Category: abstract photography

#719 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn abstract photography, Letterpress, pondering, Serendipity1 Comment
War, Peace and Gangnam

What part of your routine do you always try to skip if you can?

If something is successfully skipped from a routine, often enough, I would suggest that it is no longer in the routine. I routinely read the daily prompts from Jetpack, via my WordPress Blog platform. But I skip them more often than I respond. I don’t try to skip them. They are mostly of no interest and eminently skippable. Unless like this one I can give it a few moments of ponder. Before I pondered or blogged on a daily basis I already took random photographs The two I am sneaking into this blog were taken 5 years ago in Seoul. They have appeared in blogs before but they are actually 5 years old today, so an anniversary outing and a random ponder with nowhere to go is a useful combination.

Dozing over a book.

#634 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn abstract photography, art, Royal William Yard5 Comments

Describe one of your favorite moments.

The entrance gate to The Royal William Yard

A coincidence that this title should be the prompt for a blog today. I have many favourite moments, one of them happened just then when I reinstated the ‘U’ back into favourite, where it surely belongs to give the word its true flavour.

Favourite moments usually come thick and fast most days. The first mug of caffeinated tea, swiftly followed by the first caffeinated coffee start the favourite-moment ball rolling every morning.

Getting preconsidered tasks done ticks the box.

As does wrangling unplanned tasks into an already busy day

The writing or publishing of a blog, that zings, is favourite too. Insider fact. A blog that zings for me does not always zing for the stats. The curious world of algorithms at play, I assume.

The little sketch above was a favourite moment. Christmas stocks up my painting supplies,sometimes, with new things. Christmas 2022 brought alcohol inks, rubber shaper brushes and Yupo paper. I felt the urge to give them a go yesterday and sketched the gate that I walk through most days for our dog walks. The combination of three new things was a little trepidatious but went well for a first. A series of happy accidents and some angst created a recognisable image. It even looks safe enough to walk under.

Our early evening also featured a favourite thing. Bobbers together in Firestone Bay celebrating a significant birthday.

Favourite moments are everywhere.

#602 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn abstract photography, Serendipity, WordsLeave a comment

We had a little lunchtime trip to Mount Edgecumbe on Wednesday. A day off from house moving stuff, exhibition stuff and tennis club stuff. The weather around the Wisteria was deceptive. We were blown about when we later walked on the parkland but none of that is the subject of this blog.

The glorious Wisteria sent me searching in my photo archive for a series of photographs of a special Wisteria spider that I photographed on my own isteria some years ago. My apologies to spider haters but I was really thrilled to get a photo of the spider actually making the silk for her web.

This should have been the focus for the blog, but while searching for the spider I found a cat.

I have been looking for this image in my archive for years and never been able to find it, despite using all the right key words. I took this picture a few years ago in Brixton Market and couldn’t believe my luck in getting such a brilliant piece of visual wordplay. No words can express how happy I am to have finally found this picture again.

I knew this photo had to be somewhere, I am so very pleased to have located it again. Suddenly Thursday has been gingered up!

#600 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn abstract photography, Serendipity1 Comment
Bluebell ‘wood’

An early morning foray into the Stonehouse Lawn Tennis Club to catch the garden waking up.

The birdsong was magnificent this morning.

I’m not sure that I got the best of it but this is a flavour of the morning song.

I was on a quest to get images beyond the clubs boundaries for future social media posting.

I even found a feature on my phone camera that I don’t quite understand. But it does actually count as a glimpse across the boundary.

May is such a gorgeous month for getting up early and doing photography. The daisies were barely awake when I caught them.

And once again while searching for landscapes the Arum lilies forced me to pay attention to their unique beauty.

But I did get some sea views. The whole point of my morning expedition.

But the plants were quite persuasive, dew-drenched and touched by the morning sun.

An early morning well spent.

#548 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn abstract photography, SerendipityLeave a comment
Dew Point

Not exactly a low tide blog today. But ‘ Tide and Time wait for no (wo)man.’

My personal tide has been a little on the low side, hence the somewhat late Friday Blog. I have been a blog gatherer with so much new stuff to write about and no time to do it.

Hardening off near the looks.

The last two days have been a bit mad, planned things failed to materialise and unplanned things filled the gaps.

My usual early morning blogspot was taken by early morning photography for a Tennis Club that I do a little Social Media work for.

Then every available moment to blog was filled with imperative stuff. The most exciting, was taking delivery of this seasons art cards to be sold at exhibitions.

The first card has already gone to a new home as this evening we toddled off to a party and used one as a thank you card. Rather too much Prosecco was involved and, lucky for you all, I was only briefly guilty of over- sharing. Time to, moderately, share one of this mornings pictures of an old wheelbarrow taking a rest in the corner of the Tennis Club.

Stone House Lawn Tennis Club

#477 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn abstract photography, SerendipityLeave a comment

This morning was a bobbing morning and a small grandchild morning but not a blogging morning. The swim was sharp and crisp in a bright winter sunshine. Everything felt clean and fresh. We were not at an equilibrium, the outside air was 2 degrees cooler than the water temperature. I am still swimming in skin rather than a wetsuit so there is no faffing about really. Just in, then out to get colder and then in and the water feels warmer, not tropical exactly but just a little less cold.

In other news Drawn to the Valley had a Creative Table event at Ocean Studios yesterday.

Extra excitement was caused by the delivery of two old print machines. One was not quite unpacked but here is the badge of the one already installed.

#456 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn abstract photography, SerendipityLeave a comment
Haberdashery Shop
https://g.co/kgs/aAQJah

Last weekend I collected some lovely textures from Marylebone High Street. Possibly my favourite High Street in England. I know it like the back of my hand and after a three year absence it felt as familiar as ever. It is decidedly upmarket and glam but holds all the shops you should expect from a normal English High Street. Supermarkets, charity shops, butchers, bakers, cafes and chemists.

Hardware Store

I’ve walked Marylebone High Street with so many friends,family and colleagues. Attended summer fetes and Christmas Markets, all with a little more twinkle and pizzazz than normal. I have left a little part of my heart in Marylebone.

Charity Shop

It is always good to step back into a place that has so many happy memories. A place to give thanks, to absent friends and fabulous moments.

Greengrocer

#448 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn abstract photography, StonehouseLeave a comment

Yesterday was a surprise in many ways. Most significantly it did not rain anything like as much as predicted. Impending wet weather gave the morning a sepia tinge. My working day at the local museum was somewhat dull, many of the exhibition spaces are in a state of flux with old exhibitions coming down ready for a change. In consequence there were not many visitors. The Museum offers excellent facilities for family history research. So on a whim I sat down and had a dabble at a family tree.

The minute I started to achieve relative success the day began to feel even more sepia as old documents flashed up before my eyes. In honesty I don’t really know what I am doing, so half an hour of success had fished out more than enough information for a first day.

I had dabbled with a family tree once before and found an unknown, but close, relative had done a huge amount of research which was available on-line. I was impressed and wrote via the website to add myself to his family tree. While I had no expectation of a grand reunion so beloved of the media. I had thought that when doing a genetic jigsaw every little piece has some value. Not so in this case,he clearly preferred his relatives to be dead and historic, not current and breathing. No thank you email ever found its way to me. My brief foray yesterday did not uncover his precious resource so perhaps it has been removed to keep live people out of his way. He may also no longer subscribe… Who could guess?

The lack of visitors did not cut down on my talking at the museum. What I lacked in numbers I made up for with two exceedingly long interactions. One was with a very inebriated man who’s intensity of conversation took many intriguing twists and turns to unexpected places. The other was with a regular visitor who talks in ever expanding circles that then with no warning snaps back to the exact same point that he started at, many, many minutes before. Sometimes it is fascinating to be included in another, unknown persons mindscape without any responsibility or limited timeframe. Maybe a little like reading an unknown persons blog.

Some days not much happens, here is clip to show how the header artwork was created.

Some days not much happens…https://theoldmortuary.design/2023/01/12/448-theoldmortuary-ponders/
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnT9TWgP2yM/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

#406 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn abstract photographyLeave a comment

It was 2:30 today when I completely realised that today was Wednesday and not Thursday. By then I had achieved most of the things that needed to be achieved by Thursday on Wednesday.

So tomorrow stretches ahead with nothing more taxing than a hair cut. By tomorrow November will be over and December will be on it’s glitzy slightly camp match towards Christmas so today’s miscalculation has inspired me to share some old photos. November is a great time to take photos if the weather is good.

If the weather is not good then November can feel like an endurance. So farewell November see you in 2023.

That’s a weight off my mind.

#386 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn abstract photographyLeave a comment

It will come as no surprise to anyone that @theoldmortuary has no experience as marathon runners or other extreme sports. So we have never experienced survival blankets. You would never expect to be introduced to a survival blanket by a five week old grand-daughter. Rather intriguingly in her sensory box there was a whole adult sized survival blanket. Who knew that a collection of sensory toys could exhaust her accompanying adult to the point of exhaustion.

I rattled things and twirled ribbons with caution being really quite unaware when fatigue might overwhelm me. The small person was not remotely interested in having her senses stimulated at any level so there was no chance of me deserving the survival blanket. Deserving or not I donned the survival blanket and was amazed at how quickly I became very warm.

On a practical level I might but some survival blankets for winter swims, just in case we get too chilly. On another practical level the blanket is in a baby sensory box so she can enjoy it’s silvery crinkly surface. And on a last practical level I am writing about a Survival blanket because nobody wants to read about a long rainy journey with many detours. There was no rainbow at the end of my travels but there was blue skies and a small girl with a Sensory box.