Lynkos

A funny thing happened to me…

Sarah — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 11:28:00 +0000

A funny thing happened to me...

A funny thing happened to me on the way to the shops today. As I walked out the door, I made the rash decision to take my camera with me and try and get some images of my nearby village. There was a brisk north-easterly blowing down from the mountains and the light was grim and flat, nothing to attract my photographic attention, so why not, I thought. Of course, the reason why not is obvious to anyone who knows me… because the last location I feel comfortable photographing in is our village, where I always feel that every eye is on me if I so much as walk down the street with a camera. But undeterred, I bravely shouldered my gear and off I went.
I did manage to get a few shots, even though they were pretty much grabbed in passing, any thought on technicalities and composition pushed well to the back of my mind by my anxiety at being spotted… an absurdity, I know, but there it is!
Then when I started processing them, I had another radical (for me) idea. I’d stepped out of one comfort zone that morning, so why not step out of another. You see I tend to be a perfectionist. I’m compelled to get every line straight, every tone just right, everything neat and tidy. But those aren’t necessarily the images I feel most drawn to when I look through the work of other photographers… so I stopped tidying up.

Here goes then, here are some II (Intentionally Imperfect), rough round the edges, images of my nearby village, not the romantic picturesque side of the tourist brochures, that does exist, but it doesn’t really interest me that much. I’m drawn to the other side, the one that’s usually missing to tell the whole story. Because as we all know, maybe the camera doesn’t actually lie, but it can be amazingly selective in telling the truth.
Now that I’ve broken the ice as it were, I’m sort of thinking this might become a passion project and maybe if I brave my anxiety often enough, who knows, it may start to feel, well, normal. Here’s hoping!

For my Italian-speaking friends (or anyone wanting to translate into another language), I recommend DeepL translator available clicking here or also as a browser extension for Google Chrome.

Per i miei amici di lingua italiana (o chiunque voglia tradurre in un’altra lingua), consiglio DeepL translator disponibile cliccando qui o anche come estensione per il browser Google Chrome.

Spring has sprung… or has it?

Sarah — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 11:37:46 +0000

Spring has sprung... or has it?

Today is the first of March and in my mind that makes it the first day of Spring, although some might accuse me of unwarranted optimism… and indeed, this morning is decidedly and predictably unspring like. February is not my favourite month by a long chalk and I’m not sad to see it go, but it does have its positive side. On one hand, I’m ever more disgruntled by the dark dinginess of winter, on the other, I’ve already started that hectic scurrying from place to place, seeking out the first signs of the changing season. This year, the exceptionally warm weather has brought the phenology on apace and the almond trees in our village in the central Italian Apennines are now in full flower, to the shared delight of bees, butterflies, a smattering of blue tits and myself. In our local woodland, the cornel trees (Cornus mas) are bursting with vivid yellow flowers and the first courageous violets (Viola suavis) are starting to push up through the deep leaf litter.

Even on cold days, you can sense Spring in the air. I can feel it and so do the birds. Every step I take generates a chorus of scolding blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), great tits (Parus major) and long tailed tits (Aegithalos caudatus), while green woodpeckers (Picus viridis) yaffle their territorial claims at each other from one side of the valley to the other. Go up another hundred metres or so and take a wander through the stony, arid slopes of the foothills and if you’re lucky, you’ll encounter our very own early-flowering endemic crocus, Crocus variegatus, a sure sign we’ve turned the corner.

I’ve kept the best to last though, something that will really make the eyes dance and the heart sing, or should it be the other way round? Not, of course, a crocus (but then you knew that already, didn’t you), but the spring meadow saffron (Colchicum bulbocodium) flowering flamboyantly on the upland plains of central Abruzzo where the woodlarks and stonechats chirp happily in the unseasonally warm sun.

For my Italian-speaking friends (or anyone wanting to translate into another language), I recommend DeepL translator available clicking here or also as a browser extension for Google Chrome.

Per i miei amici di lingua italiana (o chiunque voglia tradurre in un’altra lingua), consiglio DeepL translator disponibile cliccando qui o anche come estensione per il browser Google Chrome.

Cold winds and a breath of hope

Sarah — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 09:17:31 +0000

Cold winds and a breath of hope

It snowed last night, up there in the mountains. And this morning the powdery new snow is being lifted into swirls and whirls by an icy relentless wind.

But here in the foothills, in the village where I live, there is a blackbird singing and the season’s first almond blossom stands out backlit by a sun that can’t quite manage to impose its warmth on the chill of the bitter wind.

Not the most beautiful of images perhaps, but an image of something infinitely beautiful. Could it be we’ve survived winter for another year? It’s early days, but despite the cold, I think that blackbird knows a thing or two, I might just sing along.

For my Italian-speaking friends (or anyone wanting to translate into another language), I recommend DeepL translator available clicking here or also as a browser extension for Google Chrome.

Per i miei amici di lingua italiana (o chiunque voglia tradurre in un’altra lingua), consiglio DeepL translator disponibile cliccando qui o anche come estensione per il browser Google Chrome.

A walk in the woods

Sarah — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 09:04:23 +0000

A walk in the woods

In my youth, I never really appreciated woodland. I suppose youth needs long horizons, intriguing vistas, room to move. To comprehend woods, you need time. It’s all about detail, looking closely, and that’s something which perhaps comes easier as the years go by. There is nothing really special about the woods near where I live. Quite the opposite. Only a few decades ago there wouldn’t have been woodland here at all, just an expanse of small fields, lined by dry stone walls with just a few surviving oak trees spared to provide shade and fodder for the livestock. Then came the great exodus from the land after the Second World War. Many people migrated from the countryside to the cities, or even further afield, hoping for an easier life. So nature did what nature does and flowed back, filling in the spaces abandoned by man.

This is young undisciplined woodland, the trees vying for space to grow, thrusting their branches towards the sky, jostling for light. It’s a far cry from those upland forests where ancient trees nurture with the wisdom of a timeless narrative. But it is my woodland, at least for now, and I’m endeavouring to understand its heartbeat, its breath, its soul. I’d like to take you with me on this undistinguished February day with nothing really special to offer, no dramatic light, no moody mist, just stillness, the alarm call of a blackbird, the distant rippling dialogue of two green woodpeckers, a dog barks down in the valley and the wind whispers in the ever more flimsy downy oak leaves left clinging to the trees. There is a sense of shared anticipation in the air, waiting together for Spring to bring new sap, new energy.

For my Italian-speaking friends (or anyone wanting to translate into another language), I recommend DeepL translator available clicking here or also as a browser extension for Google Chrome.

Per i miei amici di lingua italiana (o chiunque voglia tradurre in un’altra lingua), consiglio DeepL translator disponibile cliccando qui o anche come estensione per il browser Google Chrome.

When a little is enough

Sarah — Sun, 08 Feb 2026 17:05:14 +0000

When a little is enough

The fog comes and goes, and when it goes, along come the clouds, bringing the drizzle with them. A landscape photographer would be revelling in the moody conditions, but it’s not the best of times for a macro photographer with a passion for flowers and critters, the stranger the better. But all is not lost and today while walking in the mist, a couple of rays of sun managed to break through, just time to get the macro lens out and dive (literally) into an area of scrub laden with lichen. Perhaps it was the mist which fogged my mind, but my aim today was more abstract that documentary. This was the result.

For my Italian-speaking friends (or anyone wanting to translate into another language), I recommend DeepL translator available clicking here or also as a browser extension for Google Chrome.

Per i miei amici di lingua italiana (o chiunque voglia tradurre in un’altra lingua), consiglio DeepL translator disponibile cliccando qui o anche come estensione per il browser Google Chrome.

A day in the life

Sarah — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 07:55:26 +0000

A day in the life...

The weather hasn’t been great recently, at least, not by my sun-loving, grey-detesting standards. To pass the time, I’ve been going back through my abundant archives, sorting, deleting (rarely), reminiscing. And in doing so, I noticed an interesting phenomenon. By craft or good fortune, I have accumulated a fair number of more than decent images over the years, but these weren’t the ones that grabbed my attention. Those that made me pause, reflect, remember for better or for worse, were the everyday images, the view from a half forgotten window, the desk where I spent so many hours processing other people’s words, the pot where I kept my pens. So I’m writing this post mainly for a future me. To say… hello, hope you’re well. Do you remember that this was once your day?

For my Italian-speaking friends (or anyone wanting to translate into another language), I recommend DeepL translator available clicking here or also as a browser extension for Google Chrome.

Per i miei amici di lingua italiana (o chiunque voglia tradurre in un’altra lingua), consiglio DeepL translator disponibile cliccando qui o anche come estensione per il browser Google Chrome.

The first is always special

Sarah — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 15:10:47 +0000

The first is always special

Here in the foothills of the central Italian Apennines, spring is still a very long way away. But every year this species of endemic crocus (Crocus variegatus) is always the first to break the spell of winter, defying the frost and icy wind to push its delicate way through the tangle of dead and dormant vegetation. So each year from early January onwards, I go on regular pilgrimages to a nearby site where experience tells me I’m most likely to find the first flowers… and today I struck lucky. There were very few and most of these were the worse for wear after the snow of just a few days ago, but merely finding them is enough to put a smile on my face. Let the new season commence! Impossible to get a decent clean image without literally mowing the meadow to get rid of all the tangled unsightly vegetation, but for me the important was to document this turning point in the seasons.

For my Italian-speaking friends (or anyone wanting to translate into another language), I recommend DeepL translator available clicking here or also as a browser extension for Google Chrome.

Per i miei amici di lingua italiana (o chiunque voglia tradurre in un’altra lingua), consiglio DeepL translator disponibile cliccando qui o anche come estensione per il browser Google Chrome.

Thank goodness for pigeons

Sarah — Sun, 11 Jan 2026 07:44:04 +0000

Thank goodness for pigeons!

I had been planning to get out and about in my local woodland. It was not to be. The temperature dropped by a degree or so below the expected and what should have been rain came down as snow. To go slithering and sliding down our steep hill in the car didn’t seem such a great idea, so there I was, camera in hand and nose metaphorically pressed against the window, hoping something would come along. And it did. Yes, I know, it’s “just” a pigeon, but you’ve got to work with what you’ve got and… well, I’ve got pigeons.
I’m not complaining. Look at it, I mean really look at it. Those amazing shades of grey, the beautiful muted greens and purples around the neck. Just think… if pigeons were few and far between, a rare exotic visitor, then you’d wax lyrical about their subtle beauty, wouldn’t you? Well today, that’s what I’m going to do. So thank you pigeon, you’re very welcome.

For my Italian-speaking friends (or anyone wanting to translate into another language), I recommend DeepL translator available clicking here or also as a browser extension for Google Chrome.

Per i miei amici di lingua italiana (o chiunque voglia tradurre in un’altra lingua), consiglio DeepL translator disponibile cliccando qui o anche come estensione per il browser Google Chrome.

When the sun came out to play

Sarah — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 15:51:33 +0000

When the sun came out to play

We’re in a run of no-no days hereabouts, the sort of unexceptional, unremarkable days that pretty well sum up my idea of bleak… no colour, no light, no snow, no contrast, no drama, no atmosphere, not even any real rain, just drizzle. As I said, bleak. But the other day, the sun came out, just for a moment, and it so happened that I was there to greet it, fleetingly of course, because it must have had something else important to illuminate elsewhere, as it only hung around long enough for two quick images, one to the left, one to the right, more or less. Pity it didn’t stay around a bit longer to play. We’d have had some fun. But it’ll be back and so will I.

For my Italian-speaking friends (or anyone wanting to translate into another language), I recommend DeepL translator available clicking here or also as a browser extension for Google Chrome.

Per i miei amici di lingua italiana (o chiunque voglia tradurre in un’altra lingua), consiglio DeepL translator disponibile cliccando qui o anche come estensione per il browser Google Chrome.

A new year, a new dawn

Sarah — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 10:33:09 +0000

A new year, a new dawn

So here we are, a new year dawns. 2025 wasn’t the best year of my life, but neither was it the worst, so I’ll go with that, for now. Above all it brought me clarity, and clarity at the very least makes a good solid base for looking ahead. So with freezing temperatures keeping me safely but restlessly blocked in front of the computer (or is it behind the screen?), that’s what I’ll be doing in the next few days. A new road. A new adventure, but then, so is every new day that dawns with me still here on this crazy wobbling sphere of rock we call home. Happy New Year Earth… just keep on rolling!

For my Italian-speaking friends (or anyone wanting to translate into another language), I recommend DeepL translator available clicking here or also as a browser extension for Google Chrome.

Per i miei amici di lingua italiana (o chiunque voglia tradurre in un’altra lingua), consiglio DeepL translator disponibile cliccando qui o anche come estensione per il browser Google Chrome.