Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on November 28, 2019 by carlotta

Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving!

It is a day to celebrate sharing a meal with those you love, plain and simple. The one key element of the dinner is, of course, the humble cranberry. Native to New England, they are still found growing wild in the Cape Cod landscape, in bogs that turn a vibrant red in the autumn. Here are some I picked earlier.

You can find more of my landscape photographs here, of both my past home in New England, and my current one in Sussex.

Please get in touch if you have an event, a celebration or a portrait you would like to have photographed or a building project documented.

Storm waves in Newhaven

Posted on October 18, 2019October 21, 2019 by carlotta

Storm waves in Newhaven

Yet again, here is a watery photo of the week. Last Friday I heard there would be large waves in Newhaven so I set out to track them down. Conditions were terrible for photographing. It was pouring with rain, making it nearly impossible to see through either my glasses or my lens, the sky was dark and the wind was fierce. But the waves were spectacular, which made it all worthwhile.

I love when photography can show us what the naked eye is unable to see. Catching this wave hitting the pier portrays water that looks more like a solid than a liquid, and gives us an inkling of the force that must be pushing against that sea wall. You can see more of my landscape photographs here.

Please get in touch if you have an event (a storm, even!), a celebration or a portrait you would like to have photographed or a building project documented.

Turning of the seasons

Posted on October 11, 2019July 30, 2020 by carlotta

Turning of the seasons

This week’s photo is from my morning row last Monday. In contrast to my summer solstice dawn row, which took place at 4am, this was 7am on Piddinghoe Pond, under an extraordinary sky.

Although it is easy to lament the shortening days and lengthening nights, I love the turning of the seasons. Maybe it is in my blood from my New England childhood of extreme seasonal weather changes.

There is a particular quality of sunlight in Autumn that I find exhilarating and somehow also tinged with nostalgia. I think it is because I know I should be outside in it before the light continues its change and becomes the dark of winter. You can see more of my landscape photographs here.

Please get in touch if you have an event, a celebration or a portrait you would like to have photographed or a building project documented.

Summer solstice sunrise sea row

Posted on July 4, 2019March 4, 2021 by carlotta

Summer solstice sunrise sea row

Welcome to Photo of the Week, here to brighten up your inbox.

I hope every one of you had a good Summer solstice. In my last blog post I was heading out bright and early the following day for a sunrise row on the sea. It is pitch dark at 3.30am in June, but there was a faint glow towards the east by the time I had driven the short distance to Newhaven, where we were launching the boat.

We set out shortly after the huge Dieppe ferry arrived at 4am. It towered above us as we headed for the harbour mouth. After rowing for months on a lake (it’s just a large pond, really) and a couple of times on the river, I was shocked by how different if felt to row at sea.

The large swells lifted and moved the boat in unexpected ways, at times making the oars sink too deeply into the water, and at others, push nothing but air. Outside the harbour our gig boat felt small and insignificant in the open water.

That’s the moon hanging above the harbour breakwater in the rosey dawn glow before the 4.15 sunrise. In case you are wondering, it was completely worth the lack of sleep to be out there on the water to experience this. And yes, I did follow up the row with a swim, two swims actually, one after the row and one as the sun set at 9.15pm. You can see more photos of my landscape photographs here.

Please get in touch if you have an event, a celebration or a portrait you would like to have photographed.

Happy Summer Solstice

Posted on June 20, 2019June 20, 2019 by carlotta

Happy Summer Solstice to you all!

In celebration of the longest day of the year, I am giving you a sunset over Piddinghoe Lake near Lewes, taken around 9pm. We had just finished an evening row on water that was like glass and under a sky in a tumult of clouds.

I am writing this today (Thursday) because tomorrow I will be fully celebrating a watery solstice: a sunrise (4.15am) row on the sea and a sunset (9.15pm) swim in the very same sea. You can find more of my landscape photographs here.

Please get in touch if you have an event, a celebration or a portrait you would like to have photographed.

Is it a train? Is it a boat? Is it a London Underground carriage?

Posted on May 17, 2019 by carlotta

Is it a train? Is it a boat? Is it a London Underground carriage?

Actually it is two out of the three. This is the Island Line train that serves the west side of the Isle of Wight, from Ryde to Shanklin. The c1938 carriages were originally used on the London Underground Northern Line. This photo was not taken out at sea, however. The train runs to the end of Ryde Pier (to link up with the ferry to Portsmouth – a great bit of joined-up public transport) so you are surrounded by water when riding on it.

It is a joyous and surreal experience to have sun flooding in on an old familiar Underground ride while looking out at blue water instead of dark tunnels. More photos of towns and such are here.

In another bit of news, in case you were wondering how I got on with my photo that was shortlisted in the Event Photography Awards, I am very pleased to say that I came in second out of a shortlist of 12 in my category.

Category: landscapes