click photo to enlarge - warning: unusually large image (1MB+)
On a return journey from Ely we called in on a selection of small Cambridgeshire towns to see if we could find a few more Diamond Jubilee shop window displays to photograph. All the places we visited had made an effort, but the displays in Chatteris stood head and shoulders above the rest. The guiding hand of the local Rotary Club had resulted in virtually all such premises having flags, bunting, pictures or specially staged displays. Moreover, it involved a competition and certificates for the best displays. Today's main photograph and some of the subsidiaries are of the prize winning window at the premises of a shop that sells doll's houses and associated wares. The owner had set up an elaborate, miniature street party that stretched across the front of the main window, an arrangement that was full of interest, detail and humour.
My main photograph shows the centre of the display. If you click it you'll find that it is much larger than usual so that you can enjoy the scene in all its glory. Look out for the two plate cameras on tripods with their bulb shutter releases, the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS) tin of "Coronation Biscuits" (and the Huntley Palmer biscuits), the fact that the collar number of every policeman is the same (illegal!), the "Road Closed" sign with sticks in wellies, and the bearded curmudgeon (no relation!) sat in the cafe with his back to the whole affair. A nice touch, shown in one of my smaller photographs, is the old, pipe smoking man and his dog watching the 1953 coronation of Elizabeth II on an early, black and white television in a wooden cabinet.Other photographs from Chatteris show a florist's shop with a cardboard state coach in the window and a charity shop with a representation of a Buckingham Palace balcony featuring photo-masks of prominent members of the royal family. I've also included a picture framing business' window from Ely that includes a further variation on Keep Calm And Carry On.
photographs and text (c) T. Boughen
Photo 1
Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 55mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/80
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On
