
Image: Su Leslie 2021
May is New Zealand Music Month and I’ve had this song by The Muttonbirds in my head for the last couple of days. Kinda fits with the sea urchin (kina) above.
Macro Monday
#nzmusicmonth
Image: Su Leslie 2021
May is New Zealand Music Month and I’ve had this song by The Muttonbirds in my head for the last couple of days. Kinda fits with the sea urchin (kina) above.
Macro Monday
#nzmusicmonth
Image: Su Leslie 2021
I’m feeling a bit fragile today. A gastro bug late last week meant I spent the weekend doing not very much of anything. Well, except enjoy a few chrysanthemum stems I rescued from the rain and brought inside.
Scarlet runner beans. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Image: Su Leslie 2021
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, after a second or so, nothing continued to happen.
Douglas Adams
Well, that pretty well sums up my month.
Ok, so that’s not quite true. It’s more that my days seem to contain fewer moments I want to photograph. That’s partly about the rhythm of my life, and partly that I’m increasingly focused on photography as an expression of creativity, rather than a place-holder for memory.
In other words, I still want to record the fact that my scarlet runner beans are growing, but damn it, I want the shot to look pretty!
New shoots; scarlet runner beans. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.
Robert Louis Stevenson
So perhaps my month has been less a Douglas Adam’s quote than a Robert Louis Stevenson one.
Almost literally.
With the temperatures dropping a little and a bit more moisture in the air, I’ve been spending more time in the garden, and it seems to be springing back to life (ironic, given that it’s autumn here).
Flower buds are appearing; beans are offering us a second crop; figs and feijoas are ripening — and we have so many chillies I’m in serious need of some new recipes (or more freezer space).
Poblano chilli. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Scarlet runner beans. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Feijoas. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Feijoas. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Fig. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Just picked. Image; Su Leslie 2021
Chrysanthemum buds. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Hibiscus. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Cosmos bud. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Chrysanthemum buds. Image: Su Leslie 2021
The Changing Seasons is a monthly project where bloggers around the world share their thoughts and feelings about the month just gone. We all approach this slightly differently — though generally with an emphasis on the photos we’ve taken during the month.
For many of us, looking back over these photos provides the structure and narrative of our post, so each month is different.
Others focus on documenting the changes in a particular project — such as a garden, an art or craft project, or a photographic diary of a familiar landscape.
But in the end, it is your changing season, and you should approach it however works for you.
There are no fixed rules around post length or photo number — just a request that you respect your readers’ time and engagement. (1)
Tag your photos with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them
Create a ping-back to this post, so that I can update it with links to all of yours.
Tracy at Reflections of an Untidy Mind
Ju-Lyn from Touring my Backyard
Pauline at Living in Paradise
Tish from Writer on the Edge
Margaret at Pyrenees to Pennines
Marilyn from Serendipity Seeking Intelligent Life on Earth
Natalie at Little Pieces of Me
Brian at Bushboy’s World
Joanne at Following a Bold Plan
Suzanne from Life at No. 22
Sunset, Christmas Beach, Herald Island, NZ. Image: Su Leslie
Many (many) years ago, I used to watch the TV programme Sesame Street with my baby brother. At the end of each show, the “sponsor” announcement went something like “today’s show has been brought to you by the letters … (take your pick) and the number … (usually a small one)”.
This week’s Lens-Artists challenge, which asks for subjects beginning with the letter S, reminds me of that (and how convenient that the show was called Sesame Street).
So of course we have a sunset.
And how about some sea, sand and sky?
Kakanui Beach, Otago, NZ. Image: Su Leslie
Or sunflowers.
Image: Su Leslie
Perhaps something sweet …
Image: Su Leslie
Or do you prefer savory?
Image: Su Leslie
I like to sew …
Image: Su Leslie
But I’ll leave singing to others.
Image: Su Leslie
Amongst the visual arts, I’m particularly fond of sculpture.
Sometimes serious …
‘Gretchen’ Sam Harrison, 2014. Exhibited at NZ Sculpture OnShore, Devonport, New Zealand. Image: Su Leslie
Sometimes a little bit silly?
‘Damien Hurst Looking for Sharks’ Cool Shit, 2018. Exhibited at Sculpture by the Sea Bondi, NSW, Australia. Image: Su Leslie
Just like Smurfs on a road trip …
Image: Su Leslie
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge subjects beginning with the letter S
Image: Su Leslie 2021
Image: Su Leslie 2018
Painting’s not important. The important thing is keeping busy. — Grandma Moses
Monday Macro
Image: Su Leslie 2021
Macro Monday
“The hum of bees is the voice of the garden.” — Elizabeth Lawrence. Image: Su Leslie 2021
“Some people look at big things, and other people look at very small things, but in a sense, we’re all trying to understand the world around us.” — Roderick MacKinnon
I’m a detail kind of person. The kind who notices when pictures are hung a fraction off; who will unpick and re-sew a seam until it’s just right. The kind of person who not only owns plating tweezers, but actually uses them.
No surprise then that I love macro photography. Nor that a walk around my garden results in an abundance of close-up shots — but not one that shows the shape and structure of the garden itself. Though given that it’s (euphemistically) a “work in progress” — maybe that’s no bad thing.
Cosmos: the garden gift that keeps on giving. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Image: Su Leslie 2021
Image: Su Leslie 2021
Image: Su Leslie 2021
Image: Su Leslie 2021
New buds. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Beauty in decay. Image: Su Leslie 2021
Lens-Artist Photo Challenge | It’s a small world
Friday Flowers