August Be Home Free Winners

As every week goes by the BeHomeFree gallery fills up with more and more incredible images. The task of whittling it down becomes harder with the passing days and that is a good thing.  Thank you to everyone who uses the hashtag, it is growing into a really lovely gallery.  

These four remind me of the my outdoor adventures this month, the natural colours and sense of fresh air and sunshine. 

@melindajk @sigridsminde @niki.at.the.cottage @christinagreve

Our sponsors for this month have been One World Trading who are gifting a vase, and the winner for this prize is @justjane17 whose washing blowing on the line says all there is about summer days.

Southwood Stores have also offered to be a sponsor with their glitzy sequined basket. And the winner of this will be Dorte of @lewesmap for this quiet and still image in a church, with lovely soft light and a sense of calm.  I really love exploring inside churches and around the graveyards, this photo speaks of the cool air and special smells of old churches. Perhaps it is also a reminder that children don't always need plastic entertainment.

Can Jane and Dorte please message me through instagram to arrange delivery of your gift from Be Home Free, One World Trading and Southwood Stores. 

Next month's sponsors will be announced at the beginning of September when I will also be unveiling the work I've been doing to change my bedroom around, which during this mini heatwave has been quite a task as the paint is drying really fast.

Please continue to join with the hashtag with a chance to win. Many thanks to each and everyone who has contributed so far. 

Love and peas ... Janice

Slowlived Summer Photography

Victorian style photos that look like paintings are my current interest and folly.  Photography is my main passion, although I am very enthusiastic about a lot of things as you probably realise. Photography opens another sense, it bring an awareness for light and detail, composition and placement.  It is my motivation to get off my butt and see the world, (or maybe even just a few hours away).

I stayed in the most amazing Air bnb this weekend and the location just lent itself to more photos inspired by old paintings. We had such a typically English feel set on a farm near Petworth, that Victorian style John Constable influences were in abundance.

The old farmhouse is surrounded by lovely gardens full of roses and fruit trees, meadows and ponds. 

To make the photos more atmospheric I applied some effects using Florabella.  With these applications in your photoshop you can mess about with filters and overlays, adding sun, flare, brown tones, hazes and so on. You can see a few of the effects here ...

this photo has actual real lens flare which happened at the time of taking it.

Shopham Bridge Farmhouse Petworth have three places to where you can put your head down and unwind, the Hay Loft, where we stayed, A shepherds hut and a converted horse box.  Set alongside a stream with weeping willows and a hammock, the setting is like something out of a painting. So we took lots of photos in the style of old English painters, part of a series that I'm working on.

I can see why Mary is a Super Host, as I've never been to such a well equipped and well provided for Air bnb before. I didn't expect to be writing a blog review of Shopham Bridge but we had such a magical time that it would be impossible not to recommend.

By taking the dslr out of auto mode, I am shooting more dark and moody photos at the moment, however, despite the fact that I learnt on manual cameras some forty years ago, I still find the digital settings confusing. In fact dslr's are so advanced that they can be overwhelming to someone who just wants to take photos and not get bogged down with instruction manuals and techno babble.

Deliberate lens flare adds a sparkle of magic. Sometimes it's good not to get too technical or controlled.  When I shot on film I would use a black and white film which I would then get processed in a colour developer, the results were extremely random, Sepia tones, and, of course, you didn't know what the results would be until after you had the prints developed. 

The wind blew the willow branches across the frame .. the sunlight streamed through the tree catching highlights of hair and hand.

And with a slightly sad heart to leave, we packed our bags and set off to the a secluded beach at Clymping.

The clouds looked like they had been painted in the sky and the wind blew away the cobwebs. 

I hope this may inspire you to take up photography and play with the idea of unusual portraits, ones with atmosphere and memories.

To find the Air bnb I stayed in search for "Shopham Bridge Farm House Petworth" they have three listings on there.  We stayed in the Hay loft and it was ample space for two and includes the roll top bath seen above.   The coast was about 45 mins drive away.

Making Memories

This week for me has definitely been about exploiting the 'free' part of Be Home Free. I've been exploring the local area, finding some new places and managed to do it all without getting rained on.

Magical places have been found on my doorstep. We made some beautiful memories.

Buckinghamshire is such an abundant county and sometimes it takes a lot of travel to realise how pretty England is.  I moved out of London nearly ten years ago and have made a concerted effort not to get complacent about the rolling hills, fields of gold, red and blue, spectacular stately homes and gardens, winding lanes and wildlife.

This year my plan is to get out more, to visit friends all over the country, stay for odd nights in Yurts and Air bnb's, mooch about previously unexplored towns and shops and have some adventures. Sometimes you don't even have to go very far to witness the spectacular, and this week was one such example.

Through a friend on facebook I heard about the poppy fields at Chesham, so we packed a picnic, took a book to flick through and headed off up a winding lane until we saw the flash of scarlet on the horizon.

We couldn't believe our eyes, it was so incredible that it felt unreal, like being transported into a painting or film.  And not for the first time that week either because a few days earlier we found Castle Ashby.

Situated in Northamptonshire, I had spotted something about this place and wondered how we had never stumbled across it before, even my step-daughter who lives quite close had not come across it. 

The Orangerie is like something from a Pre-Raphaelite story, you can see Rossetti setting up his easel, a stunning model playing Beata Beatrix or Ophelia languishing in the warm muggy atmosphere of this indoor greenhouse.  Light dances around the lush plantation, for here things thrive and the soul is fed with possibilities. We wanted to stay, to move in and live there ...

Proving that sometimes, it's the little things, the free stuff, the nature around us which is the most marvellous of all. For me a day in a poppy field is worth more than a week in a hotel, get out there good people and ... be home ... free ...

making it wonderful everyday

The latest hashtag I've been going crazy for is the Ikea one, #WonderfulEveryday. It completely describes what I'm trying to achieve in my life.

It warms the cockles of my heart that so many people are embracing the concept of slow living, something I definitely did not do in my youth, but I'm well and truly ready for it now. 

Whether approaching retirement or just choosing not to work so much, filling the empty spaces between what you have to do and need to do, is very important. Time is precious and as it ticks away I'm making plans, always making sure that there is something to look forward to in the diary.  Taking life by the scruff of the neck and giving it a massive shake. But fulfillment doesn't have to be frantic. 

Keeping my hands busy at all times, making things for myself or others, this ethos of creating something from nothing is integral in my life.  A hand knitted gift is always well received. It is also very therapeutic, a great stress reliever and proven to lower blood pressure. 

Volunteering in areas that you love, donating your precious time to help others, there is nothing more rewarding.  For me it's animals and particularly wildlife and on our rescue missions we meet other animal lovers who, like us, will go the extra mile to help out the wildlife around them. Fresh air, finding new places and interacting with nature, all these go along with the work.

Earlier this week we were called out to save a swan who had been attacked, unfortunately she did not make it and died on top of her eggs on the nest. We moved her body so that the male swan could take over, he seems to be doing very well on his own, so we hope he manages to rear the baby signets as a single parent. The people living locally are buying swan food and keeping a very close eye on him. So many people were deeply upset by the death of the female swan, there are a lot of other animal lovers out there. 

No these aren't swan eggs, they are quail eggs which were bought out of some complete madness by my other half. So I used them in some photos. They may go in a salad.  Tattoos, oh yes lots more planned, Ive got bookings with three more brilliant lady tattooists including Rebecca Vincent and Aimee Cornwell. And whilst this might sound like a bizarre way to nurture yourself, yes it is very painful - silly question - it is an incredible culture to be involved with. 

Lots of travel booked too, I can't believe how cheap flights can be if you are able to travel at any time. So Sweden next week, Romania in the Autumn (I shall be talking more about that soon), and plenty of exploring around the UK.  

So whatever the extent you go to in pursuing some nurturing for yourself, whether its a small bunch of flowers, some lovely healthy food or an adventure, I hope you find some moments between the madness to explore - both the physical and mental.

Share your love where you can good people, and be good to yourself.