Chairs are hard

click photo to enlarge

"A chair is a very difficult object. A sky scraper is almost easier. That is why Chippendale is famous." Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, German-American architect (1886-1969)

In February 2006 I used the quote above to preface a shot that I consider to be one of my better efforts. It shows a detail of a stack of shiny cafe chairs. In that post and elsewhere I've made the point that chairs can be beautiful, chairs can be comfortable, and chairs can be both beautiful and comfortable - but they rarely are. When the fusion of aesthetics and utility is achieved it is often justly celebrated and the designer becomes, if not a household name, then someone who is known to those who appreciate good design. So, the chairs of Michelle Thonet, Marcel Breuer, Charles and Ray Eames, Mies van der Rohe, Arne Jacobsen, Robin Day, Konstantin Grcic and the like are found not only in the homes of such people, but in the world's museums and galleries.

My mind returned to this subject the other day when I saw this set of two chairs and a table. They are made for outdoor use and fulfil the requirement to stand up to the weather reasonably well - the hard ceramic/plastic surfaces will last a long time, and so will the metal, though it has rusted. And, aesthetically, I suppose they look fine in a cottagey sort of way. The co-ordinated pots are an unusual touch. But when it comes to sitting on them, drinking a cup of coffee, surveying the garden and chewing the fat - or even the cud - with a partner or friend, then the chairs look to have very obvious limitations. In fact, they look as though they would be torture for the posterior: cold in anything but the mildest weather, wet for a long time after rain, and hard, hard hard whenever you chose to sit on them! However, as objects to add detail, a certain character, and a suggestion of alfresco living they are fine. And as a composition for a passing photographer they looked fine too. 

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 119mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/160
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -1.0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Sculpture, galleries and photography

click photos to enlarge

It's fairly common for photographers to be told that they can't use their cameras in certain locations. Regular visitors to this blog will remember my experience photographing in the private "estate" of More London on the South Bank. Shopping malls ban photography. So too do the majority of galleries and museums, even where they are essentially tax payer funded institutions. So, it's a real pleasure to come across somewhere that does allow photography inside their premises, as I did at The National Centre for Craft and Design (known as "the hub" - I don't like the lower-case) in Sleaford, Lincolnshire*. This venue regularly stages exhibitions, and we frequently go along to see them. I've said elsewhere that these are not always to my taste. However, that doesn't matter because one of the points of visiting such a place is to expose yourself to new ideas. Moreover, I find that I do enjoy the exhibitions sufficiently often that I keep returning.

The two exhibitions I saw on my most recent trip to Sleaford couldn't have been more different. Jason Lim's "New work in ceramics" didn't appeal to me very much at all. The shapes and textures of his clay work offered me neither beauty nor interest. I did like some of the colours and patterns of his glaze, but that was about it. I was, however, most impressed by Claire Morgan's sculptures. These featured stuffed (as in taxidermy) animals - all road-kill I believe - placed in volumes constructed of monofilament on which were fixed various plastics and even dandelion seeds. The exhibition was called, "About Time", which sums up the artist's motivation in creating these pieces. However, had I known nothing of this - and a video gave further insight into her ideas and techniques - I should still have liked the pieces featuring the crow and the fox.

The fox was standing in a grid of vertical lines on which were fixed torn shreds of back plastic arranged in such a way that the animal appeared to be in an inclined cube. The strongly directional lighting of the gallery emphasised texture, light and dark and the sham solidity of the sculpture. The crow was up-ended on the ground as though it had just crash-landed and was surrounded by two part-spheres made of dandelion seeds fixed to a grid of wires. A third piece with the rabbits - both "alive" and dead - had the word "Shhh..." backwards, made of pieces of pink plastic floating above. Descriptions such as mine don't do justice to the pieces, nor do my two-dimensional photographs: they have to be seen and walked around to be properly appreciated. If you can, go and see them.

* I asked at the "The Hub" if I could take photographs in the gallery and was told I could. I believe, from previous conversations on the subject, that photography is allowed with some exhibitions and not others - a policy that is much better than that of most museums and galleries.

photographs and text (c) T. Boughen

Photo 1
Camera: Lumix LX3
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 8.8mm (41mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f2.5
Shutter Speed: 1/30
ISO:400
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Eye scorching colour

click photo to enlarge

I don't like shopping. Lots of men (and quite a few women) don't. Food and essentials I can cope with: it's the infrequently bought items that I find harder to deal with - clothes, domestic sundries, shoes, etc. They mean visiting bigger shopping centres and scouring more places, often with no success. In recent years I've sometimes found myself in one of the assemblages of so-called "outlets" (what a horrible word that is), notably the Fleetwood Freeport in Lancashire and Springfields at Spalding, Lincolnshire. These places are "themed" - at Fleetwood its sited next to a marina, and at Spalding it adjoins the Festival Gardens. This pairing of an "attraction" with a large, purpose-built shopping area with its acres of parking is an attempt - or so it seems to me - to make buying stuff more interesting and palatable.

The other day we were at Springfields, Spalding. We came away with only a couple of small items that were on a longish list, but not before we'd had a wander around the gardens. I've taken a few photographs there before, principally of the sculptures. Probably my favourite shot from this location is one showing a detail of some large, painted, concrete shapes designed by Chris Beardshaw called "Sculpture Matrix". As we once more came upon these among the trees and planting I noticed that the colour scheme of pink exteriors and pale blue interiors had been changed and now the inside of the shapes was what I can only call neon green or a very bright lime green.

I used the LX3 to take a few more shots of these shapes with their now quite eye-wateringly colourful paint scheme. The best of the crop is the main photograph taken through one of the "viewing slits" that let the spectator see into the sculpture. However, since I rarely photograph anything with such jarringly juxtaposed colours, I also took a few shots of the corners and edges where the pink and green came together.

photographs and text (c) T. Boughen

Photo 1
Camera: Lumix LX3
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 5.1mm (24mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f2.8
Shutter Speed: 1/160
ISO:80
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Hamming up the horror

click photo to enlarge

I've never been one for horror films. The graphic, gore-laden offerings of today leave me cold, and I simply exclude them from my viewing. I can't say that I'm particularly enamoured of the older horror films either, though there have been a few that I've enjoyed. These have usually been those that approached the subject with either "art" or "comedy" uppermost in mind.

Of the artistic horror movies my favourite has to be Werner Hertzog's 1979 film,  "Nosferatu the Vampyre". It's a homage remake of a 1922 German silent film, and though Bram Stoker's basic Dracula plot underpins it there are differences, principally the focus on Nosferatu's loneliness and disgust with what he does. It's usually the very different depiction of the vampire in this film, and the absence of camp humour that people see as setting it apart from others of the genre. However, I would also cite the sets and the photography as very different from the usual Stoker-derived offerings.

Of the humorous takes on horror one that I liked better than most of the critics and fans is another one based on Bram Stoker's tale. "Dracula: Dead and Loving It", the 1995 film starring Leslie Nielsen is fun and funny. But, being British, I've also seen quite a few Hammer horror films. These were often made with a fairly serious intention - in so far as you can be serious with any horror film - but often ended up being unintentionally funny. They seemed to almost invariably cast either Christopher Lee or Peter Cushing, with, often, Ingrid Pitt to add the glamour. Dracula, Frankenstein, Mummies and the murders of Victorian London seemed to figure large in their plots.

It was Hammer Films that came to mind when I visited this ruined medieval church in Norfolk. It is located in a piece of woodland close to a country house, and in the past was used as a folly-cum-eyecatcher by the owners. They built ruinous arches and other structures around and in it to make it into a romantic feature that the family and guests could come upon during short walks from the house. The Victorian tomb must have been placed there at that time, and perhaps the medieval stone coffin. A wooden cross had been placed at one end of the building, and its derelict state combined with the other artefacts suggested the kind of set that a Hammer Films version of Dracula might use. To that end I converted my colour image to black and white, upped the contrast, gave it a slight vignette, and burned in the clouds that the graduated ND filter had already made quite striking. Perhaps you can imagine Christopher Lee in a long black cloak hurrying in through the pointed arch as he averts his eyes from the cross.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 24mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/50
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On
Filter: Graduated ND8

London's rubbish

click photo to enlarge

The apostrophe in today's title is used in the possessive sense rather than as an elision (no insult is intended!) because the photograph shows Cory Environmental's tug, "Recovery", pulling two barge loads of containers containing waste down the River Thames to either their materials recycling facility or the "energy from waste" power station.

I've photographed this activity before but the last image I posted was taken at night. Here the weather and light was excellent for photography, and I used it as an opportunity to try out my graduated neutral density filter. I also wanted to try a wider view of this section of the Thames opposite the red brick pyramids of Free Trade Wharf. I'm pleased with the result.

In future I'll note when I use a filter on the camera. You won't be surprised to find that quite a few of the forthcoming posts feature the one used in this image.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 24mm
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/800
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On
Filter: Graduated ND8

Using graduated ND filters

click photos to enlarge

In the days of film photography I used a fairly wide selection of filters on my SLR camera lenses, and one or two on my rangefinder camera. I still have most of them, and several weeks ago I was looking at the collection, trying to decide which had a future and which I would be unlikely to ever use again.

I think its very doubtful that the red, yellow, orange and green filters that I used with black and white film will find a place in my future photography. The digital equivalent of these, applied to a colour image converted to monochrome in post-processing, seems to me to offer significant advantages over shooting in black and white with a filter on the lens. Nor too, I think, will the 49mm polarising filter be used again: my current lenses have much bigger filter sizes. I suppose, however, if I ever bought a compact system camera - M43, NX, NEX or somesuch, it might fit a lens. I also have a set of square filters of various kinds with a group of mounting filters, but once again these are of a size suitable for smaller diameter lenses. So, even though some of them, such as the neutral density filters, continue to have a very real purpose in these digital times, they are just too small for the lenses I currently use.

My attention had turned to filters because I was wanting to use a graduated neutral density filter to make better use of the sky in my images. It's true that with digital you can expose for the sky and then bring up the underexposed ground in post processing. But the fact is this takes time, effort and skill. Moreover, it's often the case that the dynamic range of the shot is too wide to do it completely successfully. The graduated neutral density filter tones down the brightness of the sky at the moment of capture and makes the details more as our eye sees them. It's especially useful, I find, on overcast days where the sky is white (but figured) and the ground dark and without obvious shadows. It is also useful when the camera is pointed anywhere near to the sun. Occasionally, however, this kind of filter does make too much of the sky's details and it can look a touch apocalyptic!

The upshot of all this is that a while ago I bought a 72mm mounting ring, filter holder and a square ND8 graduated neutral density filter. Fortunately the 24-105mm and the 17-40mm lens both have 72 mm filter threads, so the two lenses I own that are most suitable for this kind of filter can be accommodated by the single setup.

The photographs above were all taken on a rather overcast day using the filter. They show the late C15 (and later) Mannington Hall, a moated house in Norfolk. I may have been able to achieve the balance of the first image without the filter, and perhaps the second one too, but the third shot really benefited from it, acquiring a mood that would have been difficult to reproduce with a normal exposure and post-processing.

photographs and text (c) T. Boughen

Photo 1
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 28mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/125
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On
Filter: Graduated ND8

Butterbur leaves

click photo to enlarge

The UK isn't the first place that comes to mind when we consider the giants of nature. On a world scale our rivers aren't big: the longest is the Severn at 220 miles (354 kilometres). Nor are our mountains very high, with Ben Nevis at 4,409 feet (1,344 metres) the tallest peak. Neither does the area of our biggest lakes stand comparison with many other countries. The highest sea cliffs exceed 400 metres, middling in world terms, but our biggest land animal -the red deer - is relatively small, and our tallest tree, a Douglas Fir 210 feet tall, is only a little more than half the height of the tallest Giant Redwood. But, size isn't everything, and what the UK lacks in the giants of the natural world it makes up for in the variety that it offers in a relatively small area.

However, it wasn't variety that I thought about when I was photographing these leaves of the common butterbur (Petasites hybridus) , but rather their size. They are the largest leaves of any British plant with a diameter anywhere between 40cm and 70cm. But, despite this unique position in Britain's flora, and the fact that I have known the plant since I first saw it as a child in the wet lanes and riversides of the Yorkshire Dales, at the time I was taking my shots I couldn't bring its name to mind. It must be my age catching up with me. But, when I'd finally named it correctly I remembered that we also used to call it "wild rhubarb", though I now know it to belong an entirely different family from the cultivated crop.

As a photographic subject butterbur isn't terribly promising, though I did think that if I'd had a small child with me I might have been able to do something with it. However, when I saw this patch of butterbur reflected in the relatively calm water it did seem to offer possibilities.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 175mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/160
ISO: 250
Exposure Compensation:  -0.67 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Dead heads

click photo to enlarge

If you are of a certain age and interested in popular music then the words "dead head" mean something entirely different to what is understood by someone who is a gardener. If, however, you're of a certain age, interested in popular music AND gardening then you use both terms very easily, depending on context.

The musical "dead head", or rather "Dead Head", is a devoted follower of the San Francisco-based band, the Grateful Dead. I can't claim the level of adoration that qualifies a person to be a "Dead Head", but I do own some of their music and have a particular liking for the albums, "American Beauty", "Workingman's Dead" and "Live Dead". The gardener understands a dead head to be the product of "dead-heading", that is is to say, the removal of faded flower heads so that they don't turn to seed. Regular removal of declining blooms encourages the host plant to put out more flowers than it would otherwise poduce, and thereby extends its period of flowering, something that gardeners like to encourage.

Recently, I was doing the rounds of the flower beds and pots removing such blooms and picking up heads that had been blown off by the wind or knocked down by recent heavy rain. I put the heads of the begonias, cornflowers, marigolds and the rest into my bucket, and in so doing glanced down at my work of the past hour or so. The decaying beauty of the spent flowers caught my eye so I put the macro lens on my camera and took this photograph. There's something rather melancholic about the sight of flowers that are past their best. Perhaps it's the way we see in our minds eye the ripe beauty that was, as well as the dishevelled reality that is, and in so doing are reminded of the mortality of all life, including our own.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 100mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/80
ISO: 160
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33
Image Stabilisation: On

Fishermen, photographers and survival

click photo to enlarge

Sometimes my mind wanders on tangential paths and ends up in odd, even strange, places. For example, I have a theory that following the next cataclysm to hit the earth - an asteroid impact, suddenly rising sea levels, a world war or whatever - any survivors will include a disproportionately large number of fishermen, but precious few amateur  photographers. Why? Well, over the years I've noticed that an increasing number of fishermen are equipped for longer fishing expeditions. You've perhaps seen the sort of thing that I mean: they have a small tent or combined umbrella/sheltersuitable for over-night stays, waterproof and warm clothing for whatever the weather brings, boxes packed with food and basic cooking equipment and utensils, as well as the usual range of rods, lines, etc. And all of this is packed into a convenient, wheeled cart that can be pulled to the places where the fishing is to take place. It occurs to me that all of this stuff is ideal for survival in a post-apocalypse world, providing not only warmth, shelter and transport, but also the means of furnishing your next meal.

On the other hand, the resurgence of the popularity of SLRs has produced a large number of amateur photographers who load themselves down with multiple bodies and lenses, a stack of accessories and often a tripod. I see quite a few who fit all this into and on the outside of a purpose-made backpack. Consequently, I foresee these people, after the next world-scale incident, loading themselves up with the "necessary gear" to get the best possible images of this once in a lifetime event, skimping on the useful and essential items needed for survival, and happily perishing in the knowledge that they've secured cards full of amazing photographs! A further thought occurs to me: perhaps there's a market for a trailer camera case for the photographers who suffer from separation anxiety disorder, and can't leave a single piece of kit at home in case they find they need it. Or perhaps not.

Of course not all photographers and fishermen conform to my descriptions. There are plenty of snappers down-sizing to mirrorless or compact cameras who get great pleasure from their diminutive outfits and take excellent shots with them. And there are lots of fishermen who enjoy their sport using a very basic set of equipment that is not burdensome in any way. I saw one such person on the beach at Hunstanton in Norfolk. He was standing among the groynes and tall groyne markers, casting into the incoming tide, content with his minimalist lot.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 300mm
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/1000
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

James Bond versus The Wash Monster?

click photo to enlarge

I have a few rules of thumb for choosing the films that I watch. One of them is is that if the film's trailer includes a shot of a couple running from a building, usually a wooden structure, that suddenly explodes in a ball of orange flame and shattered timbers, throwing them forwards to the ground - but leaving them unscathed - then I know it's not for me. Consequently you won't be surprised to hear that I'm not a fan of the James Bond franchise. However, the regularity and ubiquity of the 007 offerings is such that I have, at various points in my life, seen clips, longer sections and occasionally a whole film starring the all-action hero. Therefore, when I saw this motorized parachute (also called a paramotor) buzzing The Wash Monster off the beach at Hunstanton, Norfolk, I wondered if the the suave spy was on a mission for her majesty. I knew it couldn't be 007 when a second paramotor swooped down and did the same thing: a man of Bond's calibre doesn't need a partner to accomplish his missions of derring do!

Until I visited Hunstanton last week I wasn't aware of The Wash Monster, a 60-seat, ex-U.S. military amphibious vehicle that gives calm-weather rides on The Wash. But, the deep thump of its motor, the gaze of onlookers and a huddle of people on the promenade next to its booking office, soon brought it to my attention. I've seen ex-military DUKWs on the River Thames in London, and I've heard of their use elsewhere in the UK, but this is the only one I've seen operating on the sea, and it's certainly the biggest I've come across.

I took a few more shots of the vehicle after it had lumbered up on to the sand, one of which I include. There's also another shot of the skilful, if a touch imprudent, paramotorist.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Photo 1
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 228mm
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/800
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Spires, views and hits

click photo to enlarge

Ever since July 2010 I've used Blogger's in-house hit counter to analyse the traffic that comes to this blog. It's called "Stats" and it gives a reasonable summary of information: not as much as some of the other free offerings - I also use StatCounter and Google Analytics - but enough for it to be my main port of call. Regular readers of this blog will recall that in August 2010 I posted a list of the top 10 pages by hits and speculated on why they were popular. I looked at this information again recently and found some interesting developments and, once again, more questions. The current 1 to 10 (with last August's placing in brackets) are:

1 (1) Tree shadows and architectural drawings
2 (2) Lichfield Cathedral
3 (5) The corrugated chair
4 (new) Old tools and toffee hammers
5 (3) Promenade silhouettes
6 (new) Views with spires
7 (new) The story of a blog post
8 (new) Church music
9 (new) Colour or monochrome?
10 (new) Rooks, hoar frost and adverts

I find it interesting that only four of last year's top ten feature in the current list, though given the relatively short amount of time I'd been using Stats when I did the first survey perhaps that's not so surprising. As before I'm given to wondering why these particular posts receive more hits than others. However, one of the newcomers is, I think, particularly noteworthy. The entry, View with spires, dates from as recently as May 24th 2011, yet in that short time it has become the 6th most viewed blog post with 351 hits. Not as many as the number one with 2,101, but a high number (for this blog) in quite a short period. Why? The photograph isn't what I'd call my best, and the writing that accompanies it is unremarkable. So what is it that brings so many viewers to that particular page? I haven't a clue!

Incidentally, in October 2010 I noted the top ten countries providing the hits for PhotoReflect. Here is that list compared with today's:

2010 (2011)
1 UK (UK)
2 USA (USA)
3 Australia (Australia)
4 Canada (Canada)
5 India (Germany)
6 Germany (Netherlands)
7 Netherlands (India)
8 Brazil (Poland)
9 Italy (France)
10 France (Russia)

Much less of a change here: eight countries remain in the top ten, with Brazil and Italy being replaced by the newcomers, Poland and Russia. The connection of all this with today's offering is tenuous, but my photograph sparked the line of thought that resulted in the subject of this blog post. The Swaffham church shot is a view with a spire, a lead-covered spire that looks like a later addition to a tower of about 1500. However, it seems that a spire was part of the original design, was replaced by a Gothick version in 1778, and the one we see today is a rebuilding of the eighteenth century incarnation that dates from 1897.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 21mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/250
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -1.0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Cottage gardens

click photo to enlarge

If I lived in a cottage I'd have a cottage garden. Perhaps that sounds self-evident, but it isn't because a "cottage garden" these days means a particular type of planting and presentation rather than any just any old garden that happens to be attached to a cottage. The other day, as we walked through the village of Castle Rising in Norfolk, we passed the pair of cottages in today's photograph and, impressed by the front gardens, I took this shot.

The planting exemplifies much that I like about the cottage garden. On the right is a golden privet with a few white flowers showing. This shrub often forms an evergreen (actually "ever-yellow") hedge in older gardens but here it was a bush that in summer was offering its vivid colour and in winter would do the same, but give structure and height too. It was poking over a length of stone, brick and tile wall.The remainder of the flowers are typical cottage garden perennials, intermixed to an extent, giving a variety of colours at different heights. There are white-petalled marguerites with their yellow centres hanging over the picket fence, pink mallows, glossy skimmia with its red berries, aquilegia, lillies, orange roses, three kinds of clematis, tall hollyhocks - the quintessential cottage garden flower - and much more. Set against the brick and stone walls, with the white ornate porch, the dormers and the pantiles above, the planting makes for a picture of a typically English rural cottage.

I used the 17-40mm lens at its widest setting for this photograph and had to over come my natural inclination to step back and produce a more architectural image with "correct" verticals.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 17mm
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/320
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.67 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

St Augustine, Skirlaugh, East Yorkshire

click photo to enlarge

Is it possible to become a billionaire by ethical means? When I look at many who have achieved this dubious distinction I think the answer is that it's somewhat unusual. Many Russian oligarchs achieved their vast wealth by exploiting political and social chaos to transfer money and resources from the public sector to themselves. More than a few manufacturers, newspaper magnates, etc. in other parts of the world secured their fortunes through striving to become monopolies and through other predatory practices. Such people tend to shelter behind the amoral, non-ethical shield of "the market" to explain and justify their success. The donation of some of their fabulous wealth to charities or to deserving causes too often looks like an attempt to clean up their images or to salve their consciences.

What then of Skirlaugh church? It is, in John Betjeman's words, "a lavish Perpendicular church replete with parapets, pinnacles and buttresses...". Pevsner calls it, "...perfect because built not only lavishly but also quickly and to one plan." It is relatively small, certainly is lavish - I particularly like the pierced battlements of the tower - and incorporates the fifteenth century development of a nave and chancel in one with no structural divisions. When I lived in Kingston upon Hull I often stopped by this perfect little church and admired its college chapel-like appearance.

St Augustine was built in 1401-5 by Walter Skirlaw. He was bishop of Lichfield, then Wells and finally, from 1388, Durham. As his name suggests Skirlaugh was his native village though he was actually born in nearby Swine. It was during his bishopric at Durham that he gave the money for the building of the church, and it was completed a year before his death in 1406. Walter Skirlaw built a number of bridges in the Durham diocese, the chapter house at Howden, and contributed funds for the construction of York Minster's central tower. He was also responsible for much work at Durham Cathedral including the building of its cloisters. Much of this is what we might expect of a bishop of Durham. But what about the church at Skirlaugh? Was the construction of a fine church in his home village a proper use of the finances that he controlled, or was it, perhaps, a nepotistic display by the local boy made good?

I visited Skirlaugh church at a time when a prince of the press, phone hacking, the "News of the World" newspaper, and all the associated shenanigans were headlines in the press. Perhaps it was the despicable display of money, influence and power in that ongoing saga that made me wonder if this church was a result of a medieval equivalent involving a prince of the church. That's one of the problems with societies that allow people to accumulate such great wealth and power - they often exercise it in ways that undermine democracy and support themselves, and in so doing make us suspicious of what can be perfectly ordinary transactions.

Incidentally, the photograph of the church interior clearly shows the lack of differentiation between the nave and the chancel, something that is not too common in English churches. The shot also shows a recent development that is becoming increasingly common: the pews at the back of the church have been removed to make a space for a weekly coffee morning and other small social events.

photographs and text (c) T. Boughen

Photo 1
Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 28mm
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/800
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.67 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Dark skies and photography

click photo to enlarge

After a very dry, sunny spring and early summer, with plenty of warm weather - at least in my part of the world - things have changed and we've had quite a bit of welcome rain. At the time of writing this blog post thunder is booming around us and heavy showers are queuing up to drench the fields and gardens. All this is very welcome to someone who likes to cultivate his patch, and the result of the precipitation can be seen in the increased growth rate of the grass on the lawns, the blooming of the annual and perennial flowers, the heavy crops of strawberries and raspberries that we've gathered in, and the bountiful lushness of the vegetable garden. But it's not just the gardener in me that has been pleased by the rain and changeable skies, my photographic side has welcomed them too.

On a recent day in the East Yorkshire countryside sunshine fought for supremacy with fleeting showers and dark skies. The result of the conflict was a draw, but for me personally it was, as they say these days, a "win-win" situation, with the sky with sun and clouds lending itself to photographic compositions just as much as as the dark, glowering skies. The main photograph, showing the beach at Hornsea with a groyne and the high water groyne marker, would have been less of an image without the black clouds that were above my head and heading out over the sea. They change the tonal values and the mood of the photograph. Interestingly no rain fell from them onto our heads, but rain was around, and distant showers can be seen on the horizon.

On one of the days of my recent visit to London the sky was behaving in a similar way, and it gave me an opportunity to get a different kind of shot of Canary Wharf. The grey blanket above subdued the colours and brightness of the gleaming towers, and perhaps more clearly reflected the mood that much of the financial community has experienced over the past few years. By the way, on this occasion we did get caught in a light shower and had to beat a hasty retreat for cover.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Photo 1
Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 28mm
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/1000
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Living sculpture

click photo to enlarge

As I was walking down the promenade in Hornsea, East Yorkshire, my eyes fell upon the public art and street furniture that the council had commissioned to beautify the area. Most notable was the semi-abstract relief sculpture above a small pool featuring birds and the town's name. I also admired the long, narrow garden that had been assembled with walls of granite, short sections of "groynes", undulating grass, shingle, beach flowers and shrubs. The promenade railings in the style of an ocean liner's with a hardwood hand-rail, inclined uprights and lines of stainless steel cable between struck the right note by the sea. And the black, bird sculptures that topped the large, ornamental street lights were a nice detail. What a pity, I thought, about the concrete, tarmac and brick desert that had been created near the leisure centre.

As I made my way back up the promenade to rejoin my companions I looked up at the street lights and did a "double take". The bird sculptures that I'd admired were turning their heads to follow my passage: they were in fact real birds - rooks! Raising my camera I took a few shots of the living statues and carried on my way. After I'd walked a few yards I turned and looked back at them. It was obvious that two of the birds were rooks, but what about the third one? I had no binoculars so I resolved to identify it by studying my photographs when I put them on the computer.

Viewing the bird at 100% reveals that it is clearly an immature rook, a product of this year's nesting season. The reason it looks very odd, and made me wonder whether or not it was a carrion crow, is the shape of its beak.  Half of the upper mandible is broken off. Despite this handicap the bird appeared to be foraging successfully with its parents and managing to cope. I hope it continues to do so.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 300mm
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/640
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

No cycling

click photo to enlarge

Several years ago I was cycling with my wife along the along the promenade at Llandudno in North Wales when we were stopped and told that cycling was not allowed. The official who spoke to us was unable to give a reason for the prohibition but was keen to point to the purpose-made signs forbidding the activity. In preparing this blog post I did a quick search to find out whether the town's policy was still in force and I found this photograph on Geograph taken in 2010. The caption struck a chord with me: it included this remark, " ...The prom at Llandudno is so wide you could take tanks down it without getting in anybody's way..." So, I guess, for reasons that must be incomprehensible to most people, cycling is still banned.

At the time we tried to ride there we lived not too far from Blackpool, Lancashire, where we had been used to cycling freely on well-marked lanes next to paths designated for pedestrians. It wasn't perfect, and cyclists and pedestrians sometimes got in each other's way, usually through ignoring the demarcation. However, there weren't, to my knowledge any serious problems and the many miles of the coast that it opened up to people on foot and on bicycles were well used and enjoyed. People's quality of life was enhanced by this simple, inexpensive measure.

But, a recent visit to the small seaside town of Hornsea in East Yorkshire reminded me that, despite efforts by cyclists, health promoters, government and others, not all local councils have got the message that people on bicycles can co-exist alongside pedestrians and it is in the community at large's interest that steps are taken to encourage it. Mind you, if the council responsible for Hornsea promenade had been more enlightened I wouldn't have got my photograph of the bright red "No Cycling" sign against the blues and browns of the distant sky and sea!

I usually allow my computer software to automatically remove the slight vignetting that my 70-300mm lens produces at maximum zoom. On this occasion, however, I quite liked what it added to the photograph so I let it remain.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 300mm
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/640
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Oliver's Wharf, Wapping, London

click photo to enlarge

Oliver's Wharf is a warehouse on the River Thames in Wapping, London. It was built by F. & H. Francis in 1869-70 for George Oliver. The building handled general river-borne cargo but had some special facilities for tea. It is a 6-storey structure constructed of yellow stock brick with red brick and stone dressing that contributes to the Venetian Gothic styling. The art critic, John Ruskin (1819-1900) popularised this particular form of Gothic through his three-volume work on the art and architecture of that city, "The Stones of Venice" (1851-3), and it was applied to churches, museums, town halls, libraries and many other public and private buildings. Here at Wapping the ornate "polychrome" brickwork, pointed windows, brick relieving arches and stone three-bay windows makes the building stand out among the more utilitarian nineteenth century warehouses that line the river.

It was undoubtedly the ornate character of the main elevations (the street and river facades are very similar) that led to Oliver's Wharf being one of the first redundant warehouses to be converted to flats. In 1972 twenty three luxury dwellings were created within its old walls. The architects responsible for the adaptation wisely left much of the original exterior details intact, and today the building is a noticeable and noteworthy feature of this part of London.

I have looked across the Thames at Oliver's Wharf many times on my walks along the south bank from Rotherhithe into the City. I've photographed it a couple of times too. However, not until a few days ago, when a bright sky with thin cloud illuminated the building very nicely, did I capture an image that pleased me. I like this shot because it has something of the quality of an architect's watercolour elevational illustration about it.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 200mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/320
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.67 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Our fine feathered friends

click photos to enlarge
Ever since the time when, as a young boy, I put a telescope and a pair of binoculars to my eyes and had revealed before me the beauty of the feathers of birds, I have taken an interest in their plumage. Most people notice the showy feathers of large birds, those kept in cages and farmyard species - peacocks, parrots, guinea fowl and the like. But fewer see the sometimes subtler (though occasionally dazzling) colours of our native species.

An early favourite for me was the much maligned starling (Sturnus vulgaris), often dismissed as a "black" bird, but close-up its summer plumage an iridescent metallic green and violet sheen with bright yellowish "stars". I also had a soft spot for the lapwing (Vanellus vanellus). At a distance this bird appears black and white, though the chestnt brown under its rear body is sometimes visible. However, through binoculars the dark back is revealed to be a fine green and purple iridescence that contrasts beautifully with the bold, black facial markings. The plumage of the male pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) also pleased me. I liked the way the green head (sometimes with a white neck ring) contrasted with the red wattles, and the brown/orange/gold hues of the body were flecked with dark, scale-like markings. Smaller birds such as the grey wagtail (Motacilla flava), the chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) and the blue tit (Parus caeruleus) were also favourites. As I grew older, however, I began to appreciate the more subtle hues of birds such as the wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe), the fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) and the woodcock (Scolopax rusticola).

Today, it seems, my taste has returned to the brighter colours of the larger birds. Or so it would appear looking at today's photographs and other images that I have posted of cockerel feathers - see here and here. Except that I haven't and these feathers are as much about what I am able to photograph well given the lenses I own as the plumage that I like. These particular cockerel and hen feathers appealed for the shapes they made as well as the lovely colour combinations that they offered.

photographs and text (c) T. Boughen

Photo 1
Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 300mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/250
ISO: 800
Exposure Compensation:  -0.67 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Kindles, dashes and the Shard

click photo to enlarge

In recent months I've been giving some thought to buying an e-book reader, possibly a Kindle. I have no special affection for Amazon. In fact, the built-in proprietary format of their device along with the widely reported case of the remote removal of a book from people's Kindles that the company undertook a while ago makes me think another manufacturer might be preferable. However, their reader does support most (though not all) common formats, has a good quality display, and is relatively inexpensive. The latter would be a particular consideration if I didn't like the experience.

However, looking at a full page advertisement for the Kindle on the back page of the Guardian newspaper's Review section has put the thought right out of my head for the time being. Why? Well, the advert features a large photograph of the Kindle with the first page of a novel, "Ordinary Thunderstorms" by William Boyd, showing on the screen, and I read the first sentence of this three times before I understood its meaning! The reason was that where a dash should have been, indicating a break in the flow of the sentence for an interjection, there was what looked like a hyphen (i.e. there was no space before and after the character), and where the sentence continued after this aside, there was a further hyphen. So, on my first reading I was left wondering what a "river-all" and a "doubt-but" were.  The second sentence was perfectly clear, but then it got worse. The third sentence, that begins the second paragraph, starts, "There he is - look - stepping hesitantly down..." But on the Kindle I read, "There he is-look-stepping hesitantly down... And, once again I was re-reading to extract meaning. The irony is, this same Kindle page has two correctly hyphenated words. Why, I wondered, couldn't the correct typography that usually features spaces before and after a dash, that was presumably in the paper novel, be transferred to the e-book reader? Is this common to all these devices? Anyway, it was enough to put me off and I don't think that was the intention of Amazon's expensive advertisement.

It was only after I'd puzzled over this for a while and sent a query off to Amazon that I noticed the characters were (quite correctly) longer when they indicated dashes, and shorter when being used as hyphens.* However, they were not so different that I noticed this until I began forensically examining what was going on. So, even that distinction isn't enough to prevent the understanding of a passage being a potential chore and, frankly, difficulties of that sort are not what I want from my reading.

* Further clarification for the technically minded. Skip if you don't care!

• The dash ( — ) used for a pause in thought or where parentheses might be used is sometimes called an em dash. It usually has a space before and after, and can only be produced on a computer keyboard by using the key combination Alt and 0151 (on the Num pad). Computer writers usually use the hyphen with a space before and after in place of a proper dash, but publishers invariably observe the distinction in character length and place spaces before and afterwards.
• The hyphen (-) is used for hyphenated words e.g. full-length or re-entered, and is available directly from the keyboard. When used it has no space before and after except where listing hyphenated words e.g. pre- and post- war.
• An intermediate length line (–) called an en dash, sometimes used when showing a range of numbers e.g. 180–360, can be produced using the key combination Alt and 0150. It also has no space before and after.

What I suspect is happening with this Kindle example is that the spaces before and after the dash are being lost during the translation from paper to e-book format.

Addendum - Curiouser and Curiouser
The day after I wrote the above my wife noticed a Tesco advertisement for the Amazon Kindle on the back of the Guardian newspaper's magazine. It showed the same first page of the same novel on its screen held by the very same hand. But guess what - on this Kindle the dashes were fine, with a space before and a space after! More detailed analysis of the screenshot showed this page had several differences from the earlier one. The page displayed two fewer lines even though each line was slightly longer, the title bar was different, "Chapter 1" had been replaced by "ONE", and there was more data on the bottom of the screen. The most important, and perhaps the crucial difference was that the symbol "3G" was displayed on the screen. On the basis of these advertisements am I to assume that the more expensive 3G+WiFi Kindle displays better than the basic WiFi model? And if that is the case why isn't it made clear? Or is it simply that the Kindles in the advertisements are displaying different versions of the William Boyd novel. This begs another question, of course - if I buy a typographically "crippled" version of a book can I get it exchanged for one that reads correctly? This is all very curious and none of it makes me inclined to purchase Amazon's e-book reader. Moreover it shows the company failing in the two key areas of advertising - information and persuasion.

And now back to our regular programming. Today's photograph is an update on the progress of the Shard taken on a recent visit to London. It was taken from downstream by the Thames at Rotherhithe. Image stabilisation, the selection of a high ISO, and bracing the camera against the balcony door was enough to secure a fairly sharp shot.  The image also includes parts of the tops of the towers of Tower Bridge and a segment of the London Eye. My last photographs of this new London building were taken on 9th June - see here and here.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 238mm
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/20
ISO: 3600
Exposure Compensation:  -0.67 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Reflecting on family snaps

click photo to enlarge

In terms of the number of photographs taken, family snaps must easily top any list that seeks to measure the uses to which photography is put. That must have been the case since the advent of Kodak's first home-use cameras, and it surely remains so today. Photography eminently fulfills the need of people to record their lives and the lives of their nearest and dearest. But, in terms of the hierarchy of the uses of photography - at least from the point of view of "serious" photographers - the family snap props up any such list, with all other branches of photography above it.

I suppose the reason for this is that such images are sometimes thought of as "unconsidered". That is to say, the thoughts about composition, colour, mood, etc that usually characterise the images made by professionals and enthusiastic amateurs are often absent from family snaps, or present only in fairly basic ways. But, whilst this can lead to photographs that conform to "types" - figure in front of landmark, figure at party, figure on beach, figure pulling funny face, figure with immediate family in a row, etc - it also, periodically throws up creative compositions and ideas that sometimes wouldn't have occurred to someone steeped in the art, craft and traditions of photography.

I was reflecting on this a few days ago when we were near Stave Hill, Rotherhithe. I've photographed this man-made hill in London before, and the view from its summit. On this occasion we were admiring the wild flowers - mallow, yarrow and much else - that was growing on its slopes. As my wife climbed the grassy cone I noticed the fine, white clouds against the blue sky and took a couple of shots of her as she scrambled upwards and away from me. But, when she got to the top she turned to me and I took the shot above. Looking at my images on the computer it is the one I prefer. I hadn't set out to take a family snap, but it will serve nicely as one even though she's quite small in the frame.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 47mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/800
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Blues at the Royal Albert Hall

click photos to enlarge

A few nights ago I went to a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London. It was billed as the final UK tour by the great blues guitarist, B. B. King. As I watched the 85 year old legend charm the audience, effortlessly unleash his blues licks, and good humouredly accept the prompts and corrections of his backing musicians, I wondered if this really would be his final appearance on these islands. I say this because I was accompanied to the concert by my oldest son, and a couple of years ago he attended a B. B. King concert that was also described as part of his last UK tour. Well, at those advanced years you're entitled to change your mind. In fact, I couldn't care less whether it was B. B.'s final performance in Britain or not. If the truth be told, I'd be happy to see him go on picking his Gibson over here for many more years to come.

The show was characterised by good music and a display of the easy professionalism that can only be acquired through sixty five or more years on stage. His playing was economic, affecting, masterful. The backing band, some of whom had been with him over forty years, showed similar qualities. The four-piece brass section was tight, crisp and effective and the keyboard player perfectly sensed when to lead, embellish or support. His second guitarist was very accomplished and could lead as well as follow. However, my eyes frequently fell upon the bass guitarist and the drummer. I often feel that if you don't get the rhythm section of a band right then it's hard for the rest to shine. B. B. King had superlative musicians in these roles, and they laid down a solid bedrock on which the others could build. More than that, they seemed to spend the whole two hours playing, because between  most songs there was always a little music being played behind the leader's chatter.

A group of "guests" featured in the second half of the show - Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, Slash, Ronnie Wood and Mick Hucknall. I had the LX3 with me and got a couple of interior shots and a few "after the show" shots in the street outside the famous venue.

photographs and text (c) T. Boughen

Photo 1
Camera: Lumix LX3
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 5.1mm (24mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f2
Shutter Speed: 1/20
ISO: 800
Exposure Compensation: -0.66 EV
Image Stabilisation: On