Hughenden Manor #1

These are a set of photos I took at Hughenden Manor. By far it was one of the most enjoyable visits, mostly because of the variety of images I managed to capture. Also I was in the mood of taking loads, which to be honest, rarely happens these days. The weather really helped though. One of the first things I learnt from J is that sometimes the gloomier it is, the better your pictures will be. The problem is that for me, gloomy weather means less inspiration. However, this was not the case here. The clouds removed any extra glare and intensified the colours.

Hughenden Manor, which now belongs to the National Trust, was once the home of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli from 1848 to 1881. The photo you see above are the flowers at his grave, taken through the blue iron fence encircling it. The house, though lavish, is not my cup of tea, but I can understand why people find it charming. I was more interested in what lies outside.

There are a number of photos here which will be difficult to fit into one post. Perhaps taking countless images of those delightful apple blossoms didn’t help. They are one of my favourites though, and for me they are obligatory. It’s also an excuse to bust out my macro lens! I am still getting used to it and trying to get the focus right takes time. And of course, pointing the lens so close to something and taking ages to click makes people around you very curious. In turn this makes me extra concious. I still have to get over that.

Once we were out of the house, we went in search of flowers. There were plenty around, all very beautiful. I took around twelve photos in total of this lovely Grape Hyacinth. (Please forgive me if I get the names wrong. I love flowers because they’re pretty; I just have no clue as to what species they belong to.) I had a hard time balancing myself and the camera and I had to squeeze in between the many visitors who stopped admiring that area of the garden. A sweet little boy with his parents also stopped to say hi and we spent a good 5 minutes chatting about our favourite colours and how colourful all the flowers were. It was fun.

I’m not certain what the delicate pink flower is. I should really read the gardener’s notes more often. So if anyone of you knows, please give me a shout. I would love to know the name. Could it be a peony perhaps? I wonder. It certainly was special. Again focussing took some patience and numerous tries, and this was one of the most adequate photos I came up with. I love how you can see the texture of the petals, and that yellow tinge in the middle together with the white, is almost like a pencil coloured drawing. The kind of detail this lens picks up is great.

Since this first part of the visit is all about the flowers, I decided to conclude here with an image taken in St. Michael and All Angels Church, which is on land belonging to the National Trust, but the church itself belongs to the Church of England. It was Easter Saturday and we found someone inside decorating the aisle. The flowers below were set casually on one of the front benches. I could have framed the subjects better but I took this one really quickly as not to disturb the quietness of the scene. The cushion under the bench is so hidden that I barely even noticed it. But I’m glad it’s in the picture. I just love those embroidered beauties. We spent some time walking around the sides of the church reading the prayers on the pillars.