Intermittent Signal

Seven months..........not really "normal service resumed" but we're still here, still trying, still batting on......

Cartworth Moor, above Holmfirth.

The Face Map.

Decades of life left scars,
Faint ribbons of contour lines,
Yours recorded laughter, optimism and love,
Mine more the history of beer, tobacco and deep loss.

Yours the ability to shine, to rise, to glow,
To dance and grow, and flower,
Smiley brown eyed girl,
Revives the hope, and wonder, and love.

Dispels and dismisses the sadness,
Banishing my grief, my wallowing sorrows,
And lifting my heart to the living plane,
Still decades of healing and life, and laughter,
And, that glorious glint in your eyes......

The Flight North

Leaves, broken pieces, salty,
Shards, splinters of hearts and hopes,
Returns, sorrow drive North,
Dead lovers' wasteland, questions.

Not dead, sleeping, smouldering guilt,
Lives collided, as quick divided,
Three hundred miles, inexplicable,
Waves of gravity, spectrums of grief.

Embers flare, refuse extinguishment,
Gordian knots of decisions and hope,
Flame, bringing the cancers,
Unfathomable fire-ring survivors.

But no, 'twas not to be,
Mirage, late night telephone rows,
Thousands of unanswerables, and leaves,
Remembered hypocrisies, and loss.

The clearest hindsight everyone had,
When they wouldn't, or couldn't,
Hear alarmed, veiled misty warning,
Gentle advice from good friends.

Leaves the trinity diverse,
Irreparable, perhaps, as the chapter ends,
Her choices, and change, and his,
And in living fading memory, mine.

Riddle me this, connection,
Completion, inexplicable destruction,
Part healing, dear feeling,
And yet more lessons forgot.

Walked in the Woods

Walked in the woods,
Cool, dry, scented, safe,

Seeking the silence.

Deep into the secret valleys,
Within the greenery, beech and firs,
And rocky lost places,
Deeper silence, places, dreams.

The Fisher King

Undergrowth, where it over-hangs,
The glassy depths, of deepness,
Is your shady realm, the places of secrets.

Azure, faith and turquoise glints,
Secreted vantage points, above your purview,
Boundary places between two worlds,
Lightning flashes tiny flames.

Ridiculous camouflage, so brightly tuned,
Betimes invisible, the fleeting, peeping,
Evasive flight and a leap of hope,
Arises in her heart again......

All the Faces.

I searched all the faces,
Tracked the lines, cracks, eyes,
Smiles, crows-feet, frowns, dimples,
Reading all the histories.

The loves, scars, broken spirits,
Glints of humour, generous, rare,
Road maps of late night adventures,
Midday loss, grief, sad sad mileage.

Dry river-beds of old tears, laughter,
Wordless expressions of a million tales,
Glances of fear, insecurity and more,
Bright, clear eyes of soaring hope.

Smiling eyes dismissing old regret and hurt,
The serene, wise, confident, self-aware,
Safe in their self-knowledge,
But none were either you, nor me.

That didn't hurt too much.

Two written today, and the others were just scribbles in a note-book, though to be honest one might already be on here somewhere a few years ago, I couldn't just find it when I looked though.......

It's a wet and disappointing Saturday in July, so why not update the old Blog? 

Thief on a Cross Next to Yours

 Enigmatic title, just one I've been toying with in countless started, then abandoned mish-mashes of "Creative writing(s)" recently. My mojo comes back, but only for short visits........she doesn't stay long enough to really get me through to the finish line.

Wonder if anyone's used "The Finnish Line" in a Scandinavian poem? Hmm.....

Anyway. It's been dark, gloomy, wet, drizzly, mizzly, foggy, and that makes photography more of a challenge than ever.



Turned my thoughts to "outside your comfort zone" as I was kind of forced to, and invested in a Canon 90D early in September, so the subsequent crappy light has been little short of utterly disappointing. Especially after joining a User group on FB, where international amateurs post their (mostly) best shots, and ask for friendly advice, which is usually forthcoming, and absolutely no sarcasm, or bitchiness, which I am relieved to report, following many sour experiences in some photography, and wildlife groups over the years.....

It got me thinking more about a post I have thought about for ages, so here we go:

What makes a good photo?



Enormous question, and wholly a subjective one, maybe with objective elements......

Light/Weather..... Time of Day etc.
Subject Matter (And knowledge of it if appropriate)
Composition/Eye for "Art" or something along those lines.......
Focus/Selective/Broad and therefore Depth of Field in the interpretation of a scene.
Some basic knowledge of ISO/Aperture/Shutter Speed and how they interact......
Luck/Timing/Preparedness/Dedication/Experience (Maybe a separate heading.....)
Camera, but especially the lenses attached to it...........on a broader level, "Equipment" perhaps.
Post-Production Software, yes, I do have to include this, even with my very limited knowledge of anything beyond LightRoom 5.5, as I refuse to subscribe to a forever commitment to keep throwing more and more money at it all...... For the record I still have a very old version of a now unsupported ArcSoft Program called PhotoStudio, which I very occasionally use for one thing or another, not that often to be fair, but still........

If I think of any more, I may well edit this list, but it's a reasonable place to start. I am only a very keen, and often frustrated amateur after all........This post is for my benefit really, whilst I try to figure it all out.........



There probably ought to be a "Special Mention" for your cataloguing system, the way you can relatively easily find something from way back, when/ if the need arises....... I imagine there are loads of ways of categorising my/your photos, but mine has just self-evolved over the 15+ years since I got my first DSLR, a Canon 400D, which I instantly fell in love with....... 


One very good way of judging your own shots, and those you see on-line, as we're bombarded with awesome, and not-so, constantly, is to filter them through what I like to think of as:

"Yes, but would YOU print it?" 

It soon sorts the "Meh" out from the "Ooooh" but, of course, is utterly subjective, and even your own tastes might change over time, mine certainly have. "Would I like it in a frame, on my wall?" works for me, and rules out pretty much the entire world of fantasy Photo-Shop creations of imaginary scenes that simply couldn't be remotely real, even  if they can look "Wow" when you see them......that's just personal taste though, and I'd love to master PS to have the ability to even try them...... Art is Art after all.

There are hundreds of YouTube videos, from hundreds of Pro, and Amateur Photographers, on countless aspects, some well worth a watch, some a bit "WTF?" and occasionally a proper gem, even if, at times you might, like me, choose to up the speed on the playback to cut through the chit-chat.......What a time-killer!

I think I'll have to try to tackle these in individual posts. I've set myself too big a challenge for a Sunday night......!

"Digley Brook" just below the reservoir itself.......Holmbridge, West Yorkshire, UK

Is an ISO of 256000 ever acceptable? I think it can be......depends on a whole raft of things.......

Hamlet at Cartworth Moor, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire 

"Cook's Study" a hill above Cartworth Moor, Holmfirth.

Cartworth Moor Road. 
Getting a lot of quarry wagons on it for the last couple of years.......

"Lane" a hamlet by Holme Village, on the fringe of the Peak District....

It's not been the easiest few years, but here we are, batting on, and keeping going. I will get pen to paper when I can, and will carry this on too, as it's past of avoidance strategy, as my books are due..... so, anything to get me away from typing hundreds of numbers into a spreadsheet for my accountant....... 

Feel free to comment, not that anyone ever does these days.