I am an eclectic photographer and one of my ‘quirks’ is photographing benches. It may be an ordinary park bench or one with intricate details; it could be a bench with a view or one strategically placed to provide a rest on a stiff walk. [This challenge ended in 2015]
Way back in 2015 – yes that really is ten years ago – I decided to post photos of the numerous benches sitting in my folders. It seemed that I was not alone and suddenly it turned into the Bench Challenge where I set a particular criterion each month and people joined in posting their bench photos. It was a lot of fun and I met a lot of wonderful bloggers through it.
The wonderful geometric bench in Alnwick’s Water Garden
This year I am returning to mark the occasion by posting a bench photo every Sunday. There will not be any particular theme set this year so it’s not really much of a challenge, but if there is anyone out there who still has a bucketful of bench photos and would like to join me, then please do so by adding a link in the comments or a link to my post in yours (a pingback) and I will happily pop along to admire.
And because I am also participating in Becky’s January Squares here is another photo – square of course- featuring these benches with their geometric shapes.
Way back in 2015 – yes that really is ten years ago – I decided to post photos of the numerous benches sitting in my folders. It seemed that I was not alone and suddenly it turned into the Bench Challenge where I set a particular criterion each month and people joined in posting their bench photos. It was a lot of fun and I met a lot of wonderful bloggers through it.
Alnwick Garden
This year I am returning to mark the occasion by posting a bench photo every Sunday. There will not be any particular theme set this year so it’s not really much of a challenge, but if there is anyone out there who still has a bucketful of bench photos and would like to join me, then please do so by adding a link in the comments or a link to my post in yours (a pingback) and I will happily pop along to admire.
And because I am also participating in Becky’s January Squares here is another photo – square of course- featuring these benches with their geometric shapes.
Some benches didn’t make the ‘Director’s Cut‘ so here are the ones that were short-listed. Will any of you ever walk past a bench again without thinking “Oh, look, a bench for Jude!”
For the month of December you can choose any bench you like
Lounging in the Loggia at RHS Wisley
A special seat for a special place. My final penultimate bench of the year is an interesting interconnecting set of seats that lock together like a jig-saw puzzle based on a love-seat. The edges of the arms are hand-carved to commemorate the donors and their loved ones.The seats were donated by the Friends of Wisley, and have been placed in the Loggia, directly opposite the main house.
If you would like to join in with the Bench photo challenge then please take a look at my Bench Series page. No complicated rules, just a bench and a camera required 🙂
Create your own post and title it Bench Series: December
Include a link to this page in your post so others can find it too
Add the tag ‘bench series’ so everyone can find the benches easily in the WP Reader
Happy New Year! Let’s all hope it is a happier, more peaceful and more tolerant one than the one we have just had: for everyone.
My Picks of the Week:
A last look at benches from around the world: Ruth has some fab modern ones in Tasmania; Majka is in Slovakia with, well, I’ll let you decide; Pauline was wandering around a Thai Buddhist temple – in Oz; Dawn was lingering in D.C. and mixing benches with her windows, well why not? And from New Amsterdam a fabulous snowy scene to end the year with! A few people have cobbled together the last of their benches: Kaz has some rather lovely shots, Elaine has a Christmas Edition and Traudel found some built in stone (not the most comfortable ones), but Carol (ET) excels herself by posting a bench for every month from her exciting road-trip around Australia, and the prize for the oddest bench of the week has to go to Eklastic for this extraordinary cow bench! I mean how long do your legs have to be to be able to sit on this?
This was going to be the last of the Bench Challenge, but as I still have a few lurking in the digital shoe-box there will be one more post from me. I hope you have all enjoyed it, both participants and visitors. I have certainly had huge fun seeing what benches other bloggers are drawn to since photographing benches is as much an addiction with others as it is with me! Now it is time to turn my eye in a different direction for you over on my flower blog. If you are interested then pop over and have a look. I hope many of you will join me there next year. It’s not all about flowers, I have a few ideas with which to challenge you 😉
For the month of December you can choose any bench you like
Bums on Seat – in the snow
No it hasn’t snowed here. Yet. In fact it is unseasonably warm as in most of the UK, wet and windy. This is a bench from my archives. From another unusual winter. And they say there is no climate change.
A wintry bench taken during the harsh winter of 2010 when I was snowed in even though I was living in Surrey at the time! Some wit had made their mark on this bench on the village green.
If you would like to join in with the Bench photo challenge then please take a look at my Bench Series page. No complicated rules, just a bench and a camera required 🙂
Create your own post and title it Bench Series: December
Include a link to this page in your post so others can find it too
Add the tag ‘bench series’ so everyone can find the benches easily in the WP Reader
This is the final month of the challenge. So dig out those bench photos that missed out on previous months. And next year I have a different challenge for you over on my flower blog. If you are interested then pop over and have a look. I hope many of you will join me there next year.
Happy Holidays Everybody 🙂
My Picks of the Week:
Jackie finds a beauty in New Mexico, whilst Aletta has a much more delicate bench. Kaz presents a Bench Bonanza to try and use up her excess bench photos, Traudel has benches on a boat, and Cee finds us a lovely colourful bench. Elaine has a few benches from New Orleans that are worth a look at and Anabel goes all the way to Bermuda. Sherri finds benches amongst the Christmas trees and finally one of my favourite bench posts of the year from Tish who shows us exactly why a bench is important.
TRAVEL WORDS 