Rainbow over the Wolds

Storm in the east

Saturday 28th March 2015

Changing weather scene all day, rain, sun, rain coupled with strong winds. I happened to be travelling north of Driffield towards Weaverthorpe in sunshine and then the spots of rain appeared on the windscreen. I glanced to my right and saw a beautiful rainbow spanning the Wolds valleys in the Langtoft area. Needing something to give scale, I noticed there were wind turbines at either end and that was enough. I then used the hedge of an otherwise flat landscape to lead the eye. I then got wet!

Light on

Against the Light

Friday 27th March 2015

Late to post again. I still have days when I forget to take a photograph and then it is a rush to get a shot. The other problem is what to take a photo of at the last minute. Today's offering is a torch with the light switched on! The marks are from the glass front. I must do better!

The Thinker

Penny for the thoughts?

Thursday 26th March 2015

I can't say I was ever a fan of Rodin's 'The Thinker' statue. But I did like this simple form of a person sat in contemplation (similar to Rodin's). We bought it in a shop in Chester many years ago. I decided to photograph it, but how? Do I take it side on, full front, from the back, the other side. I settled on a diagonal, lit from the right against a dark background, with the light stopping half way along the leg and arm. There was just enough stray light to suggest the complete shape of the head and his/her right forearm. Then again, if you screw your eyes up, it could be part of a broken wheel? Think about that!

Reflections on Coney Island

Is it real?

Wednesday 25th March 2015

It was a beautiful day, so we decided to walk around the Marine Drive at Scarborough. Having parked at Peasholm and walked around the Drive, we called at Alonzi's Harbour Bar for ice cream. There were quite a number of people on the sea front enjoying the warm sunshine. We turned right at Coney Island amusements to walk up Blands Cliff and looking into their side window I noticed there were reflections everywhere, distorted and unreal. Reflections from the glass window and from the angled mirrors above, plus the view into the amusements. I positioned myself so as not to be in shot and produced a weird surreal image! 

St. Andrews

St. Andrew's Church, Weaverthorpe

Tuesday 24th March 2015

Passing through Weaverthorpe, I had the time to have a good look at the Church. I have passed it many times and thought there was something odd about it. It has a Norman tower with a rounded staircase turret attached to the tower and that was what made it look odd to me. Above the door (inside the porch) is a stone sundial which does not see the light of day anymore, but records that the church was built by Herbert of Winchester about 1120. The church was restored for Sir Tatton Sykes (Sledmere House) in the 1870's.

Lines of symmetry?

Lines of symmetry?

Monday 23rd March 2015

Lovely morning at Runswick Bay, but working. By mid afternoon the cloud rolled in, so no picture there. Had to drop down to Scarborough, so had a walk around the harbour and noticed these brand new crab/lobster pots. Not stacked perfectly, but enough to form a basic pattern. The different colours of yellow, blue and green almost tell you how the fishing nets work.

At the NEC

Pontoon bridge!

Sunday 22nd March 2015

It was an early start and off with friends to the NEC at Birmingham for The Photography Show. An uneventful drive down, found the usual car park and walked towards the Exhibition Centre. Work was being carried out on the hotel to the right of picture, so the walkway was closed. Instead we trekked across a huge floating pontoon bridge over Pendigo Lake. I dread to think what the cost of the construction was, but it had all the safety barriers, green 'carpet' decking, hundreds of huge plastic floats and complete with lights. The sun was not quite right in the morning and I figured tea-time would be okay. As we were returning to the car, I took the image. It is quite often said in photographic circles that if you take a shot like this, you need someone 'in red' at the far end to lead the eye. I disagree!

Twisted Mind

Drill bit

Saturday 21st March 2015

Sorting through some tools and came across a new masonry drill bit. I instantly thought about a photograph as there was no brick dust etc on the bit. I decided to photograph it 'full on' and light it from both sides against a black background. This helped to show the twist and marks on the steel drill by contrast and exposed the brazing of the Tungsten Carbide tip to the shaft. 

Obscured by clouds

My Pink Floyd moment!

Friday 20th March 2015

It had to be an eclipse photograph today, but the forecast for Driffield was iffy. Would we see it or not? I made my way onto the Wolds towards Langtoft in the hopes that I would eliminate any mist. Arriving just before the maximum eclipse, I set up with my tripod, pointed the camera in the direction of the sun - what sun? Then it appeared, 'obscured by clouds', and that was my Pink Floyd moment! I took a series of images, but the disc of the moon was never going to show. As I stood there taking my photographs, I found myself humming 'Mudmen' a track on the Pink Floyd album - 'Obscured by Clouds' and I can't get it out of my head. The eclipse was a great spectacle, but for me it was a reminder of my favourite group, as if I needed one!  

Shampoo set

Did it clean the car?

Thursday 19th March 2015

I picked up the can of foam upholstery cleaner, it has a matt black plastic top with red brush head attached. Pressing the aerosol release (underneath) it releases foam onto the brush and you scrub the car seats. Did I clean the car? No, not today, but when I get round to cleaning the seats, I will see my simple object in a new light. Had to have a squirt and photograph the result!

Spring decay

Decaying globe artichoke

Wednesday 18th March 2015

Had to go to Bridlington today, so took advantage and had a walk around Sewerby Hall grounds. The hall was closed, but the gardens were open and I have to say, they are very good. Whilst walking around the walled garden, I happened to spot three globe artichokes, which perhaps had been left to decay to provide seed for the birds? The moment I saw them, I knew I would have to photograph one. I just liked the shape of the plant and the withered leaves. Taken against other green foliage, colour did not work as the background tended to compete with the flower head. I turned it sepia, which kept the colours of the plant about right and subdued the background.

Crocuses

Crocuses

Tuesday 17th March 2015

Three weeks ago we visited the Stray in Harrogate to have a look at the wonderful, annual display of crocuses. Yes, there was a reasonable display, but we came to the conclusion that it needed another couple of weeks for the Stray to be carpeted with them. The image I had in mind for Harrogate was a wide angle showing the thousands of yellow, white and purple flowers. It looks like we will not get back to Harrogate again this spring, so I decided to photograph our only clump of crocuses in the garden and they are all purple and blue! I couldn't use a wide angle as our garden is fairly bare at the moment, so I had to make do with a close up of the clump. Perhaps next year for Harrogate? 

Anybody got a light

Lamp shade

Monday 16th March 2015

An early post today and an altered image. I photographed a gold coloured lamp shade, then in Photoshop, I twisted the pattern, altered the colours to give it a more psychedlic look. Reminds me of the 70's music scene. I quite like it, but then again I was more into 'Pink Floyd' than 'The Carpenters'! 

Sunday at Church

St. Michael's Church, Coxwold

Sunday 15th March 2015

A visit to Thirsk today. I quite often travel via Sutton Bank on the way there and Coxwold on the way back. I have lost count of the number of times I have driven through Coxwold with the dark north side of the Church running parallel to the main road and wondered what the sunny south side of the Church looked like. With time to spare today, I decided to take a look. I knew the church had an unusual octagonal west tower. What I hadn't realised was, what a fantastic view of the surrounding country there was from the church and the view of the church in the sun was beautiful.
Shandy Hall, across the road from the church was home (now museum) to the famous eighteenth century novelist and curate of Coxwold, Laurence Sterne, author of Tristram Shandy.    

Lonely Horse

Tethered Horse

Saturday 14th March 2015

Returning home via Rudston and Kilham I came across this horse, all alone and tethered by a chain at the side of the road. It looked healthy enough to me and was munching grass, keeping the roadside verges short. Was it happy, or did it want to be in the field beyond the hedge running free?

Daffy Friday

Daffodil a study

Friday 13th March 2015

We are nearly half way through March and I realised I had not photographed a daffodil. Perhaps because ours in the garden were flowering late or I had just not noticed them? How do you photograph a daffodil? Perhaps in huge swathes -  'a host of golden daffodils', as a bunch in a vase or just a single flower? I chose the latter. I back-lit the flower against a white background, then fired flash from the left. I wanted something that resembled a daffodil at the same time having a bit of a surreal look, the main overlapping petals on the right have created 'new smaller petals' as a result of the strong back lighting.   

Memories

Looking back!

Thursday 12th March 2015

It must be nearly fifty years since I was last on the beach at Cayton Bay. I remember being eight or nine, it was summer and the beach was packed with holidaymakers. I still have vivid recollections of this view. What was it, I asked. A pill box that had guns, to stop the Germans landing in the bay was the reply. I was still not a lot wiser. Today I was standing on an empty beach looking at the pill box, a very simple concrete construction from the Second World War. I thought about how it would have looked when new, its function then and the possible threat to this country from war. I looked again and saw the big cracks in the concrete, how it was leaning towards the sea and the huge landslides behind from the boulder clay and thought of the precarious nature of our environment. Nothing is forever! I felt black and white conveyed more of a timeless feel to the scene.

Late night light

Tungsten light bulb

Wednesday 11th March 2015

A very busy day one way and another and very late in posting a picture, it was one minute to midnight when I hit the button. A rather tame shot of a tungsten light bulb, well at least I made the one a day. Must do better and be more organised!

Under the Boardwalk

..... well Cleethorpes Pier to be exact

Tuesday 10th March 2015

A good sunny day and we were off to the coast. Still exploring our surroundings we headed over the Humber Bridge and to Cleethorpes and Grimsby. Parked on the sea front at Cleethorpes, went to the pier and it was closed (the pier not Cleethorpes), for refurbishment. The tide was going out and I spotted the reflections under the pier. Not having my wellies with me, I decided I would return after lunch when the tide was out. As the workmen were busy overhead, I wandered about under the pier. Colour would never work as it would be too distracting, it had to be almost pure black and white. I think it was worth getting my feet wet?

Secret world of Freesias

The secret world of the Freesia

Monday 9th March 2015

The smell in our room was beautiful. My wife had bought a bunch of Freesias and they were in a vase on the window sill. Freesias are a South African plant, the colours ranged from very deep reds, through orange and yellows. I borrowed the vase and wondered how best to photograph them. Should I include the whole bunch and the vase or a single flower? In the end, I got in close and found a different world of shapes and colours and had to back-light the flower to bring out those elements.

Map or Leaf?

Leaf detail

Sunday 8th March 2015

Found in our front garden, a very decayed leaf from a tree. It was a whole skeleton and was probably from a cherry tree. The more I looked at it, the more fascinating it became. The 'skin' of the leaf was still visible in places and what about the veins, were they complete? A closer inspection and it took on an appearance of a city street map taken from space. Parts of the leaf were broken at the edges, so I picked out a piece and photographed it against a black background.

Steam at Scunthorpe

Peckett 0-4-0 saddle tank and brake vans at Frodingham station

Saturday 7th March 2015

Today, a friend and I visited the Appleby Frodingham Railway Preservation Society at Scunthorpe. We were booked onto a four hour brake van ride (yes, four hours) around the TATA Steelworks complex hauled by the above steam locomotive. In the four hours we must have covered about fifteen miles of the 100 mile internal railway system and in the process saw the various stages in the production of iron, steel and the finished products. The brake vans were full and all three were heated (coal fired), we did have a break for lunch and a chance to visit the AFRPS shop and shed. A great day, many thanks to the AFRPS staff and TATA Steel for making it possible.

The King is dead

St. Peter's Church Scrayingham, final resting place of "The Railway King"

Friday 6th March 2015

A trip to York today, but not the usual direct route. I have a number of railway books on the bookshelves, the title of one of them caught my eye this morning, "The Railway King", this reminded me, I had still not been to Scrayingham Church to visit the grave of George Hudson who was "The Railway King". George was born at nearby Howsham which lies mid-way between York and Malton and a couple of miles from Scrayingham. Briefly, he inherited a fortune and invested it in the early railways. Soon he was controlling railway companies all over the north of the country. During the mid 1840's he was probably the best known businessman in the country. He fell from grace on account of his dubious financial practices and he was declared bankrupt. In fifteen years he laid the foundations for our current railway system. But for his downfall, he may have been laid to rest in Westminster Abbey and not St. Peter's Church, Scrayingham. Scrayingham Church has to be more peaceful, the gravestone is to the left of the porch.

Home at last?

Returning to port?

Thursday 5th March 2015

Had to nip through to Scarborough late morning, the weather was very overcast. I had a wander around the sea front and saw a fishing boat approaching the lighthouse pier heading for the harbour. I went onto the fish pier, in time to see the Newhaven (NN) registered boat 'Hahnenkamm' - (yes, that's what I thought) in the inner harbour. I looked it up on the internet, Hahnenkamm is a mountain in Austria near Kitzbuhel famous for skiing and the home port of the boat is Scarborough! What made the picture for me was one of the crew in the bow anticipating a return to dry land? The inner harbour at Scarborough has been brought to life since the marina (in the background) was constructed. 

Wrong track mate!

On the wrong lines

Wednesday 4th March 2015

Had to go to Hull today, so parked near 'The Deep' and wandered around the City centre. It was cold and windy, but sunny. On walking back to our car along the back streets, came across this beautiful cobbled street with the remains of a dock railway running across it. When I saw the car parked on top of the lines, I knew there was a photograph. The afternoon sun was above the car, so I was shooting directly into the sun. I got down to a low level to emphasize the cobbles and the railway lines. It was always going to be high contrast, so I chose black and white. This helped make the cobbles and lines stand out. It also helped me to lose the ugly brick wall behind the car and the continuation of the line. The catch-lights on the car from the sun add to the picture.

Whisk it!

Drinks whisk

Tuesday 3rd March 2015

Opened a drawer in the kitchen and spotted our drinks whisk, Checking that it had been washed thoroughly and no bits were clinging to it. I thought it would make a good subject, I liked the coiled wire and decided to light it from bottom right, so that the coils would have rim lighting. This gave them a flower petal effect with the stem of the whisk taking strong light to provide the contrast. It's different!

Hutton Windmill

Hutton Windmill

Monday 2nd March 2015

Poring over the Ordnance Survey map of the Driffield area, I spotted a windmill symbol at Hutton village, Hutton Cranswick. I just had to go along and have a look. The windmill is located at Pit Top Farm, Hutton Cranswick and is a Grade 2 listed building and according to English Heritage it was probably built late 18th, early 19th century. The photo was never going to work in colour, with blue steel doors and a blue plastic water butt! I liked the old derelict buildings on the left, which somehow gave it a sense of place and time. Straight black and white would have been too clinical but a sepia toned vintage look works well.

Swans at The Mere

Mute Swans on The Mere

Sunday 1st March 2015

A trip to the Mere at Scarborough for a Sunday morning stroll and to feed the ducks! The Mere is a hidden gem, it has a large population of geese, swans and ducks and plenty of black headed gulls. A cafe at one end means you can get a drink and something to eat. A good path extends all the way around (about 1 mile) with many fishermen (and women) enjoying the lake. There were lots of opportunities to take photographs of various things, but I chose these two mute swans, with their pristine white feathers about to be fed. Why? It summed up a pleasant, cold, sunny morning at the Mere.