we're having a heatwave, a tropical heatwave.....

I have been in Scotland, near Aviemore and futher north. The origin of my book 'Land of my Father', and home of many happy memories.

My other half (OH) has been working in Kochi, India.

He goes to India because

1. It is hot and sunny ( when it is not the monsoon season, which it is)
2. He likes curries
3. He gets freedom from the mundanities of suburban life and gets to stay in swanky hotels, where he has only to suggest he might like mango with his breakfast curry and a man will find one for him fresh from the nearest mango tree.

I go to Scotland because

1. I love it. 
2. It is not usually hot.
3. I get to stay in traditional Scottish accomodation which is generally not swanky at all, but there are potato scones for breakfast, and the carpets are floral.

So imagine my surprise when I found it was as hot in Scotland as in India.

And imagine OH's surprise when it didn't rain for a whole week in the monsoon season, so he didn't get to wear his spanking brand new super-lite anorak or lie under the special anti-rain canopy beside the pool.

My idea of photography in Scotland is some overcast, moody weather.

What I got was mostly relentless blue skies, and dry vegetation.

Or sea mist, with dull grey skies.

Portmahomack

 Even the forest was looking in need of some refreshment.

So I decided not to worry about my photography and just enjoy walking, exploring new places, and collecting pebbles along the way.


I found fields of orchids beside the dunes.

Wild flowers and grasses

A lighthouse at Portmohomack surrounded by gorse.

A swing in the middle of nowhere.

The surprisingly ornate gardens at Dunrobin Castle.

The scenic coastal path from Brora to Golspie

we are walkers

towards Dunrobin on the coastal path

and some litter, but so much less than down south

inevitable collections of human material

On the beach I collected pebbles and litter.

The pebbles mostly stayed in Scotland

Easyjet luggage allowance is not generous, and I already own a lot of stones and pebbles from around the world.

pebble

litter

litter

a perfect pebble

In Findhorn the sun set late at 22.15. And there was not a midge in sight. Avoiding the west coast in July was a good plan.

sunset, Findhorn

And in Nairn, where I spent my childhood summers, children were paddling in the same pool that I paddled in 55 years ago with my blue wind up boat.

Not much has changed up there.

Except that the library has moved. When I asked the librarian when it had relocated, she looked at me as if I was a little dim, and replied '1982'.

Which doesn't say much for my powers of observation.

Nairn paddling pool

I came home with just one 'keeper' photograph, from the beautiful Loch an Eilan near Aviemore.

Loch an Eilan © Caroline Fraser

Hopefully later this year it will find its way into the lovely Laundry Gallery in Aviemore, where it will be seen by people who understand the beauty of the Cairngorm National Park, and who, like me, probably prefer it a little cooler.

Out of the darkness and into the light

wind, blue ropes, a rook and a stream; a cure for seasonal affective disorder

I seem to have been suffering from a mild case of SAD ( Seasonal Affective Disorder)

This became clear to me when the sun shone brightly last week and I suddenly felt happier than I have for weeks. I had forgotten what it felt like.


SAD is cured by exposure to light.

light in my hallway

Light is uplifting.

Photographers seek light........

No excuse for SADness then.



I have sat down to write this blog many times in the past 2 weeks and found words would not come.

I wanted to tell you about the exhibition 'Magnificent Obsessions' that is currently showing at the Barbican in London. But I couldn't think what to say.

It is a lively exhibition, capturing the idiosyncrasies and personal collections of well known artists; what goes on behind closed doors.

I wanted to write about Martin Parr's wonderful collection of postcards; the highlight of the show for me.

'Totton Bypass' was particularly fine.

in the days when there were roads with practically no cars......

As was one from the Stoke on Trent potteries.

Who would you send these to?

The collection was amusing and banal. Ordinary life, captured on pieces of paper to send through the post.

We have some old postcards. Tree lined streets in suburbia. Polite messages on the back from the mystery admirer of a local lady.

in the days before cars.......

The show is about the artist as collector.

I came face to face with The Hare with Amber Eyes from the personal netsuke collection of the potter Edmund de Waal. Small, beautiful and very old. A collection that inspired the book of the same name.

no bigger than  a button

It got me thinking.

What do I collect?

• Photos

Currently Lightroom informs me that I have 35,974 photographs.

And when I back up my files I have nearly a million. Which makes me wonder what the other half a million are? I will probably never know.

Suffice it to say that one of the reasons that I have been low on productivity recently is because I have been doing more techno-geek stuff; installing a new external hard drive and future proofing my collection.

I never thought I would be able to say ' I reformatted my new Lacie 2big Quadra into Raid 1 mode' and lived to tell the tale. This involved poking the back of my new Lacie 2 big Quadra with a cocktail stick, because the little plastic device that they sent for the task broke on the first attempt.....

• Stones

Stones have been a bit of an obsession recently. They are all around the house. Free souvenirs from beautiful places around the world. 

They say creativity comes from doing, so I shall keep doing until something comes along that evolves into a proper project.

For more stones see here

• Birds; some made of stone. others of wood, clay and metal. A modest collection.

And that is about it.

bird on a stone talks to a stone bird

Innuit stone bird in Norway

Innuit stone bird 

So now you have seen my entire Innuit stone bird collection. 

Maybe I will collect some more. It can hardly be described as a 'magnificent collection' as it stands.

Next stop, adding keywords to my 35,000 images........

Then I will be able to find the ones that I had forgotten existed. I am considering a project based on selecting forgotten images from my archive by the use of random numbers.......

It could be almost as banal as the Totton Bypass.

And if it doesn't work out..........

never mind

A much over used phrase in my opinion.