Book sniffing

I love books. I love the way they look on the shelf or on the table. I love the way they feel in my hand. I love the way they smell. Yes, smell. I confess I am a book sniffer – and I know many of you are too!

New books have the smell of paper and ink, and sometimes glue. Even mass-produced paperbacks have a ‘new book’ smell when you first open them. More expensive books have a smell of their own, but I think my favourite book smell is still the mustiness of old books. Really old ones.

The sensual experience doesn’t end there. Books feel wonderful too. Again, popular novels fit well in the hands – whether we fold them back around the spine, or whether we carefully hold them open to keep them pristine. The beautiful smoothness of the pages of a classy coffee-table book means I find myself running my hands over the pages as I devour the images. Old books, in turn, are fragile and precious, their papers often thin and brittle while their covers may be made from robust materials such as leather, yet weakened at the stitches. Textures abound.

You may have guessed that old books are my favourites. I hope you will enjoy this collection of some stunning photos of some very beautiful old books. And do click through to the originals on Flickr and tell the photographers if you like their photos.

Thanks for visiting, and enjoy.

‘a room without books is like a body without a soul’ by Kevin van der Leek

Libros by Antonio Luis Hernández

‘hotel register from another era’ by Nicholas Mitchell

‘Very old book – from 1752’ by soozika

‘Very old book from 1752 Satyrische Briefe B’ by soozika

Oldies… by M. Raj

‘Pages of Yesteryear’ by Karrie

‘….e le favole spiegate colla storia’ by Marta Ponari

‘Old Book’ by Geoff Powell

‘Old books’ by David Reneses

‘Old Jewish Book’ by (((The Space Between)))

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December Calendar

Despite the fact that many people have been talking about Christmas since September, we are now only just about to enter December. As a big fan of autumn I am always dismayed to see people wish it away so fervently, so I for one have been embracing it.

I do like the winter though, and always enjoy Christmas – when the time actually comes, and not for months beforehand.  I don’t decorate until around the Solstice and it all comes down at least by the New Year. I’m no humbug, I just like to keep it in its place and enjoy the rest of the time for what it is.

I hope you like this year’s final free to download calendar page – this time last year we were enjoying a rather unseasonal snowfall.  The Christmas card industry would have us believe that this kind of scene is normal for the time of year, so I’ve given in and hope you will enjoy its icy goodness from the warmth of your own home or office.  You can still download the previous months’ pages (see below the main image).

Here I usually announce that the next page will be available at the end of the month. However, for 2012 I will be posting calendar pages that I have created for my good friends at Inner City Pickle in Cardiff.  The pages will have lots of lovely images of the locally produced and sourced fruit & veg that Eira uses for her amazing jams, pickles and preserves – a truly local and ‘green’ business in the heart of the city.  I hope you will enjoy the calendar pages wherever you are.

If you sign up for updates on new posts, you won’t miss them.  You can see more of my photographs on my Bēhance portfolio (as well as some of the floral and decay images from the 2011 calendar pages).

To download, free to print for your own use, just click on the image below, and thank you for visiting this year.

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November Calendar

Eeek! I’m late with this one. The end of October was so hectic that it completely slipped my mind. My apologies.  I’ve been out and about photographing more stained glass – look out for several posts about this on my other blog very soon.

I hope you like this month’s free to download calendar page – back to decay (which is what the autumn is all about after all) and a moody shot taken in a Berlin cemetery.  You can see more of my photographs on my Bēhance portfolio (as well as some of the floral and decay images from this year’s calendar pages).

You can still download the previous months’ pages (see below the main image) and the next one will be out towards the end of November (promise!).  If you sign up for updates on new posts, you won’t miss it.

To download, free to print for your own use, just click on the image below.

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October Calendar

Can you believe it’s almost October? I love the autumn and I love the nights drawing in. There’s something about the night-time that’s exciting and full of promise. I’m not sure if it’s because of the sequence of Hallowe’en, Bonfire Night and then my birthday that I’ve always loved the darker evenings but it must have something to do with it. I also love the light in the autumn – the lovely warm sunlight, long shadows and the colours of the trees. My favourite!

I hope this month’s free to download calendar page will cheer those of you who are already mourning the summer’s passing. I was quite surprised to find these conkers still on the tree – don’t kids play conkers any more?  You can see more of my photographs on my Bēhance portfolio (as well as some of the floral and decay images from this year’s calendar pages).

You can still download the previous months’ pages (see below the main image) and the next one will be out towards the end of October.  If you sign up for updates on new posts, you won’t miss it.

To download, free to print for your own use, just click on the image below.

 

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Photo exhibition under the sea

Big thanks to my lovely friends over at PK Perspective, the very talented Scottish photographers Ian and Sarah, who have just told me about an amazing new exhibition taking place under the sea.  Yes, that’s right!

Austrian photographer Andreas Franke visited the wreck of the Gen Hoyt S Vandenberg last year and has made some amazing images from the photographs he took there, along with some surprise guests.  Everyday scenes of people with a vintage twist are set within the backdrop of the decaying hulk and the new life that grows on and around its frame.

The images have been sealed within Plexiglass and are exhibited within the wreck itself – held on by magnets which mean they can be removed easily, without causing damage.

Click on the image below to visit the site and see all 12 photographs, plus a video of them in-situ.

from The Vandenberg Exhibition

 

September Calendar

I’ve heard a lot of people saying “we haven’t had a summer” and even I have to admit it’s been a bit poor on the weather front. I don’t like the heat so I don’t mind the cooler days, but this August has been quite chilly at times with high winds and cloudy skies.

I hope this month’s free to download calendar page will cheer you up a little. You can’t beat bright yellow flowers for putting a smile on your face.  You can see more of my photographs on my Bēhance portfolio (as well as some of the floral and decay images from this year’s calendar pages).

You can still download the previous months’ pages (see below the main image) and the next one will be out towards the end of September.  If you sign up for updates on new posts, you won’t miss it.

To download, free to print for your own use, just click on the image below.

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August Calendar

It seems forever ago that I was posting July’s calendar page and looking forward to Glastonbury. Since then I’ve been busy moving house and, as you might expect, very little has gone smoothly. In fact what should have taken a couple of weeks has ended up taking the whole month. Never mind, we’ll be sorted soon and I can get back to some serious photography and hopefully more interesting blogging.

This month’s free to download calendar page is suitably nautical, as I have moved across the water.  I’ve always loved the combination of orange and blue and if I can get a bit of tatty decay into an image too, then I’m more than happy.  You can see more of my photographs on my Bēhance portfolio (as well as some of the floral and decay images from this year’s calendar pages).

You can still download the previous months’ pages (see below the main image) and the next one will be out towards the end of August.  If you sign up for updates on new posts, you won’t miss it.

To download, free to print for your own use, just click on the image below.

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June Calendar

Well here we are, the summer is upon us.  I’ve heard many wondering if it can be on its way as the British weather takes its usual twists and turns, but as May draws to a close we’re only a few weeks away from the mid-summer solstice.  So it must be true.

For some, the uncertain weather heralds the start of the festival season and this month’s free to download calendar page features a photograph from Glastonbury Festival.  You can see more of my photographs on my Bēhance portfolio (as well as some of the floral and decay images from this year’s calendar pages).

You can still download the previous months’ pages (see below the main image) and the next one will be out towards the end of July.  If you sign up for updates on new posts, you won’t miss it.

To download, free to print for your own use, just click on the image below.

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May Calendar

What happened to April? The month seems to have raced past, and we haven’t even had all our Bank Holidays yet!

This month’s calendar page features one of my signature images – an abstracted closeup of an old lock on an even older wooden door.  If you’re enjoying the decay photographs you can see more on my Bēhance portfolio (as well as more of the floral images if you like them too).

You can still download the previous months’ pages (see below the main image) and the next one will be out towards the end of May.  If you sign up for updates on new posts, you won’t miss it.

To download, free to print for your own use, just click on the image below.

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April Calendar

Wow!  I’m going to dare to say that Spring is finally with us.  In the UK the clocks are about to go forwards an hour (this weekend, the night of Saturday 26th March).  I’m never happy about this because I don’t just lose an hour, I lose an hour every night for months!  I just can’t get the hang of it.  Still, it’s nice to see the sunshine we’ve been having lately, and all the spring flowers are out which is always cheering.

So, for April’s free download calendar page we have a stunning orange tulip.  If you’re enjoying the floral photos you can see more on my Bēhance portfolio (as well as more decay if you’re enjoying those pages too).

You can still download the previous months’ pages (see below the main image) and the next one will be out towards the end of April.  If you sign up for updates on new posts, you won’t miss it.

To download, just click on the image below.

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