softfocussaturday

I’m Only Half Here

Ellie Kennard 2016, photo by Steven Kennard
Ellie Kennard 2016, photo by Steven Kennard

I have the most wonderful husband in the world. And I miss him a lot! He is in New Zealand, 10,000 miles from me, but before he left he posted this.

Originally shared by +Steven Kennard

“Portrait of Ellie”

“As I get ready to go to New Zealand I thought I would post a photograph I took of my beautiful wife, Ellie (photo above), who won’t be able to go with me on my trip. It’s a long journey, but I won’t be away for many days, so this image of her will come with me. By chance, when I saw it, it reminded me a lot of a photograph taken of her when she was 18 (photo below taken by Pete Erskine). When I saw that, I thought I would like to try to reproduce it. I’ll have to wait for when I get back for that. We got a Russian vintage lens, the Helios 44-2 with adapter and this was taken with that lens.”

Thinking of you, Steve. I’m only half here.

The original image, taken by Pete Erskine can be seen here:

Ellie Wornell (Kennard) - 1968. Photo taken by Peter Erskine
Ellie Wornell (Kennard) – 1968. Photo taken by Peter Erskine

Ellie Wornell – portrait from the past.

Photograph of myself that I have just restored. It was taken when I was about 18 or so, by an adopted brother of mine, Pete (Bamford) Erskine who died very young, many years ago, as a result of drug addiction. I was asked what I was thinking when this was taken and here is my response:
Strangely enough I remember the moment the photograph was taken, though it was so long ago. The photographer was a boy my age, Peter Erskine. I had not long ago arrived in England, meeting my mother for the first time in many years as she had left us as children. She had remarried and adopted a boy, Pete, who was roughly my own age (11 at the time of the adoption I think), whose alcoholic parents had more or less abandoned him and his little sister. Sad story. In any case, he was happy with my mother and stepfather and when I arrived he was welcoming and such an affectionate person and we got along really well. He was a brilliant writer, went on to write for the New Musical Express in the UK and some of his pieces are preserved on the websites of the musicians he was reviewing or interviewing. He unfortunately got into drugs in his early 20’s as did so many in that environment (and in the NME) and soft turned to hard and he became a heroin addict. I pretty much lost track of him for many years but I did hear that he had kicked heroin and was on methadone trying to clean up his life. He died at that point, aged around 30. What a sad waste of a human life.
When he took that photograph I was standing at the sink, having just washed my hair, getting ready to go out, as that was a new dress, I remember. I was probably thinking of the evening ahead, a young Canadian girl enjoying the swinging 60’s in England. Pete was standing wedged in the corner of the tiny bathroom, balanced on the edge of the bath to try to get the angle he wanted. Ah Pete. I miss him still.
One of his articles preserved online though there are many more to be found. I loved his style of writing, remember well his wry humour and caustic wit: https://geirmykl.wordpress.com/tag/pete-erskine/

and this one:  geirmykl.wordpress.com – Pete Erskine | My Things

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A Dream of Country Sunsets

Dream of a country sunset - multiple exposure - Ellie Kennard 2016
Dream of a country sunset – multiple exposure – Ellie Kennard 2016

A path that runs along the side of a field that’s near our house has always given the best view of sunsets within a 5 minute walk. As we have so many trees around us and the ground rises in the direction of the setting sun, the most glorious bursts of colour in the evenings can go completely unnoticed if we don’t make a special effort to get to this clearing. Yesterday night I saw the reflections in the clouds in the east and practically ran out with Joni, camera (and blue ball) in hand, hoping I was not too late. The display was almost over when I got there, but the landscape has changed since my last sunset visit there. For the first time in 19 years the farmer has planted corn in that field that has lain fallow for so long. The ripening crop stands about 3 feet taller than my head, with the path on a much lower level. The foliage makes an interesting silhouette in the foreground, but the (in camera) multiple exposure gives such a dreamy feel that I decided to share this. Dreams of country sunsets.

Blue Hydrangea Posy

Blue Hydrangea summer posy - Ellie Kennard 2016
Blue Hydrangea summer posy – Ellie Kennard 2016
 Blue hydrangeas have twice been a special gift from friends. This year Linda, who was going away during the time they would be blooming in her garden, asked me to pick them so they wouldn’t be wasted. It was a double gift as I hadn’t been able to pick any and so my Steven went and got them for me and presented them as a beautiful blue bunch.

These striking flowers seem to have been dyed this wonderful shade, though I know they grow like this completely naturally, their colour coming from minerals in the soil. It seems, too, that they are not meant to be kept for longer than their natural lives as, unlike other hydrangeas, they don’t seem to dry well, just withering and becoming pale and sad looking.

I wanted to keep these blooms a little longer so I took multiple exposures of several of them and combined them in a posy for us all to enjoy. Have a wonderful week everyone!

 

Day Lily Delight

Day lily delight- Ellie Kennard 2016
Day lily delight- Ellie Kennard 2016

Original Post: August 13, 2016 – photo links to Blur photo gallery

I always think of day lilies as one of the quintessential Canadian / North American summer flowers. I don’t remember seeing them anywhere in Europe, though no doubt they exist there. So for your weekend enjoyment I present a multiple exposure of this joyful one which is growing in my garden. This seems to be one of the most common ones, but even so the bright colour always cheers me up no matter what else is going on.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

As I am rescuing images and posts from Google+ I found this photo taken in 2012 of Day Lilies and it seemed a good place to put them.

Day Lilies after the Rain - Ellie Kennard 2012
Day Lilies after the Rain – Ellie Kennard 2012

Original Post: July 176, 2012 – 198/366 – Day Lilies after the Rain – photo links to Floral photo gallery

It seems that it is raining everywhere except where it needs it most. We need a lot of rain and we did have a very cloudy day with a few showers. But no real good downpours or nice steady rain. The day lily flower only lasts for one day (hence the name). There are day lilies everywhere at this time of year and I would consider this one of the most common. That doesn’t make it any less lovely in my opinion.

I always think of day lilies as one of the quintessential Canadian / North American summer flowers. I don’t remember seeing them anywhere in Europe, though no doubt they exist there. So for your weekend enjoyment I present a multiple exposure of this joyful one which is growing in my garden. This seems to be one of the most common ones, but even so the bright colour always cheers me up no matter what else is going on.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!