Several large heads of purple hydrangeas
Flowers,  London,  The Changing Seasons,  Themed galleries

Gallery: a June selection (2023)

June 30, 2023 / 57 Comments

If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute

My Virtual Tourist friend Jon, who hosted our meeting in Tromsø

Certainly for me this past June has been one of more than usually changeable weather. I started the month inside the Arctic Circle where in the first few days of meteorological summer the temperature didn’t rise above six or seven degrees Celsius and was often colder than that. I then returned to a London going into its first heatwave of the summer, hitting thirty degrees on a couple of days. Towards the end of the month the temperature dropped to the more usual, and comfortable, low to mid-twenties.

As I said, I started the month in Norway. But as photos from that trip have already been liberally sprinkled across recent posts I’ve only included a couple below, to whet your appetites for a future post about the wild and beautiful Kvaløya.

There was plenty going on during the rest of the month to give me more than enough photos to fill this little slide show. I went to two exhibitions in London. Firstly the Rosettis (and a general wander around Tate Britain) with my sister. And secondly, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year at the Natural History Museum with Chris, when we also popped into the V&A for coffee and a look at their expanded, excellent, photography centre.

We made several visits to London parks, my favourite St James’s and also Kensington Gardens. We went to the cinema once (Asteroid City). And I enjoyed blogger meet-ups with Sue of Words Visual in Reigate and Margaret of From Pyrenees to Pennines in London. In between there were all the usual local activities with coffee shop visits, park walks and simply relaxing in the garden.

Talking of which, we were thrilled to discover that wood pigeons had made a home in our photinia! The nest was only really visible after the flowers started to drop but I managed to get a photo of their sole offspring just a few days before he flew the nest.

Technical notes

Most of the photos in Norway were taken with my Lumix Bridge camera. Those back in England are a mix, using phone, Lumix Bridge and Lumix compact. All were edited in Photoshop Elements and many also in Color Efex Pro. The one black and white image was shot in colour on my phone and later edited in Silver Efex Pro.

As always I am linking my selection to Ju-Lyn’s and Brian’s Changing Seasons challenge.

  • Delicate pale trumpet flowers
    Tulips in the grounds of the Lutheran Cathedral, Tromsø 2023-06-01
  • Landscape with river reflections, birch trees and snowy mountains
    On Kvaløya Island 2023-06-05
  • Landscape with lichens, water and snowy mountains
    Grøtfjord, Kvaløya Island 2023-06-05
  • Wide curved building with arches and flags
    Admiralty Arch, London 2023-06-11
  • Lake reflecting blue sky and trees with large building in the distance
    View of Buckingham Palace from St James’s Park 2023-06-11
  • Looking down at a man climbing a curved staircase
    Staircase in Tate Britain, London 2023-06-12
  • Modern semi-abstract sculpture of two seated figures
    King and Queen, Henry Moore, Tate Britain 2023-06-12
  • Grey bird on a next part hidden by twigs and leaves
    Young wood pigeon, Ealing 2023-06-13
  • Tall ornate monument with a seated figure seen from a distance
    Albert Memorial, Kensington Gardens 2023-06-15
  • Five fluffy goslings pecking food on gravel path
    Canada Goslings, Kensington Gardens 2023-06-15
  • Modern building with white curved roof
    The Magazine Restaurant, Serpentine North Gallery 2023-06-15
  • Bee on spikes of mauve flowers
    Bee on sage near the Serpentine Galleries 2023-06-15
  • Sculpture of a woman dancing
    Sculpture of Margot Fonteyn, Reigate 2023-06-22
  • Stone gateway part hidden by trees
    Folly in the Castle Grounds, Reigate 2023-06-22
  • Two large purple flowers
    Hollyhocks, Ealing 2023-06-25
  • Relief carving of a cherub with hyacinths in front
    In the John Madejski Garden of the V&A museum 2023-06-26 02
  • Foxglove flowers with raindrops
    In the courtyard of a gallery on Fournier St, London 2023-06-29
  • Two men at a table next to wall painted with large mural
    Redchurch St., Shoreditch, London 2023-06-29
  • Hurricane lamp hanging on a colourfully painted wall
    Brick Lane, London 2023-06-29

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