hooked claws tear at icy constraints, captive souls, eager for freedom, awaiting warmer days sure to come Day 237 of 365 Days Wild was cold and frosty, but sadly lacking in the snow that seemed to fall everywhere except our little corner of Nottinghamshire. There were a few wonderful little baby icicles trying to grow … More Icicle Claws
Day 160 of 365 Days Wild was another foggy day, perfect for some black and white photography. … More Life in Monochrome
the world shifts into monochrome,
vivid joys sinking beneath a blanket
of dour uncertainty as muggy winds
drive downpours in sweeping passage … More A Grey Day
ancient achievements erode
into myth, rendered obsolete
as the universe shifts, hands of
giants concealing facts whilst
revealing truths held within
edifices of crumbling stone … More Ggantija Temples
Mr Geoffrey Cat likes to bring me dead mice and birds. My kitten, Hex, brings me leaves. I definitely prefer the leaves. This post is for Cee’s Black and White Challenge. This week’s theme is anything beginning with the letters K or L. It’s been a while since I last joined in with a challenge … More CB&W: The Kitten and the Leaf
wild energies flow
channelled through fertile form
the lord of the goats leaps in triumph
leading the herd along paths
of uncertainty … More Lord of the Wild Things
youthful flights of fantasy
preserved in crystal dreaming
inspiration encapsulated … More Dreams of Dragons
as society celebrates surface artifice
 masking ugliness beneath painted smiles
pure hearts sculpted in gargoylesque form wither
whilst awaiting their chance to fly … More Gargoyle
anticipation gathers
 in electric frissons on the airÂ
excited laughter mingling with
the scents of pine needles and spicesÂ
as children follow the white rabbit
into a magical wonderland for
a date not to be missed … More Is it Christmastime yet?
fallen leaves lie scattered
yesterday’s doubts discarded
insulating the seeds of hope
through winter’s long chill … More Fallen Leaves
gain insight in ascent
awakening emotions stultified
by society’s strictures
*
gain closure in descent
revisiting issues locked within
subconscious crypts
*
gain wisdom with each step
overcoming life’s adversities
so true joy can be found … More Step by Step
horseshoes clatter metal pealing against cobblestones in a chiming of bells as dreamlike figures ghost by a cavalcade of spirits messengers from the past bearing warning from a time of division and strife for those who care to listen This week’s photo was taken at an English Civil War reenactment in my home town of … More Messengers
Small Comforts Cara dropped onto her bed, tugging the blanket over her shoulders as weariness pinned her to the mattress. Sleep soon began to smother her thoughts. She welcomed its oblivion after the backbreaking work of the day. The voice of the new girl jolted her back to awareness. She was tempted to respond – … More Small Comforts
A Letter from the Past Emmaline hummed softly as she lifted the bundle of pages from the shelf, instinctively weaving magic to ensure the fragile sheets remained intact as she transferred them to the desk. Dust puthered in the air. She turned her face into her cowl, avoiding breathing in the muck with practiced ease. … More A Letter from the Past
The light that poured in through her window was the only source of illumination in an otherwise dismal existence. They said her harsh treatment was deserved, that her idle ways had led to an inevitable conclusion. Only she knew just how hard she’d strived to avoid such a fate. She tried not to let bitterness … More The Darkness Within
darkness creeps sticky tendrils dragging ever deeper into the depths of fear and hate and hopelessness desolation clinging with tar-like viscosity * but don’t give up * glimpse the light that lies ahead  encompassing hope of better times to come leave the darkness behind and embrace the future’s bright promise * don’t give up * never give … More Out of the Darkness
labyrinthine streams wending in life-giving flows feeding reveries
 ever watchful eyes seeking opportunities certainties forgone
light peers through treetops the world cast in negative life in shadow-form
laughter and camaraderie found throughout the ages amidst the love of family Those of you who’ve followed my blog for a while may remember that I used to regularly join in with the One-Four challenge, editing a picture in four different ways over a month. Unfortunately, the challenge changed from being monthly to being quarterly, … More A Family Gathering
ivory forms glide adrift in silent dreaming wraiths on the water
boundary lines marked containing Earth’s wild spaces guardianship claimed This post is for Cee’s Black and White Challenge. This week’s theme is Letters A or B, and I decided to show pictures of some of the boundaries of the meadow and wooded area. Both the first and last pictures show newly erected boundaries, as management of the wooded … More Boundaries
This is my entry into Cee’s Black and White Challenge. This week’s theme is Crooked and Squiggly Lines which immediately brought to mind the many pictures of curious tree roots I have in my archives . I hope you like them. Writhing,  coiling, serpentine formations slithering  out of the darkness of concealing earth, tendrils stretching into sunlight in search of nourishment,  longing for … More Cee’s B&W Challenge: Crooked and Squiggly Lines
This post is for Jude’s Garden Photo Challenge. For February we’re asked to share monochrome photographs from around the garden. I took all of these pictures around our garden earlier today. I’d intended to share photographs from my sister’s garden as I did for January’s Garden Photo Challenge – she has lots of nooks and crannies … More GPC: February’s Monochrome Garden
This is my entry into Cee’s Black and White Challenge. This week’s theme is Food and Beverage. This is another of those themes that I didn’t think I’d be able to find much for at first. I don’t usually take pictures of food, other than the fruit growing in the garden. Once I started flicking through my archives, though, … More Cee’s Black and White Challenge: Food and Beverage
This is my entry into Cee’s Black and White Challenge. This week’s theme is Lines and Angles. I hope you like them.
This is my entry into Cee’s Black and White Challenge. This week’s theme is Anything that Starts with the Letter S. All of today’s pictures were taken around Hartsholme Country Park in Lincoln, UK, back in November. I hope you all like them. Do you have a favourite?
This is my second entry into Cee’s Black and White Challenge for the theme buildings. I decided that I may as well post the rest of the pictures  I’d originally intended to include in my last post seeing as they were all ready to go. These ones are a little less ‘vintage’ than the last set.
It’s time for the third September edit of Robyn’s One Four Challenge.  This week’s edit is in response to Joanne’s suggestion that she’d like to see a black and white version of the image. I again began by opening the original image in Camera Raw where I made these changes: Temperature: +20 Contrast: -100 Highlights: -19 Shadows: -78 … More One-Four Challenge: September Week Three
Here’s my week three edit for Robyn’s One-Four Challenge. This challenge asks that you edit the same picture in four ways over four weeks. For this final edit I opened the original image in Camera Raw where I increased the exposure and clarity mainly, though a few other sliders also shifted slightly. I then moved it into Photoshop Elements … More One-Four Challenge: March Week Four
I have been nominated by Nowathome to participate in the 5 Day Black and White Challenge and by Lrod to participate in the 5 Photos – 5 Stories Challenge. This post is my day 5 response to both. It took me a while to edit it down, but today’s story is right on my target – 500 words exactly. I hope … More The Mystery of the Stones
I have been nominated by Nowathome to participate in the 5 Day Black and White Challenge and by Lrod to participate in the 5 Photos – 5 Stories Challenge. This post is my day 4 response to both. I again managed to stay below 500 words. Yay! Today’s story is 450.  Cobblestones The feel of the cobblestones beneath … More Cobblestones
Here’s my third edit for Robyn’s One-Four Challenge. With a wary gaze she watches the world as her companion sleeps in blissful oblivion. For this week’s edit I had two things I knew I wanted to do. The first was to crop it in some way; the second was make it into a black and white image. All … More One-Four Challenge: February Week Three
Each nook and cranny around the yard is home to a woodpile, the contents collected through years of beaver-like industry. Dead trees, old tables, builders off cuts – all meet their fate beneath the blades of chainsaw and axe. Once decimated they are laid out and stacked in funereal precision, awaiting their time … More Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge: Wood
Here’s my entry for January week 2 of Robyn’s One Four Challenge, which asks you to edit the same picture in four different ways over a month. For this week’s edit I used the online photo-edit site, PicMonkey. I increased both shadows and highlights before desaturating the picture to full black and white. To finish off, I … More One-Four Challenge: January Week 2
Black and White Leach the world of colour till naught remains but stark splendour, rain drenched earth beneath lowering skies, divergent extremes sketched in a monochrome palette of humanity’s devising, disregarding the wild energy of nature’s spectrum. I wasn’t sure whether I’d manage to get a post up this weekend as I work rather long hours … More Photography 101 – Weekend Gallery
The place where you can find out what Lillie thinks
Looking at life through blue eyes
: around the world :
Myriad memories frozen in time
Looking into why we do the things we do (and some crochet) each Monday
Amanda Tuke - writer: nature, people, places
A photographic journey.
Here and now, with all of it.
An Enchanted Place 