Photography with an occasional poem
On the day that it seems Nottingham Forest have secured another season in the Premier Football League, it seems fitting to add a photo of the best manager that England never had. This statue of Brian Clough is in Nottingham city centre. For those who may be interested, the exposure time was 1.3 seconds, hand held. I love these cameras.
Just a gentle evening observation, as the sun lights up the clouds and the mist begins to rise from the lake. Sometimes you are in the right place at the right time. If you zoom in on the little temple building you can see a statue. This is one of a trail comprising twelve individually decorated models of Raymond Briggs’ Snowman at Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire.
Wales is possibly my favourite country within the UK. Well it must be, as we are planning two more trips there this summer. The countryside is spectacular, and one of the treats is the steam train from Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog. The line itself was closely linked to the local slate industry, carrying both workers and slate.
When I say I like black and white, not all of my images take it quite so literally. I quite like the minimalism of this, but I am aware that many will not be quite so enthusiastic. It would look good printed large though…?
On an overcast day, threatening rain, the Shard stands tall behind the walls of the Tower of London. The contrast of the old against the new. I am working on improving my black and white conversions, mainly because my body objects to getting up early for the magical colours of sunrise. There will be more as I work my way through images of London I am sure.
This image is one you will also find in the long exposure gallery. It was taken at Spurn Point on the east coast of England on an open day testing neutral density filters to extend the shutter time. The sea was rough, so rather than flattening the sea, the long exposure has turned the white wave crests to mist.
Please take a moment to check out the changes to the site as well…
I did it!!!
If you hover over the Gallery menu there is now a drop down with different classifications of my images. It seemed difficult but was, in fact, easy.
This image is the Church in the Sea on Anglesey. It is cut off at high tide and only accessible via the little spit of land to the left. The long exposure has streaked the sky, helping to point out the church itself. This is such an unusual feature that I am amazed there are no direction signs to it. Not one. Unless you were looking for it you would not even know it was there… very odd.
In the background you can see the mountains of Snowdonia.
This time the entirety of Swallow Falls and another snippet. You can click on either image to see it full sized. One advantage of a country that is always wet is that the waterfalls are normally quite healthily fed.
Now, if I can work out how to do it, and I have failed consistently for the last two days, there should be a change to the gallery page. Unfortunately I am a little tight-fisted so I am not prepared to pay for the more expensive websites just for a hobby, so I am stuck with trying to push WordPress into doing things it was not designed for. Wish me luck.
I may come back to Anglesey, but in the meantime… On the way home we called in at Swallow Falls, located between Capel Curig and Betys-y-Coed in Snowdonia. There is a hotel opposite the entrance which makes for a great lunch stop, and the falls are only a short walk from the road. Swallow Falls is magnificent, and I will share an image of the full vista, but in the meantime both my artistic director and I were taken by some of the detail within the overall cascade.
Another from Llanddwyn island. The name Llanddwyn means “The church of St. Dwynwen”. Dwynwen is the Welsh patron saint of lovers, making her the Welsh equivalent of St. Valentine. Her Saint’s day is 25 January and is often celebrated by the Welsh with cards and flowers apparently. The island bears the ruined remains of 5th century St. Dwynwen’s Church, through which you can see the cross from my last post.