It looks like an army of pink beetles clustered together, ready to crawl to the next place. I chanced across this beautiful yet beguiling floral in an arid, out of the way spot on the coast of south-east England.
Is it beautiful or vile? Can any nature buffs put a name to this specimen?…
This is a very pleasant obsession of the Swedish nation. A great love is to have a second home in the countryside or by the coast – a rustic escape from the trials and tribulations of everyday life in the city. Many Swedes enjoy a long holiday during the summer months, and the sommurstuga is a base for walks in the woods to pick berries, taking bicycle rides and enjoying an evening barbecue. It’s called getting away from it all.
The summer house I visited is a solid, rugged wooden home with an orchard and meadow surrounded by tall handsome trees. A flagpole proudly flies the nation’s light blue and yellow flag. Redcurrants and wild strawberries grow in the garden, which is a peaceful idyll for enjoying the short Swedish summer.
Thank you to Bodil and Anja for their warm welcome and allowing me to prowl around with my camera.
I look at the summer skies over my home in Shepherds Bush, west London, every day. Clouds fly across cobalt blue and rich dusky sunsets happen on even bad weather days.
My aim was to capture some of this movement, using a tripod and a neutral density (ND) filter. This keeps out most of the light and enables you to lengthen exposures even in bright conditions. This was just a stuttering start to show some of the motion of the clouds. The result appears milky and quite blurry, while foreground objects – such as a pigeon graciously sitting on an aerial mast – retain their clarity.
I haven’t decided whether I like the motion blur effect, or if it would be more impressive with a much bigger sky and very long exposures. Time to experiment further, I think…
The photo below was a regular exposure, but sky porn too good not to include, with its smoky pink puffs of cloud and aircraft trails picked out by a blazing evening sun.
A mere detail on a recent visit to the Swedish capital, Stockholm. On a warm, sunny Scandinavian summer’s day, we visited a wonderful garden centre on the island of Djurgarden in this achingly handsome city. It’s a little table fashioned from some very slim branches for weary visitors to place their lingonberry tea, and comes with two equally organic woodland chairs. Maybe it should be a new range to hit Ikea…
A little section of the Kent coast in south-east England has a magical little secret. At low tide off a beach in the charming resort of Whitstable, a shelf of pebbles slowly reveals itself, creating a pathway that leads out to sea. The urge to take a walk along ‘the street’ is irresistible, and visitors to this part of the seaside enjoy it in their droves.
It is a photographic gift to capture as it slowly grows and alters its shape. I was lucky enough to see it from a nearby beach house where friends exchanged their marriage vows, adding to a memorable occasion.
