The Landsong Series
*
"And you know it's time to go
Through the sleet and driving snow
Across the fields of mourning to a light that's in the distance
And you hunger for the time
Time to heal,'desire', time
And your earth moves beneath your own dream landscape"
Lyrics from the song "A Sort Of Homecoming" by Bono
From the Album
The Unforgettable Fire
By U2
This series of images and poems came from a photographic shoot in December 2022. They were taken in the early afternoon, and the skies were so dramatic and visually beautiful. I remember there was a cold wind blowing in from the North-East and one sensed a volatile weather system was on its way. To add to this drama I decided to use monochrome, as I knew it would enhance the brooding quality of the landscape that was already there. The clouds were like scudding furies moving across the skies while the trees became literally over-bearing, resembling dominant personalities crowding over the road.
But there was also beauty when the sun came out and lit up the sky. This is the joy of this road; the atmosphere here is often changing. This winding road in East Sussex in the UK takes you through the River Cuckmere Valley, and you travel through the two beautiful villages of Wilmington and Litlington on route. The landscape has beautiful views of the South Downs, with mostly arable and sheep farming on each side of the road, but there are many habitats, including the hedgerows, woodlands and fields, and not forgetting the river floodplain, marshes and riverbanks with many varieties of birds who enjoy the abundant sources of food on offer.
The weather can change rapidly here, as the ridges and hills of The South Downs seem to make their own weather, or it stubbornly refuses to move, especially if it's raining as the clouds cling on to the tops of the hills. Where the River Cuckmere meets the sea it can change again and be sunny instead of cloudy, as you meet and join the main coastal road in the South of England that in Sussex has views out to the sea. However, on the top of The South Downs you might become shrouded in mist, whereas in the more secluded valleys and hollows below it can be like entering an enchanted land, the gentle light calming the senses in the meadows and pockets of woodland.
For these poems I have written them in a more personal, reflective way, with a darker edge, suiting the monochrome photographs. There is a deeper dive into the psychological personality of the self, but also a look into the darker elements that can be found in the countryside where parts of it have remained unchanged for centuries. I hope you enjoy these works, as I gradually add more of them onto this page.
Ask
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner
Ask
I guess I'm not good at asking
Never have been
I've always thought of others first
Family habits you could say
Ingrained from the start
Don't consider yourself
You are not important
At least not in that way
So we all suffer in silence
Not that I want to bleed out in public
God no, that's not my way
Taking a road trip
Is better than a psychologist's armchair
But sometimes in those darker days
Those deeper depths
We all fall into
The ones that are hard to get past
You know the sort
It's nice when somebody asks
How are you today?
Black And White
Black And White
Sometimes the world seems so divided
It is either black or white
But what about the bit in-between?
This is the space man inhabits
And most of it feels like a bad dream
The forces of heaven and hell
Are often felt in this narrow strip of existence
And we haven't yet realised
That we are dancing to somebody else's tune
We are at their command
Like puppets on invisible strings
Perhaps it is all in our minds
And nothing else exists
We are ants on the hill
Working the eternal treadmill
But the infinite dark and the shining light
Are there to take you out of your comfort zone
It is all part of our journey
A question of whether you embrace it
To find out what makes you tick
Or you drop it like the proverbial hot potato
Pushing it under the carpet maybe
And then leaving it well alone
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner
No Expectations
No Expectations
Just don't expect me
To come back from this
In one piece
It's alright for you
To suggest I live and let live
But how do I know I will survive it
Sounds more like a devil's bargain
I could be trapped forever
In your unrelenting grip
Condemned to wander up and down
This stretch of road
Cheated on a whim
For eternal life
But now all alone
Left with just a view
And a bitter wit
To see how far I can spit
My angry words
Into the frigid air without a care
In a display of petulance
Like a dare
Photography and Poetry
By Shelley Turner
This work is dedicated to Bono,
lead lyricist and singer of the group U2.