My guilty secret

I've got a guilty secret and only my family and closest friends know about it (and come to think of it my hairdresser and some complete strangers in Costa Coffee). It's something I used to only do behind closed doors but have recently taken up in public places too... Before you ring the police and /or a psychiatric help line, I'll enlighten you - I am a knitter! After a period of abstinence I am now completely addicted once more and am rarely seen during my "spare" time without wool, needles and flying elbows.

Like all embarrassing secrets I have to weigh up who I tell about my yarn yearnings. It's amazing how knitting polarises people into 2 distinct groups - firstly the "Oh god, you don't, do you?!" group, who burst out laughing and then mentally take you off their list of exciting people to invite round for dinner. Secondly there's the "Oh so do I - isn't it great" group who share your passion and completely understand it.

Perhaps it's my snobbism but I also think that you can break the group of knitting lovers down further as well (well my marketing background encourages me to segment the market!). There are those knitters who fit the stereotype to a "T" - cardiganed grannies knitting endless blankets, sweaters, hats, scarves and socks out of leftover balls of wool that are then presented to family members who are too tactful to ask them whether they are a) colour blind or b)stuck in a 70's time warp. For those of you that believe all knitters fall into this category, you've obviously missed the knitting revolution and I would challenge you to put your prejudices aside and look again. Knitting just got SEXY! Well, not just - It's been that way for some time now. Designs and yarns have caught up with the times and it's now cool to be handknitting. People all over the country are picking up their needles and creating fashionable garments, cushions, bags out of the most amazing colours and textures.

When I tell people my little secret now I usually make sure I've got something I've recently made about or on my person (or on one of the kids), so that when they give the usual "Oh god, you don't do you?!" reaction, I can quickly blow apart their preconceptions by showing them a natty little hat out of baby soft yarn in delicious colours. I usually find that they are astonished and quite often start to hint quite heavily that they would love said garment themselves.

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

Bowling, bugs & bogeymen

It seems like ages since I did a family rather than business blog - life has been as hectic as ever. But looking back at the photos from October we've packed a lot in and had a great time. Halfway through the month we celebrated my nephew Ewan's 5th birthday ("baby Ewan" just can't be 5 already!). We went to his bowling party (made it this time after breaking down on route last year). Abi was first to get a strike - hence the jubilant pictures and Sam was relieved not to come last. After a pizza birthday tea we headed back to hotel chez Patrick but ran out of time for a dip in the hot tub.

Hallowe'en started mid October with the school Freaky Friday disco, when Wincham was besieged early evening by knee high gremlins, vampires, witches and the like. After the 7.30pm watershed the slightly scarier junior horrors hit the dance floor and the noise level hit new heights. I got through the event by sharing smuggled in wine with another mum. Hope no law abiding PTA members bother to read this. Half term followed quickly after with more spooky and revolting goings-on. We visited Bug World at the Albert Docks hence photos of giant slimy beasts and zebra bottoms (no - I don't understand that either!). As we couldn't fit in trick or treating this year I allowed myself to be pressganged into a Hallowe'en tea party on the 30th and ended up quite enjoying it (well, the wine anyway). The highlight of Hallowe'en for me was the sight of Sam as a keyboard-playing, headphone-wearing zombie, dancing away oblivious to the fact that we were watching!

Kids are now back at school but no peace for the wicked. Lots of work on (good news) and all the Xmas pantos etc looming (has anyone got a wolf costume I can borrow?!)

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

Goodbye little van

We’ve just made a decision which commits us to holidaying in the UK for the next year or so, or certainly makes it unlikely that we’ll be booking any foreign package holidays. Our little campervan has served us well for 2½ years but suffice to say we’ve just about outgrown it. On the rare occasions that we’ve been lucky enough to have dry sunny weather for days on end, it’s been a wonderful experience – posh camping really. All mod cons – running water, heating, electricity, fridge, a gas hob and not forgetting the all important porta potty. In good weather we’ve really only cooked and slept in the van, preferring to be outdoors to eat, read etc.
But it’s a whole different story when the weather is less than perfect – 2 adults, 2 kids and a large, slobbery and very boisterous boxer dog are not meant to co-exist in small spaces. Even with the awning giving us twice as much living space, tempers fray quickly and the supposedly idyllic outdoor holiday turns into a nightmare. Mornings after the kids wake up are particularly hellish (whatever the weather) as they are understandably desperate to get out of their roof top cocoon. The only place for them to go until we’ve packed away our bed is on top of us and given that it’s often unreasonably early (for a holiday anyway) and that we’re usually slightly hungover having overindulged the night before (well, we are on holiday after all!), it doesn’t make for a great start to the day. I often retire shivering into the awning with a cup of tea, to avoid getting anymore sharp digs in the kidneys from little knees and elbows.
Life in the campervan has certainly had its ups and downs – for instance you can’t beat parking up at the sea front, a sparkling blue sea providing the view from the front window and lighting the stove to brew a cup of tea. I usually feel quite smug at this point as I watch other less lucky mortals queuing at the kiosk for an overpriced weak brew in a polystyrene cup. But it’s hard to feel smug crouching on the porta potty in the early hours of the morning, with the wind and rain lashing the awning and the loo roll soggy from standing in a pool of rain water which has mysteriously formed on the ground sheet.
But, on balance, we’ve all loved holidaying in the van – I’ll miss sitting on the backseat with the back door open, sipping a glass of wine and admiring the view – particularly on our first visit to Arrochar, where our pitch was by the side of a loch circled by mountains. And that magical time when the kids are tucked up in the roof, fast asleep after a day of tearing around the campsite with new found friends, and we’re snuggled up down below, curtains drawn, the outside world tightly shut out, relishing the rare opportunity to get through several chapters of a book without interruption. It’s somehow more precious than evenings at home where other distractions – chores, phone calls, computers, trashy TV – usually stop us spending such quality time together.
We’ve previously been puzzled by caravaners with their satellite dishes, table lamps, curtain tie backs and mini vacuum cleaners – surely they can’t truly experience the great outdoors when they wrap themselves in so many home comforts...? But we’ll be joining their ranks soon having made the decision to buy a “previously loved” caravan, which we’ll take ownership at the end of August. It will feel like a ballroom compared to the van – with fixed bunks for the kids (cue lots of shrieks of delight and arguments about who will sleep up top) 2 seating areas, a “proper” loo (no more squatting on the potty), a shower and an oven. No doubt we’ll be vilified by Wogan and Clarkson – but definitely welcomed by fellow caravanners. And I can’t wait – I’m still trying to persuade myself that this current and final adventure in the campervan is giving us chance to enjoy it one last time and say our goodbyes, but as the rain confines us to the awning yet again (kids are inside watching Spy Kids with the volume on high), I find myself daydreaming about our new palace on wheels and counting down the days to the end of the month.

Best dressed bears

End of the term and the school year brings a raft of special activities and events for the children - talent shows, parties, open evenings and the like. This week school held a teddy bears picnic and on Wednesday bears of all shapes, sizes and colours were being traipsed into the playground. Thanks largely to Build a Bear there was a huge variety of costumes, with the inevitable princesses and ballerinas, to the more unusual punk rockers and soldier bears. I was particularly proud of my efforts (hmm - bit of a give away!). Although Sam's spaceman bear was wearing its shop bought space suit, his oxygen tank, boots and helmet were all fashioned by yours truly out of silver foil and a clear plastic lid. Sam was made up with it, apart from the knob on the lid - it took me a while to convince him that it was a communications nodule. He later complained that everyone spent all day trying to pull it off. I thoroughly expected his bear to win and was quite put out when I heard he'd been beaten by "swimmer bear"! But my spirits were lifted when Abigail announced that her bride bear had won! All that hard work had paid off and for once my kids were proud of their mum's handiwork.

Also on Wednesday was the At Home evening - when we got the chance to visit our children's new classrooms and see what they've been up to in their old ones. We all really enjoyed it - well at least I thought we had until we were on the way home...! Sam was bemoaning the fact that Abigail and I had both got things to bring home with us (friendship bracelets), whereas all he had was sadness!! Much to his chagrin we fell about laughing and I'm storing that comment away with other little gems from Sam - such as the time he was claiming he had no one to play a game with - and Abigail helpfully suggested he should play with his invisible friend. To which Sam replied: "Even he's not speaking to me!".

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

My lovely 50mm lens

(Sorry for the annoying centre alignment - it's refusing all my efforts to left align - some bug in Picasa I think!)

I've been battling with this lens a bit since I bought it a couple of months back.

I'm not sure if every one is the same but I tend to have a breaking in period with any bit of new kit. I've used it a fair amount but unlike my other lenses, the results have been a bit hit and miss - too many over-exposed or out of focus shots. I've finally worked out that shooting at such low f-stops -it's the Canon 50mm f/1.8 prime lens - was the main cause of the problems. I love shallow depth of field, closely cropped shots, so was tending to mainly shoot at f/1.8 - 3.2 - this needs a huge degree of accuracy and is not easy with fast moving portrait shoots. When I have a problem with a new piece of equipment I force myself to use it exclusively for some non-work photography. So over this last weekend, which incorporated Father's Day, a visit to the mother-in-law's garden and a trip to the seaside, I left all my other lenses at home and had a proper play around with this one. With no deadlines or pressure to deliver I think I've mastered it and have a series of images that I'm really pleased with. With no other lenses to hand I've shot close up and distant in various light conditions. Subjects were as ever the kids and flowers. My 60mm lens is my fail safe, amazingly clear and sharp portrait lens but too narrow for close ups of three people, so to get some great quality, head and shoulder shots of the kids & Nic was good news. My favourite picture taken yesterday at Llandudno was of Abigail blowing bubbles off the pier (in black & white above). I think it really gives a strong sense of place and almost nostalgic atmosphere (but perhaps that's just the G&T talking!).

Nic's mum's garden never disappoints at this time of year - the beds and containers are filled to over flowing with scores of different flowers and shrubs. I was, for the first time over the weekend, seriously regretting not packing the macro lens but soon realised that using the 50mm lens was forcing me to compose differently, look more at the whole plant. And the f/1.8 aperture was creating some seriously beautiful background effects. Astrantia is one of my favourite flowers for plant portraits - so small and delicate but very architectural and with lots of interesting markings. I've shot them lots of times before but with the 50mm lens have managed a different take on them.

So it's turned out to be a real little beauty and worth much more to me than the £75 I paid for it.

The wonder of British weather

It only seems like a few weeks have passed by since we unloaded the campervan from the Easter holiday and here we are again at the end of a week’s stay in North Wales. We are only 45 minutes from home but it’s been a real break and respite from the daily grind. The glorious weather played no small part in making this a great week away. Today’s chilly and windy 13⁰C has been a reminder of how cruel British summer weather can be. For 5 perfect days we have lived the outdoor camping life, eating every meal al fresco, having water fights (us adults didn’t so much join in as get caught in the cross fire and then get very mardy very quickly!) and not needing any of the warm / waterproof clothing that you still have to pack for any UK holiday.
We’ve packed a lot as usual into the last week, even though we spent a few days chilling out on the campsite. I did a christening near Warrington last weekend, we’ve been to 2 beautiful but very contrasting gardens – one a more formal National Trust property called Erddig and the other a privately owned garden called The Glass House. Both were wonderful to explore, with many early summer flowers bursting out, no doubt spurred on by the warm weather. I’m a bit obsessed by irises at the moment, as I’ve got a big job on photographing them for a client, along with some other seasonal blooms such as peonies. I’ve always photographed flowers to nature’s timetable and it’s proving challenging to catch them in flower, at their photogenic best in line with the client’s needs!
The kids have had a whale of a time as ever, relishing the rare freedom that being on a campsite gives them and every meal a picnic outdoors. They’ve been swimming each day at the onsite pool and running around wearing very few clothes. But I knew we packed those jumpers and long trousers for a reason – we headed into Llangollen with all the rest of the soggy tourists today, trying to steer the kids away from more tacky toys and me desperate for my fix of Costa coffee. With tacky toy purchased for Sam (remember those little furry worms on a clear plastic thread...) and rather more sensible notepad and pen for Abby, I got my coffee and, even better, a lovely meal later at a pub overlooking the river. We relived some of my childhood memories after tea, jumping across the flat rocks along the river bank. Predictably Nic fell in (unfortunately only up to his ankles) and Daisy was in doggy heaven.
We’re snuggled away in the camper van for the evening, kids up top watching a DVD, us down below with a bottle of red, a few beers and a TV with a dodgy signal. Perfect. The wind is playing increasingly aggressively with the awning (hope Daisy is OK in the pup tent) and the forecast is for heavy rain (severe weather warning for 4a.m.) well into the morning when we will be de-camping. I suppose this is penance for the idyllic weather - what is the opposite of “every cloud has a silver lining”?

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

Bluebell Cottage Gardens

Hidden away in a little dip in the relatively flat surrounding Cheshire countryside between Warrington and Northwich is a beautiful little garden and nursery called Bluebell Cottage Gardens and Lodge Lane Nursery. The garden is edged on one side by the Trent & Mersey Canal and the peace and quiet is only broken by the occasional chug of a canal boat motor or the distant whistle of a train. I first visited the garden last year after meeting the owner, Sue Beesley, at a charity event in Knutsford last summer. Sue offered to give me display space in her tearoom for my floral images and since then I’ve done a few jobs for her. A few weeks ago Sue asked me to shoot some pictures of her and the gardens for her newly appointed PR agency. Sue won BBC Gardener of the year in 2006 and a silver medal at the RHS show at Tatton Park last year and she and her gardens are increasingly in the media.
This was one of those jobs that you pray for – the weather was perfect (actually too perfect as the bright, sunny conditions made the shoot quite challenging!) and Sue was very relaxed in front of the camera. Shooting a subject who knows a little about photography also helped, as she was very aware of the light and how to position herself in it. The location was superb, with the gardens immaculately presented and spring flowers such as tulips, hellibores and pasque flowers in bloom. As the name of the garden suggests, there is also a profusion of bluebells in the nearby woods and we were keen to capitalise on this. There’s something special and unique about the light in a bluebell wood – the green canopy of leaves filtering the sunlight, the vivid blue haze of the flowers and the muddy brown of the tree trunks and branches. There was a very tranquil feeling in the woods and although the shots are all obviously staged, they come across as very relaxed and natural. Sue’s PR agency also wanted shots of children playing in the woods and my two budding models obliged later in the day. They enjoyed climbing along the falling branches and running along the narrow paths so much that it wasn’t hard to get some candid shots to meet the brief.

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!