Photography | The Daily Norm

Aug 30

Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Favourite Photos

As my Marbella season comes to an end, and the third of my summer-time travel tripartite waits eagerly in the wings for Daily Norm exploration (yes, Poland is on its way…!) I wanted to end this series of Summer Spain posts, as I so often do, with a series of some of my favourite miscellaneous photos. Like always, these photos really are a hodgepodge selection, from beautiful stained-glass butterflies and fuchsia pink bourganvilla, to crazy curly street lamps and olive oil bottles glinting in the sun. I love the smaller details which have been captured in this set, such as the tiny little yellow ladybird who appeared like a birthday good luck charm on my 30th when I sat sipping champagne by the sea; and the amazing black and white polka dot body of that incredible butterfly whose startling orange wings glowed like a light suspended in midair when caught by the rays of the sun. But some of these photos also capture wider planes and more general atmospheres, such as the cafe scene in orange square and that fatty delicious churros I ate on my birthday.

As ever these are a set of photographic memories which I will always cherish as something to look back on in the privacy of my own home, but which are somehow all the richer, for my being able now to share them with you. Enjoy.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2013 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Puerto Banús (daily-norm.com)
Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Life’s a Beach (daily-norm.com)
Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Ojén (daily-norm.com)
Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Andalucía’s Gem (daily-norm.com)

Aug 28

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Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Ojén

When I think Andalucía, I think narrow white washed streets clinging to steep mountain sides; seas of terracotta tiled roofs jostling for space in a crowded maze of twisting ancient streets; houses almost spilling from inside out, as residents take to sitting outside in the cooler evening air; and those white washed walls being intermittently punctuated by rich floral sprays such as the vivid pinks of brugmansia and the fragrant perfume of jasmine. And while Marbella, the location of my ultimate of August holidays, has its fair share of white washed wonders collected together in the winding cobbled streets of its stunning old town, it’s the little hilltop Andalus villages which for me characterise the very epitome of Southern Spanish charm.

So to discover these little hilltop gems one has to leave Marbella, and the sprawling Costa del Sol behind, but this isn’t exactly easy to do for the likes of me who has no car – the Costa, unbelievably is not on the Spanish train network, and the destinations served by the local bus service are limited. Happily however, there is one exception to this sorry state of transportation – every few hours, a bus leaves from Marbella centre and makes the 30 minute journey, up into the mountains, to the nearby hilltop village of Ojén, home to none other than Julio Iglesias himself.

Scenery from Marbella to Ojén

As soon as you leave Marbella’s centre and begin to ascend the main road into the Sierra Blanca mountain range which rises so prominently behind the town, you notice the scenery begin to change. As the bus descends and the road skirts the steepening mountain sides, the landscape opens up before you so that urban dwellings are replaced by vast ochre planes, their rocky arid topography punctuated by olive trees and the odd cypress. At this time of year the landscapes are particularly dry, but this year they retain the black charred scarring which a devastating forest fire caused last year when it spread across the planes of Andalucía. This does nothing to distract from the beauty of the landscape however, whose slopes and pastures meander and undulate downwards towards a stunning view of the Mediterranean sea and Marbella some 1000 metres below.

A few minutes of winding roads later, and the little village of Ojén appears. Home to around 1000 people, it is a cluster of dazzling white set against the ochres and browns of the surrounding hillsides. Those hillsides are reflected in the streets and homes of the village which, in places, appear to be almost precariously clinging to the hillsides and near vertical angles, the stone sloping streets following suit and making a climb upwards under the midday sun a challenging prospect. But my goodness me, what a gem of a town this is – a magical collection of Andalucía’s best – those white washed houses and little tiled roofs, old woven chairs left outside tiny town houses, windows open in a vain attempt to catch a little breeze.

Perhaps the highlight of this town is the central square, surrounded by little bars and a tiny church at its centre, the baking marble pavements cooled slightly by the sound and spray of trickling water from a large fountain which remains remarkably cold even in the average 40 degrees of a typical summer’s day. It was there that my partner and I headed one lunchtime, braving the heat in order to recapture a moment we had enjoyed in the village a few years before, when we ate a plate of Spanish ham in the cheapest of cafes, but whose flavour was so intensely salty and rich that no tapas has lived up to it since. This time round, the ham did not disappoint, and basking in the almost oven-like heat of the square, we revelled in the soft melting fat and unctuous meaty texture of that ham, washed down with a small cerveza, some bread and olives. Surely as typically, simply delicious as Andalucía gets.

I leave these reflections with some photos from the day; a collection of images straight from the heart of Andalucía.

Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Andalucía’s Gem (daily-norm.com)
Composition No. 7: Andalucía (daily-norm.com)
Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Puerto Banús (daily-norm.com)
Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Life’s a Beach (daily-norm.com)

Aug 26

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Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Puerto Banús

While Marbella is pretty much famous throughout the world for its richer, glitzier suburb marina of Puerto Banus, about 10km along the coast from the centre, the port, which houses the big gaudy yachts, the high end fashion boutiques and the boy-toy roof-off sports cars is far removed from the true Marbella, which at its heart has a gem of an old town, and in the streets around it extends a charm of a bustling Spanish town, but one which has authenticity and a feel of Spanish community running through its every vein. Puerto Banus is a different kettle of fish altogether. If superficial needed a dictionary definition, Puerto Banus would be it. Constructed from scratch in the late 1960s by Jose Banus, and opened at a lavish 1970 gala with attendees such as Grace Kelly, then Princess of Monaco present, the port very quickly became the favourite destination of the jet set and those with plenty of cash to splash. Today, the port retains its self-indulgent character, albeit that the occupants have probably become richer, and almost certainly tackier, with their fake bodily parts, hideously botoxed blown-up lips, overly worked tans and hair extensions. The lack of taste in the place really does grate, and after an hour or so amongst the nouveau riche, I am rarely happier to get back to the Andalus authenticity and charm of Marbella’s old town.

Taking the boat from Marbella to Banus…

Marbella’s port

The catamaran taking us to Banus

But get away from the tacky masses, and block out the drones of Essex accents and other unsavoury lingos, and the fact remains that Puerto Banus, built in a uniform dazzling low-rise white, with similarly sparkling white yachts before it and the stupendously beautiful Marbella mountain rising up behind it, is really very beautiful. And there is no better way to approach the port and therefore regard it from a safe distance in all its peopleless beauty than to take a boat from Marbella’s slightly less salubrious marina, to Banus. At the cost of only 8 euros one way, it’s almost the same price as a taxi, but the trip affords stunning views of the Marbellan coastline, reminding passengers of just why the town was named “Sea Beautiful”.

Puerto Banus in all its glory

Once in Puerto Banus, a few restaurants round the corner from the main boutique-filled thoroughfare enable quiet al fresco dining with a stunning port-side location, while just outside of Puerto Banus, in the stretch between Banus and Marbella are situated some of the most stunning, tranquil and quiet beaches in all of Marbella. So when my partner and I headed to Banus by boat this summer, we were surprised how much of an enjoyable experience we could extract from a Port which we have formerly declared a no-go zone. Not only did the lunch trip and the boat over afford us stunning views of the marina and the coast, but our return journey provided us with the most beautiful vistas of them all. Because for those with the energy and the appetite for a long walk, the walk on foot, along Marbella’s amble seaside-promenades from Banus back to the centre of Marbella, is undoubtedly the most stunning walk to be had on all of the Costa del Sol. While it takes a good 90 minutes without stopping, and longer when you stop to take advantage of the tranquil beaches and the well-situated seaside cafes, the path takes you past bounteous plump cacti, extravagant private villas, luxury hotels and quiet beaches which resemble something out of paradise. The walk is in fact so close to my heart that a couple of years back it inspired me to paint “Paseo Banus” (see below).

The famous Banus yachts

The photos which you now see are from our trip to Banus, and the stunning walk home to Marbella’s centre which followed. Our walk probably took around 3 hours by the time we had stopped off at our favourite café Cappuccino Grand Café (and on another occasion Ibiza’s favourite – Café del Mar) and also spent a good hour dipping in and out of the super-calm sea, revelling in being the only people on a very quiet beach. But what an afternoon it was – sunny, hot, tranquil, beautiful – the riches of Marbella reserved for those who make the effort to walk out to them.

Walking from Banus back to Marbella

…and the painting it inspired

Paseo Banus (2011 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, Acrylic on canvas)

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2013 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Andalucía’s Gem (daily-norm.com)
Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Double-Starred Calima for the Big 3-0 (daily-norm.com)
Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Life’s a Beach (daily-norm.com)

Aug 23

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Málaga | Part 3 – Photographic Miscellany

Oh vivid Málaga, city of Mediterranean light, upon whose sandy shores the sun shines bright, casting its yellow glow across fading evening skies, and in paint on the facades of its insuperably elegant streets. Málaga is a city upon which the embrace of nature has not been scared off by the growth of civilisation; as abundant botanic gardens overhang paths perfect for strolling, and the sea air wafts into the hot shopping streets. It is a city where both big and small co-exist in perfect harmony: the vast one-armed cathedral and the tiny new pink growths of a tropical baby plant; the large public plazas and the tiny winding streets of the city’s oldest district. And like so many of Spain’s great cities, Málaga is another whose buildings have been sprinkled with the wand of architectural elegance, as the glass plated balconies and curled wrought iron details of the Modernista era have found their place so comfortably in this most Southern of cities, offsetting 1920s western refinement against the robust remains of the Moorish East.

Málaga is a city so rich in photographic inspiration that in a mere 24 hours in the city, I managed to capture some 500 shots on my camera. Don’t worry – I’m not planning to bore you with them all here, but below are 33 of my favourites: From graceful street lamps and multi-coloured facades, to tranquil moorish gardens and the paper lanterns of a small street fiesta – here are my memories of Málaga on camera.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2013 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Málaga | Part 1 – Capital of Culture (daily-norm.com)
Málaga | Part 2 – The Jungle and the Genius (daily-norm.com)

Aug 21

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Málaga | Part 1 – Capital of Culture

Whether it’s because the city was recently working towards a bid for European Capital of Culture (which disappointingly, was won instead by San Sebastian in Spain’s North – not entirely sure why), or just because it was sick of being forever overshadowed by the glitz and glamour of Marbella to the West, and the popularity of tourist spots such as Nerja and Granada to the East, Málaga – the 6th biggest city in Spain and the most southern large city in Europe – has certainly upped its game of late. Following on from the introduction of the phenomenal Picasso museum a decade ago (Málaga is the artist’s birth-town), the city has gone on leaps and bounds to develop its cultural and leisure landscape, making it easily one of the most enriching and enjoyable places to visit in Southern Spain.

Asides from the Picasso Museum and a host of other novel museums dedicated to the likes of Flamenco, bull fighting and Semana Santa, Málaga also boasts two major archaeological treasures – the Moorish Alcazaba, whose walls crown one of the prominent hills encircling the city, and an excavated Roman Theatre. Its wide sandy beach is now accompanied by a brand new leisure port, following a huge reconstruction of the area in which an industrial marina has been transformed into a glitzy promenade boasting glass fronted boutiques and restaurants and a palm-lined avenue. And as for its art scene – well it’s alive and kicking, with the CAC Contemporary Art Museum showing some of the most prominent artists of the contemporary art world, and the latest and most exciting addition of all: the new Carmen Thyssen museum, an outpost of the world-famous Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum which is one of the “big three” art galleries (together with the Prado and the Reina Sofia) drawing art lovers in their millions to Madrid.

The elegant streets of Málaga

Having learnt that the Carmen Thyssen museum had now opened (it actually opened in 2011, but I was a bit slow in picking up on this), my partner and I were quick to arrange ourselves a little trip from Marbella to Málaga, leaving behind the beaches for a short immersion within Málaga’s cultural offerings. But what with the opening of the new port, and the attraction of Málaga’s elegant Modernista streets beckoning, we felt it only reasonable to turn our initial plans of a day trip into a one-night stay. And so it was that our trip to the city was enriched by the silky lining that only the comfort of a night in a splendid hotel can offer, comfort which comes no more so that at the hands of the Molina Lario Hotel which we made our home for the night, a newish hotel based in a hybrid renovation of modernist palace and brand new building, and which boasts a stunning rooftop pool with unbeatable views over Málaga’s “one-armed lady”: the Cathedral whose second bell tower was never finished owing to a lack of funds, and which today is the most famous icon of the city.

Now how about this for a pool with a view…

As the photos above will more than demonstrate, we certainly made the most of all that the hotel had to offer, and sipping wine on the pool side terrace overlooking a vast panorama of the city in the dying light of the day has to have been one of my highlights of the whole Spanish holiday. But what about that museum? Well once we had managed to pull ourselves away from the plentiful distractions which our hotel provided, we headed straight for the Thyssen, our passage being interrupted only once or twice by the pull of the beautiful Plaza del Obispo, whose iconic red and yellow Episcopal Palace and its viewpoint straight onto the façade of Málaga’s imposing Cathedral made a stop in the idyllic square for a glass of something ice cold and thirst quenching a practical prerequisite. But thanks to the Thyssen’s superb location, just west of the main Plaza de la Constitucion, we soon made it to this impressive new museum, whose architecture, based around the old Palacio de Vaillalon but benefiting from innovative new extensions is, in itself something to be admired before the collection is even surveyed.

The Plaza del Obispo

…and the Carmen Thyssen Museum

Having entered through the museum’s sun drenched traditional courtyard, and helped ourselves to a small cortado coffee and a miniature lemon meringue pie in the café, we slowly made our way around the museum’s four floors of Andalucía-based art, largely emanating from the 19th century. I have often heard this period of Spanish art, between the golden age greats of Velazquez and El Greco, the traumatic masterpieces of Goya, and the 20th century brilliance of Picasso and Dali, to be dismissed as insipid; even boring. But for those who love the rich history-rich culture of Southern Spain, this collection is a treat. From street scenes showing the Easter Semana Santa parades in all their lavish details, and almost impressionistic depictions of the Spanish coast, to stunningly detailed paintings of traditional Andaluz patios, and crowds bursting into local bull rings, there really is something for everyone in this perfectly located collection which really does beat to the rhythm of Andalucía’s heart.

Our visit also coincided with a temporary exhibition of Cordoba based Julio Romero de Torres (1874-1930), a master of Andalucían symbolism, with an oeuvre associated with popular and folk trends, interspersed with the wide-eyed females who languish so prominently and poetically across his canvases against strangely surreal, often looming skies.

A selection of Romero de Torres’ work

Back at the hotel, our feet pulsating after an afternoon exploring both the Thyssen and the elegant streets and Plazas surrounding it, all that remained was to enjoy that incredible view from the comfort of our hotel’s rooftop swimming pool, and later to dine in the city’s bustling tapas-bar lined streets, with a stroll along the glittering new port before bed. The perfect end to a day as rich as Málaga is abundant – in culture, in architecture, in beauty, and in progress: No longer just the gateway to the Costa del Sol, Málaga has surely earned its place as one of Spain’s must-visit cultural centres.

Málaga’s glittering new port

Details of the Carmen Thyssen Museum, including temporary exhibitions and future shows can be found here.

Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Andalucía’s Gem (daily-norm.com)
Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Double-Starred Calima for the Big 3-0 (daily-norm.com)
Composition No. 7: Andalucía (daily-norm.com)

Aug 20

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Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Life’s a Beach

My second selection of photographs from my two week rendezvous in Spain’s Marbella is, for a town named after the beautiful sea which laps up along its sandy shores, rather appropriately collected around a beach theme. For without long days languishing along the plentiful sandy stretches, dipping in and out of the warm Mediterranean sea, and breathing in the mixed smells of sun tan cream, the salty sea breeze, and the acrid fishy smoke from barbequed sardines roasting upon one of the many beach chiringitos, a holiday in Marbella would lose its soul.

I didn’t take my camera to the beach nearly as much as we took ourselves along – after all, those pesky grains of sand tend to get everywhere, and a rogue sandy particle imbedding itself within the internal mechanisms of my camera is one holiday souvenir I can easily do without. However, those few occasions when my camera remained at my side were pretty active in the photography stakes. One feature of the beach which never failed to inspire me was the kaleidoscope of colours on offer.

Under the bluest of blue skies, the sea took on a welcoming turquoise creaminess, while the sand glowed yellow and beige. Against that backdrop the hundreds of beach umbrellas brought along by the daily beach masses provided the finishing touches to what were an entire rainbow of vivid tones. One of my favourite photos just has to be the beach viewed from the paseo above, tanned crowds packing onto the sands and the swathe of multi-coloured umbrellas extending for as far as the eye can see – a vast snaking swirl of beach activity, and the very epitome of the Spanish summer season.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2013 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Andalucía’s Gem (daily-norm.com)
Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Double-Starred Calima for the Big 3-0 (daily-norm.com)
Composition No. 7: Andalucía (daily-norm.com)

Aug 15

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Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Andalucía’s Gem

While Anglo-Spanish relations may have soured of late over that small little lump of rock Gibraltar which, like many such British overseas territories, remains rather bizarrely a part of the British Empire despite being actually attached to Southern Spain, the sun-baked Iberian Peninsula and in particular the Costa del Sol, remains the number one destination for sun-seeking Brits every summer. Now ordinarily, I would find the concept of coach-loads of drunken sunburnt Britons to be one so sufficiently abhorrent that it should be avoided at all costs. And indeed, along much of Spain’s coast, you wouldn’t see me amongst the larger louts and the empty fish and chips cartons for toffee. But happily there remains one bastion, in amongst this coast of over-developed tourist tat, where champagne, rather than San Miguel is the preferred tipple, and whose old town is so exquisite as to be a gem of Andalucía.

I am of course talking about Marbella, which despite being more popularly labelled “Marbs” these days owing to the minor polluting influence of visits from the tack-happy residents of Essex, has remained a city synonymous with quality, with the good life, and with the beauty of its streets, its harbours, its beaches and its people. Marbella is undoubtedly one of my favourite cities in all the world, but not for its beaches and gold-plated yacht-filled marinas – rather I am seduced because with its Andalucían flavours, its embrace of Spanish heritage, its collections of art and clusters of small private galleries, and its offerings of some of the most charming plazas and cobbled streets in all of Spain, it is simply a paradise on earth.

Luckily for me, my family have a small old house right in the heart of the winding maze of streets which make up Marbella’s Casco Antiguo (old town), and as a result, over the 11 years in which we have owned the house, I have come to call Marbella my second home. Consequently, there could be no question that I would return to my sunny homeland when I turned the big 3-0 this summer – for two weeks of celebrations which would help to dilute the somewhat daunting horror felt at turning such a ripe old age.

What will follow, therefore, is a series of posts devoted to those two weeks of sea, sun and Spanish seduction, from several collections of photos and a visit to nearby Malaga, to the art works I painted, and the dinners I enjoyed. I start the series with my first set of snaps, these exploring the unhampered charm of Marbella’s old town.

Sometimes, when I walk out of my own front door straight onto the white washed streets of Andalucía, dazzling in their white simplicity against the bluest of skies, and contrasting against the vivid pinks of the abundant floral sprays climbing up the old cracking walls, I have to pinch myself. For living inside of a postcard world always makes you feel a bit like you’re dreaming. Yet in this very knowledge, I cannot help but act like a tourist on every walk around Marbella, for even though I have seen these streets and sights several hundred times before, I cannot help but feel that in my own small way, I must pay homage to their stunning beauty.

The photos on this post are a part of that homage, a dedication to the charming narrow streets, the squares bustling with parasol-covered restaurants and refreshed by the trickle and splatter of the old town’s many stone fountains, to the vivid colours of the richly painted facades, and to the simple glory of old churches, ancient stone walls, and neatly cobbled streets.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2013 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Aug 13

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The Daily Norm’s Photo of the Week: The surprising beauty of the Spider

Spiders aren’t exactly the most popular creatures in the world. Of the many millions of people around the globe who cannot stand these creepy eight-legged arachnids, I am but one of the number. My inherent dislike for the little beasts grew all the worse when, in my bedroom as a teenager, I felt something crawl across my face during the night in a state of semi-consciousness, and when I turned on my light found the blackest, biggest of evil spiders sitting on the pillow next to me. Eugh, my skin crawls now thinking about it.

And yet when a spider is at arms breadth, and when you know exactly where it is (and therefore no nasty surprises creeping down your neck) there is something quite aesthetically beautiful about the spiders very symmetrical body, in its gangly, angly long-legged way, something which was perhaps proven most obviously by the artist Louise Bourgeois and her masterful larger-than life spider sculptures (my favourite being the one that is (or was at any rate) outside Frank Gehry’s stunning Guggenheim in Bilbao).

However what really captured my attention when I saw this rather gruesome spider on the side of the lavish garden swimming pool at the Hotel Particulier in Arles was not the spider herself, but the beautiful shadow cast diagonally from her body. Seen as a flattened single-toned image, the shadow made me appreciate the beauty of the spider’s shape in a way which I hadn’t properly noted previously. Its angular legs coupled with its round body, a creepy image but also something quite architectural, even floral. And that is why the photo I took is The Daily Norm’s Photo of the Week.

The Guggenheim Bourgeois

and another in Avignon

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2013 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Aug 9

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My Urban Balcony Garden – 2013

Last summer on this blog I wrote to tell you all about my secret urban paradise – the little balcony garden which runs alongside my South London flat and which has slowly metamorphosed into my own slice of the Mediterranean. Well one year later, this Elysium of urban-imported Andalucian countryside is as healthy and abundant as ever and surely worth another post. For this year, my balcony’s abundance is all the more worth celebrating for England suffered from what was one of the coldest and longest winters on record. Even in April, while I was luckily ambling along the warm cerulean beach at Pollença in Mallorca, they had snow back in the UK. These conditions my balcony disliked. Grumpily my plants began to waken from their interrupted, uncomfortable winter’s slumber, but some, like my vast tropical centrepiece – the bell flowered brugmansia – were stubborn until the very last. Having lost all of its leaves in the cold, I almost gave up hope of the plant ever recovering when in June still no shoots had been forthcoming.

Yet a month later the brugmansia, like the other plants on the balcony, is flourishing. This Mediterranean paradise is tightly designed in shades of black and red to match the interior design of my apartment, but is nonetheless allowed to expand autonomously, thus creating an ever cosier garden space. This year we have imported a fragrant jasmine to remind us of those paradisal nights in my family home in Marbella, where the sweet-smelling perfume is almost overwhelming. That joins the Palms, the wild Passion flower, the abundant olive trees and the vivid and voluptuous red geraniums to make this small balcony space perfectly reminiscent of a slice of Southern Spain, yet with contemporary touches suitable for London brought by black grasses, blood red lilies and other wine-coloured foliage.

My urban balcony garden really is my pride and joy, and this year I’m celebrating its success more than ever.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2013 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Aug 7

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The Daily Norm’s Photo of the Week: Killer Bee!

Taking a winning photograph is very often more a matter of luck than intention, although that is not to say that compositional planning is not a crucial element to creating the right balance and backdrop for the image. So while I was content with composing a photograph of the fragrant purple lavender bushels which were lining the steep hilly path up to the ruins of the Chateau of Les Baux de Provence, I had no idea that in amongst the lavender in the photograph which would result, I would capture this quite brilliant image of a bee in full flight.

It was with gleeful surprise therefore that I looked back through my photographs of the day and found this little beauty, the furry bumble bee looking as though he is making straight for the viewer, almost like a war plane ready to pounce. The perfect symmetry of his wings spread sideways and his legs poised to land on some nearby flower make for an incredible and quite unique view of the humble bee going about its business. But the very symmetricality of his poise and the very definite forceful way with which the bee appears to be flying gives the whole image a sense of violence, putting the viewer in the anticipation of some forthcoming battle of the flowers. One of my favourite photos of my Provence trip, and definitely worthy of The Daily Norm’s Photo of the Week spot.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2013 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.