Boston, public sculpture and vinyl

click photo to enlarge
Not until I'd brought this photograph up on my computer did I notice that this "circular" shoal of fish is actually a spiral. That reminded me of the quiz question beloved of children of the vinyl records generation: "Question - How many grooves are there on a record? Answer - Two; one on the A side and one on the B side". The success (or otherwise) of this question (for the information of those of the compact disc and mp3 generations) depends on you knowing that each side of such a record appears to have hundreds of concentric circles but both hold just a single, tightly packed spiral.

As public murals go this one doesn't, for me, have any outstanding qualities. However, it does add a bit of colour and interest to an otherwise quite dour corner of Boston, Lincolnshire, and that's often reason enough for the existence of such a piece. Unusually, I haven't been able to find any information about this work: for example, its title or the name of the artist. I imagine that the subject refers to Boston's past as a port of deep-sea trawlers and its current status as the home of a small inshore fleet. It is one of the relatively few pieces of public sculpture in the town. For reasons unknown to me Boston has fewer such pieces than many other towns of its size. I find that surprising since I can think of a number of Lincolnshire villages that are home to several themed sculptures. The present period with an economic climate that emphasises belt-tightening probably isn't the best time for the commissioning of such works, but if there is a town that would benefit from a few public pieces to enliven its streets then it's Boston.

Incidentally, the keen photographers among you may be wondering why I chose f11 for this shot since it resulted in the passer-by being slightly blurred. The answer is simple: operator error!

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 24mm
F No: f11
Shutter Speed: 1/160 sec
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Watching the carp

click photo to enlarge
When we moved into the house where we currently live there was a small pond in the garden. It's the first pond that we've had. At our previous house, and where we live now, a stream acts as one of the perimeters of the plot; water to enjoy that is labour-free. But, we've never had an area of water actually in our garden that we've needed to tend, and the fact is, it's something about which I have mixed feeling. I like the water lilies that grow in the pond and some of the waterside plants around it. I enjoy how it changes with the seasons and offers a fruitful photographic subject for me. I don't mind the wildlife that it supports directly and indirectly - water insects, newts, frogs etc - and the birds that it attracts that drink and bathe there. However, I have never been keen on the seven fish that came with it. These are an ornamental variety akin to goldfish; perhaps some kind of small carp or orfe. I see them as unnecessary and unwanted interlopers, though not everyone of my acquaintance agrees with me on this!

We've never fed these fish - they make their own arrangements - and that will account for the fact that over the years they haven't grown very much, if at all. However, earlier this year they disappeared. We'd earlier seen, for the first time in over four years, a heron in that part of the garden, and we assumed that it had eaten them. I think we were right, or almost right, because a couple of weeks later we saw, briefly, two of the fish. They'd obviously been hiding below the water lily leaves much more than usual, perhaps traumatised by the sight of their five brethren disappearing into a heron's gullet. These two continue to survive - and continue to be rarely seen - though for how long I can't say. There's a part of me hopes that our heron acquired a taste for gold coloured fish and will return to finish his meal. However, not everyone of my acquaintance agrees with me on this!

On a recent shopping expedition we once again called in at Springfield shopping centre and Festival Gardens in Spalding. The carp in the stream and ponds there are typically enormous. As I watched them, glad that I didn't have to look after such Leviathans in our pond, they briefly came together in a small shoal and I took this photograph of them. I'm not immune to the languid movement of these fish as they search for food, the flashing sheen of their scales as the light catches them, or how they slowly appear and disappear as they rise and fall in the dark water. However, I'd much rather enjoy all this in short, controlled spells rather than as a permanent feature of my garden that involved all the attendant work and worry!

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 105mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/100
ISO: 200
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On