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Just returning from a visit to my son in Oxford with 800+ photographs of the Cotswolds in my cards (what’s that? New InSight Guide in preparation? Yess!). It’ll take time to process and organise all this but, given the date, why not start with a small sample of pumpkin carving and orange house decorating? Ready for Halloween in the Cotswolds?
Pumpkin Family in Bampton, Cotswolds
This could have been a much long post, given how many pubs, castles and farms were advertising carving workshops and pumpkin exhibitions, but there was no time for all this. Still, if the them is dear to you, just know the Cotswolds provide ample opportunity to combine awe-inspiring landscape and gory fun with a knife.
Feeling gutted in Pains…wick
North America seems to have elevated Zombie walks to an art form but you have to give it to the Brits : their imagination and handiwork is impressive when it comes to inflicting pain to Cucurbitaceae. The fun part is to see these displays in the windows of posh houses alongside designer lamps and reflected in the polish of their jags. Kudos !
The Cotswolds, it’s a pumpkin eat pumpkin world
And the shops aren’t left behind, either. From the tea house with a human skeleton customer to the discreet wool shop and the interior design gallery promoting witch-craft, there’s a lot to be seen and photographs in a very small area, as here in flabbergastingly beautiful Broadway.
Broadway witch
Woolly spyder attack
A note to the technically minded. Most of the photographs on this page were made using the Zeis Loxia 50/2 lens recently reviewed here (and here) on my Sony A7r. 50mm is not my favourite focal length and I often find myself cramped when using it. But the lens is such a darling that’s it’s almost always on the camera. Even the lovely Zeiss/Sony FE 35/2.8 is overshadowed, mainly because manual focusing with the Loxia is sooooooooo much more pleasant than relying on the A7r’s inept AF. The two (lens + camera) are a match made in heaven.
Happy Halloween cake in Oxford’s covered market
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Pascal, your comment that “you often find yourself cramped with the 50mm focal length” reminds of Groucho Marx. He said that his whole carreer had been littered with bad reviews, whereby a critic would write something that always ran like this: “I couldn’t help myself laughing long and hard all along this totally useless movie”. Your pictures are so good, maybe you should try with anotyher focal length that you feel even more cramped with! A great combination of composition, connection, and humour!
Ha ha, well said. What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger, right ? 😉
Thing is, I still find myself fighting the focal length. It never really feels right for my vision, which may explain the greater attention in my photos, that you seem to find and enjoy in these samples. Oh, for a good manual focus 35 mill, though …
So,when will the Cotswolds guide be ready? Traveling there in the spring and looking forward to it.
Hi Charlie, you made my day. I’m in the Cotswolds again at the moment and will get started on the guide when I return. It’ll be ready in a month or so and I’ll send you a message. Cheers, Pascal.
You mention in this article that you have the FE 35mm f/2.8. How does that compare to the Loxia 35mm f/2? I need one good walk-around, every day lens, and I’m torn between the two.
John, I haven’t used the Loxia 35, yet. The choice is easy if you need the extra aperture or AF. Otherwise, it’s a tough decision to make.My hunch is that the FE 35mm f/2.8 is probably a little more cnosistent over the frame, but I really need to compare both side by side. Sorry 😉