Viola "Magnifico"

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"There is material enough in a single flower for the ornament of a score of cathedrals."
John Ruskin (1819-1900), art critic, social thinker and writer, from "The Stones of Venice" (1851)

We are used to flowers because they are all around us - in the countryside, in urban wasteland, in our gardens, parks, streets, shops, houses - everywhere. We look at them often. But do we see them? There are those that say there is no distinction between the two words, "looking" and "seeing". I think there is, and five or so years ago I tried to articulate that difference in a blog post called, "Looking and seeing".

The quotation at the top of this post has always interested me. What was Ruskin trying to get at with these words? I've always thought that he had two main points in mind. Firstly, perhaps, there's a veiled criticism of the fecundity of building ornament of his time: too many sources of inspiration where one or few would serve better. That architects should extract more from less when searching for ornamental design. Then, more importantly, is the suggestion that people should train themselves to look more closely - to see better - so that the richness of objects and the possibilities within them become more apparent.

Looking at today's photographs of the flower, Viola "Magnifico", I was reminded of Ruskin's words. It's true that you can see a multitude of points of interest in a single bloom. Here I like the colour combinations and the way each bleeds into its neighbour. The symmetry of the petal arrangement, their deckle edges and the striking markings of the centre of each bloom are also eye-catching. Then I like the way the flowers look like they have been designed by someone with wet water-colour paper and a heavily laden brush. And finally there is how the distant blooms and the leaves merge in the blur to enhance that suggestion that this is a painting and not a photograph.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Canon 5DMk2
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 100mm Macro
F No: f4
Shutter Speed: 1/250
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  0
Image Stabilisation: On

Ruskin, weather and contre jour

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"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather." John Ruskin (1819-1900) English art critic and author


Though an active supporter of the Pre-Raphaelites and a firm believer in the primacy of painting over all other visual arts, John Ruskin took a keen interest in photography and used a camera. He was one of the subscribers to Eadweard Muybridge's 1887 publication, "Animal Locomotion, an Electro-Photographic investigation of consecutive phases of animal movements." In 1856 he made daguerrotypes of the towers of the Swiss Fribourg, also drawing them freehand, then comparing the results. His view was that the photograph was "more right" but that the sketch "nevertheless conveys, in some respects, a truer idea of Fribourg than the other, and has, therefore, a certain use." Though he was thinking in artistic terms I am sure Ruskin would not have been slow to spot the continuing use today of technical drawing rather than photographs to illustrate car, camera and many other instruction manuals, and to use this as further proof of the value of drawing over photography.


His views on weather are ones I share, particularly from a photographic point of view, though our recent extended wet spell is testing me. Extremes of weather offer "different" kinds of images to the photographer. Snow, fog, rain and the rest, though presenting certain difficulties that fair weather doesn't, nonetheless give the opportunity for photographic drama, simplicity, contrast and much else. The recent wall-to-wall rain that has beset the British spring and summer briefly cleared one recent afternoon and we took the opportunity to venture out for a walk. The roads were lined with deep puddles that hadn't drained away, the tarmac glistened, reflecting the sun, and the ragged clouds offered every shade of grey. I caught my wife with this contre jour shot as she wended her way between the pools of water. When I looked at it on the computer screen I liked the deep contrast and almost moonlight feel to the image that appeared when I converted it to black and white. It was, I reflected, a photograph that could only have been taken in this kind of Ruskinian good weather.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Lumix LX3
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 7.9mm (37mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f8
Shutter Speed: 1/1600
ISO: 80
Exposure Compensation: -0.66 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Mixed varieties of flowers

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Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity.
John Ruskin (1819-1900) English art critic, social critic, artist, etc

As a fully paid up member of ordinary humanity I agree with Ruskin's observation. The sight of flowers in full bloom has the ability to lift, if only for a moment or two, the clouds that shroud us, the worries that beset us, and the cares and concerns that are a necessary part of life itself. However, there are those who think that the cultivation of flowers is onerous and will have nothing to do with it. They worry about what to plant, where to plant, how to plant, how to feed, about pests and watering and a multitude of other imagined "difficulties". But, as anyone who has done any gardening will know, the life force in seeds and seedlings is strong, and they will often survive even the most inept of gardeners.

There is another lesson that I have learnt over the years that I want to share today. If you are the sort of gardener who wants to create something beautiful but without the need to acquire specialised knowledge or an inordinate amount of time working the soil, then ignore the latest varieties, the expensive hybrids, and instead make plentiful use of the tried and tested, especially the inexpensive "mixed" varieties of seeds. These are part of every seed merchant's range and give not only excellent value for money but also do the "artistic" bit of gardening for you. The fact is, one of the novice gardener's worries concerns which flowers to plant with which, and whether this colour "goes" with that. The mixed varieties of seeds combine flowers of a range of colours that work well together. So, if you buy mixed rudbeckia you'll get yellows, browns and oranges of various shades that will complement each other beautifully. If you plant mixed cosmos then the variety of reds, yellows and oranges (or pinks, purples and whites) will positively glow in combination. So too will mixed wallflowers, as today's photograph, I hope, shows. Beginners and some experienced gardeners avoid wallflowers because they are biennials - they flower the year after you sow them. Don't let this put you off - the result is worth it.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 300mm
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/400
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Customs House, King's Lynn, Norfolk

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"When we build let us think that we build for ever"
John Ruskin (1819-1900) English art critic, social critic, artist, etc

Looking at some of the flimsy, banal, or downright ugly buildings that are thrown up today there are times when I think Ruskin was right: all buildings should be well-designed, beautiful, and durable. But then the more rational side of me comes to the fore and I acknowledge that a building should be designed to meet a specific purpose, and that purpose may disappear leaving a structure that can't be used for something else. However, when you see a power station turned into an art gallery (Tate Modern), churches become houses, bars, antique shops and more, and disused warehouses transformed into desirable apartments, then you think that perhaps Ruskin was right after all, and that every buildings should incorporate an element of flexibility so that it can have a life beyond its initial purpose.

The building shown reflected in the dock at King's Lynn, Norfolk, is the old Customs House. It was built in 1683 by the gentleman-architect, Henry Bell, who was also a merchant of the town. Its original purpose was a Merchants' Exchange. However, the first floor was let to the Collector of Customs who subsequently, in 1718, bought the entire building. Today it is a museum and houses the Tourist Information offices of the town. It seems to me to be a building that embraces Ruskin's injunction, and whilst it may not last "for ever", the durable, carefully cut stone, elegant proportions and refined beauty of the structure will ensure its longevity. The architectural historian, Nikolaus Pevsner, called it "one of the finest late C17 public buildings in provincial England." That endorsement, too, should guarantee that it lives on to meet future needs.

A while ago I posted a shot of this building with the statue of Captain George Vancouver in the foreground. Here I used the reflection and the water of the dock to fill the near space.

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 25mm (50mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/800
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -1.0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

John Ruskin and the peacock

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"Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and lilies for instance."
John Ruskin (1819-1900) English art critic, social critic, artist, etc,
from "The Stones of Venice" (1851)

Many years ago I read "The Stones of Venice" and "The Seven Lamps of Architecture" one after the other and ended up with "Ruskindigestion"! Both books are fascinating and important documents in the history of art and architecture, but as you read them you feel that you are being so stuffed full of the author's "moral truths" that you'll burst.

John Ruskin was a man of decided opinions about painting (direct observation was vital), architecture (Classical bad, Gothic - especially the Venetian variety - good), society (he extolled the virtues of the medieval period and decried the values of the industrial revolution), and much else too. I took away from the books much interesting information about art and architecture, but also amazement that a man could be so utterly convinced of his own rightness. Not a single doubt seemed to exist in Ruskin's head. Every opinion was held with absolute conviction.

I suppose that comes through in the quotation at the head of this piece. It's an absurd statement, ridiculously dogmatic, and easily disproved. Yet, I was delighted to read it! Because what made Ruskin great, for me, were his powerful insights that he couldn't have had without being so strongly convinced of his own point of view. For every statement that we can disagree with - "I do not believe that ever any building was truly great, unless it had mighty masses, vigorous and deep, of shadow mingled with its surface" is another such - there is also an abundance that are felicitously expressed and contain deep truths. So, when I read, "Fine art is that in which the hand, the head and the heart of man go together" I can only agree. As an educator I was impressed by his statement about education: "The entire object of true education is to make people not merely do the right things, but enjoy them; not merely be industrious, but love industry; not merely learn, but love knowledge; not merely be pure, but love purity; not merely be just, but hunger and thirst after justice". And when I came across, "Quality is never an accident, it is always the result of intelligent effort", I could only say "Amen!" Ruskin is still worth reading today. If you haven't the time or inclination for a book (or two) look up some of his quotations: they are frequently perceptive, often opinionated, and sometimes plain wrong! But they're always interesting.

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 35mm macro (70mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/2
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: Off