Corn Office

click photo to enlarge

The High Street of Boston, Lincolnshire, was once a major town thoroughfare, thronged with riverside businesses, and a desirable residential area. Today it is cut off from the town centre by a dual-carriageway bypass. Consequently it's a bit down-at-heel, the focus of some half-hearted "regeneration". However, for the photographer it's a visual cornucopia, with potential images at every turn.

The buildings along the street record every century from the 1400s to the present day. There are Victorian buildings both dour and lively, eighteenth century survivors displaying faded elegance, and other buildings, like the Artisan-Mannerist, late seventeenth century/early eighteenth century terrace at 124-136 (known locally as "The Barracks") are just plain quirky. However, one of the most striking buildings is a former warehouse dating from the early 1800s. One side faces the street, and the other is on the river. It is a tall structure, only three bays wide by two bays, brick built with rendered infill, stone quoins, and a stone ground floor. It has been sensitively converted into flats, but formerly it was the Public Warehouse, with a winch for loading and unloading from ships moored on the River Witham. During restoration some of the Victorian script on the building was uncovered, and this has been preserved for all to see.

My photograph uses part of that script set amongst the the dressed stonework and rendering of the ground floor. I liked the contrast of materials and, particularly, the way the limited range of colours fitted together. The words "CORN OFFICE" gave it an extra dimension. I aimed for an asymmetrical but balanced composition.

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 42mm (84mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/40
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.3EV
Image Stabilisation: Off