the truth of tenderness

"she gave me eyes, she gave me ears;
and humble cares, and delicate fears;
a heart, the fountain of sweet tears;
and love, and thought, and joy."
- william wordsworth (english romantic poet, 1770-1850)

oh, my.
could it be said any more sublimely?

serendipity-on-sea

the abandoned amusement park appeared before us, suddenly, in the sunshine, as we strolled the hunstanton seafront; and, although the norfolk coast is anything but a visual desert, we exulted, like thirsty travelers stumbling upon a shimmering photographic oasis, and took our fill.

unheeded flew the hours

i totally missed nablopomo, (unlike the likes of jen and marilyn) and i don't consider myself a true blogger anyhow, but i need a challenge, even if it is december, and i have hundreds of photographs that may never see the light of day otherwise.
do i have the words, though? will i have the words? thirty-one days worth?
we'll see, my lovelies.
we'll see.

a little sign language

a picture, i have heard, can be worth a thousand words.
i wonder if pictures OF words count double?
*
leeway is a blessing in time of need.

and a lustre in its sky

fall happens dire, like today: dour, and dismal and devoid of glow; and fall happens delectable, like then, and here: crisp, clear, caressed by a charismatic light.
on the grey days, i remember and anticipate the radiant ones. on the radiant ones,
i - recalling pewter skies and rain - bow to seasons' splendid diverseness, and feel
myself doubly blessed.

the sun and saint christopher

"our brightest blazes of gladness are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks.�
- samuel johnson (english poet, critic and writer. 1709-1784)

the quiet demise of his car, on the second morning of a holiday meant to be spent roaming the byroads of norfolk and suffolk, could have dampened our spirits considerably.
there was something about the day, though - something about the pub where we
awaited the towing service, about the gregarious truck-ride home in the splendid fall-afternoon light, about prince philip roaring past us in his landrover - that filled us with mirth, and optimism, certain that the bumps jostling us to and fro would be the last
we would brave for the rest of the week.
they were; yes, indeed.
they certainly were.

cold comfort

i was accosted by two unpleasantly suspicious strangers - demanding explanations -
after taking this picture (i can never resist coloured lights) in the slightly-dismal cambridgeshire town of march.
my companion, sensing my dismay, consoled me.
"never mind", he said. "people here are notoriously paranoid. they see a pedophile in every photographer."
i felt, needless to say, greatly reassured.

with a little help

the week in england was feast enough, but he - my friend, my lovely long-time-friend-but-new-acquaintance - was the icing on the...or perhaps the ketchup on the....or - hmmm - the mayo on the...

whatever.
it was as delicious as a holiday can be.

earthly delights

i'd really like that 'yes' picture", said alex. "it's my Very Favourite in the whole exhibition."
i smiled.
"yeah. right." i replied.
alex - in his charming and irrepressible manner - had spent much of the europephotobloggers weekend* sampling the endless pleasures amsterdam had to offer, so i slightly doubted his sincerity, and his sobriety.
but how could i refuse? i, in turn, took home this picture of his, and he has promised to send me this one, which - sincerely, AND soberly - was MY favourite in the whole exhibition.

*a wonderful time: thanks to all for attending!

the benefit of the doubt

a gentleman at one of the "old camera" forums i frequent yesterday referred to my photographs as "syrupy", and my anxious alarm ("syrupy"? moi?)- along with my intuitive reluctance to succumb to despair - sent me searching the thesaurus.

i took another look at some of the images from england-last-week (larger here, here,
here, and here), and read, meanwhile:

"bathetic, befuddled, confused, cornball, drippy, emotional, gushing, insipid, lachrymose, mawkish, mushy, romantic, schmaltzy, sentimental, slush, soap, soapy, soppy, syrupy, tear-jerking, tearful, teary, weak, weepy"

i seriously considered hanging up my nikon forever. but i read, undaunted, further:

"adventurous, amorous, bathetic, charming, chimerical, chivalrous, colorful, corny,
created, daring, dreamy, enchanting, erotic, exciting, exotic, extravagant, fairy-tale,
fanciful, fantastic, fascinating, fond, glamorous, idealistic, idyllic, imaginary, imaginative, impractical, invented, lovey-dovey, loving, maudlin, mushy, mysterious, nostalgic, novel, passionate, picturesque, poetic, quixotic, starry-eyed, syrupy, tear-jerking, tender, unrealistic, utopian, visionary, whimsical, wild"

this - "syrupy" as "sweet" - i can live with.
oh yes: i'm a positive, albeit deluded, soul.