In one of her Monochrome Madness posts, Leanne Cole says she hates photographing landscapes in summer. I think I know what she means -her summer being Australian which light wise is probably different to an English one. Nevertheless on a bright and sunny but blustery winter’s day, I took the above photo to try and capture the wind sweeping willows on the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset. The colours were awful so with Lightroom monochrome edits I turned it more dark and stormy – it fitted the winds much better.
Later that week, further along the coast in Cornwall, the winds persisted, Thus it was quite a challenge to photograph anything with any clarity especially overlooking the bay where the gorse was in bloom. Even so the effort was worth it as the delicate yellow flowers on thorny bushes make for a remarkable contrast, though I preferred to shoot them in black and white.
Even nipping across the water to some gardens in Plymouth the winds did not abate. I’d gone to admire the collection of camellias, now blooming in the sheltered woodland but it was the sight of these fallen Gunnera leaves, pondside, that caught my attention. Such striking textures and at their base, the start of new growth for another year. But….
Note to gardeners: ALL Gunnera sold in the UK and most of Europe for the last hundred years are not G manicata, or G tinctoria, but hybrids of the two now referred to as Gunnera x cryptica. As from December 2023 this plant has now come under the same banner as Japanese knotweed and is banned from future sales and cultivation in the UK.
Wednesdays are Leanne Coles “Monochrome Madness” days
PoetryPix 
Lovely photos. Looking at the news about the storms in England, must have been an adventure to photograph on windy days. I love what you did with the shadows and light in the first one especially.
thank you – and yes the winds here have risen to stormy twice in recent days- most fitting for that first photo though I’ve not ventured with camera in this kind of weather
The fluid nature of water is so much kin to the real nature of existence itself, it already evokes deep response, and here you have indeed magnified that quality. Lovely work for braving the weather. Thank you Laura.
water seemingly equates to our emotions and hence irresistible for my camera – thank you for your deep response
Love the willows, that looks very stormy. I usually prefer plants in colour but have to admit the gorse in B&W shows off its thorniness to perfection. A shame about the Gunnera, though I do think it looks its best in a BIG garden. Plenty of it around Cornwall.
Jude, I too am always in two minds re colour vs b&W for flowers except when its textures and form and as for Gunnera – yes Cornwall full of them but now regarded as pernicious as Japanese knotweed. Still the Rodgersias will be a good substitute
That first photo has a wonderful moodiness. (K)
thank you Kerfe – much better than what came out of the camera 😉
I love that.