Back to Black

My blogs have become more sporadic lately, but blogging should be a pleasure, not a chore, and life has a knack of reminding you to get on with things.  Some of my friends are dealing with loss right now and such events always make me reflective.  My photos are effectively my journal anyway, so I've had to scroll back through October to see which bits to share with cyberspace for the month of October?

Well, it's spooky season, so here goes!  These days we don't make such a big deal of Halloween (although some might think that three carved pumpkins say otherwise).  But, I have been indulging in some seasonally appropriate, mystical and downright spooky activities.  

I've been sticking to a regular exercise regime of nordic walking three times a week.  I usually get a few looks and comments, but the benefits are good enough for me not to care.  Maybe it's the fact that my DNA results show I'm approximately one third Scandinavian!

Determined to capture the recent Hunter's Moon, we headed to Enville Church (home of three and counting Knights Templar graves), believing it to be a good vantage point for the moon rise.  We were not mistaken.  As we walked around the ancient grave yard, the moon emerged without warning, from behind a cloud.  I quickly set up my tripod, a timer on the shutter release and my lens to infinity.  Whilst it might not win any awards, I was pleased to have captured this magical moment.

This one was less successful technically, but I still like the result.

At this time of year, I usually create a concept for a Halloween self portrait.  This year, I've been otherwise engaged.  However, after the disappointment of having to cancel a planned styled shoot using a vintage late 60s wedding dress (thanks Vix), I decided to play dress up.  It was, as is often the case with me, a spur of the moment decision and therefore there's no hair styling or make up.  However, the dress is too beautiful not to be seen and the results are maybe a little spooky.  

My own sartorial choices are undergoing something of a transformation.  My style is still eclectic and my appreciation of vintage and interesting second hand finds remain, but I'm falling back in love with black.  It's just so cool and classic...not to mention gothic.  Plus black pieces are so versatile, slotting easily into any wardrobe.  I've picked up a couple of chunky new-to-me knits, which work beautifully with my vintage skirts and over dresses.  This practical and stylish find is worth a share.  I love it's Victorian inspired ruffle details (the reverse is cable knit).  It makes me feel like I'm wearing a corset.

This lovely dress popped up on Vinted and just screamed Autumn.  My tresses have gone a darker shade of blonde too to match the darker half of the year.

This little fella has been visiting us regularly.  He's such a traitor.  Despite not belonging to us, Noah makes himself feel at home whenever he calls and as such, appears to have claimed ours as his second home; so much so that he now attempts to send off his shy sister on the rare occasion that she ventures across to our side of the street.  He looks like butter wouldn't melt doesn't he?  Look at that wet nose!

He demands our attention whenever he visits, putting up his paw (the haunted, hovering paw as we call it) to request more fuss if we dare to turn away.  He's actually sitting on my lap and nudging my hands as I type.

We visited Shrewsbury's Halloween Steampunk Fair at the weekend and I was able to get in some portrait practice.  The old oak doors and sandstone walls of St Mary's Church provided  perfect backdrops.  Some sitters (standers?) needed little direction.  Others responded to my simple direction to "look hauntingly into the middle distance."

Vive la revolution!

First in the queue when witches' hats were handed out.

Shades of Annie Hall?

Gregory's social media profile reads:  "Failed music hall impresario, barker, fire breather and occasional observer of the occult."  Now what could be better for Halloween?

This man had a particularly characterful face that belongs in an old Ealing comedy and I loved his hat.

Here's West End stage star, Polly Wolf, looking moody as requested.

Unguarded!

Her companion's companion was Eddie, the bearded dragon.

Outside, there was morris dancing...

It had a distinctly pagan flavour, but the 21st century was never too far away...

Still, this man's drinking vessel was on point.

Here come the girls!

Some intentional motion blur.

Don't they look amazing?

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!

My favourites - representing White Rose Steampunks - the Yorkshire contingent.

We also squeezed in a visit to the Severn Valley Railway on a glorious sunny Autumn day.

There's always a sense of time shifting whenever we visit this heritage railway station.  For example, there was evidence of a bunch of day trippers visiting from decades earlier.

But on the deserted station platform, it was a very different story.  Here's Morti Don tending the station garden.

A super fit cyclist casting a shadow or something more sinister?

To say the inhabitants were gloomy is something of an understatement.

We didn't linger.

I'll be catching up with everyone's blogs over the next couple of days.  For now, I'll leave you with a super short video.  Turn the sound up!

Happy Halloween!

Wishing you a safe Samhain.

This Woman's Work

Maybe it's living on the fringes or in the shade of woodland for much of my life that makes me so drawn to it.  It's always a source of inspiration.  It's grounding; carrying with it the soothing sounds of rustling leaves, hooting owls, chattering squirrels - and has its own very particular smell.  I'd know it blindfolded.

If there were any doubt that we're now firmly in Autumn, our woodland garden has transformed into a haven for those otherwordly beings - fungi.  Here's an oak leaf nestling inside one.

The fairies were nowhere to be found, but I will persevere.

Look at these appropriately spooky beasts, otherwise known as Wrinkled Club Fungus, often found in scattered groups among mossy woodland footpaths - or at the top of our garden.  They take on distinctly ghostly forms.

Talking of strange things, my humble little 2022 woodland photoshoot inspired by all things 1980s and the TV show Stranger Things, got published in a magazine this week.  It's online and in print which is very exciting! 

Seeing my work in print has made my week.  It's always lovely to receive any kind of publicity, but there's really no substitute for leafing through the pages of a magazine.  I do often miss life before the internet and really appreciate the time, dedication and cost of getting a magazine off the ground in our online culture.

It received quite the spread and even featured our 70s V8 Rover P6.

Rewinding to earlier this summer, I ventured to Kinver Edge with Ania, a model friend I've collaborated with on a couple of occasions.  For some reason, this shoot didn't make it into my blog.  So I'll remedy that now by sharing a few of my favourites.  

I wanted to an ethereal vibe, so we opted for natural make up, undone hair and a ruffled white dress to give movement and pop against the green and earthy landscape colours.

We were hoping for shafts of sunlight, but in the event, whilst the day was exceptionally hot, the white blanket clouds stubbornly refused to part company.  I got a little bit experimental with this shot and created my own sun spots in the edit.

The Petal Bar, a gorgeous florist in the market town of Bridgnorth in Shropshire, created a flower crown from eucalyptus and other green foliage.  The eucalyptus aroma filled the air in our home for weeks afterwards.

Despite our early morning visit, we still managed to bump into someone I know, walking her dog.  Typical!  We chatted briefly whilst Ania was touching up her make-up, although she surprisingly didn't bat an eyelid at our activities.  I either give off crazy lady vibes or woodland nymph photo shoots are ten a penny!

With time on our side, I tried out an old photographer's trick of placing crinkled cellophane over the lens.  The jury's out on this one.

We also played around with props; Ania living out her princess fantasy.  For some reason, I felt this image looked better desaturated.

The Rowan trees were plentiful and covered in berries.  For this one, I used a gold reflector, which gave Ania extra glow.

Blair Witch vibes.

Time to hit the forest floor!  

I liked the leaf debris stuck to Ania's arm.  We decided to leave it... communing with nature.

The crown reappeared.

There may have been some leaf throwing.

Finally, a moment of calm and some forest bathing.

But let's not forget, Halloween is almost upon us.  I've been cramming in nightly episodes of the podcast Uncanny (truly spine tingling).  

It's my favourite time of year and I usually create some kind of self portrait to mark the occasion.  Has it really been two years since the Pumpkin Bride?  The late 1960s vintage dress purchased by its original owner for a garden party and never worn was sold to me for a song and definitely deserved to be seen.

So what will this Halloween deliver?  Suggestions on a postcard please.