| Dawn Rising Upon Green Wall Road |
| “The month of August had turned into a griddle where the days just lay there and sizzled.” Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees |
| Best of the Month – of August 2022 |
“August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.”
Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
| Music Score – Reflections – Morning Light Music |
| Welcome to Best of the Month Although l have been interested in photography since l was a youngster, there is a difference l think between wanting to take quick pictures with a camera when out and about and wanting to create photographs. So with that definition of the two styles, l was happy to ‘just take pictures’ for most of my life; however, in more recent years and more so as l have aged and been able to afford better equipment. I have taken a keener interest and developed more of a love and passion for photography through the eyes of an amateur. I like to take more time working with the creativity and beauty of a moment and trying to convey that to the viewer. No longer do l simply point and click. Now l observe and watch and understand the story behind what l am looking to photograph, l learn the behaviours of the wildlife, research the growing seasons of plants, and so on and read to understand more. I want people to see what l was witnessing. We can all pick up a camera, press the button, and click away to produce a picture, but with photography, you are trying to display the emotion you experienced when you were in that moment. I have a camera of one sort or another with me every day, whether out walking, or working when l volunteer, or in the garden or even when just out and about about town. I want to improve my photography, so l take thousands of images every month and practice and hone my craft. Now l take pictures of all sorts of things and moments and observations, quirky, weird and unconventional, under different weather conditions and times of the day, different seasons and from different positions and angles. I try to capture a moment in time that my eyes saw, and it fired my imagination up. A friend of mine once said, “Rory, you can never take too many, but you can take too few, so don’t be afraid, especially now when the world is digital, to go out and take as many as you want because the truly wonderful shots are never ten a penny, but you’ll not know that till you have taken thousands to compare.” Every month l will have taken hundreds of good photographs, but l might only have captured a handful that l consider to be uniquely unusual or just a sort of ‘aah moment’.. This is what the Best of the Month gallery is about – it holds images that l consider different, quirky, charming or just symbolic for that month, and l wanted to share them. I hope you’ll enjoy the series. |
| Check out – Best of the Month Directory |
| August 2022 |
| Millwall Place Contrasts |
| August has been an unusual month this year in consideration to last year, most likely due to the excessive heat we have been experiencing since early June here in the southeastern part of the UK. Although, in truth, in those twelve or so months, l can’t say that the year has been typical to any season. Visually to the observer, it has looked like autumn but not felt it – we have had high humidity for weeks that leaves you drained to the core. You would expect hot balmy nights from an exotic holiday but not necessarily here in Kent and yet these are fast becoming the new seasonal norm. Due to drought stress, the trees here started to drop their leaves in the last few days of July. It’s the worst of its kind since the 1970s. Dry weather conditions are still expected into late October. A news report l saw earlier this week suggested it would take months and months of continual rains to refill underground storage. I am oft astonished at how STILL so many people don’t understand the implications of climate change and how it is affecting the world and more so when you see that the trees and some shrubs are confused about which season they are growing in. Not all of the photographs for this gallery are specifically August-related, though many are, equally, these are just moments l captured that l thought l would share with you. Thanks for reading. |
| River Stour Mornings |
| Sunrising Reflections |
| Curious Intentions? “Mee ‘Ow!” |
| Early Morning Foliage |
| Squirrel Perch Off! |
| The Birds and the Be … Hornet! |
| Assorted Floras |
| The Weavers Selected Best of the Month of August Photograph The Sandwich Weaver’s Buildings – Strand Street, Kent Strand Street used to stand on the Quayside and in fact l remember seeing a photograph which displayed these buildings edged onto water and not the street as they are today. Many side alleys run today from the town centre down to Strand Street that originally would have led to the waterfront. Alleys such as Love Lane, Potter’s Street and Three King’s Yard. The Weavers buildings were originally built as both homes and workshops for and by Dutch settlers to the town and quite a few other streets and buildings today still have a Dutch feel to them. The word Strand is in fact an old English word which means bank for it originally ran alongside the shore line of the River Stour. |
| The Weaver’s Building, Strand Street – Sandwich, Kent |
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Earthly Comforts 
August is as delightful as ever.
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For some reason the end of August and beginning of September are the worst days for migraines. I can’t even go 3 days in a row without another attack. I do enjoy your photos though 🙂
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Hi Paula, it’s strange you make mention to this. My mother used to experience more migraines in the same period.
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Interesting…
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I think it was because and looking at my mother of all those years ago, was that August and September were quite warm and humid [unlike forty years on when the warmth and humidity arrive much earlier] and she didn’t hydrate enough through the longer days.
We were used to different heats in the later 70’s and early 80’s here in the UK as we had experienced summers from Australia and humidities in Malaysia.
Mum was always telling us about the English summers being milder, but when she arrived back, she then started to suffer from more migraines.
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It’s definitely hottest here then, so I try to stay indoors mostly. I probably don’t hydrate enough, but I’m working on that…
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Hydration is a key trigger. I have started to suffer more in the higher heats in recent times than l ever used to. This year especially l have started to sweat profusely [think running tap on the head] and because of that l have to hydrate often. I am lucky l don’t get headaches, for me it just makes my stomach more sore, and l am having to get used to drinking more fluids, but l forget.
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Lovely photos Rory. You’ve learned a lot about contrast and composition of the photo. I wish I had the mobility to do that. I’d be honored if you can share a few of your photos for my WDYS challenges! If you feel like, no pressure. Thanks
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Hey Sadje – thank you – leave that with me, and l’ll sort some out for you. I have a prompt lined up that is similar to this season, and l have a folder lined up for it; l will look and see through them.
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Thank you so much 😍
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Always a pleasure Sadje 🙂
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🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
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Some of those photos of the landscape look more like SoCal than Jolly Olde… I expect things to be green in summer there.
I think we are used to drought and water conservation here. We grow up learning to conserve water. Here in San Diego County, we have a desalination plant that helps too.
I’m wondering if I’m going to have a harvest of Pecans this year. We haven’t had any rain in forever, and I don’t water the tree. I have nuts growing… 🤷🏼♀️ I guess we’ll see in a couple months.
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Hey Angie, l think the biggest problem with the UK is that it has had YEARS to prepare for these rising problems and it’s done nothing – Suze and l were talking back in 2015 about desalination plants when we lived on the Isle of Wight on account of it being a small island surrounded by water.
I know London has a plant, but the government has always argued that the energy required to power these stations is phenomenal and whilst that might be true [horribly reflective now in an energy crisis], they have still had years to source out alternative energy methods.
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Lovely misty mornings! I so enjoy your photos, Rory! I can just imagine strolling along with you, anticipating the next surprising shot of some little animal going about its early morning routine of collecting breakfast. 😊
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Hey Betty, and you would always be most welcomed to come along for a leisurely stroll 🙂
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What a nice thought, thank you, Rory! 😊
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Always welcome Betty 🙂
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😊
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Beautiful photos, Rory, and I love the photos of your charming little town. They take me to another world. We’ve had some hot days here but nothing like other parts of the world. In fact, the mornings and evenings here are showing signs of a seasonal change and are a little cooler. Stay cool and drink lots of water.
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Hey Eugenia, thank you 🙂 It’s finally starting to cool down.
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Most welcome, Rory!
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What a beautiful collection!
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Thanks Ribana 🙂
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