Sad Week

I was on holiday last week but it was far from the relaxing week I anticipated, work was very intrusive with lots of calls and mails which I had to respond to, but far more significant was the call I received early in the week to say that a young colleague in my team had been suddenly taken ill and had died early that morning.

Very hard to understand how something so tragic could happen so suddenly.

This event totally dominated my thinking and behaviour during the week.

In my photojournal post for 2 April I wrote

Today has been a very sad and emotional day. I learned early today that a young colleague in my team had been taken ill and died this morning. Sudden, unexpected and absolutely tragic.

I have spent some time deciding if I should post today and if I did, what could I use that could in any way represent my feelings and immense sadness.

When I got the news I was already out walking so faced the dilemma of whether to turn back or continue. There is no right answer.

Todays image shows a view into the distance, a reminder that none of us knows really whats to come, we think we can see ahead, we plan for the future, but the unexpected is always just around the corner.

I have tears in my eyes as I am writing this and the only thought I can leave with you is to forget the small things and live every day to make today the best day of your life so far.

Despite this sadness life does go on for everyone else, so I spend time walking, photographing and reflecting on life, particularly the balance between work and personal life.
Why would i continue to work when I could spend my time walking and photographing in the landscape

My question is whether what is now a pleasure, at least partly because its different from what I can do most of the time, would become less interesting if I could do it all the time?

In the photograph, taken in the early morning on a cold bright day, you can see just see ice on the surface of the lake, standing on the shore you could see the ice being blown to one end of the lake by the slight breeze, and listen to the crunching noise as it slowly piled up on the shore of the lake.

A fleeting moment, with just an hours more sun most of the ice was gone, the lake surface was rippled by the breeze as the lake and the land around started to warm, a totally different scene.

This second shot, taken on a different day shows a colder view with the broken ice clear in the foreground.

Each morning we were woken by the sound of a bird knocking against the window. Again and again this little bird flew at the glass trying to get inside the building. I think this is a house martin, trying to get inside to build a nest with some shelter from the weather. Day after day this bird tried to get inside.

On returning from the UK To our home in the Netherlands I immediately left again for a few days meeting and team building in the Swiss Alps ski resort at Les Closets, another strange week as today we fly back for the funeral of my young colleague.

Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, ends with a tear. When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're the one smiling and everyone around you is crying.

Posted with Blogsy

Not Quite Spring

Its Easter Weekend, the beginning of April, its really cold outside and there are still patches of snow on the ground.

I have spent the weekend in the UK lake district walking and photographing in the hills and lakes around Grasmere.

Today it was sunny and bright but the other days were rather grey and cloudy, which overall I don't find very inspiring to photograph. I prefer to photograph in 'bad' weather, generally i find this provides the most interesting light and sky.

Of course there are always some interesting shots - like the shot below of Alcock Tarn with the tarn completely frozen, and the snow lying on the hills beyond.

This is a shot at ground level on the bank of the tarn showing last years grass stems poking above the snow drift

And this vista which shows the view on the climb from Grasmere up to Alcock Tarn

In a completely different style below I have a couple of iPhone shots, minimalist sky dominating the image with a strip of the landscape at the bottom. I really like this type of shot, but other people who have looked at don't always agree. What do you think ?