Walks » Rebecca Gove-Humphries

You win some, you lose some

Yesterday I had one of those daft moments in life. I got on the bus home and instead of the £1.70 bus fare being well spent, I instinctively jumped off the bus two minutes in as I spotted a leather sofa. When I got to it and realised I had left my camera at home and my phone was so low in battery the camera wouldn’t work; I wanted to weep. Not feeling great anyway, and feeling disheartened I stomped my journey home.

My grumpy face was greeted with a lovely smile when my friend Ali bumped into me. I blurted out my tragic tale and like the true friend she is, offered to take the photo on her way past. I was so pleased!

Then something happened, as I was walking down a side street I witnessed, what could have been an advert for true friendship. A girl saw her friend in the distance, waved and then in a Phoebe from friends style run, galloped towards her and her friend did the same. When they got to each other, at speed the girl jumped up, legs around her friends waist and they spun round. Then still hugging (in the middle of the road) swayed from side to side. I don’t know the back story but they both really meant that hug and I felt happy (and slightly voyeuristic) to have witnessed something so genuine.

Must focus

With my new camera I have been having some amusing focus moments. The first time I took it out and about, I managed to take a photo where the reeds in the foreground were perfectly crisp, when the subject, the swan became a background blur. I have mastered the manual focus which my camera has, however that didn’t stop me creating this shot when using the self-timer:

I actually really like this accidental photo. I was so happy that I got to visit my beloved garages.

Also, the furniture season is upon us and I saw a lovely mixture of seating.

End of the day

I left the office earlier today and walked home to continue where I left off in the morning. Having the flexibility to do this is a luxury and one I forget to take advantage of. Mansfield Road in Nottingham is full of sights, from the people to the shops. I never get bored of looking.

Then I saw two very different furniture sightings. The first with a note that was asking for it to be taken, with reassurance that it goes through a standard sized door, displayed from a distance like an outdoor living area.

Then this mess of a pile, including a shoe and toys, amongst other rubbish.

This was a successful walk home.

Start of the day

This morning I woke up and decided to take a stroll with my camera before work. There is nothing like clearing your head before actually getting to the office. I have seen this grey square everyday for so long and decided today was the day to photograph it. I love this grey. I would paint my house in graffiti cover up grey, maybe one day…! I also noticed a sofa in an over grown piece of land. It’s one of the parts of my journey to work that I look out for as there is always something new to see.

My new camera, that I am very excited about, has more manual functions so I was trying out the focus on this rusty screw.

Last weekend I saw…

…A lot of wonderful sights, as well as Alan’s Grandparents who are such great company. We stayed in West Chiltington (where we were fed so well and were supplied with pots of tea a plenty!) and visited Brighton.

I loved these colours:

The affects of the sea air:

These buildings were beautiful. I would love to see what was inside! We drove in to turn around and there were some people there. I just carried on photographing it, but I will never shake that feeling of being watched.

This was outside Waitrose:

Beach huts on Worthing beach:

The sun came out

I haven’t been feeling 100% this weekend but I took the cats in the garden to get the sun on their fur and whilst doing that I noticed my shadow against the house. I thought it would be fun to take a few photos of me and Al’s shadows moving.

Later we decided to get some more fresh air and embrace the good weather, so visited Sherwood forest. I decided to photograph our shadows walking along on the floor.

Old signs revealed

I was in town on Friday and I spotted this old sign that had been revealed whilst renovating the shop.

Then whilst in Sherwood today I spotted this one too.

Video collage

I woke up this morning thinking about different ways I can document my walks. I really love looking around me at and seeing the way the pavement changes and the sky is framed by trees. I take photos of worn out buildings, abandoned furniture and other thing that catch my eye. I think walks are contemplative and relaxing, and I just wanted to play around with what you see around you. I had the idea to take photos of the floor and video the sky.

My walk home yesterday

I think a close up is necessary:

I have started to walk home more regularly. Even though it’s pretty straight forward and not through rolling hills or beautiful fields (That’s the dream) I still see some exciting sights. It always clears my head too.

Garages in the snow

My family went out for a walk in the snow yesterday and took some photo’s of the garages in Hall Green, which I love. Wish I could have been there stomping in my new red wellies! The colours are so muted and the snowflakes create an extra pattern against the garage doors.

Garages in the snow