
July - George Meredith
Blue July, bright July,
Month of storms and gorgeous blue,
Violet lightnings o’er the sky,
Heavy falls of drenching dew,
Summer crown! O’er glen and glade
Shrinking hyacinths in their shade
I welcome thee with all thy pride.
I love thee like an Eastern bride.
Though all the singing days are done
As in those climes that clasp the sun
Though the cuckoo in his throat
Leaves to the Dove his last twin note
Come to me with thy lustrous eye
Golden-dawning oriently
Come with all thy shining blooms
Thy rich red rose and rolling glooms
Though the cuckoo doth but sing ‘cuk cuk’
And the Dove alone doth coo;
Though the cushat spins her coo-r-roo-r-r-roo
To the cuckoos halting cuk.
Sweet July, warm July!
Month when mosses near the stream
Soft green masses thick and shy
Are a rapture and a dream.
Summer Queen! Whose foot the fern
Fades beneath while chestnuts burn
I welcome thee with thy fierce love
Gloom below and gleam above
Though all the forest trees hang dumb
With dense leafiness o’ercome
Though the nightingale and thrush
Pipe not from the bough or bush
Come to me with thy lustrous eye
Azure-melting westerly
The raptures of thy face unfold
And welcome in thy robes of gold!
Tho’ the nightingale broods – sweet-chuck-sweet
And the ouzel flutes so chill
Tho’ the throstle gives but one shrilly trill
To the nightingale’s ‘Sweet-sweet’

Day 185
- Settings = F1.8 1/1250 ISO 100
- Process = Exposing for bright sunny day. High shutter speed for fast moving children.
- Inspiration = Family visiting for Louis’ birthday

Day 187
- Settings = F1.8 1/400 ISO 8000
- Process = Shallow depth of field as with all portraits
- Inspiration = Getting comfortable with myself and being solitary. Phlock community weekly theme.
- Thoughts = My inner critic prevented me from posting this on social media. We all have insecurities.

Day 189
- Settings = F2.2 1/1000 ISO 1000
- Process = Recce for upcoming wedding. Planning and capturing anything that caught my eye.
- Inspiration = A perfectly formed deep red rose against the contrasting pale brick.

Day 190
- Settings = F1.8 1/320 ISO 7200
- Process = Capturing the details of a local business, images I can pass on to support local small businesses
- Inspiration = Capturing Dreamz – check out the blog all about this fab little family run biz.
- >>> Link to blog – Capturing Dreamz

Day 193
- Settings = F1.8 1/6400 ISO 180
- Process = Handmade bridal bouquet shot. Remembering details of the day.
- Inspiration = Wedding location, and no bridal prep meant grabbing the bouquet shot creatively.
- Thoughts = Although it may not be the done thing to include client work with personal projects. But for me the lines blur.

Day 208
- Settings = F1.8 1/5000 ISO 100
- Process = Focus on lighthouse, through centre of life-ring. Shallow depth of field.
- Inspiration = Walk along the pier Coast to Coast blog loop
- >>>Link to Coast to Coast blog
Day 210
- I’ve been listening to and learning from a lot of other creatives. I’ve been exploring other ideas and mediums. But as these are still early days I’m not quite ready to share them just yet. Follow me to hear first when I do.
