The Month of May A Time To Celebrate

The month of May is named after the Greek Goddess Maia. This month is a time for celebration as after the long cold winter, flowers emerge and new grass and leafs start to grow.

In Britain May day marks the end of winter and the start of summer its a time to look forward to warmer brighter weather . Traditional May day celebrations include dancing around the maypole. Greenery was traditionally collected by children who then paraded around the village.

May day is the first Monday in May this year I spent my May day capturing the wedding celebrations of George and Caralyn at the beautiful Fennes Estate in Braintree. It was rather a breezy chilly day so this meant we had to make use of the beautiful interior of the Fennes, which is  not a problem as the Fennes offers many a stunning backdrop.

Creative work: The weather has been great during May and allowed me some breathing space to get out and pursue a more creative side to my photography, "yes" I checked my journal and we have had more bright sunny weather than we have rain. To start with the late arrival of blue bells has meant a stunning prolonged display this year with forest floors awash with colour. Then of course the warmer days and shorter night have meant fields of vivid yellow oilseed covering the landscape. Along with this I noted almost every grass verge aglow with nodding dandelions. All the different shades of  green and reds in the tress lead to a stunning spring. Not so great for any one flying but the volcanic ash produced some amazing sunsets and clear night skies.

MODEL SHOOT: I was also lucky to work this month with another great bunch of photographers and take part in a model shoot, I got to work with the lovely Layla and opted for a slight vintage effect on the photos 

FAMILY TIME: The nice weather has meant a few day trips to the beach, Our favorite place for this is Walton on the Naze , We even had a picnic in the sunshine surrounded by buttercups and bird song.

A beautiful month 

Oak Apple day Is another celebration that takes place on the 29th May . The reason for wearing oak apples or oak leafs was to celebrate the Kings narrow escape from capture by Cromwells soldiers .

Until well into the twentieth century anyone caught not wearing an oak apple or oak leaf on the 29th May could be pinched kicked or whipped with stinging nettles , Hence in some villages the day is known as nettle day, "OUCH"