Lifestyle

What do growing veg, nature & photography have in common?

May 4, 2013
Photo Courtesy www.zwartblesireland.com

Photo Courtesy www.zwartblesireland.com

One of the surprising bonuses of growing your own vegetables that I hadn’t expected when we started years ago, was Mother Nature creeping up and gently stroking the back of my neck until I smiled, softened and basked in the calmness that the sensation evoked.

Flowering TreesAlthough born and bred in the countryside, as soon as I was able I left home, moved into a city life closer to work and friends, spent my daylight hours inside office buildings and watched the fields flash by on the two-hour daily train commute every morning and evening.

DaffodilOn dry days I would head outside to a park bench and sit quietly eating lunch under the trees with a book or my thoughts for company and on Friday nights, rush home to pack the tent and sleeping bag onto the back of the motorbike ready for a couple of nights under canvas.

I can’t say I fully appreciated all that Mother Nature offered back then. When the heavens opened I’d look up and shake my fist at her as the rain spilt down and soaked my jeans through to my skin and I’d have to constantly brush the droplets away from my visor so I could see the road. I’d curse at her when my hands were too darned cold to operate the clutch effectively or when I was sweating it out in leathers whilst the sun beat down so powerfully it felt like I was riding into a hot hair-dryer, but I daren’t risk baring hands or arms in case tarmac came closer to me than I wanted.

And then Mr G and I moved to our quiet spot in the south-east of Ireland and we began to grow our own vegetables. As I started to grow carrots and kale nature crept up on me.

beeFirst of all I noticed the wind; the direction the breeze predominantly came in from and how hard it blew, which helped me to realise that my little plants would need some shelter if they were to survive.

Bluebells I watched the sun rise in the morning and noticed how the shadows passed through the garden throughout the day, shading some areas yet leaving others in full sunlight. I became aware of how little or how much it rained, when the frosts arrived and when they were gone.

DovesI noticed the many varieties of weeds that grew in my garden, the colours, how they spread themselves, their seed pods exploding, scattering themselves all around or gently fluttering on the wind as our children blew their delicate seeds into the wind. I noticed the insects and learnt to distinguish the ones I wanted in my garden from those I didn’t and rejoiced in the sound of bird song rather than pumping beats from the stereo. I began to feel much closer to nature and not distant from her as I felt her healing powers weave their magic around me.

People PhotoI guess it was a natural progression that I’d want to photograph everything that surrounded me, to capture the wonder and emotion that the world of flora and fauna evoked. But I didn’t know how! Yes, I can point and shoot a camera and get some lucky Instagram shots but I wanted to learn more.

orchardIt was with delight therefore, that I was able to help Suzanna Crampton of Zwartbles organise her first photography workshop during the last weekend in April and in doing so, secure myself a place.

Skunk Cabbage PlantTen of us arrived at Suzanna’s enchanting farm for a full day of tuition, not quite sure what to expect other than we were to learn “composition”. She did not disappoint us. Suzanna is a natural teacher who shared her knowledge and guided us. We didn’t sit with textbooks or gaze at screens, we spent almost the entire day outside taking lots and lots of photos –  she helped us see what worked and what didn’t. We took stills and action shots, looked at straight lines and arches, flowers and trees and spent the entire Sunday indulging ourselves in something we all enjoyed – photography!

BlossomAll of the photographs taken in this post were shot during that one day (and a couple hundred more are sitting on my hard drive . I’m really hoping they’re the ones Suzanna liked! They’re not perfect, I’m still a beginner but I have come away from the workshop looking at photography in quite a different way and am in awe of the professionals who get it right.

wood anemonesI’ll keep practising (which according to Foxglove Lane is THE key) and hope that Suzanna doesn’t look too closely at my mistakes. If she does, I know that she’ll politely point out where I’ve gone wrong and make suggestions on how to do it right next time without making me feel uncomfortable or disappointed with my efforts.

Zwartbles Sheep

If you weren’t able to attend this photography workshop, hopefully Suzanna will run another in the coming months – the feedback from this course from participants has been fantastic.

Zwartbles
Leave a comment below if you’d like to be informed of any more workshops or contact Suzanna directly (see www.zwartblesireland.com for contact details) or just leave a comment anyway if you like 🙂

And if a workshop isn’t for you, next time the sun is shining and you find yourself with a free half hour or more, why not head outside and see if Mother Nature begins to tickle the back of your neck too… who knows where it may lead you.

 

18 Comments

  • Reply Lorna May 4, 2013 at 8:27 am

    Beautiful photos and a lovely poetic post too

  • Reply Margaret May 4, 2013 at 8:39 am

    Love your photos! I’m still abuzz after last Sunday, it was such an excellent day.

    • Reply greensideupveg May 4, 2013 at 8:53 am

      Thanks Margaret, probably my most photographic post to date!! Didn’t want to leave any out and haven’t figured out if .org has the same slideshow option that the .com site has which some might have preferred. Me too about the buzz, have been taking my camera everywhere since.

  • Reply Foxglove Lane May 4, 2013 at 9:23 am

    Hi Dee, thanks for the link up! Photography is a wonderful and never ending learning curve and passion, I am so thrilled that you have embraced it fully as part of your greener world! My favourite photo is the one of the tiny flowers under the shade of the trees, love that dappled quality…..and the doves of course!! x

    • Reply greensideupveg May 4, 2013 at 9:48 am

      I don’t think I’ll ever feel it as passionately as you do Catherine but do enjoy it immensely (when it goes right). I love that one too of the wood anemones and was probably my quickest ‘snap’ of them all as we were walking past the little thicket.

  • Reply BeyondTheWildGarden May 4, 2013 at 4:50 pm

    Lovely Photos 🙂

  • Reply silelooksup May 4, 2013 at 5:36 pm

    I love this post, it breathed a sigh of relaxation over me on this manic day. I love the photos too – especially the feasting bee and the fabulous light under those trees. Would love to hear if there’s another course, it sounded great! S.

    • Reply greensideupveg May 4, 2013 at 5:46 pm

      Thank you Sile, lovely to hear it had the effect! I’ll let you know if Suzanna runs another 🙂

  • Reply Lisa May 6, 2013 at 12:35 am

    Great Photo’s. I too love taking the photo’s around the garden centre and local wildlife (our animals mostly!)..

    • Reply greensideupveg May 6, 2013 at 12:37 am

      Thanks Lisa! They make such fascinating subjects don’t they, so hard to resist 🙂

  • Reply Julie May 7, 2013 at 7:42 pm

    Lovely to read your blog and I can identify with the connection between gardening and nature.

  • Reply Just Add Attitude May 8, 2013 at 10:47 am

    Hi Dee, This is a lovely post. And it reminded me of the need for practice, so thank you.

    • Reply greensideupveg May 8, 2013 at 11:56 am

      Thank you and really enjoyed yours too! Think we were blessed with the weather and location.

  • Reply Millymollymandy May 26, 2013 at 6:13 am

    Excellent post Dee! Lovely photos and you had lots of interesting subject matter there. Taking photos of everything in the garden becomes a bit obsessive after a while 🙂

    • Reply greensideupveg May 26, 2013 at 9:28 am

      Thanks! Yes we did, a beautiful farm full of flora and fauna. The photos form an ongoing diary and I love looking back on previous years growth in the garden, often acts as a reminded what was growing where too 🙂

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