour and texture, its shape and shadows and the contrast between the rope and the rusty metal.

 

 

But somehow my photograph didn’t give me the buzz of success I’d anticipated.  I viewed it numerous times and experimented with different ways of cropping.  Eventually I inverted the image and found a face staring at me.  By changing the Mode and flattening the colours the Man in the Iron Mask was born.

 

Last rays of the day

A picture taken through my window, looking across the sheep field.

Sheep field update

More and more lambs are arriving daily.

To enlarge click the photo

Tree trunk in watercolour

This old and gnarled tree trunk lends itself to a touch of watercolour filter.

Click the photo to enlarge

Spring lambs

 

The first lambs appeared in the neighbouring sheep field on Easter Sunday.  Each day since has seen a sizeable increase in numbers.

There is invariably an air of sentimentality associated with the arrival of new lambs  –  the ‘Ah!’ factor  –  and the sight of a young lamb searching for its mother

or learning to chew grass, like mum

can melt even the coldest heart.

Similarly, seeing newborn lambs feeding resonates with the gentler instincts in most humans  –  even if the ewe callously tramples on her off-spring when she’s had enough!

But for me, as a sign that Spring is near, there is nothing to surpass the sheer joy of life expressed by lambs as, within a very few days of their birth, they join with their pals and chase around excitedly like infants in a school playground.

The day the starlings came

There was something ominous, something almost sinister about the arrival of the starlings  –  something that revived memories of Hitchcock.  They came in waves, wave upon wave, thick clouds of black dots swirling in the breeze, before they alighted in the top branches of every available tree.  Their energies restored, they flew down to the sheep field which they attacked with the vigour and enthusiasm of an over-charged vacuum cleaner  –  much to the consternation of the resident bird population.

Abstract 154 ‘Blue Bubbles’

The bubbles beneath the cascading water in the garden pond echoed the blue of the sky.  The water around the bubbles reflected the more immediate surroundings.  Together they created an attractive abstract pattern.

Keeping it simple

As in the previous post, the focus here is on pattern  –  pattern expressed simply.

Less is more

Among the many pictures I have created over the winter months, this image ranks high on my list of favourites.  It is simple in composition, uncluttered in content and exudes an atmosphere of quietude I value.

Click to enlarge.

Old Man of Gugh

The substance of this post was originally published a year or so ago, but the lighting of the image has been modified a little to capture something of the mystery I associate with the Old Man.

Gugh is a small island in the Isles of Scilly off the south west tip of England.  It is one km long and 0.5km wide and is joined to the larger island of St Agnes by a sand bar.  As a consequence it is accessible only at low tide.  There are just two houses on Gugh.  The island has several entrance graves, cairns and burial mounds dating from the Bronze Age.  The Old Man of Gugh is a menhir (a standing stone) 2.7metres tall and belongs to that period.

I always see in this picture a tall old man with white beard, bracing himself against the strong Atlantic winds.  At the stroke of midnight he begins his steady walk of a watchman guarding his territory, returning to his post before the first cock crow.

There is more background information in my post The Isles of Scilly.