[I originally posted this image as early access for my Patreon patrons on 22 December 2020].
now bring us some figgy pudding
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 21 December 2020].
There's a whole post to come about my first visit to Kensal Green Cemetery; one of the 'magnificent seven' London cemeteries.
But, between now and Christmas Day, I'll be sharing a few more season's grievings images I took during my visit, including this one.
Images from this mini-series had previously been shared early access for my Patreon patrons two days before making them public to the rest of the world.
But I have a few I want to share so they'll become public closer to 24 hours after original posting there in the lead-up to Christmas.
After Christmas, new images from the series will be available early access to my patrons a week before the rest of the world.
an eye for optical theory
[I originally posted this image as early access for my Patreon patrons on 14 December 2020].
lean into it
Are you looking to treat yourself as a reward for making it through 2020?
To bring some art and colour to your new year?
Now's a good time to become a patron then!
See the best of my new and newly-edited work up to a week before the rest of the world.
Enjoy new photos from my season's grievings mini-series two days early (there's some more to come!)
Read new instalments of my postcards from another's life series a week before I share them here and on my blog.
Catch up on all my posts from the past year and a half, including exclusive patron-only posts.
If you become a patron before the end of 2020, there's also the opportunity to influence what comes in 2021! You can let me know your expectations, what you're enjoying, what you want to see over the next year, and feedback on rewards through a few quick patron-only polls.
Are you worried about the 18+ warning when visiting my profile? Don't be. My Patreon is not an OnlyFans profile (I know, you're disappointed ;) )
On occasion, my artwork might be NSFW or include nudity, so I've flagged my profile as containing adult content to abide by Patreon's TOS.
At least for now, I'm keeping images containing nudity to patron-only at 'the perfect 10' tier and above. That allows those who want to follow my profile or only want early access to new work to avoid content they may not be comfortable viewing.
Not sure if you want to become a patron yet? You can sign up to Patreon and follow me to see new work as it becomes public.
The Patreon mobile app is a quick and easy way to see new work from me and other creators you might choose to follow, whether you're a patron or not.
So what are you waiting for? Become a patron.
the festive hearts
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 12 December 2020].
This looks like being the last season's grievings instalment for now.
If I find any new ones worthy of sharing I'll do so whether that's before Christmas or anytime in the future.
I hope you've enjoyed this mini-series within my sepulchre series.
I'm expecting to have more stained glass images for you soon.
Perusing my digital archives for these images has reminded me exactly how many of my photographs from graveyards, cemeteries, churchyards and more haven't yet seen the light of day.
And don't even start me on how many graves I've captured on film that I would love to share with you!
I especially enjoyed reminiscing over my, as yet, unedited and unpublished photographs from Edinburgh's Parish Church of Saint Cuthbert.
I had the chance to revisit the Saint Cuthbert churchyard in 2011, likely about 10 years after my first visit there. This was due to the generosity of my newest Patreon patron, Sarah Jansen, who gifted me the unneeded return portion of her Edinburgh to London ticket. And Daniel and Mia who put me up for my visit during festival season moments away from the base of the hill Edinburgh Castle rises from. A prime position for photographing the Military Tattoo fireworks (which I did).
I hope to, eventually, share more of my analogue photographs with you, as well as my digital ones. Though a film and flatbed scanner - amongst other things like infinite time and money to devote to the task - is something I need to reinstate into my toolbox first. I'm working on it!
bubbling over
As mentioned in cut out and keep, I'm gradually (too gradually, but speeding up now!) adding a selection of the collages from my 100 Days Project to my RedBubble shop.
The collages are available as postcards, greeting cards, prints and some other goodies, like laptop and phone accessories, home decor, stationery and even cloth face masks, depending on their suitability for each product design.
As it's the festive season, there are deals on multiples of particular items (obviously not restricted to just one design). And most products are still appearing as able to be delivered in time for Christmas (though you'll have to act fast!)
So now is the perfect time to pick up those last-minute gifts for family members and friends who might be a little more tricky to shop for. Or yourself; I won't judge ;)
I’m still in the process of adding work to my shop. If you don’t see a collage design you’re after, or if you're after something particular from my photographic work, please feel free to comment below or email me at propaganda@bronwenhyde.com
Unfortunately, some collages may not be available due to the size and quality of the illustration used. Or because the photograph used was taken at a location that doesn’t allow for me to sell the work commercially (e.g. an English Heritage property or Highgate Cemetery). But I'll be able to let you know promptly if that's the case.
sun-bleached santa
[I originally posted this image as early access for my Patreon patrons on 10 December 2020].
a millennium in a moment
[I originally posted this collage as early access for my Patreon patrons on 4 December 2020].
merry christmas
[I originally posted this image as early access for my Patreon patrons on 8 December 2020].
wreath. red ribbons. reunited.
[I originally posted this image as early access for my Patreon patrons on 6 December 2020].
black river
One of my photographs taken on Mersea Island last year (cropped to square)
is in issue 1 of black river journal.
The first issue garnered submissions from over 200 photographers and is well worth a browse.
o tannenbaum
[I originally posted this image as early access for my Patreon patrons on 4 December 2020].
season's grievings
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 2 December 2020].
As promised in my 22 November post, albeit starting a day later than planned, I've been putting together a new series of photographs.
These are images I've previously taken that have a particularly seasonal relevance. Though, as warned, they're not really full of your usual Christmas cheer.
As many of you will know, I've a bit of a thing for graveyards, cemeteries, churchyards and other places of rest. If you don't know, now you know.
Reviewing photos I imported from earlier this year recently, I realised I've gathered a collection of photographs from various places of rest that capture mementoes of Christmas. Festive ornaments and decorations left by family and friends recently or not so recently.
So, I thought it was as good a time as any to edit a selection of these to share with you as a series entitled 'season's grievings'.
I'm still reviewing how many I have and editing them as I find them.
Given the topical nature of the series, I'm going to share them early-access for patrons-only on my Patreon, but only two days ahead of them becoming public and being posted here and elsewhere on the interwebs, instead of the usual week.
For the avoidance of doubt: these photos are shared respectfully. Both, for those who've passed and the families who decorated their final resting place.
I find these both beautiful and heartbreaking tributes to those now gone.
eclipse theatre
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 26 November 2020].
It's easy to forget how much Art Deco architecture still remains in Australia.
There are so many high profile examples of it in major cities, and I'd seen examples in New South Wales towns like Bellingen when on a road trip with a friend in 2010.
But, even then, I kind of forgot. Even though it's one of my favourite architectural styles.
So when Simon and I were on our road trip from Melbourne to Brisbane just over a year ago, it took me a bit by surprise.
From Fish Creek and Yarram in Victoria to Oberon and the well-known Hotel Gearin in Katoomba, New South Wales, we saw a lot of beautiful Art Deco buildings in various states of repair.
Unfortunately, with our trip feeling rushed, with the constant stress created by watching bushfire alerts, and with my limited mobility, we didn't spend much time photographing these gems. Definitely not as much as I would usually demand.
The Eclipse Theatre in Deepwater, New South Wales, was a sneaky surprise that caught our eye on the New England Highway. Still impressive despite its dereliction.
And a place we would never have seen if not for the bushfires that raged across the country.
We were supposed to be driving along the coast somewhere between Port Macquarie and Rosebank according to our original itinerary. Instead, as we stopped to check out this beauty, we were inland about 20 minutes' drive south of a raging bushfire.
Our visit varied a lot from our plans, but I'm thankful for the experiences we had. And grateful we chose to go for Mum's birthday (despite what the day held for us) instead of mine and Simon's. Had we held off until April this year we would not have been able to go at all.
untitled #12
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 22 November 2020].
Reality reared its ugly head again on Thursday afternoon this week after a reverie of about seven months.
Was it reverie or just denial?
Either way, I've had to focus more on things other than my photography, art and writing over the past few days.
On the positive side: I've imported all my photos and videos to near the end of April. I hope to get up to date in the next week, around things that need to be done in 'the real world'.
I fell ridiculously behind with importing after my trip to Australia with Simon. Far worse than I've ever managed before.
I also started work on a new collage recently - which may or may not work out, so it may or may not appear here soon - which is part of a new series.
At the tail-end of the night (what's now last night), I had a chance to look through some of my photos from earlier this year that I'd barely seen since I took them.
Doing so gave me ideas for two new series of photos using images I've already taken but, in many cases, not yet edited. One is Christmas-themed, so I'll start posting that series from 1 December. Spoiler alert: it's not full of your usual Christmas cheer. Sorry.
However, I chose this photo to edit and share with you for now.
It caught my eye earlier this week as I was importing photos from my DSLR from that day. 2 February 2020, specifically. A nice palindromic date: 02/02/2020. The serenity of the scene felt like that particular soothing thing I needed right now.
Listening to Grandaddy's The Sophtware Slump... on a wooden piano as I edited also helped to slow my racing mind.
At least for a while... until my computer crashed and I lost this post and had to start again. Thankfully I managed to get the bulk of what I'd written captured with the camera on my phone before it disappeared into the ether.
I hope this image helps to calm you if that's what you need right now.
Let me know what you're listening to lately to help you deal with whatever stresses you're going through. Music recommendations spin me right round, baby, right round.
landlocked
He was back in front of this window; the window that had ended his school days, every day.
When he was young, he used to stop and gaze up at the model boat and the marine rescue vehicle as he arrived home each day. He would stand there, distracted for long moments.
So long, that his mother - waiting, anxiously, for him to return home from school - would open the curtains and find him stood there. Motionless, head tilted back, mouth slightly gaping and staring up at the boat.
She would come to the front door and watch him for a minute or two, a soft smile playing at the edges of her lips before she bundled him up and took him inside to the kitchen. She would ask him about his day while she prepared supper and listened to the tales he would bring home from the schoolyard.
His fascination with the boat had not waned over the years, but he had stopped gawping at it as he grew older. There were girls to gaze at instead, and as he grew up, they were what caught his eye or kept his attention as he arrived home each day from high school.
As he reached the end of high school, he was usually too busy sneaking in one last kiss with his girlfriend, Sarah, as he unlocked the front door of the house and said his goodbyes for the day.
The model boats, the marine rescue vehicle and the lighthouse baffled him a little bit when he was growing up.
Their home was twenty minutes from the nearest body of water, and that was a river, not an ocean or the sea. Hardly somewhere that a lighthouse or a marine rescue vehicle would be needed, let alone various large boats or ships.
The models were his dad's, but he didn't talk much about them and didn't like being asked about them.
His dad didn't really like being asked about anything. Or talking about anything.
The models just sat on the windowsill gathering dust, hidden from the inside of the house by the curtains. A display for others, not for us.
Except him, of course; he was fascinated by them.
On occasion, when his dad was in a more social mood or simply wanted to distract him while he talked with the grown-ups, his father would let him take down the marine rescue vehicle. Roll it across the rug, pretending he was saving his Lego men from some maritime disaster.
But his dad was always firm about the boat. The boat was not a toy. It wasn't to be removed from the window. He had received more than one firm slap across his legs and buttocks for even inching his fingers up toward the boat.
It was only in the past few years that his mother talked more about his dad's upbringing. It was only in the past few years, as he became more ill and his mind started to slip that his father spoke about the sea. It was one of the few things he could still connect with. That he still remembered.
He didn't remember faces, except his wife's. He never remembered birthdays; that was no change. But he could talk vividly about the sea. The sound of it. The smell. The feel of it on his hands.
His dad would sometimes stop mid-sentence and tilt his head as if listening closely to a conversation through the walls. After a few moments like this, he would invariably ask if they could hear the waves. They nodded and smiled awkwardly, hearing nothing, but knowing that they had to agree. That his dad would look crestfallen and confused if they said "no".
Growing up, he never met his dad's parents. His dad never spoke of his father, so he grew up believing he only had one set of grandparents. He didn't question this for a long time, and then it seemed too late to ask. Too awkward of a conversation to have.
Coming home now, facing the front windows of his childhood home, he gazed once more at the boats, the lighthouse, the marine rescue vehicle. He knew that now he could lift them out of the window and take a closer look. He knew that no one would reprimand him for that.
Since his dad had died, a lot of pieces had fallen into place in the puzzle. His mum had opened up dusty photo albums hidden away in the loft for decades. Too painful for his dad to look at, to speak about, to share.
In the yellowed black and white photographs taken in his dad's childhood, a warm, smiling, middle-aged man gazed into the camera from the railing of a boat.
He waved at the photographer with a look of love.
orange hue lichen [it?]
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 24 October 2020].
I've been working on a submission for a new online magazine this afternoon.
In reviewing photos to submit, I rediscovered this image I took at Burgess Cove in Tasmania in March 2018 that I'd edited in January 2019 but not yet shared anywhere.
It struck me that I didn't know what the orange on the rocks was. A quick Google search informed me it's lichen creating that distinctive colour. It's the same or a similar lichen that possibly gives the Bay of Fires in Tasmania its name.
Once again, my love of photography leads me to learn new things, which in turn is something else I love :)
port welshpool long jetty
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 23 October 2020].
I took this on the second day of our road trip from Melbourne to Brisbane before we went on an unscheduled detour along disused logging tracks in the Tarra Valley.
Unfortunately, being on crutches meant I couldn't go for a wander along the jetty, which is the third-longest wooden jetty still standing in Australia.
The clouds were pretty impressive, though!
a child’s bauble
[I originally posted this image as early access for my Patreon patrons on 22 October 2020].
scenic lookout
[I originally posted this collage as early access for my Patreon patrons on 16 October 2020].