February so wet!

Well we have lived here in the South West of France for 10 years this year BUT I have never known such a wet month and yes I know we are only 10 days in but if feels like it has not stopped raining for days and days! When in fact just 2 weeks ago I was walking around our garden (soggy garden!) in the warmth of the sunshine with the dog and Lilly Kitty running here, there and everywhere!

I spotted my first Crocuses in the garden which brought a smile straight to my face - there is something about the "first flowers" isn't there?

and then of course there's the bird song accompanying me around whilst we are out there, the Blackbird seemingly has his heart set on the fact Spring is coming, and a  Bumble Bee was buzzing around, albeit he was a tad on the wet side and he was huge and quite clearly trying to move!

Cross and wet - Bumble Bee of February!

Bumble Bee of February trying to find somewhere dry!

And then the rain came back - and then that rain turned to hailstones! But not just once over the last week or so but twice - in fact it was so windy on Saturday the door blew open - scaring the life out of us whilst we were re-organising the office - ok, so were were deep cleaning! And then the biggest hailstones I have seen made an entrance through the cat flap! And it didn't end there 1am and we had thunder...!

Still it was lovely on Friday to hand over a Photo on Wood to a lovely family who are sadly (for me) relocating to the UK - their daughter is so incredible through the lens, she worked so well with me it was fantastic.

Photo on Wood "Making Memories" session

And then my own personal surprise  to start the weekend - a fabulous sale on the Redbubble http://www.redbubble.com/people/papillonbleu   I sell a lot of my images through! and have enjoyed many sales over this years, but this sale was quite possibly one of the best, they will be getting a little bit of my "Life through the Lens"! and to be honest I think my photos will travel further than I will!  I just wish I knew who the purchaser was so I could thank them :D
French Wheels and Onions is one of the Select Colour images sold.

http://www.redbubble.com/people/papillonbleu/works/2323399-french-wheels-and-onions?c=8994-select-colour

So we are into another week - and lots happening in the half term holidays when hopefully the weather improves and we can maybe just maybe take a little trip to the coast!

I do realise whilst I am talking about this awful weather that there are so many really suffering with floods and losing their homes,  at the moment the Somerset plains are in dire straights - you only have to read this to realise how lucky we are here in our little corner of France! http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/Daily-Press-backs-Levels-floods-appeal/story-20561461-detail/story.html

Here is to a good week!

10th January 2nd blog looking back to the highlights of 2012

OK so now I promised myself I would not blog everyday! But when I went to bed last night, I started thinking I should have really started this blog last year! Well I am sure in this world of Blogging there is nothing to stop me back tracking and bringing everything up to date!? Is there a protocol on this? Well either way I am doing it!

I had such a lovely year last year -I enjoyed the Summer Markets but especially in Aigré a lovely little town just on the borders of the Deux-Sevrès and the Charente. It is only once a month but each month just got better and better, when you are selling to the French you know you have got something right, the game that is played the most with the photo-cards and Photographic Prints is "where is this" a great barrier breaker! We have enjoyed summer under our lovely pop up gazebo and I have made some really good friends by spending the weekend with them side by side. The photos were taken in July possibly the funniest morning we have had, not only did the singing Troubadour regale us with his ditties all morning but we met soon to be Groom on a day out with his friends - collecting money and gifts from us and ending up in the fountain!

The Troubadour's ride

Soon to be Groom (in the middle!)

I love thee oh Godess of the Fountain!

Friendships are found in many forms but by spending time with some families whilst "working" has been one of the highlights! 45 degrees heat and 7 youngsters aux lacs, they were lucky as they spent most of their time in the water but we had a such a great day it was hard to believe it was work! And the fact that they were in their Christmas outfits singing jingle bells did get us a few stares!

Hey! it's Christmas (in August!!)

I am an Angel not Santa!!

We were also lucky enough to play a huge part in our French Friends wedding - we have been friends with them since they bought our horse 4 years ago, and when they said they would like me to take the photos I was thrilled, this then led to music played for them by Rob and Chloe, and babysitting until the wee small hours by Chloe and Naomi! The day was perfect for them - and all topped off with a ride in a Horse and Carriage which was arranged for them as a surprise by their friends!

Just Married

 on the Balcony of the Mairie

To a New Life!

The Horse and Carriage ride as Mr and Mrs!

French Wedding Style

Enjoying the company after a long, hot but memorable day! (little did I know I was going to blend with the colour theme!)

We were out every weekend during the Summer months and I then had a  few weeks off in preparation of Christmas, again last year was my first time out to more than just 2 markets that I have been at previously! We have stood in some cold places including the weekend I had laryngitis and bronchitis no it wasn't "man flu" it was definitely "bird flu" but boy did I find a great combo for getting me through that weekend and it included "Vin Chaud" and a couple of paracetamols!

l'Abbaye Nanteuil-en-Vallée for the weekend and right opposite the door! but had the great fortune to be with a lovely couple Maude and Nico - Maude is a young and very talented Florist, she has a lovely shop in Verteuil L'Atelier Vert during the weekend we had a great time with them and now also have my "collections des fleures" photo-cards in her shop!

Christmas at Nanteuil-en-Vallée

 This pottery is made by another good friend who is so talented! Her first Christmas Market but I am sure not her last!

Les Céramiques de Linda

Making Calendars was the top of the list for Christmas with orders coming in far and wide - from personalised images of the summer photo shoots to personalised Poitou Charentes images, the best of both worlds as my customers chose the images they loved and had them mounted on their calendar and then could send out to friends and family! It was a challenge that I embraced....

Calendars for 2013

just wish I could have shaken of the bloomin' bird flu though! I was at this time 4 weeks in to fluffy head and zonked on meds!

Anyway this year started with a l sale on Redbubble Feed Minnie sold as a greetings card, it's always a great joy to sell on sites such as RB or Zazzle ! I am  a fan still of Redbubble and as I am host in 3 groups there is always something to do! Although I admit that my co-hosts are amazingly supportive and I couldn't cope without them! Redbubble is a good place for meeting photographers as well and one of my Cyber Friends Karen Betts is a great co-host but also a friend to me sending us lovely little parcels just out of pure kindness - we always look forward to Christmas! It's always lovely to sit and look through the amazing artwork on RB and being a host the honour of selecting Features in the groups - this has to be my favourite time of the week/month, browsing the many talents! For example today I have featured in 2 of the groups I host The Naturally Black and White Group  and the Compact Group - the latter group was started about 4 years ago when compact camera users were more often than not competing with DSLR's so this group was born! It is time consuming but to see what other camera work is out there and of course to see the latest must try outs is always worthwhile! Although there are still certain types of Photography that I haven't had suitable chance to get my head into HDR being one!

I posted a book on my PamelaJayne Photography Page https://www.facebook.com/PamelaJaynePhotography - sharing it for my friends sister but also because I would like to own it to try out some of the ideas shown, I am now that much nearer to reading it due to the kindness of a friend who bought it for me! It looks great and I can't wait to try it out Photocrafty 75 Creative Camera Projects for you and your digital slr

And one last thing I am trying not to get addicted to is Pinterest again so many things to see and enjoy it's hard not to browse away with a good cup of tea!

Well this weekend sees our 2nd Christmas with my in-laws coming for dinner - so rather than have eat another turkey and all the trimmings we have opted for a lovely Tajine - this is one made on New Years Day - we know how to live!

Christmas Dinner partie deux

I am really looking forward to sinking my teeth into new project this year - there are quite a few ideas in the pipeline, so hopefully the year will be full of markets, friends and enjoying what I love to do the most - "Life through the Lens".

It's raining again...

My Images Do Not Belong To The Public Domain. All images are copyright © PamelaJayne Smith. All Rights Reserved. Copying, altering, displaying or redistribution of any of these images without written permission is prohibited. If you are interested in using any image for any of the above uses, please do not hesitate to contact me

Mes images n’appartiennent pas au domaine public. Toutes les images ont un copyright © pamelajayne Smith. Tous les droits sont réservés. Copie, modification, affichage ou la redistribution d'une de ces images sans autorisation écrite est interdite. Si vous voulez  utiliser n'importe quelle image pour l'un des usages ci-dessus, s'il vous plaît n’hésitez pas a me contacter.