Impressions of the salt marshes (3)

he salt marshes of North Norfolk  provide an endless source of inspiration for the creative artist  An atmosphere of quiet stillness is broken on by the occasional birdsong or, from time to time, a passing plane.  The moods and colours can change dramatically, and quickly, depending on changing weather conditions.

This series comprises a collection of impressions evoked by the marshes.  The longer the viewer can spend with each image the stronger will the sense of place become.

 

 

 

 

 

It’s only natural!

 

 

 

 

Poppy days are here again. Thank you.

Today is the fourth anniversary of this blog and I would like to thank all who have visited the site and, particularly, those who have ‘stayed the course’ and passed comment.  Your support is valuable and is truly appreciated.

I am marking the occasion by re-publishing below  the very first post.  Unsurprisingly, at the time it was scarcely noticed –  just a handful of views and no ‘likes’.  Here you have it.

‘May is the month when the poppy brings a vibrant splash of colour to the garden.  Often, overnight, the furry green protective shell of the bud explodes, exposing the tissue-like petals of the new flower.  Backlit by the afternoon sun, the petals produce a palette of shades ranging from yellow to deep red.

 

 

A walk in the New Forest (1)

One impulse from a vernal wood

May teach you more of man  

Of moral evil and of good

Than all the sages can.

William Wordsworth

 

Click each image to enlarge

 

 

 

 

 

The New Forest (situated mostly in S W Hampshire) comprises approximately 150 square miles of heathland and ancient woodland.  It has changed little since the Bronze Age.  The fact that the soils are largely infertile and unsuitable for serious cultivation has contributed to the Forest’s unaltered appearance.  The area was a favourite hunting ground for King William I (the ‘Conqueror’) and acquired the name of New Forest by royal charter in 1079.

There will be more to follow.

Squirrels! They drive me nuts!

Each day we put out nuts for the birds.  The feeder is suspended from a hook on an isolated metal rod. Even so, the squirrels climb up the rod and unhook the feeder so that it falls to the ground where it is even more accessible!  But the feeder is round and however much they push it around the nuts remain at the lowest point and furthest away from the side and virtually impossible to get at.  Meanwhile the blue tits look on  –  resenting the intrusion and waiting their turn.

Abstract 131

This  abstract pattern is derived from the devastation and chaos left behind in a cornfield after the crop has been harvested.

Abstract 128 revisited

I like this picture, a lot!  In fact, it is one of my favourites.  And yet it was created from a mistake.  I was actually trying to photograph a cobweb, but my little compact was set on Auto and was unable to detect the web.

I tried every Photoshop trick I know (that doesn’t take long!) in an attempt to ‘find the web’, all to no avail.  But then I realised I had something far more interesting.  I zoomed in on part of the image and this abstract was the result.

So what attracted me?  Why do I find this picture so satisfying?

The obvious magnet was the strong contrast between the blues and the golds and the patterns they created.  There seemed to be a tension between the two  –  the calm of the blue and the energy of the gold.  It was something akin to night time on a camp site at a pop festival!

I also felt a spatial awareness  –  a sense of environment.  I could physically move around.

The association with music intrigued me.  I wondered what music might be used to accompany the picture  –  in the manner of film music  –  and acknowledged that the viewer’s perception of the picture could be influenced by the choice of music.  For example, Debussy’s Clair de lune would reinforce the mood of night time stillness; the sinister, threatening mood of an impending attack on an enemy could be suggested by an extract from Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring; a gradual change from the one mood to the other by using Ravel’s Bolero, and so on.

By definition an abstract image does not give specific answers.  It invites the viewer to use whatever connections, experiences or strategies he/she finds helpful.  I’ve suggested a few  –  pattern, contrast, colour, spatial awareness, sense of environment, sound, association with music, emotional response.  Above all, abstracts don’t have to tell a story.

[Use the link to read the responses of Elena and Gigi to the original post:  Abstract 128]

Abstract 128

Pause for a moment and ask what feelings this image evokes and why.  What aspects of the photo prompt your response?  Are there elements that are particularly evocative?  Are the colours more significant than the shapes?  Are there shapes that suggest links to other experiences?

Drip, drip ……

There is something quite hypnotic about water dripping down a rock face

especially when it splashes into a small pool below.

Pebble patterns and textures

This is the final selection of pebble images  –  at least, for the time being!

More pebble patterns and textures

This is the second group of three:

Beside the bridleway again!

Older friends move on  and new ones replace them.  The dandelion seedheads form an interesting pattern.

There are patches of blue beside the path.   As we get closer we are able to identify the tiny speedwell flowers, each a mere 5-7mm in diameter.

Beside the bridleway

The bridleway stretches for almost one mile, fringed on both sides, at this time, by cow parsley throughout its entire length.  I am not a great lover of cow parsley, but I am attracted by the ‘architecture’ of the growth beneath the canopy of white florets.

I have chosen to lightly posterize this image to draw attention to the pattern, lines and textures rather than present a straight photo of cow parsley.

Yours and mine

These trees provide an attractive divide between two fields at the edge of our village.  A stream follows a similar line just a few feet beyond the trees.

Click to enlarge

Patterns at my feet

Whilst walking on the seashore last week, looking for anything unusual that might have been left behind by the ebbing tide, I became increasingly attracted to the pebbles themselves.  In fact, it was a shingle beach so the pebbles were very small  –  the largest not more than 3cms across  –  and yet the variety of shapes, colours, textures and patterns was fascinating.  How easy it is to overlook the familiar!

What is it?

Please can someone tell me what this is?  It is certainly not the usual star fish which has only five limbs, but I have been unable to identify it through Google.  It was found on the shore at low tide on the Deben estuary in Suffolk at the point where the river joins the North Sea.  It measures approximately 11cms in diameter.

Baby Squirrel

Not only plants seem to have benefitted from the recent mild winter.  During yesterday’s walk down the lane I saw at least half a dozen baby squirrels at various times,  like fledgling chicks barely old enough to leave the nest.  One of these I recorded in silhouette in the photo below.

Natural abstract

This abstract pattern is derived from floral origins, but I hope it will evoke a response to its own incarnation and form rather than to its previous existence.

A beautiful yellow flower

Pause for a moment and enjoy the sheer beauty of the flower below  –  the soft elegance of its petals, the gentle clasp at the heart, the uplifting glow of its numerous shades of yellow and gold …..

But what is it?  Is it a chrysanthemum, or an aster or, perhaps, a dahlia?

It’s a Taraxacum Officinale.

A what?   I hear you ask.

A dens lionis, a pis en lis ….. you know, a dandelion.

Because it is regarded as an aggressive weed by gardeners the dandelion’s true beauty often passes unseen.  What a shame!  Do take another look.

Frost on Clematis

I know this is an odd time to be presenting this picture, but it happens to be a particular  favourite of mine that somehow managed to get overlooked in earlier selections.

Frost on Clematis