Something for the Weekend

Afternoon Tea in the Garden 1957

Henrietta Tiarks, Debutante, Model and The Duchess of Bedford...

Richard Avedon 1959

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend

XXX

Messing about with Flowers

What is it about new cameras and flowers?  We just can't seem to help ourselves. I have been mucking about with my new camera, keen eyed photographers will see I have been experimenting with depth of field. I still have so much to learn with the new camera, I think it will be an endless and ongoing learning curve but I am loving it! Experimentation is the best way, I have already gone on from all the automatic settings and am trying to get my head round F stops, light metering and ISO speeds!  Not to mention experimenting with different light, textures and composition.

Flowers are always such a pleasure, Belle Mere is visiting us at the moment and she arrived with an armful of Ranunculus in pink and white, she brought them all the way from Provence! 

Then yesterday whilst walking with Crusoe I spied some pretty wild flowers growing in a field, I hopped in and picked them before the local cows ate them, better in my house than in the cows tummies!

The weather here at the moment is pretty dire, very mixed and cold, I keep forgetting it is only April, March was beautiful and warm and confused everything, mostly me, I was working in the garden in a T shirt and shorts, now I am huddled up in wool, I am impatient for Summer and I am dying to get outside and experiment with some lovely spring shots, I have a photographic project in mind that I am keen to get started, it is on hold until the weather improves, I will keep you posted.

Could Have Been Yesterday

Lee Miller, Man Ray Paris 1929

Jacques Tati

 

 Cannes Film Festival 1958, Jacques Tati and Alain Bercourt walk towards the Carlton Hotel, Henri Cartier-Bresson

I have a crush on the late Jacques Tati, MG first told me about him years ago but I had never seen one of his films.  Fast forward to today and a chat to the Post Master at my local village post office, the conversation was sparked off by all the gorgeous retro film posters advertising Jacques Tati films, which decorate the walls of the tiny post office, the Post Master is a fan.

 "Oh Madame, but you must see his films, I know you are a lady of taste, you will love them". With that kind of flattery from the handsome Post Master, who could resist? Once home I googled him straight away and now I am hooked. I see inspiration from Charlie Chaplin and I see where Peter Sellers got his inspiration from. Below is a clip, but you can see the whole of part one of Mon Oncle here and that will bounce you onto the whole film, if you feel so inclined and get hooked as I did, in fact I whiled away an hour or so watching the entire film on u tube when I was supposed to be working! It's a great comedic insight into post war France. 

Underneath The Arbour

The arbour a few Springs ago

'Underneath the arbour', it should read 'all change in the arbour' but the latter sounded less romantic.  We are very fortunate to have a large garden with plenty of al fresco dining areas.  The arbour comes into it's own during July and August when we decamp there, usually for long lazy summer lunches, with good company, good food and copious amounts of wine, these lunches often last well into the night.  The shade of the Campsis which winds around the latticework, the light, Summer westerly wind which breezes through the arbour, its gentle touch cooling hot skin, make dining outside in our humid Summers a very pleasurable experience.     

MG has been itching to do something to the arbour for ages, he already started a couple of years ago when he replaced the lattice work, carefully propping up the ancient branches of the Campsis with Acro props. Last week the surface was re skimmed with concrete and with a fall this time, so the damp will no longer seep into the garage (which will one day be a sitting room) which lies behind the wall of this gable end.

MG (who is a natural, gifted designer and craftsman, amongst other things) has plans, I must admit, they are quite radical and quite modern, my eyebrows were raised when he first told me as I struggled to see his vision but now I have come round to the idea and am in fact quite excited about it. We have a deadline, May 12th, so this is all going to happen rather quickly, (weather permitting!) I will keep you posted and show you the final result.

The arbour the other day, don't worry even though the ivy has been removed, the Roses, Peonies, Scabiosa and Fleabane are still there (and are staying there) they just have not come up yet.