This week’s Five at Five Intro features Photographer Margaret. Margaret says in her About Page of Pyrenees to Pennines blog.
We live in Yorkshire. Until March 2014, we had lived in the Ariège, southern France, and we spent six and a half years there. I shared many of the experiences we had there in this blog, which was then called ‘Life in Laroque‘.
The beach, a favorite place to be.
Five at Five Questions – Photography
- When and how did you start on your photographic journey?
Two things happened in 2007. We moved to live in France; and I went on a largely solo trip to India. Both seemed to require the services of a decent camera and an inquisitive eye.
- What subject do you like photographing the most?
I don’t have a niche. I like to gather impressions of the landscape or townscape that I am in, particularly if I can find quirky or unusual details, or points of view.
- Have you been influenced by other photographers, if so by whom and why? If not, who is your favourite photographer?
I’m not really a student of photography. In fact, I’m a snapshot-ist rather than a photographer. But I have enjoyed honing my skills by joining in blogging challenges such as the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: (https://photobyjohnbo.wordpress.com/about-lens-artists/)
- What is the go-to camera equipment that you use regularly and what software do you use to process your images?
My camera is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ280, which is almost invariably set to ‘automatic’. Day-to-day, I increasingly rely on my bottom-of-the-range moto g(8) power phone, which has pleasantly surprised me, and produced a fair few creditable images.
- What is your favourite method of processing an image? (i.e., colour, monochrome, saturated, dreamy look etc)
I do little in the way of post-processing. Cropping, adjusting the light-levels, getting rid of a few images that didn’t make the grade. That’s about it really. As I said, I’m a snapshot-ist!
Photographs
Five at Five Questions – Writers
- When and how did you start on your blogging journey?
The need to keep in touch with family and friends when (a) we moved to France and (b) I went for a month to India, both in 2007, prompted me to start blogging.
- What subject do you like writing the most? (food, travel, sci-fi, poetry, short stories, mixture of topics, etc).
My stock-in-trade used to be the things that interested me in our daily lives: the walks I discovered, the journeys we made, the curiosities I discovered. We’ve been back in Yorkshire too long for that to provide much new material, and increasingly I follow blogging challenges, both in photography and writing. I never write fiction though.
- Have you been influenced by other writers, if so by whom and why? If not, who is your favourite author?
I read very widely, and I hope this has made me more considered in my writing, but nobody has been a special influence. Favourite authors? That changes every month! Maggie O’Farrell; Patrick Gale; Meylis de Karengal – this week …
- How and when do you plan writing your blog posts and what keeps you motivated (making notes, spur of the moment, etc). And do you photograph your own images for your blog posts?
Recently, I’ve been following a schedule of a couple of challenges a week (based on photos) and one that’s more free-form, but I plan to cut back on this. I regard words and images – my own photos – as of equal importance. I think that the relationships built with other bloggers has been one of the most unexpected and satisfying results of blogging regularly. I’ve been lucky to meet several, and have active on-line relationships with many more.
- What is your favourite form of reading, fiction or non-fiction?
Ienjoy both. Most of the fiction I read is 21st and 20th century – both English language, and increasingly, works in translation. Non-fiction? The natural world and history, mainly.
Posts
- On the path of Cathar shepherds
- How to be a Korean Woman
- OL Geography for Walkers
- Wish you were here?
- Six Degrees of Separation: From Mason to MacIntyre
Links
Blog: https://margaret21.com/
Thank you, Margaret, for participating in the Five at Five Introduction Series.
BRASHLEY PHOTOGRAPHY 
Your comments are greatly appreciated