Category Archives: People

history, Monochrome, People, Photography, Religion

Miss Adelaide Mabel Dickinson

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Miss Dickinson still had butterflies. But that, as her friends reminded her, was only to be expected. Her marriage celebrations were only a matter of days away and getting closer by the hour.

William – that is to say Mr William Walter – was a kind man, and the perfect match. No matter how often her mother told her that, Adelaide still didn’t entirely believe it.

She knew love to be important, and she knew she would come to love Mr Walter. But for now the butterflies in her stomach were not to be calmed.

Adelaide’s main worry was what happened after she and William exchanged their vows. He was older then her – nearly twelve years older – and she knew he had more experience than she could imagine. His three children were testament to that.

That was another thing. She wasn’t ready for motherhood! While Mr Walter employed two nannies, what were the expectations on her? To raise the three girls as her own. She couldn’t replace their mother – poor Evangeline Walter, whose demise had come far too soon. Would they like her? Would they warm to her?

The butterflies fluttered more quickly, as if buffeted by a sudden breeze. She grasped the chair more firmly and breathed in deeply.

It would be alright. William had reassured her of that. But there had been something about that reassurance, something hollow about it, that had left her less reassured than she had wanted.

“Pull yourself together, Adelaide,” she muttered, straightening up and stifling the gasp she could sense was coming.

She heard a clicking from behind the light.

“There you go, Miss. All done.”

(This is a story based on an anonymous Carte de Visite found in a junk shop, and should not be seen as a true reflection of this person’s life or that of the photographer, Wilbert of Bristol Bridge, Bristol.)

This month’s Mass Observation post was well received, and in these weird and wonderful times, we all need a bit of colour!

Moving forward, the project for June has a new theme…

RANDOM

Who doesn’t like a bit of randomness? Interpret the theme as you will!

To take part, simply take a photo around the theme of random:

  • Email the image to adayinphotographs@outlook.com by Sunday 31st May 2020.
  • Images should be a maximum of 650 pixels wide.
  • Include your name, website/blog address and a short note about the image, including where it was taken.
  • Come back and see the results on Sunday 7th June!
history, Monochrome, People, Photography, work

Mrs Esther Alice Wilberforce

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She had waited for what seemed like hours now, in the damn uncomfortable chair, that creaked every time she moved slightly and was as hard as the front step she had cleaned that very morning. But she kept her lips tightly shut, knowing that her son and daughter had paid a lot for her to have this photograph taken.

She didn’t believe in this kind of frippery, of course – it was a waste of money that could be better spent on the house – but she knew Joseph and Maria had meant well.

The Bristol studio Esther Wilberforce had found herself in was draughty, and the cold, damp air was threatening to make her cough.

The photographer – a Mr Houlson – had said she looked the perfect Victorian woman, which was a little embarrassing. He was smartly dressed and young enough to be her grandson. But he wore a fixed smile of someone desperate and she wondered if his business was not all he had expected it to be. She sensed the disapproval of Mr Houlson’s father – his was the money at risk, of course – and felt this young man was trying to come across as eager and professional as possible to hide the resignation of a failing business.

Still, she would have to recommend him to Mrs Whitmore, of course. If nothing else, the Reading Group would get to hear about the photograph – what was it Mr Houlson called it? A Visiting Card? – so she had to remain upbeat.

“Just another 30 seconds, Mrs Wilberforce,” the young man said from the darkness beyond the camera.

Just a few more seconds, and she could rest her aching bones and let out that cough!

(This is a story based on an anonymous Carte de Visite found in a junk shop, and should not be seen as a true reflection of this person’s life or that of the photographer, R Houlson of Griffin Hill, Bristol.)

This month’s Mass Observation post was well received, and in these weird and wonderful times, we all need a bit of colour!

Moving forward, the project for June has a new theme…

RANDOM

Who doesn’t like a bit of randomness? Interpret the theme as you will!

To take part, simply take a photo around the theme of random:

  • Email the image to adayinphotographs@outlook.com by Sunday 31st May 2020.
  • Images should be a maximum of 650 pixels wide.
  • Include your name, website/blog address and a short note about the image, including where it was taken.
  • Come back and see the results on Sunday 7th June!
Animals, Colour, Glastonbury, Nature, People, Photography, Wildlife, work

9-in-45: 4th May 2020

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Another opportunity to photograph my environs, while getting some exercise in at the same time.

As I’ve mentioned before, he idea of the project is to set out on a walk with a phone/stopwatch and your camera. Set your stopwatch for five minutes and start walking. When the five minutes is up, stop walking. You have a minute to compose and take a photograph. Set your stopwatch for another five minutes and start walking. When the time is up, stop and, within a minute take and compose your second photo. Keep going until you have walked for 45 minutes and have nine photos.

4th May 2020: 13:07

A slow and steady start to the walk, and my aim was Cinnamon Lane, a quiet country road within spitting distance of home. As befits the current lockdown, there were few people out and about and, aside from a handful of dog walkers, I saw nobody.

4th May 2020: 13:12

The beauty of this time of year is something we have tended to overlook before – our lives have been so rushed and busy that we don’t usually get the chance to stop and look about us. If there’s one thing good to come out of the pandemic, it is that we have had no choice but to do exactly that.

4th May 2020: 13:18

But some of us have to carry on working, including those farmers who have to keep an eye on their flocks and crops, so it was no surprise to see some people at work.

4th May 2020: 13:23

The positive about the route I took for this 9-in-45 is that on the way out the road is a quiet country lane. The downside is that the way back is the main road between Shepton Mallet and Glastonbury! The A361 has always been a local bone of contention, because of the constant flow of juggernauts it ferries between the two towns and beyond. Having said that, on a Monday afternoon under Covid-19 rules it’s a lot quieter!

4th May 2020: 13:29

Despite the busyness of the road, the view from it are spectacular.

4th May 2020: 13:34

The road is the main thoroughfare in this part of Somerset and, in decades past, was prime for local businessmen to earn a penny or two. (I hasten to add that this is for show, not a true toll!!)

4th May 2020: 13:40

Be kind and keep smiling! You’re nearly there!

4th May 2020: 13:46

Back to nature, then; I’ve photographed numerous full dandelion clocks in the past, so why not a denuded one?

4th May 2020: 13:52

Last of the nine and almost full circle! The Somerset Levels make for some big skies!!

Click on the links below to see my previous 9-in-45 walks:

And Postcard Cafe’s awesome “Take Nine Photos In Forty Five Minutes” collection can be found by clicking the link.

This month’s Mass Observation post was well received, and in these weird and wonderful times, we all need a bit of colour!

Moving forward, the project for June has a new theme…

RANDOM

Who doesn’t like a bit of randomness? Interpret the theme as you will!

To take part, simply take a photo around the theme of random:

  • Email the image to adayinphotographs@outlook.com by Sunday 31st May 2020.
  • Images should be a maximum of 650 pixels wide.
  • Include your name, website/blog address and a short note about the image, including where it was taken.
  • Come back and see the results on Sunday 7th June!
Architecture, Glastonbury, Monochrome, Nature, People, Photography, Religion

The Loneliness of the Insecure and Paranoid

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He was waiting for her. She was sure of that.

She’d seen him a couple of times around town, over a period of a few weeks, and sensed that he was closing in, seeking her out.

Hunting her down.

She feigned ignorance, of course. She didn’t want to let on that she knew he was following her. Didn’t want to give the game away.

So, she carried on as normal. Walking around like a tourist, she wandered into the Abbey Park.

She knew the place like the back of her hand, having all but grown up there. But still she feigned ignorance. If he thought she was just a tourist, taking photos like the hoards of visitors did during the summer, perhaps he wouldn’t give her a second glance.

Perhaps.

He’d tried to hide, of course, to bury himself in reading. But she knew the stance, the look, the outfit; he gave himself away a lot easier than she knew he would have liked to.

So, she had just walked on by, past the bench he was discreetly sitting on, under the magnolia tree where they had first met, all those years ago.

As if he thought she wouldn’t remember! The audacity of the man. The sheer gall of him!

And yet, the mere fact that he was there, that he was following her, gave her some reassurance.

He still wanted her.

He still needed her.

So, she resolved to go to him. Surrender to him. Accept his love, in whatever form he chose to give it.

But first, she needed to gather herself. To work out what she was going to say. She needed the words, the right words that show she was open to him.

Acceptance, but not desperation. She didn’t want him to think she was desperate.

Not again.

(This is a story based on candid street photos I took over a couple of days, and should not be seen as a true reflection of either of these people’s lives.)

Architecture, Monochrome, People, Photography, Religion, work

Discussion

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Something a bit simpler and less deep than yesterday’s post…

Before the lockdown, and after numerous attempts over the years, I finally made it inside Wells Cathedral.

It’s interesting to see the humdrum, day-to-day workings of something as substantial and revered as this, including a short break in vacuuming to discuss matters of the day.

Come on, Henry needs to get back to work!!

Architecture, Glastonbury, Monochrome, People, Photography

Ignoring

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Despite the fact that they knew each other, they also knew that they had to act as if they didn’t.

Rob stared at the screen of his phone from under his cap. He had a sport app open, but the words might as well have been in Swahili for all that he took them in.

Gareth knew why they were there. He’d brought Bella and Poppy along as an excuse to get out of the shopping. He looked after his Fiona’s bags as he sat on the bench.

Fiona was keeping herself busy in the boutique store across the square. She rifled through dress after dress, knowing she wasn’t going to buy anything, but also positioning herself to look out of the window surreptitiously, watching her husband oblivious on the seat opposite.

Rob had ‘bumped into’ Gareth like this a number of times over the years, a few words passing between them, as they slowly but surely, built up their relationship. He was mature enough at 18 to be beyond the grunting stage, but still – understandably – found it difficult to communicate with the man he knew to be his father.

Gareth got a lot of pleasure out of these fleeting moments. He wanted to see his son, to get to know him, but he also wanted to keep his secret firmly safe from Fiona. She wouldn’t understand, his indiscretion unforgivable after so many years that there was no point in talking to her about it, in letting her know, in welcoming Rob into their lifes.

Fiona had known about Rob for years. She also knew that her husband’s unfaithfulness wasn’t habitual; it was a slip, one night’s drunken recklessness nearly two decades ago. She had forgiven him, but would never own up to the fact that she knew about Rob, that she was jealous of Gareth’s relationship with his son, that she was guilt-ridden that she was unable to provide him with children of their own. But she would never allow Rob to be a part of their lives, their set up, their social group.

Of that she was certain.

(This is a story based on a candid street photo shot I took. In no way are the people mentioned real, and this should not be seen as a true reflection of thee two men’s lives.)

Architecture, cinema, Colour, Glastonbury, Music, People, Photography, Wildlife, work

Cover Version

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No, I’ve never seen the film (I know this will be a shock to a lot of cinema aficionados, but I cannot help that!). But I am familiar with the iconography, and this LP cover raised a Glastonbury smile!

‘Someday this lockdown’s gonna end’.

That’d be just fine with the boys in the flat. They weren’t looking for anything more than a way outside.

Trouble is, I’d been out there, and I knew that it just didn’t appeal anymore.

Bored of me nagging, yet?

May’s Mass Observation Project is coming up, so take a photograph based that sums up the theme COLOUR to you, however you want to interpret it.

  • Email the image to adayinphotographs@outlook.com by Thursday 30th April 2020.
  • Images should be a maximum of 650 pixels wide.
  • Include your name, website/blog address and a short note about the image, including where it was taken.
  • Come back and see the results on Sunday 3rd May!
Monochrome, People, Photography, work

Billy Warren

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She’d pressured him into it, but he was helpless and he knew it.

The way she moved. The way she smiled at him. The way she brushed against him when nobody was around. The way her breath had tickled his neck as she had leaned in to whisper in his ear…

Focus. He had to focus.

He had to complete the task she had set him, otherwise she would be upset and he wouldn’t get his reward. She’d been dangling that carrot for weeks now. The present she had promised was the one thing Billy Warren had been wanting, been longing for.

He straightened his tie, licked his lips and knocked on the door.

(This is a story based on an anonymous photo found in a junk shop, and should not be seen as a true reflection of this person’s life.)

May’s Mass Observation Project is coming up, so take a photograph based that sums up the theme COLOUR to you, however you want to interpret it.

  • Email the image to adayinphotographs@outlook.com by Thursday 30th April 2020.
  • Images should be a maximum of 650 pixels wide.
  • Include your name, website/blog address and a short note about the image, including where it was taken.
  • Come back and see the results on Sunday 3rd May!
Architecture, Monochrome, People, Photography, Wildlife, work

Mr Green

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Mr Green had worked hard all his life, patiently listening to others and following their orders to the letter, often against his beliefs.

But if his employers had known what he truly believed, what his heart told him, they would have let him go in an instant.

His conscience told him that he was doing what he had to, and, despite the uncomfortable marriage between the two lives he led – his work and private ones – he kept himself to himself, his head down and his employers happy.

The sadness in his eyes sometimes leaked through, though, and his colleagues occasionally noticed But when they mentioned anything he smiled his smile and brushed aside their concerns.

He was happy, and as long as he could keep convincing himself of that, then his life would be peaceful.

(This is a story based on an anonymous photo found in a junk shop, and should not be seen as a true reflection of this person’s life.)

Another quick reminder about the May’s Mass Observation Project!

Take a photograph based that sums up the theme COLOUR to you, however you want to interpret it.

  • Email the image to adayinphotographs@outlook.com by Thursday 30th April 2020.
  • Images should be a maximum of 650 pixels wide.
  • Include your name, website/blog address and a short note about the image, including where it was taken.
  • Come back and see the results on Sunday 3rd May!