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Archive for the ‘photography’ Category

Diversity

Posted in from the consulting room, from the dark room, health, photography on April 9, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Look at these daffodils.
All daffodils, but all so different.

I love and am endlessly amazed by the diversity of Nature.

I am reminded every day how different we all are. Every patient I meet tells me a new story, one I’ve never heard before. The appeal of diversity and difference, of uniqueness, is probably one of the things that attracts me to a therapy which individualises the treatments people receive. I don’t think one size fits all. Dr Michael Dixon of the Prince of Wales, Foundation for Integrated Health, gets this right in the BBC’s Scrubbing Up column.

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A tulip teardrop

Posted in from the dark room, photography on April 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »

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The wonder of the new

Posted in from the dark room, photography, tagged spring on April 5, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Spring is a great time to be amazed. All the buds and blossoms……

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Transience

Posted in from the dark room, photography on March 30, 2009| 6 Comments »

Recently I read, one Saturday morning, in the Glasgow Herald, about a plant in the Glasgow Botanic Gardens which only flowered once every twenty years or so and whose flowers only lasted for a couple of weeks. I thought to myself, I think I’ll take a trip to Glasgow tomorrow and take my camera. The following day it was a horrid day! Driving rain hammering against the window panes. I could tell it was cold, damp and miserable outside. A trip today? A photographic trip? Was I mad? Could I be bothered? Right, I told myself, get yourself ready and take the car (not many trains or buses to Glasgow on a Sunday I’m afraid!). Driving through I ended up in long queues of slow moving traffic. Was everyone going to see this plant? (well, no, it turned out there was a big football match on in Glasgow and I guess most other people were going shopping….) Finally I got to near the Botanic Gardens, and got parked in a single space right opposite the back gates. In fact, I couldn’t see another parking space even remotely close, so the fact this space was here felt auspicious. There wasn’t much point trying to use an umbrella. It would’ve been destroyed within minutes, so I tucked my camera under my jacket, zipped up to my chin, got my head down and ploughed through the rain into the gardens. It was at this point I realised I hadn’t a clue where the plant I wanted to see was growing. The first glass house I came to was the Kibble Palace, a beautiful old glasshouse totally refurbished in recent years. I wandered around in the nice dry, bright atmosphere, taking photos of some very interesting looking plants, but no sign of the one I had especially come to photograph. At the front door I looked up the path and saw the more modern glasshouses at the top of the hill. The first one I walked round wasn’t the one with the elusive plant either, and neither was the second one, but the third one! Wow! Look what I saw!

Have you ever seen a plant like this? Have you ever seen petals this colour?

And here’s the interesting final thought……it’s pretty likely I’ll never have an opportunity to see this plant in flower again in my lifetime.

Seize the day.

PS the name of the plant? Puya alpestris.

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Sun on a stick

Posted in from the dark room, photography on March 29, 2009| 1 Comment »

Standing waiting for the train the other morning I turned and noticed the sun had risen to the point where it was shining directly over the end of the footbridge they are building over the railway line. Just at that very moment it looked like the sun was at the top of a pole and was shining like the brightest street light you could ever imagine.
I’ve learned that if I keep a camera in my pocket (not in my bag!) at ALL times, then when I see a moment like this I can seize it.

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The smiling moon…..

Posted in from the dark room, photography on March 24, 2009| 3 Comments »

Why’s the moon lying on it’s back?
I’m sure there’s a simple explanation for this but I’m so used to seeing the crescent phases of the moon looking like a “C” (or an inverted “C”) that it really struck me as odd when I saw it sitting up there like a smile!

(taken in Provence on February 27th)

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The good life – the amazing everyday

Posted in from the dark room, from the living room, life, personal growth, photography, tagged the good life on March 18, 2009| 4 Comments »

“All within the context of the daily reality, finding much to marvel at, to be amazed by, to be in awe of, in the present, in the here and the now”

I think the French words “emerveillement” and “quotidien” say so much about how to live.

I capture the amazing in the everyday with my cameras.

Here’s a set of a just a few of my favourites

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Honey

Posted in from the living room, life, photography on March 4, 2009| 3 Comments »

I used to think honey was honey. Well, what I mean is that I knew there was runny honey and there was a thick, almost solid kind, but it all tasted pretty much honey-like. Well…….! How wrong was I! Take a look a this photo –

Here are three jars of honey on my window shelf in Aix. The one of the left was bought in a shop. It’s a mix of honey’s – see the label says “3 sources”? In whisky terms, that’s a blend. I never drink blended whisky – it’s just a taste thing. The other two honeys are bought in the local market. The one in the middle is honey made from bees which have collected pollen from chestnut trees. Goodness! I wish my vocabulary was better! The scent which hits you when you unscrew the cap! It’s like nothing I’ve ever smelled before. I can’t say I’ve ever noticed that either chestnuts or chestnut trees have much of a scent but this honey has the most powerful aroma! Then the taste! I swear I’ve never tasted honey like this. It is a really strong taste. I’m sure this is one of those honeys you’d either love or hate. I bet there aren’t many people who’d say they could take it or leave it. The third honey, the one on the far right, is from lavender. You might have tasted a lavender honey I guess. This one, maybe again because it’s from a market, has a very strong taste, but totally different from the chestnut one. It’s consistency is also totally different. Looks solid but the spoon slips easily through it and it drips thick and creamy onto your brioche (or your bread).

What makes them so different? Is it the plants the bees gather the honey from? Is there something involved in the production method of the different bee-keepers? I don’t know. It’s a huge area of ignorance for me. But let me tell you something interesting. Starting the day, carefully savouring such different flavours, smelling such different aromas, it sets you up to taste everything you eat or drink that day with more care and attention. I recommend it.

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Come take a walk with me in Provence

Posted in from the dark room, photography, tagged nature, provence on February 27, 2009| 4 Comments »

Come take a walk with me up the path towards Mont Sainte Victoire. Let’s start down here by the dam…

and we’ll take this path…

The first surprise was seeing a helicopter collecting water from the lake

and practising dropping it again

On the way to the top I stumbled across these strange tree roots….

…and these tiny, tiny acorns…

These pine cones were unusual too….

This was high enough for me to go today

On the way back down I came across the first butterfly of the year

and this lovely little ladybird. Look how red it is! Hardly any black spots!

The sun was hot and some of the trees were oozing their sap

There was lots of rosemary and thyme, but very few flowers so I was really pleased to come across exactly these four crocus plants!

What I can’t share with you is the warmth of the February sun, the sweet, fresh smell of the air, or the almost total silence of the countryside up there. You’ll need to go yourself to appreciate that.

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Notre Dame Paris

Posted in from the dark room, photography, tagged notre dame, paris, stained glass on February 26, 2009| 1 Comment »

I’ve walked around the outside of Notre Dame countless times in my visits to Paris. Today, the queue was non-existent so I had my first look inside. Goodness, it’s an incredible building inside as well as outside. I specifically wanted to see what the great rose windows looked like from the inside. Before I show you them, here’s what Notre Dame looks like at night….