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Sunday 20 December 2015

The 12 Project Days of Christmas - The Village

If you have been following this blog over the last twelvemonth I have been experimenting with a photographic calendar of sorts. Recording seventeen images near to where I live recorded over 12 months. The project ended in December but I thought it would be interesting to put each view, over that twelve month as a 12 days of Christmas - though possibly not one day after another. 

But here goes...... On the first day of Christmas my.........Wick St Lawrence village. Click on image to enlarge


        
                           January 2015                                      February 2015

 
                           March 2015                                        April 2015
 
 
                           May 2015                                           June 2015

 



                           July 2015                                            August 2015
 
 

                           September 2015                                 October 2015

 
                           November 2015                                 December 2015






Sunday 6 December 2015

6th December - Project Month 12

Well that’s it.  Twelve months in the making and the final set of 17 photographs are in the bag. The wheel of the Year once more comes to rest in December.

It seems funny coming to the end of what was a short Project really, but one I have found fascinating for reasons I cannot explain.  Though I shall try.

The reason behind this Project was two fold. Firstly I wanted to mark my time here in North Somerset over the twelvemonth period. One day, and it may be far closer than I think, my time in this lovely area will stop. Nothing lasts forever. Hopefully that ending will not be for any serious or medical reasons, more that I may just move away from this area and what is now the familiar will recede into the memory.

Secondly I have long held an ambition to photograph a view on a regular basis as an endeavour to record that subtle change that occurs day by day but without record is often missed until like the first storm of winter, we realise the seasons have changed.  Until now I had not managed to do this. But now, I have succeeded.

What this Project did also allow me to do was fine tune what works as an image, and maybe more importantly what doesn’t work.  A couple of obvious learning points here was to plan the direction (and time) of an image carefully – evening photographs into sun often resulted in silhouettes at best. The scene is also important. A few images such as the barn and road don’t really change that much. My village view likewise apart from a few rogue waste and recycling bins didn’t change much either. It is a learning curve. Work in progress.  7/10 must do better.

Looking through these images across the year, these 17 unremarkable images in a way, the subtle change over the winter and high summer were almost indiscernible.  The astonishing changes in the spring and autumn show how these Equinoxial moods change the landscape with abandon.

For the moment I shall simply post these images as before in a haphazard way for December; if time allows over Christmas I shall post each location on one posting, something like the twelve images of Christmas….  Observing the images en masse is a great way to see in an instance what had happened.

For these final images however what struck me more than anything was that it was so warm, not like the beginning of winter at all – photographing in short sleeves in December is quite unusual.

Merry Christmas (when it comes)


 
Two ducks on the river

 
The last view of Puxton church

 
For once a dramatic sky over the lane

 
No more sheep in the orchard

 
The silent river

 
Strawberry Line puddles

 
Apples have all been picked - tomorrow's cider

 
I included the car passing as a sign of life in the village

 
Quiet corners.

 
Maize now harvested the fields left to recover

 
Cold looking river

 
Bare hedges

 
The dairy cows will stay - for a while at least

 
Late afternoon on the bridleway

 
That pink trug never moves

 
Wet, wet, wet.

 
Windblown sand in the foreground

Monday 16 November 2015

November 15th - Project Month 11


Winter is knocking on the door. After what seems months of similar views, the difference between October and November's images was remarkable. As I'd expect. Suddenly the landscape seems stark, cold and wet. Indeed after an incredibly dry October early November has provided much needed rain. I struggled a lot with these images because of the rain, grabbing odd moments in between the showers, and the failing light levels now. In fact the final three images around Wick St Lawrence had to be taken a few days later because it was just too dark.

It was the feel and mood of the landscape that has changed so much in the 4 weeks. It feels now like the countryside is going into hibernation, a long well deserved sleep. Trees are now mostly bare, though leaves remain on the hedges. Pools of water litter the fields and while taking these images the familiar cackle of fieldfares overhead reminded me that when I began this project in January, fieldfares cackled over head. The year is coming full circle again. Next month, December will be my last month, astonishing to think this year has passed by so quickly.


Still dark after hours of rain, but blue skies arriving


A brief interlude of sunshine at Woodspring on Saturday evening


Barn track looking very soggy


Maize has been cut and the field resown


I seem to keep photographing the refuse days in the village


This years rook nests now seen again in the field


A lone horse rider in the far distance breaks up the scene


What this image does not show is how wet the graveyard was to walk over.


This lane never changes and I like it for its simplicity.


The River Banwell opening up again as the vegetation dies back


Sheep still in the orchard


Thatcher's cider trees now devoid of fruit - and a lot of mud where the tractors have been working


A soggy Strawberry line taken in the 5 minutes when it wasn't raining.


Taken a few days after the images above, Ebdon Bow bridge


Wins whipped hedge looking naked now


Soon seeing black and white cows in this farm will be no more. Sad, but that's farming for you, its a business.

Next and final images 5th and 6th of December.

Wednesday 21 October 2015

October 13th - Project Month 10

Can it really be the tenth month of this project. Indeed it is. What is clear with this project is that as a learning curve it is excellent. As a finished product I'm uncertain.  But that is the fun of trying, without experimenting new ideas do not open up. That said I continue to enjoy this project, though sadly on October 3rd and 4th I had quite a hectic weekend. Time and the weather were against me somewhat, which meant that I only had an hour before sunset each day of the weekend, but I liked that, made for a fast hit and run photographic experience. Set fixed points and don't waver. Just November and December to go, then around Christmas I'll do a 12 days of Christmas - 12 photos of each image across the year each day.

And so to October............. in no specific order again!



Sand Bay on a very misty Saturday morning, the only image I took at that time.


The barn at sunset on the 4th


Can't really see much of the bridleway at sunset but I like that, its what it was like


Woodspring Priory on the 4th with sunlight clipping the tree


The maize field on the 3rd at sunset.


The village bathed in sunlight on the 3rd


The field less so


Around 7pm when this was taken on the 3rd, sun setting fast now


Almost too fast for Puxton Church


But that meant that for once the road was quite atmospheric.


Sheep still in the orchard


River Banwell quietly flowing


Thatchers cider trees ready for picking


Strawberry Line cycle-way deserted on a Saturday night


Friends over for lunch on Sunday 4th, and a charity dog we looked after, had to be removed from the following images


Life moves on slowly in the country


Sunday afternoon and the farm was deserted.


November 7th and 8th the next set, followed by the final set on December 5th and 6th