Prayer of the Snowdrop

Analogue images are so much more atmospheric than digital in my eyes. I'm not an analogue snob, I shoot with digital too, but the quality of film for me is beyond comparison. The images are grainy, organic in nature, they have more feeling within them.

When I shoot, either with film or with digital, I always allow my intuitive response to capture the picture. To most people, they mean nothing, but to me they mean a great deal because my emotions lay within them.

I photograph with my heart in the places I love to be. This church is one such place. There I am surrounded by people whom I have loved either as friend, family or neighbour. The church is no longer used for service,  Sadly all of the interior has been taken out. But it is such a special place for me. It is like many other places, it holds emotion, memories, and so much social history. A wealth of lives lived and lives remembered.

                            

North Pembrokeshire Spectacular Views

Trees in Winter Sun

My Love of Trees holds no bounds. They are Nature's sculpture. The Old, The New.... I never tire of photographing them.

Today the Winter Sun and the cloudy sky made a wonderful background to the stark branches. Totally Divine.

Spring is on its way, and soon they will once more change.

But for now, these beautiful Winter Trees will do for me!

Shrove Tuesday - I didn't know..

I love pancakes, and so Shrove Tuesday has always been one of my favourite days of the year. It is the memories of Shrove Tuesday that make this day so special for me. The memories of getting home from school, opening the door to the wonderful smell of pancakes on the griddle. Mam would have made mountains of them. When I was the only one left at home after all my brothers and sisters had left, it was up to me to eat them, and I didn't waste a crumb!

Then with my own children, I loved preparing them for their coming home from school time, always such a happy time for us all.

Now, even though there is only me, my children have left home, I still make pancakes. They make me happy, the memories, the making of, the tossing, the eating. All glorious.

I'd always known that this is a day to feast before the abstinence of Lent, but the thing I didn't know about Shrove Tuesday, is that it is a day of penitence, to rid your soul of guilt, to be forgiven for your sins, to start anew. So now my Shrove Tuesday is complete and I know its full meaning.

And now for the pancakes....

Mobile pic

Diana and Me

Shrouded in mist

Ethereal

Ghostly

Diana caught the essence

of what my naked eye could see

But more

Unaided by any digital technology

An old fashioned point of view

Is mine and Diana's

No edit required

for Diana and me

Organic

Natural

The Camera, the lens, the weather

Idiosyncrasies

We Love

Lomography

Analogue

Film

Discipline

Starting work in the afternoons is new to me. I don't want to waste the mornings so I am trying to discipline myself to get up and get out. There is a contradiction in place; I am not good in the mornings, I find it very hard to get out of bed if I have nothing to do. This has to change. Mornings are amazing, beautiful, ethereal and spiritual, when I do get up and get going, I feel a real sense of satisfaction. Above all the winter months are dark, and it is in the mornings that I can get some Vitamin D. This is important for me as I suffer from depression so it is very easy for me to feel unmotivated and struggle to find a reason to get out of bed.

The beginning of this year has seen a change in my attitude. My new job has made me happier, it is relaxed and I love the people I work with. It is a small business with only 8 members of staff and I'm finding that it is perfect for me. I feel very lucky. 

So after settling into my new job, I have now started to live a healthier lifestyle. I love cycling, though I'm not in the enthusiast league, I just cycle for the pleasure of it. Walking is great too, but when I'm walking I feel more lonely. Walking for me is better if I am with other people. I did start to walk with a group last year; we walk once a month. But Mary, our organiser has been ill this January so she was unable to lead us in our walk. 

I have also decided to cut out lots of sugar from my diet. I need to lose weight and it will also help me to feel more healthy. It has been 10 days now since I had a bar of chocolate, a biscuit or a piece of cake and I feel much better for it. I have already lost 4lbs which I am ecstatically happy about. I never had. any problems with weight until I reached my 50's. Everything slowed down and I didn't like it. I have become lazy, not getting enough exercise and this is what I really want to change. 

I am also determined to be creative. Since I achieved my Degree in 2013, I haven't been able to find any inspiration to be creative. My own fault. Creativity is in the doing and I haven't felt in the least bit motivated. I wanted to do something but I just didn't feel able. So now, this too has to change. I have set up a corner of my little home and last night began my Visual Journal. My plan is to look at local newspapers for any story or article that captures my interest. I'm looking for some local history that I can research. This may lead me to something completely different...who knows, but it is somewhere to start. Nothing will come to something.

For a long time I have the idea to publish a book using my photography and writing some kind of story... factual as opposed to fictional. It will take time but if I don't start, it will never be done. It is something that I feel I'm being called to do. Why, I have no idea. But I guess the why will come with the journey and I will fall upon an idea that will develop. 

This morning I cycled to Wiseman's Bridge. It is my local beach and it is changing all the time. Today the rough seas of the last few days have pushed the stones and pebbles into wave like structures. It is interesting to note everyday appears different. Many of our beaches are being covered in large and small rocks and pebbles, the sand is disappearing and the erosion is happening fast. 

The sea was scary today. I sat and watched as the tide was turning. I felt a sense of fear, it was so loud and the waves felt as though they were in attack mode. I think the tsunamis that have devastated many a shore over the past years have lodged themselves in my mind and I am always fearful that a huge wave will come and there would be nothing I could do. 

Mobile Pictures from this morning at Wiseman's Bridge

They don't really tell the story of a rough, loud sea.....best I could do with my Mobile Camera!

I always look our for faces or shapes in the pebbles and rocks. This one caught my eye, so sweet, sleeping perhaps, smiling..... I call them my pebble friends.