Messy - Thematic Photography

"To find a form that accommodates the mess that is the task of the artist now."

If you substitute photographer for artist in the quote from Samuel Beckett you get the task that Carmi has set us this week.

Where to begin?

Messy corner

Having loaded up with cameras, backpack and hat I only had to travel to the bottom of my drive for another messy corner created by a sycamore tree losing its leaves.

Autumn's first mess

With autumn taking a step forward, it does seem to have been long since something in the pink has turned into a messy sight.

'Browned off hydrangea'

Then there is a mess that is becoming more useful as it ages.

Maturing horse manure

And a sign that nature can take care of its own mess as it rots.

Blackberries past their best

Some autumn sights add colour to a scene.

Grass verge carpeted with leaves from an ash tree

But there is some mess that I wish some people would not leave behind.

Messy litter (5 months old) dumped in a lay-by

Have I succeeded with this 'messy' post?

"Success is relative. It is what we can make of the mess we have made of things." (T S Eliot)

To view others' posts check out the messy links at Thematic-photographic-310.

Everything's gone green - Thematic Photography

I was very tempted to put up a series of shots from golf courses when I saw that Carmi had set us "Everything's gone green" as the theme for the week.

However as green is beginning to take over from the winter hues  I didn't have to go far outside our back door for a light green lawn.

Sunlit Lawn

We have a hedge at the bottom of our front garden which we watch to see signs of green replacing the copper beech. No luck so far, but just a few hundred feet up the lane someone has had an early start.

Copper Beech turning green

Other trees are trying too.

Making a break for freedom

One that's broken out - first sycamore leaves

But it has some growing to do, as has this winter corn which looks like - 

A sea of grass

However someone thinks I need to be reminded by this sign further along the fence.

Yet again my morning walk for a newspaper comes up trumps when I'm looking to meet Carmi's theme.

Check out others at Thematic-photographic-289.

Look Way Up - Thematic Photography

I know I've shown my first photo before but it fits 'Look Way Up' as well.

Infinity Bridge, River Tees, Stockton-on-Tees

I live in a bungalow and no buildings in the village are higher than two storeys so I have had to shoot what was available.

Twin trunks of Sycamore Tree next door, at the left of our drive

and on the right border with our neighbour (his tree).

Sycamore Tree (our bungalow at back left)

Then just up the lane is this telegraph pole.

Pole serving six telephone lines

It dwarfs the streetlight and has steps to help engineers to reach the top after they have had to 'Look Way Up.'

To see what others have found up there crane you neck over at Carmi's Thematic-photographic-285.

Treetops - Thematic Photography

I'm spoilt for choice this week for Carmi's 'Treetops' theme as we are surrounded by trees in the village where I live. 

Here are two of my favourites from the small wood down the road which I photographed at regular intervals over a year.

Silver birch which has 'lost' its top

while the trees around have retained theirs. That hole is the result of woodpecker activity.

Spring hawthorns dwarfed by other trees

Treetops provide good cover for small birds like this.

A Blue Tit blends in

And for larger ones as well.

Wood Pigeon in a Sycamore  

The tree overhangs our garden.

Ash trees shrouded with Ivy

I wonder how long it will be before the Ivy wins and they lose their tops like the one on the left. Meanwhile I just have to lean back in my office chair to enjoy their presence.

On my morning walks there is a tree I always check to see whether it's still there - it's dead and keeps losing bits of its top to high winds.

Dead Ash tree - December 2013

On the same walk early in the year I can hear noises coming from the top of large Beech trees.

Rookery nook.

One of my favourites is a tree that overhangs the lane.

Walnut tree

It's the nearest one to us that I know and must be the one the local squirrels raid for the nuts that they bury in our lawn.

Across the road from us are treetops that photograph well after a white frost.

That concludes my treetop tour. For other takes on the theme swing over to Thematic-photographic-273-treetops.

Looking Up - Thematic Photography

I often think that we do not look up enough. As soon I saw this looking up theme I remembered two photos I had taken where I had deliberately shot what was over my head.

Brunel's SS Great Britain towers above in its Bristol dry dock.

SS Great Britain

However there was another shot where I lay down on my back much to the amusement of other people.

SS Great Britain - masts and rigging

Last week when the theme was trees I thought about using this shot, taken looking up.

Sycamore branches overhead

 

Sometimes though it's not necessary to point your camera straight up as you can get a power shot without doing that. (I just wish we could get some weather like this now!)

Power lines

If you want more things to look up to I suggest that you visit Carmi's thematic photographic 196