Monday 16 April 2012

Spring is here.........on blue skies, clean sensors and David Hockney




hedge © caroline fraser 2012


I made it to see David Hockney at the Royal Academy on the last day of his recent exhibition. I had been put off by the garish photos of some of his recent works shown in the newspaper, but couldn't ignore the fact that everyone I knew who had been had loved it and several had been two or three times.

What struck me most about the exhibition was firstly the sheer volume of work that he has produced, and secondly the joy that he clearly takes in the changing of the seasons. His works from East Yorkshire, and in particular the 51 prints and one large painting that are 'The arrival of spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011' display quite clearly his love of the locality and his pleasure in the changing vegetation from winter to spring.  His love of hawthorn and wild flowers is blatantly displayed in the ipad drawings made into larger prints that filled a whole room of the exhibition.

Walking around Hawkwood in the last week or so my pleasure in the vivid greens that are appearing has been heightened by  memories of the giant TV screens that conveyed Hockney's multiple views of narrow lanes in winter and spring simultaneously; viewers transfixed by the slowly moving views of trees and hedges gently blowing in the wind.

I love hedges, especially the layered hedge that has been created at Hawkwood over the last 2 years and shown above and below. With Hockney in mind I decided to record it bursting into life after winter. A blue sky day today shows it off to good effect, not least because I have finally discovered a sensor cleaner that does what it says on the tin. One sweep of the sensor with my new Arctic butterfly and the myriad of dust spots that show so dramatically in a clear blue sky are no more. It is worth every penny and relies solely on static with no fluids to damage the sensor. You swizzle the brush using the battery, create a static charge and then wave across the sensor, picking up dust without any worries about damaging it.

spotless sky thanks to arctic butterfly © caroline fraser 2012

I had my wide angle lens with me today, and was torn between order and chaos...........

beech © caroline fraser 2012

cloud © caroline fraser 2012

This fluffy cloud popped into view and wouldn't go away.

The inevitable litter caught my eye; I was pleased to see that David Hockney also showed litter in his TV installation as part of his idyllic scenes, cast from the vehicles of passers-by. When I am old and grey I will be seen tramping around with a large black sack and a grabber stick.........

Budweiser © caroline fraser 2012

Bring on the rain and let the hedges grow; there is a lot less hawthorn blossom this year than last.






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