Self-portrait in old mirror

Georgian country houses often feature rooms with large and/or plentiful mirrors. Sometimes these mirrors have holders for candles. The reason for this is to magnify the candle light which was the only source of indoor light at that time. A visit to a country house also reveals that many of these mirrors (and those from the Victorian period) have deteriorated and no longer reflect as well as they did. The photograph above shows me at Berrington Hall, Herefordshire, photographing a bronze figure in one of these old mirrors.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Self-portrait with iPhone

When I first began photoblogging with my PhotoReflect site, all the way back in December 2005, one of my first photographs involved a self-portrait with my face distorted in the curved top of a cafetiere. In the ensuing years I regularly offered self-portraits that revealed relatively little. It's something I haven't really continued in PhotoEclectica, this shot being the only such example. So, by way of correction, here is what I hope is the first of many inventive "self-portraits". It was taken in a local coffee shop.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

I Am Archive

I Am Archive is an installation designed by an architectural practice in one of the rooms at Croome Court, a Georgian mansion in Worcestershire owned by the National Trust. The designers say that "the tower visually links the ground floor exhibitions with the top floor offices and archive storage, and celebrates the direct relationship between events at Croome and it's (sic) historic archive." The visitor sees a structure that incorporates numerous box files and hears "abstracted recorded voices taken from Croome’s archive (which) gives the sculpture a voice and encourages a more intimate connection with the visitor". My photograph shows part of the "immersive infinity effect" which many people don't notice because they don't look directly above their head.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Self-portrait in cafe window

Periodically, during the time I've fed my blogs, I've included a self-portrait in an image. These aren't explicit "warts and all" images of me. In the main they are photographs that include my reflection and are usually accidental inclusions that I notice rather than deliberate components of the composition. The example above was taken in Hay on Wye on a very hot and bright day - note the sun hat - and shows me in the mirror-like glazing of a cafe.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Motorcycle reflections

The onset of spring brings with it sounds that are less frequent in winter and that will increase in volume and frequency as the weather gets warmer. I'm not referring to bird song, but rather, to motorcycles. I get the impression that today a majority of motorcyclists choose that form of transport as a hobby or past-time rather than a means of transport. It's my further impression that this is a pursuit mainly of older men who not only love to burnish their steed but also like to increase the volume of sound that it makes. Walking through a carpark recently I passed a large motorcycle with a glossy sheen that proclaimed its owner's passion, and I took this photograph of the gleaming metalwork and my reflection.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Leather belts and denim

You have to take care when buying a belt today. Plastic masquerading as leather, plastic coating leather and various other applications of plastic on leather can easily deceive the shopper looking for a simple, straightforward leather belt, the sort that will give good service for many years. The belt in the photograph above is about fifteen years old and I hope it will give me a further fifteen years. I usually wear it with jeans because, to my eye, the warm-coloured, worn leather and strong buckle go well with faded denim blue.


photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10