Summer sun at the seaside

click photo to enlarge

I was recently on the promenade at Weymouth, Dorset, wondering whether there was ever a time in my life when I was happy to sit on a beach in the summer sun. Back came the answer, pretty quickly, "No". For most of my life the coast, as I prefer to call it, has been a place for walking, thinking, talking, looking and photographing. That's not to say that I haven't spent time on the beach as one part or another of a family group, where being there together was the intention and the reason itself. As I took this photograph on a sunny June day I had to recognise that most of the people there seemed to be enjoying sunning themselves and partaking of the traditional seaside activities. Which just goes to show that, as they say, "It takes all sorts".

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Maple leaves in August

Recently I stood and looked at the maple tree in the corner of our garden. Like many plants in this exceptionally dry summer it is looking a little distressed. The absence of rain, the high temperatures, the clear blue skies and the regular, strong and drying winds have all taken their toll. And yet, standing below the branches and looking upwards through the leaves there was still plenty to delight the eye - subtle complementary colours, delicate outlines, cellular details, overlapping shapes and deep shadows. So, I mounted a macro lens on a camera and took a few shots before any further deterioration set in.

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

Late September view from the Malverns

To my mind autumn advances quite slowly in England. It is a period that we think of as embracing the months of September, October and November. However, early September is usually indistinguishable from summer and even late September can appear and feel very summer-like. This view of Ockeridge Farm and beyond, taken on the 27th, from near British Camp, an Iron Age hill fort on the Malvern Hills, shows trees that have only slight autumn tinges, and can only be placed later in September by the extent of ploughed fields.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Cattle by the River Monnow

It was a hot, humid day as we walked along the bank of the River Monnow at Monmouth. Some of the cattle were, understandably, standing in the water and taking a drink to cool down. What wasn't understandable is why they were all packed so closely together rather than spreading out so they could all refresh themselves. That compressed mass of bodies must have generated a heat that negated any benefit they derived from going to the river.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Shoreditch Park, London

A favourite subject of Victorian painters and photographers was the humanity on show in London's parks. It remains an attractive subject today. This shot of Shoreditch Park on a day when the temperature climbed to 35 Celsius contrasts the tree shade and messy humanity enjoying itself with the clear blue sky and the perfection of the recently completed Hoxton Press mid-rise hexagons, two towers offering 198 flats.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Sunny Shoreditch Park

On a recent weekend the warm weather brought people out into sunny Shoreditch Park in London. Dry weather and the popularity of the park had turned the green grass yellow but that didn't stop young and old coming out to feel the sun on their faces and backs. As we passed through the park the looming buildings under construction gave a dissonant note to the tranquil scene.

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