On Saturday my friend Lili visited from Brighton. We had plans, (tickets even) to attend the Big Summer Brocante at Cowdray. I was excited about spending time with a friend whilst picking up a few pretty bits for the cottage.
The show looked great from the car, the car we soon discovered we were unable to leave. With keyless entry and driving I never insert the keys in to the ignition. Therefore the one time I decide to insert the keys you can imagine my frustration when they got so stuck we had to drive home and call the AA! Chris is forever getting frustrated with me when we go to leave the car and I say I have lost the keys but “it’s okay as they must be in the car somewhere”. I once drove miles up the road and noticed the keys on the wrong side of the windscreen while the wipers were on, almost sending the keys flying in the hedges as we passed. It’s safe to say keyless entry/driving and I are not a good mix!
Upon getting home Chris kindly offered me to drive his pride and joy back out to the show. An offer I kindly declined after a quick trip down memory lane to the last time I drove his car for 20 minutes. It appeared that even after passing my test and for the last 13 years driving a manual I had after only a year of having an automatic somehow forgotten how to drive a manual. My first question in the driving seat to Chris at the time was “so which pedal is the break?”. As you can imagine Chris was not amused and the next 20 minutes almost ended in tears, it was not fun and not an experience I wish to repeat anytime soon.
Anyway back to Saturday, after declining Chris’s offer Lili and I thought as it was a nice afternoon we would take a walk up to The Three Crowns the local pub, and indulge in a glass of wine and some pub grub.
I love our local, the food is so yummy, the garden is full of pretty things and the staff are always friendly. It gave us time to have a catch up and put the world to rights.
By the time we returned home it was at the point that dogs needed walking, the horses needed feeding and turning out. As Lili and I are both keen on photography were eager to get out snapping so we grabbed the Canon and Lumix packed the dogs in now lockable Volvo, and headed over to my mums. Once the horses were fed and where they needed to be for the night we decided to stop off for a walk on route home at Loxwood Canal.
The canal is a great spot to capture the English Countryside, deer, heron, foxes and two very mischievous Dalmatians!
I first discovered a love of photography on long and adventurous walks with Shiva and our friends, investing in my first camera back in 2014, my Panasonic GX7 Lumix.
I have always loved exploring new places and walking Shiva gave me the perfect opportunity to do this, while capturing pictures of the beautiful places we ended up. I wanted to document our walks not only for myself to but to eventually start a blog (and here we are years later), to share these walks with other like minded people who would have otherwise not know of these places, just like myself not so long ago.
I never leave the house without my little Lumix (or the dogs for that matter)!
For Christmas last year Chris gave me the camera I had originally wanted after it had been recommended to me by a Tom Way, a photographer I had met and admired at Windsor Horse Show years back but at the time could not afford…. a Canon EOS 5D. I was so excited to get out and about with it, yet shamefully I have hardly picked the camera up since Christmas, too busy studying working and doing general day to day activities with limited time to sit and learn a new camera. It has only been the last month or so I have started using it.
I hate to admit it but as much as I get excited over the Canon it intimidates me compared to the Lumix. I know I need to force myself out of my comfort zone by leaving the Lumix at home in order to really get to grips with the Canon, however this is a daunting task for me.
- practice and patience
It was therefore nice to pick up the Canon with Lili and learn a little together in a safe non judgmental environment.
- A happy snapper
I have always loved the countryside, nonetheless photography has taught me to have a much deeper appreciation for it as well as wanting to savour every moment with my beautiful four legged friends.
The part of the tow path we walked last night is only a short distance there and back, 2 miles perhaps and maybe due to this reason it appears to have become somewhat forgotten.
For me this not so walked path suits me just fine as I get it to myself more often than not.
Love for now, Emma and the Dals x