A Portrait

I'm delighted to say that I've had one of my short stories published in 'Fragmented Voices'.

You can find it here: ‘A Portrait’ by Duncan Bennett – Fragmented Voices

Variations on a theme - Kirk of Calder Parish Church

 I believe this Kirk, built from 1541 on the site of an earlier, 12th Century Church, is one of the most beautiful in West Lothian.

 Is there such a thing as 'dead vegetable photography? 😏

Herewith a few variations on a theme:

Girl with the chequered dress.

 A girl, playing with her brother at O'Leary's Tikki Bar and Grill in Sarasota.

Her dress and hair band were just soooooo eye-catching that I thought it would make a great picture in Selective Colour.

There are those who believe selective colour to be an old, worn-out and even tacky method of presentation, but I feel it offers excellent opportunities in some pictures.

Hope you agree, and that you enjoy this effort.

Torch-er

 I love photography!

I love its intimacy. I love its simplicity and, at the same time, I love getting into all the technical aspects - such a huge part of the art.

But, occasionally, I find the best way to pass a few hours is just to play.😁

So, it was a wet, grey day, and I wasn't going anywhere. I came away from the window and a vase in my sitting room caught my eyes; it was a pretty basic thing, light blue in colour.

I picked it up and examined it for a while. Then I cleared a little space on the dining room table and placed it there.

With still life objects, I usually take an LED torch I carry and run around it just to see how the light plays on it. Then, if I see something that interests me, I'll set up backgrounds lighting, etc. But on this occasion, I simply made an infinity background with a dark jacket. Then I set the camera on a tripod, set it to manual, and dialled in the settings to lose the ambient light. From there, I put the camera on a timer and began playing the torch over the vase.

I was done in under two hours and was really pleased with the results.

Camera, coat, torch and vase. Simplicity itself.

I took the first image, above, and added a few textures in PSP, and got this.

Please feel free to comment.

You can find more in my Flickr page.  flickr.com

Jealously

 

Pause

Pause I don’t know how to see this day,

 I’ve never felt a day this way:

never seen the skies so tall,

never felt myself so small. 

All the clouds seem bled of dreams, 

and their ceaseless passing so demeans

my still surveillance from the ground, 

where life has never seemed less profound. 

 And …… so – 

 Beyond the measure of day’s light, 

into the torment of the night, 

I cast my dreams on sterile ground 

and walk through years without a sound 

where, master of my needless life 

and heedless of the reaper’s scythe, 

I pause to wend an hour away 

in wondering how to see this day.