Justine Gordon Photography

June!

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 07:45:58 +0000

June is here, summer is here but having a brief week of rain. I love this time of year so much, the birds wake me up at 4.30 and I rush to get my merlin app onto record so it can tell me what I can hear. This app works in whatever country you are in, it records the sound and tells you all the birds it can hear, it's so good but I wish I could remember all the names of the birds.

My garden is buzzing with bees and everything is waiting to burst, I have had garden envy with everyone's gardens in full bloom whilst mine has taken a while to flourish but I keep reminding myself it is still very young. My sweet peas have started and I can pick flowers for the table each day.

we went to the Chelsea flower show, I haven't been for years and it was a real treat. We got there at 8am which annoyed my husband but was so worth it as by midday it was so packed. The English do Chelsea flower show so well, it is a chance to wear floral dresses and hats and enjoy the splendour of it all.

We went away for the weekend with our daughter who is having a baby in August! I am so excited at the prospect of being a grandmother and I am trying so hard not to give advice, just listen. It is so different now and the rules, equipment needed etc etc. We had such a lovely weekend away in the New Forest where all the horses roam wild which I have mentioned in previous posts.

The eden project garden at the Chelsea flower show.

Culturally I have been busy, went to see Shiaparelli at the V and A that was very good but very squashy and busy and the need to peer very close up to read the captions was exhausting again but gosh her dresses in the 30s were so beautiful.

Another great thing I did was to go on a 90 minute tour of London on an open top bus. You forget how beautiful London is and the architecture and history and the tour took in everything and I came away with a head full of useless information that no one wanted to hear!

I have been reading lots and watching lots of shows - still watching the Pitt, sadly greys anatomy has finished. I'm watching a really good show on Apple about an Israeli girl that gets arrested with her mother in Russia for alleged drug smuggling, its very good but only comes out once a week, its called Unconditional

Book wise I loved Dark is the morning by Rupert Thompson. Very sad and haunting, a story of love and possession and a bit of madness set in Italy.

I also read Elizabeth Strout - the things we never say - this is such a sad book. Trump is paramount in this book as is the need to question our free will. The book was about grief and secrets. I hadn't read her before, I enjoyed it but don't feel the need to read her previous books. Im looking forward to the new Ann Patchett coming out this week.

Other people's children Ben Faccini The ending of this book was nothing I imagined. It was such a good book, a 90 year old grandmother from Italy ending her days in London with her adult grandson and the secrets she kept for so many years. It was really well written. I've just realised all the books above share sadness and secrets! I forgot to add Rivals into my tv shows - a pure bonkfest and all a good bit of fun.

I have just started a new course with Tracey Clark - picture light - it's not too late to enrol if you are interested, 30 days of prompts which is always a good thing to have as it gets hard to think of what to photograph each day. I am also doing a 30 day prompt of home over on substack with my sister, its fun again to look at home in a different light or anyone's home really. I don't do much on substack or understand it really but it seems to be a bit more forgiving than instagram and its free too unless you want to subscribe to people.

well thats all for this month, let me know what you have been up to or read or watched.

May

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Fri, 01 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Hello May! another month gone and as I write the sun is shining, the windows are open and I can see the jasmine across the roof top in a neighbouring garden. I can't wait for summer, the heat and the sunshine. The seasons never used to be a thing in Sydney but here they are so pronounced and the ritual of putting away the heavy black puffa coats is such a feeling of excitement for the months ahead.

We have just spent a few days in Rouen and Honfleur in Normandy. We took the Eurostar over and a local train and it was great not to have to go to an airport and sit on a plane. It still took seven hours door to door but its just such a nice way to travel. The weather in France was perfect and we just walked and walked, visited Cathedrals and Churches, walked on the beach, and ate local dishes such as tarte normande and chicken normande..lots of cream and things, delicious. I took way too many photographs, I just loved the markets, so many interesting things to look at. Here are a few of the items that caught my eye.

I have just finished such a good book, London Falling, by Patrick Radden Keefe it is a true story, a young man who tells a web of lies that ultimately lead to his death. Its very sad but its the background that I was so gripped by, the London underworld, Oligarchs, villains, it has everything and I just couldn't put it down and I just can't stop thinking about it. I highly recommend it. Patrick Radden Keefe wrote the story of the Sacklers and Oxycontin, that too was such a good book. His research is just so meticulous.

I have also been delving into this book Ece Temelkuran - nation of strangers its a series of letters to strangers to help those who feel the desire to have somewhere to call home as we all become more and more displaced due to politics and economics. Her writing is truly beautiful and this book is now shortlisted for the women's prize for non fiction.

We started a show on apple tv last night, widows bay, it was funny and quirky and will no doubt do the trick. I am also watching the testaments on disney, all a bit too far fetched for me as I never really got into the handmaids tale series but its good to pick up now and then.

I'm off to replace my tulips in their pots with summer flowers in my tiny garden. Ive just planted lots of sweet peas so I should be spending the summer picking them if all goes to plan.

April

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 11:54:00 +0000

Hello April

I have been working on yet another project, this one is "on my kitchen table today' and these are some of the flowers I have used in March. I have been using the templates in Lightroom and one is a magazine style one for Squarespace - thought I would try it here. I have been busy in my garden, just buying seed packets and sprinkling the seeds into the soil in the hope that in a few weeks I will have sooo many cut flowers. I have the tiniest garden but I make sure it is bursting with colour in the summer so I can pick flowers every day to put on my table. I have a few tulips on the cusp of opening which again is very exciting.

I have paused my A-Z of authors. I got to N and struggled, it was Vladimir Nabokov that finished me, I decided not to read Lolita - too much of that going on in real life! and tried another one of his novels that just made me decide to have a break and because I am actually half way through the project, I thought it was a perfect place to stop. I haven't got any amazing novels to recommend since I last wrote about books but I am hoping to have some soon as I am reading one at the moment which has potential.

I have been watching probably a bit too much tv lately but I want to be Michelle Pfeiffer living in Montana, oh my goodness The Madison is good! forget her botox, just watch it for that beautiful scenery and some seriously sharp and witty dialogue, very clever dialogue. Also, Jason Bateman is my favourite actor and he is in a very good quirky show called DTF st Louis and also Rooster with Steve Caroll and the guy from Ted Lasso who is brilliant as an English professor, its really good. Also the Pitt has just landed here and I watched 11 episodes on a very very long flight back from Sydney so I was very happy to finish the last episodes of series 1 on land. I'm going to put it out there and say that it will never replace Greys anatomy for me, what do you think?

I am also trying the new wordle, same man that invented it, he has a new game parseword - it's taking a while to get the hang of it and like wordle, is only once a day. I'm hoping it won't set everyone off again with all that bragging etc that put me off wordle but I do think at this stage in life it's just so important to keep trying things to keep our brains ticking over. I met someone the other day who said she has never read a newspaper and only gets her news from tik tok - so sad.

Thats all for now. Any thoughts on any of the above do please let me know in the comments.

March

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 14:31:00 +0000

I keep staring at this page wondering what I am going to write about! It is hard to keep up with blogging, you get caught up in that thing of swiping and not spending enough time on one thing and I need to stop and focus again and think about what I have been up to .

Seeing - I have got back into culture and have been going to various art galleries here in London where there is so much choice. I went to see Lucien Freud and absolutely loved every minute of it, I thought I had seen enough of his work but this exhibition was more about his early drawings and the attention to detail just captivated me. If it comes to your part of the world I would so recommend going to see it.

I also went to see Tracey Emin with my daughter. I remember so vividly seeing her unmade bed all those years ago but we didn't enjoy this exhibition - so much anger and it was just too confrontational plus the writing was so tiny and it was busy so we just couldn't read anything! sadly London does like to cram these exhibitions full of people so it's hard to read captions at the best of times. I know that art should cause controversy but this was all a bit too much.

Tasting - I have given up chocolate and croissants for lent and I do miss chocolate but I am eating healthily and had to have soup today because it was so cold but I am looking forward to lots of salads as the weather warms up.

Feeling - I feel settled in the UK finally. It took at trip back to Sydney for me to realise that this is my home and I like living here. I miss all my friends but here is where I belong. I think that where your physical home is makes a huge difference and I love pottering in my house. I had become completely paranoid about making friends here and each outing ended in disappointment if I came home without a contact but now I realise it just doesn't matter. I know that friendships will come, I have connections and interactions every day with people when I am out walking Max and that's enough. I am a homebody and an introvert and I realise now that nothing is going to change that and I don't need to move back to Sydney, London is doing just fine.

Hearing - the birds in the morning and soon the clocks with go forward and the dawn chorus will start. We are going to jazz on friday night, I love jazz, any jazz really and my husband isn't that keen but I have persuaded him.

Smelling - the daffodils are out and the blossom on the trees is lining our streets in full bloom and at night the scents fills the air, spring perfume everywhere. Here are some pictures I took lately of spring either out and about or on my kitchen table where I love to display flowers each day either snuck into my pocket on a dog walk (it is illegal to pick flowers from a park or someone's garden here!).

Sydney

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 15:03:00 +0000

I have just spent three weeks in Sydney where I caught up with friends, enjoyed the sun and the sights and reacquainted myself with everything I had missed over the last two years. It was exhausting, and I came away with a large amount of photographs and great memories and a croaky voice from too much talking. I hadn't realised how much I needed to go back to Sydney to be able to come back to England and move forward. I'm not sure if that makes sense but I needed to say goodbye to move on and I feel ready to really start life here, to stop thinking the grass is always greener and anyway, enough wittering! here are some of the many photos I took.

Sunbathers at Fairy Bower pool in Manly

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 09:11:00 +0000

Happy new year everyone, wow to 2026 hey? The year of the horse, the year that so many of us begin with our list of goals, I have been writing mine, how about you?

One of my goals is to print out my photos into a book once a month. I have just finished another 365 on flickr, yes I still use it and love it. I am faced with the daunting task of trying to make a book for the year but I can't face sorting out the photos so I thought this year I will select each month and by the end of the year it won't be as daunting. I have just started another 365 today, it seems second nature now, do you want to do one with me? doesn't have to be a photo a day, could be a photo a week or even a month.

I am currently doing an online course in black and white photography which is really interesting and will form another project for the year. The instructor says look at your work and make projects out of what you currently have, I have a lot of photos from the tube, they have now gone in their own project folder. I have also started a self portrait project, I have very low self worth and thought that by trying to take a photograph of myself I might grow to love myself a bit. The first photograph highlighted so many flaws and wrinkles! I also looked into a few tutorials and you don't have to photograph your face, it can be any part of your body or out of focus so I am just going to keep experimenting and again, will anyone join me? This project will probably be once a month or so.

My other goal is to get back to doing one cultural thing a week, there is so much to see and do here in London and once the crowds have gone I will start with Marie Antoinette at the V and A and we have a few plays coming up, one with Brian Cranston and one with Billy Crudock

Book reading is a given, I will carry on with my alphabet of authors. I am half way through G now, will report back on that later. I took this photo of a second hand bookstore around the corner from me, wouldn't it be wonderful to have that many books in your house?

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 14:39:00 +0000

I can't believe its nearly Christmas, it's all going so fast and why oh why do we let ourselves get so stressed about one day? I get so upset with all the excess and the madness of shopping and waiting for deliveries and I wish everyone would just give each other a nice book instead! I am trying to get into the Christmas spirit and I keep thinking how lucky we are in a world full of such terrible horrors at the moment.

Moving on to happier things, I am really enjoying my A to Z of book reading and I am now up to G. I have read the Harlan Coben and Reese Witherspoon for C, really enjoyed it but as I write, I can't actually remember what it was about but it would be a good holiday or airplane read.

For D I read Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin - a Frenchman goes to South Korea and makes friends with a girl working in a guest house. Very quirky and Korean.

For E I read Nora Ephron I feel bad about my neck - if you buy one book for yourself make it this one. I read it years ago in my thirties and didn't think about it again but now re reading it at 62, it is so relevant and funny, lovely writing and wonderful stories and anecdotes, I loved it and I'm so sure you will too.

I have just finished Richard Flanagan - the sound of one hand clapping - I had resisted this author for so long but goodness he can write. A beautiful sad tale of a young girl and her refugee father. Set in the 50s in Tasmania when her mother ups and leaves one day. So sad but so well written, full of longing and a masterpiece.

I have just started Graham Greene, the end of the affair - will let you know how I go with it, a classic at this time of year is always good.

I am working my way through Christmas movies but haven't found any new ones to write about. I watched one on Netflix with Michele Pfeiffer but spent the whole time fixated on the various things she has had done to her face. We have just started watching Nick Cave's the death of Bunny Malloy and otherwise I am channel hopping.

I am going to sign off on my blog now for Christmas but thank you for reading my whitterings over the last year, I hope you have found some recommendations for books and films. I hope you and your families have a wonderful Christmas and New Year. I actually haven't got any Christmas photos so will end with my latest black and white as I am doing a year of black and white. This is how my mind feels at the moment, all a blur but I am hoping that when I switch off social media in the next few days, enjoy all the bad food over christmas etc, 2026 will start very differently.

Giving thanks

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Sun, 30 Nov 2025 16:01:00 +0000

We went to Seville for a few days, wow what a city! If I could sum it up I would say oranges and tiles, beautiful seville oranges hanging off all the trees and the tiles, wonderful tiles everywhere you looked. It was a visual feast and I was so grateful for so many things, to be able to pop over to Europe so easily, the be completely immersed in a different culture and to learn, be stimulated and to wander down these wonderful narrow alleyways with so much history. Going away does you so much good, I get stressed over the packing and of course we packed the wrong clothes and were freezing but it didn't matter in the end, just being away makes everything better with a chance to step back and appreciate what you have from a distance. I have come back energised and invigorated. I am so grateful.

Tuesday and wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 20:38:00 +0000

Oops I have missed two days but will make up for it on Saturday. I am away and so grateful for so many things but don’t want to spend time on the blog and want to enjoy my time away. I am counting my blessings and these moments I am grateful for. See you on Saturday.

Monday musings

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 18:04:00 +0000

Gosh doing a month of gratitude is hard, I'm finding I'm not doing much at the moment so I am struggling to find things to put on this blog. I have had some horrid bug for the last few days, everyone seems to be in the same boat complaining about it so I am grateful that I am feeling better. I am grateful for the little things today, a warm house, a nice hot bath is on my evening ritual tonight and a new tv show. We finished Malice last night, I spent all episodes thinking how truly horrible people are and why do they keep making these shows when all I want to watch is cosy beige shows like all creatures great and small. I didn't take a photo today but here is one from my archives.

Afternoon light

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Sun, 23 Nov 2025 14:26:00 +0000

I am grateful for the lovely low light that comes through the shutters in the afternoon onto my paperwhites waiting to bloom

E in books

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Sat, 22 Nov 2025 16:11:00 +0000

I am up to the surname E in my A-Z of book reading. I am grateful I picked up this book that I read years and years ago but of course as I am older it has become way more relevant. Nora Ephron wrote "when harry met sally" and "somethings gotta give" - two of my favourite films. She writes about the simple day to day things but she is so clever and you realise that you know how it is to look at your neck and want to cover it up and sitting in the back seat of a car will always show your neck in such a bad light in the rear view mirror. She makes ageing way more interesting. I am halfway through it and loving it, a wonderful collection of essays and now I must go and read about 'nails'.

Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 20:33:00 +0000

Who else buys cakes to photograph? I love this little cake, my husband ended up eating it but I was grateful it stayed around long enough for me to photograph.

a day of gratitude

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 16:09:00 +0000

My family is everything to me, my husband and two children. I am so grateful for a day like today where I get to spend time with my daughter. We went Christmas shopping, I helped her pick out her dress for her Christmas party, choose some new makeup, we had a lovely heartwarming bowl of chicken ramen soup, and strolled through the shops arm in arm. She is going through tough times at the moment and I am so grateful for what she shares with me, a perfect day. I didn't get my camera out today but here is a picture from winter last year, it is feeling like that again, time to hunker down and watch crap tv.

Teatime

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 15:35:00 +0000

Always grateful for an afternoon cup of tea in a china cup and saucer

Planting

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 16:44:00 +0000

I love planting bulbs for indoors. I do this every winter and I get so excited when they bloom and I have colour and perfume in the house. Its so simple to do, just use any pot or mug or bowl, just put some gravel in the bottom, top with some moss and wait. So grateful for the simple things.

Morning light

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 13:36:00 +0000

So grateful for the beautiful sunshine today coming through my bedroom window

A day in the countryside

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Sun, 16 Nov 2025 18:57:00 +0000

We went to the countryside today to visit my mother for Sunday lunch. I hadn't been for a few months and it was lovely to see the autumn changes. I was so grateful for nature and fresh air and a good walk with max.

Daphne

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Sat, 15 Nov 2025 14:11:00 +0000

I am so grateful for this tiny cutting of Daphne that I found in the park this morning, the smell is wonderful and it's one of my favourite flowers.

Hats

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 16:59:00 +0000

I found my old hat in the back of the cupboard today and was so grateful for it in the rain today when I went out with Max. I have hoods on coats but I find that you can't hear or see anything with your head tucked away in a hood, this hat just lets the water fall off it.

Thames path

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 11:21:00 +0000

My walk along the Thames couldn't be further away from my walk I used to do on the Bondi to Bronte or anywhere along the cliff path in Sydney. I am grateful it's not raining today as tomorrow they forecast a complete washout. I am also grateful for the moody skies and light contrasts today.

Coffee shop

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 14:26:00 +0000

I love people watching, drives my family mad as there are posters on the tube saying that it is an offence to stare but it's a habit I find hard to break. I went into a coffee shop to get a flat white and noticed this couple in the window, I was drawn to the heel of her boots and the bored dog on the floor. I was grateful today for a lovely cup of coffee and a chance to photograph unseen.

Autumn days

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 14:32:00 +0000

I just love these autumn days before the cold sets in. I am so grateful we have a park close by where I can let Max off. He looks very calm here but he has actually just spotted someone eating their lunch, two seconds later he went to investigate and get some crumbs in exchange for a leaf.

Carnaby Street

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 15:51:00 +0000

Today I went into the centre of London, to Carnaby Street, to walk around the shops and think about Christmas shopping. The lights are up everywhere and shops are starting to fill their windows with Christmas trees etc, it feels way too early but the countdown has begun. I was very grateful today for general things like having my family around me, having people to spend Christmas with and just a general warm glow of gratitude.

Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Justine) — Sun, 09 Nov 2025 11:16:00 +0000

Today is remembrance day and I managed to get a picture of the Fulham Pearly Queen and Princess as they started the parade. Pearly Kings and Queens have been around forever and raise money for charity as well as sew pearl buttons onto their clothes. They appear at various marches and events. I am so grateful to all the armed forces and today is the day to remember what they did, lest we forget.