Season’s greetings!

I was looking through boxes of old photographs that I had not seen for many years, in preparation for a talk I was giving to the Brighton and Hove camera club. I came across this shot that I took in 1990, exactly 10 days after I moved to England.

This is a Boxing Day Hunt in the town of Dulverton in rural Somerset where I was staying. I knew very little about England when I moved here, had never heard of Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) or seen a hunt. Putting aside the thorny issue of the ethics of hunting, I wanted to share this photo for other reasons.

My camera was a way for me to interpret my new life in England. Thirty-one years later, I still remember being surprised by the pageantry and spectacle of the day. When I took this shot, I was looking at my new home through the eyes of a foreigner, still in travel mode. The overcast day and glistening wet road are familiar now as typical English December weather.

I enjoy the symmetry of the shot and the man placed between the two horses’ heads – a man who is nearly the same shape and size as those heads. Photographs of a summer fete in the same part of Somerset, six months later, can be found here, and my photographs of people and events are here.

If you are still looking for Christmas presents, I can help you out. Sunday the 19th December will be the last day for UK Christmas orders from my website. I also have gift certificates that can be arranged up until the 24th December. Get in touch to find out more. I have three new sets of cyanotype greeting cards (you can see them here) and of course my books sea shore and Lewes Bonfire Portraits are available as well.

All my hand-printed cyanotypes are available to buy, although delivery will not be until after Christmas now. I have many more than are on my website so get in touch if you would like to know more. Information about purchasing my prints and all of my photography books can be found here.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy new year ahead.

Carlotta