Blog | 22 - Toms
| bokeh photographic (Alistair Grant): Food & Drink Photographer; Commercial Photographer, Product Photographer & Packshot Photographer; Event Photographer; Portrait Photographer; Corporate Photographer & PR Photographer; Engagement Photographer & Wedding Photographer and Photography Training Courses in Cambridge, Huntingdon, Peterborough, Bedford, St Neots, St Ives and London. Freelance Photographer & Freelance Photography Services in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire and across the UK. | |||
 
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Alistair Grant Freelance Photographer Cambridge & London |
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bokeh photographic: Blog No: 22 → TIP: Click any image to view in LightBox |
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Toms Although we are now well into the second-half of May it’s cool, wet and windy thus living up to the third line of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 (Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day): ‘Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May’. In truth the rain is much needed. Along with many other parts of Southern England Cambridgeshire has seen exceptionally low winter and spring rainfall. Ground water levels are low which has adversely affected the winter wheat & barley crop and despite a significant decrease in the flow of lowland rivers many cereal farmers have already switched to summer abstraction schedules in order to irrigate their crops. Naturally, the Mail, Mirror and Express newspapers are already prophesying summer hosepipe bans. Despite the conditions and against better judgment ‘my’ tomato plants are out. Unlike our previous house we don’t have the luxury of a greenhouse and the tomato plants were starting to form a jungle by the patio doors. Therefore I took the plunge and planted them out. The italicised ‘my’ is deliberate. The pattern year-on-year is now wholly predictable. Whilst I plant tomato seeds every year my straggly seedlings are invariably superseded by much more vigorous stock sourced from a contact deep out in the Fens (in addition to a few from green-fingered neighbours). Quite frankly, what my old Fenland Farmer doesn’t know about tomatoes (alongside courgettes, beans etc.) isn’t worth knowing! It always strikes me as odd that unlike the other produce I acquire whilst working as a Food & Drink Photographer I only ever seem to be gifted tomato plants and never ripe tomatoes. Anyhow, despite their cool, wet and windy start I know the plants will fruit well (at least those from the farmer will) and I look forward to harvesting the crop from mid-June onwards. At the risk of sounding that I know what I am on about I have ‘invented’ a growing system for tomatoes: rather than using grow bags I plant two plants per 30cm diameter extra-deep terracotta pot and use a metal grow bag support to fix a 6’ cane vertically in each pot. I then join up these vertical canes with horizontal canes to produce an espalier-type lattice. Finally, to create a reservoir for when watering the plants, I sink a 15cm plastic pot into each terracotta pot. I say 'invented' but I'm guessing most experienced tomato growers will have been using a similar system for years. Although not scientifically tested it seems to work! Planting out tomatoes generally marks the seasonal beginning of my summer Food & Drink Photography work (in addition to an uptake in Active Portraiture bookings) at least in terms of working with growers, farmers and producers. Winter root vegetables and hardy crops such as chard, cabbage & kale are almost a distant memory and the early spring ‘hungry gap’ is nearly over. Some spring/summer ‘markers’ have already been and gone (notably asparagus, rhubarb and new potatoes – all early this year) and I for one am looking forward to photographing, not to mention tasting, the rest of the seasonal fruit & vegetable crop. |
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Call Alistair Grant on 07775 365507, Email [email protected] or click Booking Enquiries if you have any questions or would like to make a booking. |
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bokeh: "the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus parts of an image produced by a lens" Freelance Photographer offering Food & Drink Photography Cambridge; Commercial Photography Cambridge, Product Photography Cambridge & Packshot Photography Cambridge; Event Photography Cambridge; Portrait Photography Cambridge; Corporate Photography Cambridge & PR Photography Cambridge; Engagement Photography Cambridge & Wedding Photography Cambridge and Photography Training Courses in Cambridge. Also covering: Huntingdon, St. Ives, Ramsey, St. Neots, Peterborough, Bedford, Stamford, Newmarket, Sawtry, Alconbury Weston, Brampton, Hartford, Warboys, Houghton, Wyton, Godmanchester, Hilton, Hemingford Grey, Hemingford Abbots, Fenstanton, Whittesley, Yaxley, Needingworth, Somersham, Chatteris, Ely, Bar Hill, Grafham and Buckden. |
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bokeh photographic - Alistair Grant | Freelance Photographer | Cambridge, London, UK Food & Drink Photography | Commercial Photography & Product Photography | Corporate Photography & PR Photography | Portrait Photography (inc. 'Active Portraiture', 'Naturally You' & 'Poptraits') | Event Photography | Engagement & Wedding Photography | Photography Training Courses & Camera Tuition | Videography & Film Production Tel: 07775 365507 | Email: [email protected] |
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