drhook

@drhook.bsky.social

2010 Followers 1610 Following

Lives in SW France by a river. Drives a wheelbarrow and a spade - likes nature and photography (macro and landscapes in particular). Part-time wordsmith and art-lover. Finds houses for people who live faraway and dream of living in France. Oi/you

A golden sunrise on the river Charente, in SW France, blossoms behind trees along the bank. The river swirls and coils in the cold dawn air, while the warmer water offers mist to the emerging day. Cows can be seen behind the trees, getting to their knees and flexing their legs for a day of pasture. It'll be hot later....High above a pattern of contrails indicates where passengers on planes are enjoying breakfast at 36,000 feet, oblivious from their vantage point to the glory unfolding below. Lots of orange, yellow, pinks and fading blue colours in this one. Photo taken at Port D'Envaux, close to Saintes.
A photograph of a sunset at the end of a very long stretch of road that runs through the Marais de Brouage, a part-tidal marsh that lies between St Jean d'Angle and Saint-Just-Luzac in the Charente Maritime. Poplars lean to windward along the southern side of the road, a testament to the breeze that sweeps in unceasingly from the sea, several kilometers to the north-east. The marsh has been worked since pre-historic times for salt, and then later for aquaculture and agriculture. Romans, Moors, English corsairs and Germans have all ruled here, and the egret, frog, stork and grass snake have looked on with disdain throughout every occupation. It's a long road, and when the traffic is absent, coypu scurry across it and the call of lapwings can be heard faintly in the distance. Halfway across there is a memorial to Resistance fighters, killed in a firefight as they raced to secure supplies dropped by the RAF many years ago. Doubtless under the mud across the marsh lie other stories, where swords and shields lie dormant since they were first laid to rest. There are the bones of boats here too, ribs and keels half exposed on the biggest of tides, decaying relics anxious to tell their story too before time returns it all to some other state which will never talk again.
A black and white photograph of a 12th century church and its presbytery, situated behind a long stone wall, probably dating from the same era. This enclave is in the countryside east of Saintes, the ancient provincial capital of the Charente Maritime. It is winter, and the buildings are behind the bare branches of some trees, revealed in their silhouette by the season's changing hours. The doors of this church are often open, and it is a magical space to visit and spend time in reflection.
A vertical portrait of the river Charente in winter, with a diagonal reflection of trees and boats to the left, and a bare landscape to the right.
A magnolia bloom bathes in the last sunshine of the day. This beautiful pink and white variety has a very short shelf life, but looks fabulous in the starkness of our garden when it manages to escape the frost.
A red mason bee clings to a blossom at the start of spring
A photograph taken at ground level showing some Marans chickens eating out of a long trough. Bright red crests, strong browns and a beautiful golden plumage make for some lovely colours.
A black and white photograph of the surface of a river, just before it goes over the sill of a weir. Taken from above, on the footbridge, the water reflects several different tones of light and shape
With a full moon in the background, a Jersey grasshopper takes rest for the night in an olive bush, hoping it will keep him safe till the morning.
A black and white image of the rear of a camper-van.
A colourful acrylic painting of a pair of clown fish in an aquarium behind a piano. The artist is my 22 year-old son, Jack. He lives and paints with us at home, here in the Charente Maritime. The piano is typically in toned black and white, providing a stark contrast to the greens and blues above.
A colourful sunset stretches across the canvas, where orange, pink, purple, violet and yellow bands reflect in the still waters of the Marais de Seudre, a marsh located inland from the Île d'Oleron, in the Charente Maritime. It is calm, with just the sound of a curlew to be heard.
a black and white image of a small insect, a bee-fly, flitting towards a lavender bloom, its proboscis extended. This is all against a white background, creating a start juxtaposition of imagined movement. GX8 + Panasonic 30mm
A symphony of colours in this image, which shows a young girl standing pensively on a tennis court in the country, while behind her a red combine harvester has been working right up to the wire fence. It is high summer, with a blue sky and a harvest in the picture, and the girl is dressed in a colourful skirt of flourescent green and pink, with a black top.
A winter landscape at dawn - a ploughed field in the foreground, and the lilac remnants of the sunrise glimmer under a belly of cloud. The piece of forest in between is tinged with the smoke of chimneys.
This macro image shows the inside of a luscious pink mirabilis flower, where the anthers atop each stamen are golden pearlescent orbs, the night-time target of several insects, most notably perhaps the Convolvulus Hawk-moth (Agrius convolvuli). Photograph taken in the Charente Maritime, southwest France. Panasonic GX8 + Olympus 60mm
An alley in central Saintes lies in shade in the afternoon. The view through the buildings leads the eye across the valley that leads to the ancient Roman amphitheatre. It is a blue day, warm in the sun, and tired feet will descend this alley later as people go home.
This photo shows the complete exo-skeleton of a shield bug, or stink bug. It's the only one I have ever found, and that's despite photographing the live versions for many years. This exo-skeleton is pale golden in colour, with hard outer edges and papery thin skin. The eyes are still imprinted with original compound arrangement of the old live insect.
A small tower has been built in a garden in France. It is fit for a princess, surrounded by tall trees and bushes.
A black and white photo of a girl in a summer dress looking out through the window of a very old car made by a famous French manufacturer - Citroen. She is bare shouldered and the image is the epitome of a summer afternoon.
A vivid green little stick insects balances on a match against a dark background
A photo of the inside of a cherry blossom, showing the thrusting stamens of the flower, each adorned with the orange heads of the anthers, the part of the flower that produces pollen. In season, it is the pollen brushing off the anthers onto crawling insects that creates pollinisation, when the insect then visits a female flower and deposits the pollen. The white anthers and the brightly coloured heads stand out against a dark green background.
a black and white image of a young woman serving on a tennis court
A photograph taken at ground level in a garden looking towards the sun as it peeks over a house. The camera is lower than a silhouetted daisy, and the daisy is lower than some muscari blossoming in the background. This is an early spring day, just warm enough for a t-shirt and shorts. Lots of purples and pinks in this image.
A long-haired Jack Russell looks up expectantly, hoping that something is coming his way. His tongue hangs out, waiting.
A village street stretches away and to the right in the golden glow of early morning. The sunrise reflects off the modern panelling on the side of the old people's home, while cars still sleep in the darkness beneath.
The view seen through a farm window from an upstairs bedroom. On the left hand side of the image is a ploughed and harrowed field, ready for planting, stretching away towards a boundary hedge many yards away. On the righthand side, the photograph shows the old single-paned window and a grungy yellow interior wall. Above is a pale watery blue spring sky. The window is creatin g heavy contrasting bands of shadow on the yellow wall.
An image of the outside of a small restaurant on the quay in Saint-Martin-de-Ré, receiving some early evening guests. This pretty town is on the north side of the île de Ré, an offshore island reachable by a long bridge from the city of La Rochelle in the Charente Maritime, SW France. There is a soft golden light about the photograph, which accentuates the green shutters of the building. Some people are sitting outside in the last of the afternoon sunshine, while a waitress welcomes a couple and their children.
An image that shows the brightly coloured interior of an orange lily, lilium bulbiferum. Five stamens dominate the scene, with black fringed anthers and vivid orange filaments. The image has been shot wide open to illustrate the depth of field inside the bloom.
An image taken west of the mid-town bridge of Saint-Savinien in the Charente Maritime, SW France. It is mid-morning and the light is obliquely crossing the scene, right to left, an easterly view which rises from the surface of the water to a high point behind where wine vats are high on a hill. It seems chilly and the almost monotone effect of oncoming winter lends a sense of neglect to the view. Boats idle against the banks, forgotten for a few months until spring comes...
A small jumping spider rests on a human hand There are just three fingers in the photo, which emphasizes how small the spider is.
A black and white photograph of a street in Jonzac, a town in the midst of the cognac-producing area of France. A long low slide of old buildings, some from the 18th century, bask in the late autumn sunlight, tallest to the left, and downscaling to the right where the sunlight is coming from.
A photograph taken looking down the main street of Taillebourg, a village on the north bank of the Charente where Richard the Lionheart once fought an important battle. The sky is golden above the roah and the narrow street is closed in by ancient houses from a time when the horse and cart were the only means of transport. A new shiny car is ascending the street, providing a clear contrast between the new and the old. Two street lamps have started to glow in the dusk, a third has yet to be turned on.
A long-haired Jack Russell leans on a tabby cat for friendship during a nap.
An image showing a small bee deep in a pink cosmos flower, looking for nourishment on a rich yellow interior. This is a Lassioglossum species (invariably difficult to identify by photos), but these tiny bees are vital for your garden and plants in general; they're too small to be noticed by most people but they provide an unseen and powerful force of regeneration across the landscape each year.
A black and white photograph showing the curved metal roof of a tennis club. It's a repetitive pattern of sheets of metal and rivets, descending in size to infinity in the left bottom corner, and descending from the right upper. The other half of the scene shows a sky with wispy clouds passing through it.
A close-up image of sunflowers in a field, with three flowers to the front of the frame. There are insects on the flowers, bright green foliage along the bottom of the image, and a puffy cloudy blue sky above. It feels like a wonderfully warm and breezy summer's day.
The sun rises above bankside vegetation along the river Charente, SW France. Mist is rising off the water and the sun is framed by dark shadows of trees on both sides. A fence is outlined by the golden light as it leads down the bank. This is a very peaceful scene...
An misty morning on the river Charente at Saint Savinien, in the Charente Maritime, SW France. Golds, yellows and orange swirl in an ethereal haze across the calm water, with scrub and small trees providing a backdrop on the far bank. There is a blue sky and a promise of a fine day ahead.
A limousin heifer lies on long grass in the marsh, partially obscured by a bramble bush. It is a sunny, warm day, and she is obviously very content.
A black and white photograph showing the roofline of an old maison de mâitre set in gardens under a menacing rain cloud. A break in the cloud has illuminated the house beneath.
A black and white photograph showing a river with mist rising across the calm surface. Reflective trees on the right-hand side point into the white nothingness. The water is so calm there is not a ripple. Faintly, on the left, another bank looks distantly through the mist.
A small wooden window sits back in an old wall, framed by Virginia creeper. The ledge in front of the window is decorated with small antique glass jars, each holding a pink rose. It's a shrine dedicated to summer.
A black & white image of a young girl standing in the shallows. of the beach at La Grand Côte, Royan. There is a distant coast behind the girl, and other people laying in the waves.
A white-tailed bumblebee leaves behind a hibiscus bud as it travels to its next destination. Shot from the rear,. the bee is outlined against a blue sky on a lovely summer's day
A bright yellow sunflower rises up through a field of greens; it's the sole offspring from the previous year's crop of sunflowers. The rest of the image is monotone to emphasis the yellow of the sunflower
A field of red and white poppies bathed in late afternoon sunlight
A black and white photo showing a white campervan entering a dark and sinister wood, along a shadowy wood
A row of concrete components await installation on a building site. The smallest component is actually painted orange. Behind the diagonal line of components is a blue sky with a cloud.
A solitary bee searches in a pink late-season cosmos for sustenance.
The moon peeks out between the branches of a golden tree, outlined against a blue sky
Three spring tulips soar into a blue sky against a backdrop of ancient plane trees. They are pink and red, a blossom of warmth to chase the winter chills finally away.
A black & white image of a street in Port d'Envaux, a village of boat-builders, where 350 year-old ghosts loiter in the shadows, gossiping like fishermen over a fresh catch.
An old wall of dressed stone runs left to right alongside an old road through a village by a river. The view includes a large gatehouse through which carriages must have once rolled. The water is out of view behind the stone wall and the leafless trees on the closer side of the road reach up to a watery blue sky.