Spring is here.........on blue skies, clean sensors and David Hockney

hedge © caroline fraser 2012

I made it to see David Hockney at the Royal Academy on the last day of his recent exhibition. I had been put off by the garish photos of some of his recent works shown in the newspaper, but couldn't ignore the fact that everyone I knew who had been had loved it and several had been two or three times.

What struck me most about the exhibition was firstly the sheer volume of work that he has produced, and secondly the joy that he clearly takes in the changing of the seasons. His works from East Yorkshire, and in particular the 51 prints and one large painting that are 'The arrival of spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011' display quite clearly his love of the locality and his pleasure in the changing vegetation from winter to spring.  His love of hawthorn and wild flowers is blatantly displayed in the ipad drawings made into larger prints that filled a whole room of the exhibition.

Walking around Hawkwood in the last week or so my pleasure in the vivid greens that are appearing has been heightened by  memories of the giant TV screens that conveyed Hockney's multiple views of narrow lanes in winter and spring simultaneously; viewers transfixed by the slowly moving views of trees and hedges gently blowing in the wind.

I love hedges, especially the layered hedge that has been created at Hawkwood over the last 2 years and shown above and below. With Hockney in mind I decided to record it bursting into life after winter. A blue sky day today shows it off to good effect, not least because I have finally discovered a sensor cleaner that does what it says on the tin. One sweep of the sensor with my new Arctic butterfly and the myriad of dust spots that show so dramatically in a clear blue sky are no more. It is worth every penny and relies solely on static with no fluids to damage the sensor. You swizzle the brush using the battery, create a static charge and then wave across the sensor, picking up dust without any worries about damaging it.

spotless sky thanks to arctic butterfly © caroline fraser 2012

I had my wide angle lens with me today, and was torn between order and chaos...........

beech © caroline fraser 2012

cloud © caroline fraser 2012

This fluffy cloud popped into view and wouldn't go away.

The inevitable litter caught my eye; I was pleased to see that David Hockney also showed litter in his TV installation as part of his idyllic scenes, cast from the vehicles of passers-by. When I am old and grey I will be seen tramping around with a large black sack and a grabber stick.........

Budweiser © caroline fraser 2012

Bring on the rain and let the hedges grow; there is a lot less hawthorn blossom this year than last.

all tied up ; untold stories from a walk in the woods

Nothing like a birthday to get one thinking of bows and gift wrapping. Walking around Hawkwood last week I carried only my iphone, as dog was ill, and I knew that if I took a real camera I would be out walking for longer than would be good for her.

When I came home I was somewhat surprised by the collection of images that I had made of bits of string.

What fascinates me more and more is why we choose to take pictures of certain things. Most of the time I cannot explain what prompts me to click the shutter. Walking past the barn I was drawn to some blue string; probably prompted by the image of an empty barn that I created the week before and influenced by Zarina Bhimji's  work.


 Zarina's website


 I think of these images as 'fragments' , 'remains' or 'traces' of earlier, unseen human activity.

There is something attractive about knots and trails of coloured fibres. I can't say that I was conscious of any deeper meaning when I made the images, but what about the subconscious?

What would the viewer make of these?

How will they be interpreted?

 Of course knots are symbolic of life and relationships, but could also have other connotations depending on the individual viewer's perspective on life.

This one puzzles me the most; a bow of hazard warning tape tied high up in a holly tree, way out of reach. There must be a story behind this one, just as there must be for the pillow that still lies in the undergrowth, now covered in snow, and shown in an earlier post when first discovered.

This pillow has become a source of fascination; I find myself looking forward to passing the place where it lies, wondering if it will still be there, and how it will look. I have photographed it with a  variety of cameras from Rolleiflex to Holga, and await the prints to see what will work best.

There is a story to be told, and I feel task before me is to tell it. But what the truth is, no one will ever know.


David Ward , landscape photogpraher talks about photographic meaning in the latest edition of On Landscape magazine. He talks about meaning with reference to landscape photography. He might argue that these images are not landscapes, but for me they are as much a landscape as the traditional mountain or countryside scene. 


The difference is that rather than just being an expression of how the landscape makes me feel, which is how I would wish people to view my more traditional landscape work, these may be trying to say something more. 


Time will tell..........