Latest News from Philippa Huber Photography

Well, that’s another month flown by - here’s my February recap!

I’ve enjoyed being back in the Shambles, seeing faces old and new and catching up on the local news…I was supposed to be slimming down my table and wall display but somehow I’ve got over-excited again about printing and have more small squares out there than ever before (they’re really cute, don’t take up a lot of space and can be displayed in different ways, that’s my reasoning anyway!) not forgetting my mugs, bags and keyrings that I print myself…

Spontaneous decisions tend to be the best, and M and I decided to go to Wales - it was extremely spur of the moment, we found a great little place just on the edge of the Brecon Beacons and, happily oblivious to weather warnings raging through the region, we set off for 3 nights.

Isn’t it wonderful how just a couple of days away can feel like so much longer? Exploring the woodland paths was fabulous and made me remember that I want to do more tree/woodland photography this year - with my favourite Wiltshire tree knolls so close, as well as the ancient forests, I just need to get planning for some shoots there.

Don’t forget that you can click on all the photos here to see them bigger and better (recommended!)

The 4 Waterfalls walk had a couple of non-waterfall surprises - the first robin was singing its little heart out (I am SO happy to be hearing all the birdsong again); the frogs were guarding their frogspawn and also seemed to be enjoying the sunlight reaching through the trees; and that final robin seemed to be telling me to get a move on, it was not my patch!

and the waterfalls themselves, well, they were in full flow after the previous day’s storm, and I felt slightly nervous approaching the edge of the paths or river bank. And then some canoeists appeared and were happy riding the waves off the top of the fall…I mean, what???

The next day, we went off looking at reservoirs, gasping at the landscape and amazing views, and then got back to ‘our place’. M went off to the pub (oh what a choice there was!) while I got set up for PermaJet’s online panel discussion to Celebrate Women in Print - it was a really lovely free-flowing chat about photography, about print (I was particularly eloquent on this subject!) and about opportunities and support (or not) for women within the industry. I recommend it, and not just because I’m in it!

 

So that’s kind of brought me up to the present, and here’s what I’m doing in the near future:

The Photography Show starts this weekend and hopefully next month’s blog will be full of photos from the 3 days I’ll be there.

Excitingly, I’m going to be on the Fundamentals Stage on Saturday at 12h00, part of the Turning Pro panel. I’m so pleased to be able to share my knowledge and experiences of the past few years - what’s worked well, what less so:

Turning pro: What you need to know - The Photography Show 2025

If you’re going to be at the Show, do get in touch, or come and say hello at the SheClicks stand where I’ll also be, listening to inspiring photographers share their insights and journeys. I’m also going to be hanging out at PermaJet’s stand with lots of questions about printing, and I’m going to be playing in the Creator Playground (last year it was amazing fun, I’m hoping for more of the same).

You may be wondering what I’m doing for the rtest of the month…well, here’s the plan:

I’m getting really busy again with my Pet Portraits; I had a brilliant shoot at Foxleys Paddock last weekend (sorry, no photos to share until those who were there have seen them) - the sun was shining, the dogs were running, the humans were smiling…it really was excellent and I recommend it as a location close to Devizes for those of you unsure about having a photoshoot in a public space or with a nervous dog.

So, more Pet Portrait Sessions next week in some of my favourite places…I will be packing my wellies!

Next Thursday (13th) I’m doing a talk for the Photography for Fun group, part of Devizes U3A - I’m really enjoying putting some of my favourite photos together and forming a hopefully interesting and cohesive talk!

The Craft Fair season doesn’t start early and I’m excited to be at Lacock (in the village hall) for the first event of the year there, on February 22 & 23, nicely planned for the weekend before Mother’s Day - if you can make it, I and many other quality, talented makers would love to see you there.

Other new and exciting news is that I’m going to be a regular at Plank's Farm Shop - I’m going to be setting up there on the final Saturday of each month, starting on March 29. I would really love people to come over and say hello (please thankyou!)

And looking further ahead, I’m going to be at The Bath Independent (@thebathindependent) • that’s very exciting even if it isn’t until May!

I think you’re all up to date, and now I need to get ready for tomorrow in the Shambles, Devizes - do come and say hello if you’re local and if you’re not and would like to comment on anything from this month’s blog, please do!

 

Thanks for reading, wishing everyone a happy and productive March,

Phil x

Hello 2025!

Hello and Happy New Year – I’ve been back in my favourite spot in the Shambles, Devizes this week saying the very same words to so many people who called in to welcome me back and have a look at my work…I’m willing the change of season along with some cute spring chicks, but then, since there was a rather half-hearted effort at snow on Friday, I also put out a quite surreal aerial photo of Silbury Hill under a white blanket.

Silbury Hill in the Snow

 

But before I head forward, let’s look back for a moment at why I have been absent for January….

After a great but hectic 2024 that left me feeling in need of a proper break, I headed off to Cornwall and Devon for some refreshing sea air, big hills and coastal walks and a rather enjoyable selection of pubs!

Staying right on the beach in Downderry was amazing – and late sunrises meant I was able to enjoy an early morning of solitary photography, just me and some oystercatchers and gulls along with the swishing of the waves as the sun rose behind them.

Oystercatchers at sunrise, Downderry beach

A Gull riding the waves…

After a quick trip back to Devizes for a change of clothes, I was off on a train to catch a plane to get on a ship in Norway, heading for the Arctic Circle – an adventure indeed!

We saw the northern lights, heard the crunch of ice as the ship made its way ever northwards and eastwards, walked out in -19 and I, personally, marvelled at the expanses of snow, ice and rock. What a place! I obviously took lots of photos and haven’t been back long enough to spend much time with them, but below are some of my current favourites that sum up the essence of the trip…watch this space, there will no doubt be more shared as I uncover them…(and don’t forget to click on the individual photos to see them in more and better detail)

And now, I’m back in Devizes and my workshop and gearing up for lots of lovely Pet Portrait Sessions - I did my first of the year at the fabulous Dawlish Warren in Devon. The weather and tide were with us, and so was the marvellous Pierre, who ran as fast and as far as his legs would take him for a good hour. He even went for a paddle which is quite a brave thing to do in January! And then, I’ve been told, he had the most enormous afternoon sleep while I was emptying pockets and boots of sand!

So, don’t forget I’m in the Shambles every Thursday, Friday and Saturday - a new plan for this year is that I’m not going to be there physically on Fridays, though my display will be and you can see my great neighbours and colleagues Jo (All That Glitters silver) and Sara (Dragonglass by Sara) to pay for anything or for any information. Instead of being there, I’ll either be in my workshop in Devizes Marina Village (and you’re very welcome to pop in and see me there on Fridays) doing my admin, editing and working on so many behind-the-scenes tasks or I’ll be out on a photoshoot.

Any questions, drop me a message/email/text.

Here’s to 2025 and all the good things that are going to happen!

Phil xx

to the top of the Thames

Having gone as far as Teddington, the limit of the locked section of the Thames heading south, we decided we absolutely had to go as far as possible in the other direction; we joined the Thames at Oxford last year, vaguely aware of the meandering opportunites if we took a right turn but more interested in heading south towards friends in Henley and castles in Windsor - we weren’t disappointed; it was a fabulous sunny week at the close of summer and we had a long lazy evening on the river bank at Eton, shared an apple with a bank vole at Cookham and drinks and dinner with those friends in Henley before joining the Kennet and Avon at Reading.

This year, though, we’re taking more time, slowing down (yes, we’d begun to feel that even our 3 miles an hour average speed on That’s Amore was taking us through places a little too quickly) and so a slow-paced adventure to the navigable start of the Thames just had to be done.

Heading north and then west from Oxford, the river does more than meander - it almost goes round in circles in places; travel any faster and it would be like a dizzying merry-go-round. But at 3mph the main concern is what lays beyond the switchback bends; it could be an oncoming boat or a tree half-blocking the way, whichever, there’s not a lot of space for complete relaxation at the helm.

Navigational hazards aside, it’s a beautiful stretch of river. From Godstow Abbey (linked historically with The Fair Rosamund and currently with an inquisitve herd of cows) to Newbridge (originally built in the 13th century but not quite the oldest on the Thames) and on to Lechlade, their are snippets of quirky history and delightful names - who wouldn’t stop for the night at The Trout at Tadpole Bridge?

We finally, lazily, arrived at Lechlade - the furthest point possible in a narrowboat - and felt quite a sense of achievement - maybe not quite like reaching the source of the Nile, but a definite feeling of completion. We walked a little further along the river and had a wander round Lechlade, a Cotswoldy small town with a fair selection of pubs with a fair variety of rules and regulations to keep us safe from Covid 19 and a shop selling only Christmas things. This unfortunately will be my abiding memory of Lechlad.

We’ve now turned around and will soon be back on the Oxford canal. I would have written that the wildlife has been quite non-descript; a few swans and geese, one heron and the odd moorhen. Until, this morning, when that most frustrating of birds flew past me and disapperaed into a tree. It did a great impression of an autumnal leaf (but they don’t dive for fish) and then, finally, it settled on a bush straight opposite me and l grabbed a couple of shots. So we’re staying here for an extra day, in the hope that the lovely kingfisher will show itself again, when the light is perfect and I’m in position in the cratch, that it will land on a clear branch for a minute or two then dive and catch a fish…I’m still the eternal optimist…

and the best pub of this blog is…The Trout at Tadpole Bridge - mainly because of the name, but also because it’s a wonderful place to park up - don’t buy the peanuts (£3.50 a bag!!!) and don’t expect an internet signal on your boat (walk up to the beer garden for that) - grab a pint and enjoy watching the paddle-boarders, dog-walkers and swimmers scrambling up and down the bank on the opposite side of the river.

Click on any of the images above if you’d like to see them full size, comment or message me if you’d like and, above all, stay safe, well and happy.

Phil xx

The River Wey Navigation, 1st attempt

Bad weather certainly stopped play for us.

24 hours into our 3 week exploration of the River Wey Navigation 17 trees crashed down - they narrowly missed a holiday boat (who knew a narrowboat break could be so exciting?), blocked the canal and towpath and thereby stopped us where we were, which was one lock on the right side of not being totally stuck.

The River Wey Navigation (I do like its full title) is a little-known section of the British waterways that joins the Thames at Shepperton and starts (or ends) in Godalming, Surrey - it was opened in 1653, allowing goods to be transported in both directions on horse-drawn barges built to carry 30 tons. Oak was carried downstream to the Thames for use in shipbuilding and corn brought back upstream for the mills along the waterway (thanks National Trust for the historic details).

After 72 hours the canal was still unpassable, so we turned around and moved back onto the Thames where we’re waiting to see if we’ll have time to get back on the Wey before the weather becomes too unpredictable for us and our little boat.

So, 72 hours, 4 miles and 4 locks…that’s not a lot of time or distance and yet, it was quite magical in parts, and quite drearily wet and sandy in others.

Magical smoking nettles puffing gently into the late morning air. I swear they smoke more if you don’t look at them directly.

The Navigation is part man-made canal and part river; the lock gates are ancient and heavy, the locks are deep and the water flow when filling is jaw-droppingly powerful - and the 1653 heritage plaques made me stop and think.

After Coxes Lock it’s very much like pootling gently down a country stream wth ancient oaks lining the towpath on one side and lilypads crowding the water’s edges. Ratty, Toad, Badger and Mole would fit in very well here although the wildlife was actually pretty scarce - an unexpected cormorant, some coots and ducks by the millpond at Coxes Lock and one family of swans. Maybe the rest are stuck on the other side of the fallen trees.

To interrupt this pastoral idyll, let me introduce the M25 that roars overhead and below it, the official toilet-emptying station - a perfect match, you could say.

Sand, sand and rain…I’d not realised how sandy this part of the country is and as everyone who’s ever set foot on a sandy beach knows, sand gets everywhere. Absolutely everywhere. The towpath is basically one long sandy way, albeit slightly less sandy now as so much of it made its way inside the boat, trapped in the mooring lines, on the roof, in the cratch…

Hopefully the trees will be cleared soon and we can continue right to the end of the River Wey Navigation - I am keen to see what other wildlife there is on it, keen to see if the sand runs out at any point, and above all keen to see family that are so close and still so far.

This week’s pub recommendation is from the river Thames (not enough time for proper research yet on the Wey!) - the Red Lion on the river at Shepperton was a gem of a find. They have private moorings, excellent service, extremely fine food (there’s a great chef with a deft but light touch in the kitchen) and the best house wine I’ve had in a long time. www.redlionshepperton.com

Take care everyone, and stay dry!

Phil xx

my 'itinerant photographer' website is launched!

As an itinerant photographer (or simply someone working on yachts overseas with a camera ever to hand), there never seemed to be the time to stay still, take stock and, for example, build a website to showcase my work. Around this time last year, when my husband and I realised what everyone does sooner or later, namely that life’s too short to live to someone else’s demands, we bought a narrowboat, moved back to England and started travelling on our own terms.

When the towpaths muddied over and ice started creeping into the puddles, we came back to our house in south Somerset to tidy it up, pack it up, and sell up. Before part 3 of this master plan was complete, the world and England’s canals had closed down.

I’m by nature an irrepressibly optimistic person and can’t help but find good in amongst the bad. So one result of my enforced lockdown and isolation is this website, the building of which has fried my brain in the most pleasurable way. My solitary walks along the ancient footpaths and rarely-visited woodlands on my doorstep let me experience my first British spring in decades - who knew it could be so green and lush and inspiring? Many of the intimate flora photographs on the website were taken on these walks.

You’ll get to know more about me, my photography, where I’ve been and where I’m going, in other blog posts - in the meantime, thanks for your time, I hope you like the photos and the stories, and I hope you’re staying safe

Phil xx

ps

I’m female and Philippa, but most people except my husband call me Phil