MARI'S TRAVELS WITH HER CAMERA

Category: Weekly Photo Challenge

A photo challenge sometimes entered weekly, sometimes monthly, it depends on what photos I have available. It also means thinking outside the box sometimes and I confess I’m not great at doing that.

  • Photograhy 101: Treasures

    I’ve racked my brain to think of something I regard as a treasure but apart from books there is nothing I really treasure.  I’m not into possessions too much, although I seem to be surrounded with souvenirs, pictures and odd things I wouldn’t want to lose.

    However, none of these would I class as a treasure, but I do treasure the flowers in my garden and feel upset when things go wrong there.  Last night, for instance, like most of the UK, the storm we had in my area (winds of apparently 106 mph), wrecked havoc in my garden.  I won’t mention the fence that’s down, bags of rubbish upended, the missing furniture, etc.

    I’d just invested in eight new rose trees from David Austin and these were still in pots but blew over, losing half their soil and damaging the tips.  I hope they will survive but who knows.  The daffodils were flattened, the camellia is now a mess of brown-tipped blossom and will need to be dead-headed when I can summon up the energy, and my new pansies will take a long time to recover.

    But I’m cheered when I look at some of my photographs and remember how earlier pansies looked.  At least I have a photograph!

    Pansies - after the rain.
    Pansies after the Rain – Mari Nicholson
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    Rose 1915 – Mari Nicholson

     

     

     

  • Photo 101: Mystery and Lighting Effects

    I didn’t dash out today with my camera to find a subject that would fit the title of Mystery  because as soon as I saw the subject I remembered this photograph taken some years ago on a trip to Switzerland.  There was no time to think about lighting effects, or exposure, or ISO ratings.  It was enough that I had the presence of mind to take the photograph.

    It was September and we had been driving with our Swiss friend, Werner, in the Bernese Oberland, searching for a farmhouse he’d heard about, where the mountain cheese was the best in the Canton – if not in the country – and which would be perfect for the planned supper.

    The mist was heavy in the mountains, deadening all sound, and we could only see a few yards ahead at this point. We had parked the car and got out to peer over the barricade at the side of the road and to listen to the distant sound of falling water.  No other sound broke the stillness, no dogs barked, no cowbells jingled, no birds sang: then came the faint, ghostly clip-clop, clip-clop of horses’ hooves and out of the mist that swirled around us, came the Victorian carriage and horses you see in the photograph below, four horses and two coachmen.  Neither the horses nor the coachmen appeared to notice the three mesmerized people who stood by the side of the road, and it passed by, silently, and turned the corner.

    My husband, a born sceptic, decided it was some actors from a film set, but I’m not so sure.  We were, after all, just by the Reichenbach Falls………… 

    EPSON scanner image
    Switzerland – by the Reichenbach Falls

    Photo by Mari Nicholson

    This story is true and I remember it well.   The recollection and telling of it can still send shivers down my spine.

     

     

     

  • Photography 101: BIG and P.o.V.

    Having difficulty in keeping up with the daily stint and due to other work commitments am not free to wander out and about with camera.  Frankly, even if I were, the bitter cold is enough to prohibit my photography excursions, as I find cold hands do not for good photos make!

    I have just returned from Rome and when I saw BIG, the one thing that sprang to mind was the Colosseum, that massive elliptical shaped theatre of blood lust and killing, where in the first hundred days of the inauguration games in 81 AD, it is said that over 9,000 wild animals were slaughtered.  During another festival in 240 AD 2,000 gladiators, 70 lions, 40 wild horses, 30 elephants, 30 leopards, 20 wild asses, 19 giraffes, 10 antelopes, 10 hyenas, 10 tigers, 1 hippopotamus and 1 rhinoceros were slaughtered.  In fact, so many wild beasts were killed in the Roman arenas that some exotic animals became virtually extinct.

    Here are a few of my images of that iconic spot in Rome.  Maybe I haven’t covered point of view so well, but I hope you will enjoy the perspective anyway.

    Colosseum
    Exterior of part of the Colosseum, Rome – Photo Mari Nicholson
    Interior of Colosseum showing 5 levels
    Interior of part of Colosseum, five tiers to hold up to 80,000 spectators. The animal pits are on the basement level from which they were released to do battle with either the trained Gladiators or the early Christian martyrs – Photo Mari Nicholson
    View through entrance arch
    View through one of the entrances to the other side of the Colosseum – Photo M. Nicholson
    Part of Interior Colosseum
    A better look at the pits below the seating, where the wild animals were kept before they were released to do battle with the Gladiators. – Photo Mari Nicholson
    Colosseum by Night.
    Colosseum by Night – Photo Solange Hando

    N.B.   It is generally accepted that the Ridley Scott film The Gladiators is a very true depiction of what the Colosseum arena looked like in those days as the research was meticulous.

  • Photography 101: Connect

    Connections between rooms in castles are well documented, less well known is the connection between the Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome and the Vatican City.

    The Castel of Sant’Angelo, the massive fortress-like building on the right-hand side of the Tiber, was originally built by the Emperor Hadrian (117-13 AD), as a monumental tomb for himself and his successors, not far from the Mausoleum of Augustus near the edge of the Vatican fields.

    Castell Sant'Angelo, Rome
    Castel Sant’Angelo, Rome. Hadrian’s Mausoleum

    By the 5th Century, the Mausoleum had been included in the defensive system of the city walls, and from the 10th century onwards it had become a fortress, the Castel Sant’Angelo, its purpose being to defend the Vatican, to which it was linked by a special passageway (the Connect).  Originally the Mausoleum was surmounted by a gilt bronze statue of the emperor in a chariot.

    Below is a photograph taken from the cupola of St.Peter’s at the Vatican and the Castell is quite some way from it, on the left-hand side just beyond the patch of dark green trees that can be seen.

    Looking down from St. Peter’s, Vatican City.

    Looking Down from the Cupula of St. Peter’s in the Vatican, towards the Castel S Angelo.  Photograph Copyright Solange Hando.

     The Mausoleum was incomplete when Hadrian died but he was buried there one year later in 139 AD.  The bridge connecting both sides of the Tiber had been built by Hadrian to facilitate direct access to the tomb, a more elaborate bridge than any other Roman bridge at that time: it survived until the end of the last century by which time it had become known as the Ponte Sant’Angelo. The two end spans were rebuilt at the end of the last century and only the three central arches are originals from the period 130-134.

    Ponte Sant'Angelo, Rome

    Ponte Sant’Angelo, Rome:  Photograph copyright Mari Nicholson

     

     

     

  • Photography 101: Street

    I was away last week but managed to log on to my tablet and saw that the subject was Street.  I hope I’ve got this right because I cannot now remember how to get the rest of the week’s Photo Challenge words up.  I thought they were to be emailed to me, obviously I’ve got it wrong.  I’ve gone into Photograph 101 but all I see there is the Weekly Photo challenge and Daily Prompt Word, so if anyone can steer me in the right direction I’d be obliged.

    So, hope I’m right about last Tuesday’s subject being Street, and here are two from Rome.

     

    City of the Vespa
    Italy, where the Vespa still reigns supreme

     

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    Parking> Not my problem. I’ve just gone off for a coffee..

     

  • Home: Photography 101

    I’m not sure if I’m posting in the right place.  I had the email about the start of the new course this morning but it seems to have disappeared from my computer, completely!  I seem to remember reading however, that the post should go as a Post in the normal site and would then be removed to a Photography 101 site.  Am I right?

    Anyway, in great rush as I am off on a short trip today until next Saturday when I’ll pick it up again.  I will be able to take photographs but not post while I am away.

    Meantime, this was home to some young birds during the winter but they have now flown away to warmer climes I presume.  I have cleaned the birdhouse out and now it awaits a new family.

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    Bird House in my garden, home to winter birds and now awaiting a new family

     

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    Bird House in my garden, home to a family of over-wintering birds.

     

     

  • Harmony: Weekly Photo Challenge

    CAMBODIA:

    Life is hard if you have a disability in most of S.E. Asia, probably a bit worse in Cambodia which is still a poor country, but this group of blind musicians are making the best of things by performing close harmony songs by the roadside and collecting money from passers-by.

    A Group of Blind Musicians in Cambodia

    Blind Musicians by the Roadside in Cambodia

    HALONG BAY, VIETNAM:

    One of the lovliest places in Vietnam, a short drive from the capital Hanoi.  It is peaceful and harmonious, massive karsts thrusting up out of the sea and junks and smaller boats moving slowly on the calm green waters in and out between them.  Inside some of these karsts are caves full of stalactites and stalagmites, well worth a visit, but do take a guide because they can also be dangerous.

    Halong Bay, Cambodia
    The calm waters of Halong Bay, Vietnam – Photo Mari Nicholson

    On the calm waters of Halong Bay, the junks and the Karsts make for a very harmonious image.  Despite the storm clouds there is a sense of harmony here and as night falls the boat people cook their meals on deck and the smell of spices and fish roll across the waters.

    Junk in Halong Bay, Vietnam
    Junk in Halong Bay, Vietnam – Photo Mari Nicholson

     

     

  • Weekly Photo Challenge: Seasons

    There are two rice growing seasons in most of S.E. Asia but the romantic pictures we have of coolie-hatted rice farmers in the fields hides the back-breaking labour involved in this work.  Men and women share the work equally – well, mostly – and usually, work from dawn to dusk.  In areas where the ground is fertile and the water abundant, fish are also farmed in the waters, adding some additional protein to the rice diet, or being sold at market to buy other essentials.

    Preparing the ground for the delicate rice shoots
    Preparing the Ground for the Rice in Vietnam – Photo Mari Nicholson

     

    Ploughing the field for rice planting
    Ploughing the field reading for the rice planting, Vietnam – Mari Nicholson

    Planting the green shoots of rice

    Rice Growing in Vietnam – Mari Nicholson

     

     

     

     

  • Weekly Photo Challenge,Life Imitates Art

    Perhaps not the greatest interpretation of the challenge but I’ve lately been wanting to use one of the interesting tools in my imaging programme and thought this might be my opportunity.

    This sculpture was done by marine woodcarver Norman Gaches, from a tree that was destroyed in the great storm of 1987, outside Barton Manor on the Isle of Wight, the then home of Impresario Robert Stigwood, who commissioned the work.   At that time Barton Manor was producing wine and he wanted something to represent the grape.  The result was a magnificent carving showing the family of Bacchus and these are just two of the photographs my husband took at the time.   We followed the progress of the work with the sculptor over the months it took to finish it, and then did our best to interpret the art with camera and prose. A resultant article appeared in Woodcarving magazine and was subsequently syndicated in two other magazines.

    Bacchus

    © Bacchus – Mari Nicholson

    Bacchus Litho

    Photo of Bacchus as Lithograph

    Zeus

    Zeus

    And Zeus as a pencil sketch.Zeus Pencil Sketch

  • Weekly Photo Challenge: Time

     

    This is the AFTER photograph.  I wasn’t there to take the BEFORE shot, but most of us will have seen the terrible pictures of the 1944 D-Day Landings in Normandy, France, even seen the film The Longest Day, in which the graphic images of the horrors of that day and the terrible happenings on the beaches code-named Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword are now part of history.   It was a Time of heroism on a grand scale and a Time of mistakes on an equally grand scale.  It heralded the end of the beginning of the war that tore Europe apart, the one we call The Second World War, but it also heralded a Time of hope when it seemed that Peace might finally descend on Europe.

    To me, this Memorial to some of those who lost their lives on the beaches of Normandy signifies Time Past and Time Remembered.

     © Mari NicholsonD-Day Landings. War Memorial on Normandy Beaches