The clouds were gathering; a storm was approaching.
Taranis knew the time was near.
Before the heavens opened, before the winds whipped across the desolate moorland, before he summoned the thunder around him, he needed to gather his kin together, to keep the brethren close.
But first, food. He would require energy in the hours and days to come…
We spend our lives looking at things in a set way. More often than not nowadays, our view of the world is dictated by what the camera on our smartphone shows us. Head bowed, we fail to see the beauty that surrounds us.
Put your phone down.
Look up. Look around. Look behind you.
The world is an amazing place with amazing things to take in. Celebrate that beauty by actually seeing it.
In the peace and solitude of the reserve, it seemed unlikely they would bump into anyone – or at least anyone they knew. They weren’t technically from the same household, but they were brothers, more than that, closer than any other platonic relationship they knew.
The silence was all-engulfing. The air was crisp, clear and held the scent of spring. So they walked. And boy did they walk. Mile upon mile, knowing they would have to walk the same distance back.
Something kept them going, though, a friendship, a camaraderie. They talked about everything and nothing, any silences between them comfortable.
With the lockdown ongoing (at time of writing), there is a definite need to get out and about for the regulation one-a-day constitutional, and on these trips out, you can encounter endless wildlife.
One of my recent discoveries was the Shapwick Heath Nature Reserve – on deserted mornings, all you can hear is the wildlife around you, various birds chirruping and tweeting, interspersed with the occasional booming of the nesting bitterns.
The photos below are not limited to Shapwick Heath, but it provides the inspiration for the set of images.
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:
Colour seemed to unleash a lot in those who have submitted this time around, so enjoy!
Colour by Cooking-Post Nerd
Name: Cooking-Post Nerd
Location: United Kingdom
Note: I managed to escape from my kitchen and made it out into the garden. Nature has moved on while humanity has paused, and the April sunshine has brought the plants and flowers out. I love lilac, and this starburst of a shot, with a really narrow depth of field, is my submission this month!
Note: A few weeks ago, someone started placing colourful plastic flowers on benches, lampposts, etc in our neighbourhood. I have no idea what the significance of this is, whether it’s related to spring, Easter, or perhaps as a symbol of hope during these trying times. Anyway, this fabulous plastic rose is attached to a community noticeboard that I pass on my way to the Valu-Mart (got to love North America!), and seeing it adds a little splash of colour and also a sense of mystery to my day!
Note: This long exposure shot was taken while shooting a night time ‘9 in 45’ (click the link if you wish to know more about 9 in 45). The location of this shot was determined not by me but by the rules of 9 in 45! A long exposure introduced the colour trails of passing cars and a quick edit in Photoshop isolated them and the grass verge from the rest of the shot. Both the presence and absence of colour in the one image. I like the minimal aspect of the composition and the colours between the gate posts on the left hand side, which look like someone has stretched some plastic sheeting across!
Colour by Cap Does Craft
Name: Cap Does Craft
Location: Attercliffe, South Yorkshire
Note: This shot is of the Gripple factory in Attercliffe. They are a wonderful, forward thinking, innovative company and the design of their building reflects how they do things differently. This is a small section of one of their buildings. Without the colour and reflective elements to the windows this could just be a grey industrial building which might not be given a second glance. The colour is what lifts this image to something far more interesting.
Colour by CKPonderingsToo
Name: CKPonderingsToo
Location: Taunton, Somerset
Note: Again, while curating this post, I became very conscious that I had not really connected to what I was going to include. On my one-a-day I have still been taking photos, but nothing really leapt out at me. So, I have dug a bit deeper with this one, looking pre-lockdown, and my first visit to the (now) local town of Taunton. One one street corner, a hoarding hiding a patch of disused land, is this piece of street art. It leapt out at me as a potential photograph, and, with a slight tweak here and there, it soon matched this month’s theme.
Colour by Doctor Ken, Gin Sop
Name: Doctor Ken, Gin Sop
Location: Somerset
Note: A sign of our times that caught my eye. Still, it’s a splash of colour in a seemingly endless grey…
Something a bit different today, to wrap up the month.
I’ve posted a couple of panoramic shots before on CKPonderings, as a test of my iPhone’s photographic capability, and was impressed with the results.
So, on my one-a-day a week or so ago, I thought I would try it out again.
Somerset – the Summer Lands – is, in the main, a flat, low lying county, but at the eastern edge of the levels lies the Isle of Avalon. In old English, the Island of Apples was so named because of the orchards lining its hills and one hill, Glastonbury Tor, stood out as a beacon in the inland sea.
Wearyall Hill (or Wirral Hill) runs down from the Tor, and provides an ideal platform from which to view the landmark and the moors beside it.
From the bench I was sitting on, in the late sunshine of a spring day, the views were spectacular.
Some called it discrimination, others called it right and proper. But whatever the sense, dogs were definitely not going to be allowed here.
There’s a voice that keeps on calling me. Down the road, that’s where I’ll always be. Every stop I make, I make a new friend. Can’t stay for long, just turn around and I’m gone again. Maybe tomorrow, I’ll want to settle down. Until tomorrow, I’ll just keep moving on.
CKPonderingsToo 