Les Jardins de Marqueyssac
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It was the solitary tree that first caught my attention; it didn’t qualify for inclusion in that series, but the happenstance of a pair of mystified individuals in the unique hand-crafted boxwood maze was irresistible... I had to break my ‘no people in the landscape’ rule.
Holy Island
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Searching for beach locations in Northumberland, of course I had to visit Lindisfarne. Trying to avoid the other tourists I came upon the remains of a long abandoned jetty. The wooden stakes appearing like some form of pre-historic trees. They reference my earlier Dry Stone Wall project, where nature is repossessing man-made forms.
Saguaro Forest
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Inspired by my earlier Solitary Trees project, I was in Arizona exploring the possibilities of adding examples of the local genus to the series… but this photograph doesn’t make the cut as ‘solitary’ would clearly be a misnomer.
Cacti
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This collection of wild and desert plants was intended as a potential addition to my Solitary Trees series. The shape fits the others, but the variety of species on display rules it out.
Yosemite Morning
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It’s Yosemite and it’s morning, a rather beautiful one too, albeit rather misty; what more can I say?
Salome Arizona
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It was the lonely Saguaro standing proudly in front of the structure that intrigued me when I was driving past; I had to stop. I have tried to avoid the temptation of taking pictures of abandoned American buildings, the Internet is saturated with them, but this one, in the small town of Salome, was irresistible…and unlike most Instagrams, it will print in full resolution up to 4m. wide.
Chocolate Mountain
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This magnificent panorama in the splendidly named Chocolate Mountains will probably never get printed at full scale. It’s the result of stitching together dozens of photographs at the same location. At a width-to-height ratio of ten-to-one, if framed a metre tall, it would be 10 metres wide… sadly there are very few available walls of that size.
A Manifestation of The American Dream
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This is a quintessential example of a scene illustrating James Truslow Adams’ 1931 quote: "The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone" …Yes, everyone can dream?
Jekyll Island
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What appears to be little bit of jungle near the Georgian coastline is festooned with this curious draped foliage. It’s called Spanish Moss but it’s not actually a moss, but a flowering plant hosting insects, spiders, snakes, birds and bats. It’s tricky to photograph in the dense labyrinth, but here at the forest’s edge it’s clear to see.
Just Plane Daft ?
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The owner of this garden, just north of Atlanta, was an airline pilot. Once his favourite aircraft’s hours of service were past, rather than send it off for scrap, he placed it on a pedestal and created this striking sculpture to share with those passing by?... So perhaps not so daft after all? It conforms well to the criteria of my long-standing study of nature’s repossession.