lily of the incas [helmingham hall, helmingham, suffolk, england, 2017]
A cluster of Alstroemeria, commonly known as Peruvian lily or lily of the Incas, that I photographed at Helmingham Hall during a visit with my parents in summer 2017.
untitled #60
I have a feeling of déjà vu, wondering where June went, just as I did in mid-May, wondering where April had gone.
I mean, I know where it went. I lived it. But life took me away from sharing work here.
Since my last "life" update, I've completed the two-week sitting with Chilli in Moulsecoomb, Brighton, that I mentioned in that post.
I have never been happier to travel during a heatwave because I learned from the Met Office app before heading away that Brighton was a good few degrees cooler than London for the following week. Not as good as Scott and Shirley's experience in Cornwall, where it was a case of "Heatwave? What heatwave?!" I think I only had to turn their fan on while I worked two to three times during the whole stay.
I arrived on Friday evening in the middle of a heatwave to find it was one of the select few nights within the past three years that the Bella Ciao pizza van wasn't in the vicinity. They were doing a roaring trade at a music festival, instead. I replaced my usual homemade pizzas (not every night!) with their tasty fare.
Chilli was such a lovely kitteh to hang out with, spending most of each morning into the early to mid-afternoon lazing on the dining table within arms' reach for comforting, sensory pets whenever I needed it (which was often; it was a stressful couple of weeks).
In the afternoon, he would wander off into the yard. Sometimes hanging out with other neighbourhood cats. Who I photographed, of course, where I could.
In the evening and breaks during my work day, he would settle on my lap or legs as I lounged on the sofa. Never settling for long, but purring with approval while I pet him.
untitled #58
I hibernated during the day after my arrival, as it was still about 30 degrees. But the following day, I set off with my camera across Bevendean Down Nature Reserve towards the village of Falmer.
Scott introduced me to the Outdoor Active app before I set out and shared a recent walk he'd taken across the downs, so I had some sense of where I was going. I tracked my walk so you can see it if you're interested.
I took a lot of photos with my D700 and some with my iPhone during the walk. It was a pleasant way to clear my head, passing by a mixture of overgrown paths, open fields, cows, sheep, woodland-type environments, a quaint village, a busy motorway and ending in a rabbit-warren of a pub (and somehow completely missing the model train above the bar - I blame my height).
untitled #59
The following weekend, I coaxed two friends down from London to visit Lewes. My primary knowledge of the town was from Scott's photos of their Bonfire Night parades, which I still haven't managed to experience firsthand.
We visited Lewes Castle and Museum, wandered the streets, traipsed across town to the former village of Cliffe and the Snowdrop Inn (named after a deadly 1836 avalanche, which was, unfortunately, shut for a private function), and wound up in the Beak Brewery, under the looming chalk cliff face of Cliffe Hill.
The following day, I climbed another hill (Brighton is not short on hills - Encyclopedia Britannica explains why hills are "downs" in that part of England, which I admit somewhat confusticated me until I read why) to visit some of Brighton's cemeteries. As Scott observed, almost all of Brighton's cemeteries are in his vicinity, the exceptions being Hove and Portslade Cemeteries.
Despite setting out late in the day, I visited the Brighton Jewish Cemetery, Woodvale Crematorium, Woodvale Cemetery and Extra Mural Cemetery before popping into The Gladstone pub and The Bear Inn to quench my thirst and get a reprieve from the sun on my way back to Scott's.
With Brighton's unofficial recognition as the LGBTQIA+ capital of Britain, I was disappointed that The Bear Inn wasn't full of bears. Maybe I was there at the wrong time of day.
untitled #62
Ironically, having spent two weeks there, I didn't manage to visit Brighton proper at all during my stay.
I had entertained the thought of attending a screening of the 1920s film version of Nosferatu with a live score at the Duke of York cinema. But life worked against me on that one.
I also thought I might have a chance to do some long-overdue clothes and shoe shopping, and perhaps even seek out some collage materials. But, alas, no luck.
In my week at home between sittings, I managed to catch up with the lovely Sarah Jansen for a sedate but verbose (on both sides!) evening in a couple of Camden pubs while she was briefly in town. It was lovely to see her on my side of the world for the first time since 2011, although we have managed to meet up twice in Australia in the interim.
As I write this, I recall that I have some charming portraits I took of her on her last visit to London that I haven't yet edited, for some inscrutable reason (well, mostly due to a lack of time).
untitled #61
Earlier in the month, I had my first sitting with my regulars since early May. It was lovely to have cuddles with Lily again while I rewatched season one of The Deuce before catching up on the second and third seasons (the third season is still in progress). The season one soundtrack is brilliant.
In addition to hanging out with Lily, Sammy, Poppy, Oscar (all cats) and Charlie (a hamster), I popped in to feed their neighbours, George and Lottie, for a few days. I fed Sabine's new fish in her pond, navigated Ollie's varying moods when he came to visit, and was hissed at by Ollie's sister, Lola (she was a showgirl... 🎶) when I dared say hello to her at the patio door.
I arrived home to a letter from the hospital that confirmed the probable diagnosis a registrar gave me in November for a health issue I've been dealing with for about three years. It's something of a relief to have a definitive answer, finally, but the psychological impact of living with the symptoms for such a long time will take more time to resolve.
And, in but a few days, I get to spend a couple of weeks with my favourite doggo, Frank! I can't wait to share in his excessive emotional response to my arrival (it's very much mutual), savour his cuddles, chuckle at him playing dead when I return to the bedroom after my shower, and share his contagious happiness with others.
The summer silly season of sittings is about to start. I'll have two nights at home between sitting Frank and my regulars and another two nights between my regulars and my excitable puppers in Bishop's Stortford, before the post-holiday lull.
I'm looking forward to the mental health benefits all the cuddles with my feline and canine pals bring. I'm not as keenly anticipating the potential heat the rest of summer will bring. But at least the homes I'll be staying in are better designed to handle said heat than my cosy loft studio.
And I have a five-night stay in Finland to plan, as a treat for myself at the end of my crazy summer of sittings.
In the meantime, I hope to get back into the swing of regular posting. Thank you for staying with me x
haunted by ghosts it is easy to become a ghost
marguerite in bud
let me hold your heart like a flower
allium giganteum [helmingham hall, helmingham, suffolk, england, 2017]
Some allium giganteum, or giant onions, I photographed in Helmingham Hall's gardens in June 2017, the last time my parents visited the UK.
Not the edible kind of onions. But the bees like them, and they're pretty.
untitled #285 [helmingham hall, helmingham, suffolk, england, 2017]
untitled #26 [helmingham hall, helmingham, suffolk, england, 2017]
untitled #287 [helmingham hall, helmingham, suffolk, england, 2017]
untitled #290 [helmingham hall, helmingham, suffolk, england, 2017]
untitled #288 [helmingham hall, helmingham, suffolk, england, 2017]
i fall in love too easily
To celebrate my birthday, I thought I'd look through my archives of unedited self-portraits to find something from ten years ago that I may like to edit and share here and on social media.
In doing so, I found quite a number from a shoot I did in my bedroom in June 2014 that caught my eye after all this time.
I had previously edited a handful of photographs from the shoot, but ten years later, I'm drawn to other images.
As I don't share NSFW content at my lowest tier and can't share NSFW images on most social platforms, I decided to edit a photograph I could share publicly and one I could share early access here to those at 'the perfect 10' tier and above.
I also edited another NSFW image from this shoot that I'll share here in future.
It's been a while since I added work to my interior/exterior series (coming up to three years), but I feel this fits into that series.
Although I won't make this public here as I do with much of my work, I'll potentially share it on my blog and Flickr in a week. But, in the meantime, you get the first look.
I'll share the "safe for work" image with you and across social media later today.
pause for thought
I thought I'd look through my archives of unedited self-portraits to find something from ten years ago that I may like to edit and share to celebrate my birthday.
In doing so, I found quite a number from a shoot I did in my bedroom in June 2014 that caught my eye after all this time.
I had previously edited a handful of photographs from the shoot, but ten years later, I'm drawn to other images.
As I don't share NSFW content at my lowest tier and can't share NSFW images on most social platforms, I decided to edit a photograph I could share publicly and one I could share early access to my patrons at 'the perfect 10' tier and above.
It's been a while since I added work to my interior/exterior series (coming up to three years), but I feel the image I shared on my Patreon in the wee hours of the morning, i fall in love too easily, fits into that series.
Maybe this one does, too.
I edited another NSFW image from this shoot that I'll share with my patrons at 'the perfect 10' tier and above in future.
I also shared a new self-portrait from my wallflowers series, let me hold your heart like a flower, with my patrons early access this morning. That will become public in a month.
sowbread [st nicholas’ church, arundel, west sussex, england, 2021]
Some Cyclamen hederifolium I photographed in the churchyard of St Nicholas' Church in Arundel while visiting in September 2021.
granny's nightcap
An Aquilegia vulgaris (also known as common columbine, granny's nightcap and granny's bonnet) I photographed in Jo and Becky's backyard in Cotton End while sitting Meg and Mog in August 2022.
all that glitters is not gold
also perpetuating [plaistow cemetery, bromley, london, england, 2023]
armenian grape hyacinths [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
The last of the (live) flowers I photographed in St Kilda General Cemetery during a visit in September 2007.
Muscari armeniacum or Armenian grape hyacinths.
passiflora caerulea [nightingale gardens, wood green, london, united kingdom, 2022]
I knew the floral name passiflora through a Flickr friend's username over a decade ago but had never seen one or really even knew what they were.
But then, on a photo walk late last year with Sarah, another Flickr friend I met around the same time as I met Mary Elise, we noticed some Passiflora caerulea overhanging a fence facing onto a park that is literally around the corner from the first two flats I lived in when I moved back to London in 2011.
untitled #83 [nightingale gardens, wood green, london, united kingdom, 2022]
They are beautiful, intricate and eye-catching flowers.
I was pleased to capture a couple of photos of them that day, though the daylight was starting to fade as we passed through Nightingale Gardens.
untitled #118 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
Some Dimorphotheca ecklonis I captured in St Kilda Cemetery on the first day of Spring in 2007.
untitled #117 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
untitled #123 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
untitled #116 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
untitled #122 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
untitled #127 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
And some beautiful monarch butterflies hanging out amongst them.
untitled #128 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
untitled #126 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
I took these photos after going to my old GP practice for a check-up because of some odd sensations I'd been experiencing.
untitled #119 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
That appointment resulted in me having blood tests that revealed I had vitamin D deficiency and B12 anaemia for the first time.
untitled #121 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
Good times...
untitled #115 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
untitled #120 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
new lipchis way [itchenor, west sussex, england, 2021]
A marker in Itchenor for the New Lipchis Way, a walking trail linking Liphook and Chichester Harbour.
it's got pockets!
As promised, this is the second image from a new series inspired during my recent gig cat-sitting Meg and Mog, titled plush.
The cats' mothers' new home features some vivid interior design colour choices. Colour choices they would not have made. But that they have inherited from the previous owners.
Jo and Becky are far less enamoured with these colour choices than I am.
While there, I struggled with going out and about much due to my health issues and the heatwave. So I spent quite a lot of time, when not working, hanging out in the lounge room with Meg and binge-watching the most recent season of The Handmaid's Tale ahead of the new season airing next month.
After my visit to Minera last October to cat-sit Meg and Mog while they house-hunted, Jo had sent me a link to the advertisement for their new home. When she contacted me to ask if I could cat-sit their two cuties again, I dug out the link and almost immediately asked about the decor. Had they torn out those carpets and removed the wallpaper?
Jo assured me everything was as it had been in the advertisement apart from (obviously) replacing the furniture with their own. I might have squee'd.
When I arrived, the carpet in the lounge was everything I had hoped for. However, I hadn't registered the purple carpeting in one of the bedrooms (the one I stayed in) and the blood-red carpet in the playroom (formerly the dining room) from the photos. Jo pointed out, quite rightly, that the red carpet would have helped mask red wine stains.
I enjoyed and shared the colour coordination of my tights and the carpet in my temporary bedroom before venturing out, trepidatiously, on a photo walk on my first full day there.
But, between work, the heat and my anxiety toward venturing out, I wasn't as attentive as I usually would be in thinking about potential photographic projects in the space during the first few days.
Fast forward to late afternoon Wednesday, and I found myself planning a series of self-portraits inspired by - of all things - the carpet.
I didn't have specific images planned out, but I knew the clothing I had with me and the three carpets I wanted to use as 'backdrops'. Anyone who knows me knows I love colour coordination, so that was in the forefront of my mind.
So I took an extended break from work late afternoon on Thursday to roll around on the floor during the heat and play with some ideas, moods and colour combinations.
So far, the other two images from the series are more related to how I've been feeling recently and thus more emotional. But this image is more playful.
As any woman who owns a dress with pockets knows, whenever someone compliments you on the dress, it's obligatory to announce, "It's got pockets!" And to proudly place your hands in the pockets to demonstrate how awesome it is to have those pockets.
Though my pose may not come across as enthusiastically as I would show you in real life, I am no less pleased with these pockets years after I bought the dress.
But, more importantly, this series is a celebration of carpets. Perhaps the series title should be plush: an ode to wall-to-wall carpeting*.
As a child growing up in the late 70s and 80s, carpets in the home were the norm. The thicker, the better.
I had lived in carpeted properties until about 2014. I even lived in a flat with a carpeted bathroom in 2000 (I don't recommend going that far!)
But since then, I have lived in homes sadly bereft of carpet.
I miss the softness of the carpet underfoot. I dislike the amount of noise I make walking on bare floorboards or laminate floors if I have shoes on. I wear my slipper socks to cushion my feet after a long day of walking, even in the summertime, because I don't have carpet to do that.
I spend much more time brushing dust and hair off my feet before putting my tights on while living in an uncarpeted home.
I remember the excitement of walking barefoot on Jo and Becky's carpet in Minera when I arrived. It was like coming home.
I rue bare floorboards coming back into fashion and landlords deciding laminate flooring is cheaper and easier to maintain. And I'm not ashamed to say so.
So, this will potentially become another ongoing series of self-portraits captured while cat-sitting, like wallflowers.
Let's see how the images pile up.
untitled #2 [st kilda cemetery, st kilda, victoria, australia, 2007]
edward-howard howard-gibbon [st nicholas’ church, arundel, west sussex, england, 2021]
The final resting place of a Norroy King of Arms.
a korean rose in brussels [palais royal de bruxelles, bruxelles, belgium, europe]
I'm a little hesitant about the identification of these flowers. My plant identifying app said it was a Korean rose for every photo I checked, though, so I'll go with it.
untitled #232 [palais royal de bruxelles, bruxelles, belgium, europe]
And they seem to match - to my untrained eye - photos in the Wikipedia entry for the Hibiscus syriacus.
untitled #230 [palais royal de bruxelles, bruxelles, belgium, europe]
I find flowers past their prime or weather-worn as beautiful as the most perfect specimen, just in a different way.
untitled #233 [palais royal de bruxelles, bruxelles, belgium, europe]
Having said that, when I photographed these, it did strike me as odd that the flowers in the front garden of the Palais Royal de Bruxelles should look so unkempt... I might have been quietly judgmental.