In November the centres of our cities and towns enter what I call "that time of year" a.k.a. Christmas. November is, in my view, too early to think about Christmas, but commerce, ever eager to whip us into a spending frenzy in order to part us from our money, thinks otherwise. So after the interiors of shops start displaying their festive period goods in October, at some point in the second half of November the first trees and Christmas decorations start being hung in streets and market places. There they will be seen until mid-January. I find the drawn out nature of this annual spending binge quite depressing.
Today's photograph shows the view of Newark's wonderful market place from Bridge Street, one of the four roads that enter it at its corners. Above is a fine sky with clouds piled high, beyond the red and white striped market stall canopies is the fine eighteenth century town hall, the work of the architect John Carr of York. Other Georgian and Victorian buildings can be seen fringing the market square and on Bridge Street. The busy shoppers in the shady foreground add their silhouettes to the composition. What spoils it for me, however, is the wires crossing the street awaiting the decorations that will be strung from them, the five tall poles that are also waiting to be festooned with wires and Christmas paraphernalia, and the Christmas tree in between the columns of the town hall portico. These may not worry the casual viewer who will concentrate on the good things about this view. However, for someone like me, who feels photographically thwarted at this time of year every time I go around a town with my camera, they stick out like sore thumbs.
photograph and text © Tony Boughen
Photo Title: Market Place, Newark, seen from Bridge Street
Camera: Olympus E-M10
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 16mm (32mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/1000 sec
ISO:200
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On
