My maternal grandparents (Nanna and Bompa) lived in Hastings when I was a child, and most summers I and my sister would spend some time with them. ‘Helping’ Bompa with his vegetable plot, pestering Nanna in the kitchen, and generally just being children, enjoying the freedom to roam…
Category: genius loci
I’ve sun on my back and wind in my hair as I walk along the beach at Covehithe, damp rain-dappled golden sand under my grateful bare feet. I’m intrigued by intricate candlewax dribbles of sand washed down the yellow cliffs after the recent thundery rain – the first…
Living in the countryside, the dusty smell of harvest is very evocative. Walking back from Uplyme this morning, I passed a stubble field where the oilseed rape had been combined a couple of days ago, and the aroma was very redolent of August, even though we’re still in…
This post is prompted by a year-long course I’m doing, emphasizing the importance of both presence and being ‘in the moment’. An evening walk down the lane from my house – just a few hundred steps in the cool evening breeze just before sunset. Long shadows, golden light…
This post is an account of a walk I took this sunny morning to see my favourite tree. It’s an absolutely magnificent English Oak, growing at the edge of a sunken lane at the bottom of a valley with high slopes either side. This has created a sheltered…
I’ve just returned from a long weekend retreat in mid-Wales, on the edge of the Cambrian Mountains. After months of grey dismal weather, we were blessed by four days of sunshine and clear skies, which really lifted my spirits and encouraged glorious pre-breakfast walks through the distinctive lumpy…
In a long run of grey, wet and dismal days, I was very fortunate to have a dry morning and even a few splashes of sunshine. A member-led photowalk by the Landscape Group of the RPS took us to Godrevy Point in West Cornwall, and was a real…
I’ve been making the most of the wet indoor weather by taking a number of workshops with the RPS Digital Imaging Group. Two of the presenters – Brad Carr and Paul Sanders – both emphasised the importance of feelings and presence as part of the process. So I’ve…
Number 12 of a long-standing series of December photosets. This year, I’m focusing on beachhuts – those prettily painted wooden sheds that adorn the edges of many of our seaside towns and villages. I imagine they started out as a cheap and cheerful way to afford a holiday,…