Lock down life - part 2

rain dance 5 | © Caroline fraser 2020

So, we reach week 10 of lockdown, and this weekend, for the first time, I have been into a shop. 

I won't say that I enjoyed it.

I found it intensely depressing; the fear of getting too close to real people, the not being able to touch, the worry about paying using a touch screen. 

OH ( my other half) has been doing all the shopping for the last 10 weeks.

For which I thank him.  But there are drawbacks......

Here are some pros and cons of having all my shopping done by OH....

•  the house is full of meat. ( By house I mean the fridge and the freezer). There are black puddings from Stornaway in every drawer of the freezer, and a supply of sausages sufficient for a large garden party, except that we are not allowerd one of those any time soon).

• There are secret foods that I am not told about, and don't realise they are there until I see the packaging in the bin ( strawberries and smoked salmon for example ). I am told that I 'only have to look in the fridge'. But I can't see past all the meat.....

•  there are 10 tins of tinned tomoatoes in the not very large larder cupboard. No wonder I can't see what else is in there.

• I am given 2 minutes to decide what ingredients I require for the meals that I am cooking for the next few days. I have never had to plan meals ahead with such precision.

rain dance 2 | © Caroline fraser 2020

As you can see, I am not easy to please.

But then nor is OH. My attempts to introduce a one night a week vegetarian night have not gone well.

I wouldn't mind, but given that OH eats meat at all three meals every day, then you might think that one veggy meal was going to be tolerated. Not so. 

I have resorted to using fish as a vegetarian option.....

Life is full of compromises.... 

 I choose my own breakfast and lunch from the non meat options available ( muesli, porrige, bread, cheese, salad).

You get the picture.

And the pros?

• I get to make new images during the time that I would have been queieng at the supermarket.

• I can do my meditation Youtube video without interruption half way through from OH  asking me  'do you want to watch Boris on TV '.   To which the answer, of course, is NO.

While OH is shopping I fiddle around on the computer trying to create new images from my local walks and from old images from my travels.

I am experimenting with layering of photos and paintings. 

Some work better than others.

Here is a Scandi style window from Finland. 

playing with layers and warp tool in Photoshop

And here is a tree from Lofoten with some starlings from Wales.

playing with photographic layers

I seem to return to trees time after time.



These dead branches from Vancouver.

towards the sky | © Caroline fraser 2020

And these graceful fallen branches from a woodland in Kent.

tree dance | © Caroline Fraser 2020

But it is the images from my local pond that please me most.

I have found the shapes of the leaves reflected in the water to be an endless source of work over the past 10 years.

Raindrops falling just add to the fun. 

The ripples create an added dimension. 

rain dance 14 | © Caroline fraser 2020

But we have had no rain since I took these photos on 28th April. 

Hopefully some will come again soon, and I can extend the series a little further.

Light and water, light on water. Water falling on water . I don't have to go far to find a place to capture my favourite subject matter.

Here is a video made beside my local stream, a few yards away from the pond. 

A place of peace.

 

thinking about rain and making books as artist in residence at createspace wales

hand made books 

I am returned from Wales.

Many people thought it was a foolish decision to set foot into the country where 'it always rains....'.

I, however, could think of nothing better than two weeks in the countryside, beside the west wales coast, as an artist in residence at Createspace Wales.

If it rained, I would be an artist. If the sun came out, I would go out for a walk with my camera.

I arrived in the land of Ceridigion ( Cardiganshire) and was struck by the many signs in a foreign language. So many consonants, and so few vowels. I wondered what Dim Parcio meant ( no parking- it transpired-  dim if you do.....)


I settled into my palatial studio

createspace wales

Set my typewriter on my dining table

Olympia Splendid typewriter

And went out to look for some rain.

Cardigan, Wales

How wrong all those folk were. How little it rained.


What magnificent cliff top walks I had.

What wild moorland and ancient woodlands I explored.

Coed ty Canol

Ancient oaks at Coed ty Canol

And because of all the pessimists that I encountered before I left home, I kept on thinking about rain.

I found that the Welsh have many words for rain

welsh words for rain

Such beautiful words. So unpronounceable to one ignorant of the language.

Pistyllio - fountain rain.

What does that look like?

raindrops of ink

I played with book structures and inks.

I had no printer , so no choice but to make work without photographs. My choice.



I made a fish bone structure from Hedi Kyle's book The Art of the Fold.

fishbone book structure

I  added typewritten rain words.

and a rain splattered cover

glaw - rain book

I came across a reference to ink and bleach art.

I became and ink and bleach art student, experimenting with different papers and wetness of my inks.

ink and bleach experiments

 I made some ink and bleach rain books.

pistyllio - fountain rain- ink and bleach

ink and bleach on somerset satin 300gsm paper

I made books every day. No prevarication allowed.

My rule for the residency.

crown structure book made with greaseproof paper

And sometimes I got stuck for ideas, so made books about sheep and how to overcome creative block.

the grass is always greener...... 

It turns out that the best cure for creative block is a walk up a windy hill with my camera.

where the wind blows © Caroline Fraser 2020

You will be wondering what I ate in Wales.... it being so remote, and there being no proper shops.

I ate very healthy food from the local superstore.

what I ate

All plastic free.....



Nothing made me happier than seeing startlings mumurating in local fields and on Aberystwyth pier at dusk.

local starlings

Aberystwyth starlings at dusk

When I wasn't thinking about rain words I thought about lichen words. I learned a lot about lichens; there are a significant number of endangered species on the Lichen Red Data List for wales . 

Therein lies a future project.

Who could not fall in love with a lichen named  Strigula Stigmatella var stigmatella

Lichens on rocks. Lichens on trees. I find them very appealing. I see maps and imaginary creatures.

A lady dancing with a duck....

lady dancing with duck

A shy smile....

shy smile lichen

At the end of two weeks I had a collection of small books.

And quite a lot of sticks.

books made at Createspace wales

It is suprising how much can be achieved in the right circumstances.

I am incredibly grateful to the artist Rose Sanderson for allowing me the opportunity to stay at her beautiful residency.

 One day I hope to return.

 For now I need to get back to mopping up the mess from all the suburban rain.......

the ancient trees at Coed ty Canol

waiting for some rain

fields on Romney marsh

So all my children have eloped to Canada where it rains a lot. Twice as much rain there as we have here in London.

For the last 6 weeks they have had rain almost daily, while we have had none. That'll learn 'em.

At some point the farmers and gardeners amongst us will be complaining.......

I saw a big cloud this week, but it didn't release any droplets despite my asking.

I shan't complain about that but I would like to complain about my geraniums.

The foxes have stolen them before I could plant them.

They haven't told me where they have taken them to, and they are probably dead by now.

But I am not in the mood for complaining.

Other half (OH) has done more than enough of that recently. He has developed a rare and dangerous rash of unknown cause. It makes him itch and scratch. I provide helpful doctorly advice such as 'put some cream on it'. He ignores my advice and then complains some more.

His legs aren't much cop either. He is talking about getting an electric wheelchair. Always the optimist....

None of this has stopped him going to work, or cycling to the pub.............. but it is all very serious nonetheless.

To compensate and in an attempt to keep myself in a  healthier state than OH I have taken up running.

Couch to 5k is my goal. I am on week 5 of an eight week programme. Today was hard. I had to run for 16 minutes. Now for a marathon runner that is absolutely nothing, but I am a mere beginner, and it is only my friends that are keeping me at this. Without them I would have fallen at the first hurdle.

The sea wall at Camber is a great place to watch clouds and birds. Or go surfing. Or walking, or running.

sea wall, camber sands

I keep trying to find landscapes in the concrete.

This is my latest. it reminds me of sea and sky on a grey day.

Even grey days have their upside.

Landscape photographers love them. The moodier the better.

the sun always shines

I am in Vancouver.

It rains a lot here, so I have resorted to making work from above the clouds where the sun always shines.

So much more colourful than grey.

People here compensate for the weather by doing lots and lots of yoga, dressed in very colourful, fancy fitness gear.

If  you can't beat them, join them.

I was wearing some very old M&S leggings and T-shirt in black and navy. And my water bottle was PLASTIC. OMG. I hardly dared use it. No one would know that I refill it with tap water.

I have experienced chalk and cheese in my two exercise classes. One was a boot camp that nearly killed me, and was run by a guy who fancied himself as a drill sergeant. He made us chant about our pelvic floors and pretend we weren't going to poop on an imaginary small dog whilst doing about one thousand arm exercises.

Suffice to say that he and I did not hit it off. He threatened to write my name down in his little black book. I really didn't care whether he did or not. I never learned his name.

The other was a warm and friendly Hatha yoga class, with cushions for my sore knees, and some relaxing music. Rachel said 'hello' to everyone and had a beautiful smile.

I know which one I will return to when the sun is still not shining.

normal service will be resumed shortly

indoor puddle - puddle 1

OH ( my other half) will be glad that  he is down south.

I am up north. In Scotland.

For my annual fix of moors , mountains and glens.

OH likes sunny places with blue skies.

I like cold moody places.

Scotland this week is testing me. For 'moody' I will, in future, exclude 'rainy' when the  rain is in stair-rods and disallows any outdoor photography. When rivers are bursting their banks, and you need a boat to get to the 5th tee of the golf course at Dalmally.

I have been here for 72 hours and it has not stopped raining.

I have become a master of car-window photography, lining up my vehicle against the wind and seeing what I can capture in a few seconds before the entire interior gets wet. Wearing my waterproofs inside the car helps.

Landslips have closed roads. Tourists have been trapped.

The road through Glen Orchy is closed. Route barre……...

puddle 2

So after 2 days I gave in and took my tripod indoors; to St Conan's kirk, on Loch Awe.

This extraordinary place is a popular tourist destination built by Walter Campbell commencing in 1907, and completed some years after his death in 1914.

It is not a pretty building, and inside is dark and damp.

So damp that puddles are collecting on the floor, water dripping down through its leaky roof.

I found myself taking pictures of the windows reflected on the floor.

Light on water I realised later…….

A theme I return to time and time again. (see here)

Loch Awe from St Conan's Kirk

puddle 3

Tomorrow the weather promises to be better.

Glencoe awaits.

Rannoch moor, and Lochan na-h Achlaise.

Outdoors. Beautiful. Waiting.

I will be there.

World cup trees - Greece -Costa Rica

Greece - Costa Rica

Taken during Netherlands - Mexico

Processed during Greece - Costa Rica

Branches of overhanging trees reflected in the pond at Hawkwood in the rain.

Waterfalls three times higher than Niagara, wetter than anywhere else in New Zealand. This is Milford Sound.

Milford Sound

I finally decided to revisit Milford Sound; always a worry that somewhere so special won't match the memories and the expectations. I had decided not to go for those very reasons, but then changed my mind. As is my prerogative.

I just couldn't resist it.

Milford Sound

Originally named Milford Haven by the Welshman who came across it. Then changed to Milford Sound. But really a fiord.

If words are your thing, and definitions excite you then Sesquiotica has said it all before, and far more eloquently; saving me the trouble.

It is one of the many fiords in Fiordland National Park, accessible through a tunnel into the mountain.

the tunnel

It was pouring with rain when I arrived at the tunnel, but while I waited I took pictures through my open car window.

Water was pouring down in all directions, and I was compelled to take a photo of the waterfalls, even though I never do; see previously….

after Kyffin ( Williams)

I like the simplicity of the bare rock and the water, reminding me of the stark landscapes of the Welsh painter  Kyffin Williams RA who died in 2006. He use oil paints. I was using a digital camera.

Milfors Sound has waterfalls more than three times higher than Niagara (51 metres), but because of the majesty of the surrounding mountains, the sense of scale is really difficult to grasp. The Stirling falls are 146m, and the Bowen falls 160m.

This picture shows a plane flying in to Milford; my attempt to show that scale.

plane arriving 

What a difference a day makes.

Pouring rain on Friday.

Sunshine and a dusting of fresh snow on the peaks on Saturday.

There is not much to say really, so I'll just show you the pictures.

Which will never do it justice.

Starting with the rainy day at low tide; dull and grey

but with lots of water…..

and spray…...

and then some sunshine breaking through

Followed by dawn on the beach the following morning, tripod and filters to the ready……

hopeful of some spectacular sun on Mitre Peak……..

Which didn't happen, but it was lovely all the same

And ending with a breakfast cruise in sunshine.

 So after two cruises, one tin hut with a bed in it, no dolphins, three seals and one bird that was not an albatross I took in some greenery in the local bush,  back on dry land.

The lushness is just incredible. It's the 6.8 metres of rain a year that does it.

All that greenery left me craving for a bit of colour, so I dropped by a bog to look at the sundews and colourful mosses on the other side of the mountain.

A spectacular two days, from which my favourite images are all dark grey. Must be the thought that my time in Gore is coming to a close, and that this was my last big weekend outing alone with my camera.

a little light on the shore at dawn

This last image was right beside my tripod as I spent an hour on the shore waiting to see what the dawn will bring on the majesty around me.

In the end, it is the little things that count.