Perfect morning

Posted on January 24, 2015 by Rachael

Yesterday morning, I had a chance to capture dawn over Newark Priory. It’s a shot I’d had in my mind for about 5 years and the conditions were perfect. For more about Newark Priory, see here.

Afterwards, I pottered about on the Wey Navigation towpath and collected some wintery shots. I am writing a book about the Navigation and these shots should fit nicely. Altogether, a successful morning’s shooting.

365/23

My 365/23 is from last year. Three modes of transport, four if feet count (there’s a pedestrian on the footbridge). Taken at the junction of the Wey Navigation and the Basingstoke Canal. For a fuller post about this shoot and the history of this location, click here.

365/24

365/24 is from 2010, a brief moment of good light at the end of what had been a grey, uninspiring day. This is the Millennium Glasshouse at RHS Wisley.

Painshill revisited

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Rachael

f/11, 2.5″, 16mm, ISO 50

This day last year, I was at Painshill Park, in Cobham, Surrey, a restored eighteenth century landscape garden.

f/5, 1/40, 35mm, ISO 400

One of Painshill’s famous follies, the Gothic Temple, is seen above, reflected in one of the arches of the bridge. Below, another folly, the Ruined Abbey is situated picturesquely on the bank of the lake.

f/10, 1/250, 33mm, ISO 200

The image below is the only one I shared at the time. Another folly appears with the Gothic Temple, the Chinese Bridge.

f/11, 2.5″, 16mm, ISO 50

Painshill’s working vineyard produces a nice sparkling white.

f/11, 0.3″, 16mm, ISO 50

Seen below, the Turkish Tent is another of Painshill’s follies.

For the techies, I used a .6 ND hard grad for these shots, and a circular polariser, of course. I have written several other posts about this favourite location of mine. Just click on the tags, Painshill or Painshill Park to find them.

f/11, 2.5″, 28mm, ISO 50

Newark Priory

Posted on January 18, 2015 by Rachael

365/18

I spent this afternoon teaching a student on the Wey Navigation towpath near Newark Priory. Imagine my surprise when I got home and started to look for today’s 365 redux image to find that on 18th January 2009 I was at exactly the same place! The Priory was founded in the 12th century by Augustinian Canons, also known as ‘Black Canons’ because of their black cloaks and cassocks. At one point, the prosperous Priory housed a community of 200. Henry VIII had it sacked during the Dissolution of the Monasteries; according to one story, a cannon was placed on the hill above it to bombard the buildings. It was subsequently plundered for its building materials and fell into ruin; all that is left now is part of the church. A Grade I Ancient Monument, the Priory was placed on the English Heritage Buildings at Risk register in 2007. I can’t offer an image of it from today as I do not make my own pictures when I am out with students. The original of this image (before the fancy editing) was featured as the cover of six local interest magazines in 2010.

Of treaties, Shakespeare and 365

Posted on January 11, 2015 by Rachael

365/11

Time to catch up on my ‘project 365 redux’. This image is from 11th January 2009. It is the Magna Carta memorial at Runnymede. This year marks the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta, at Runnymede, on 15 June 1215. Originally an attempt to settle the disputes between King John and his barons, Magna Carta has, over the centuries and through many reissues, renewals and reimaginings, become a symbol of liberty. Lord Denning described it as “the greatest constitutional document of all times – the foundation of the freedom of the individual against the arbitrary authority of the despot” (Wikipedia).

365/10

This image, from 10th January 2014, called ‘I, Coriolanus’, was captured in London’s Seven Dials area. It is in the tradition of street photography, a genre with conventions that include ‘blur, over-exposure, unwanted elements [that] intrude upon the scene [I could add noise and under-exposure]’ (Inigo Taylor, Black and White Photography magazine, Jan 2015). The poster is for the Donmar Warehouse’s production of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, with Tom Hiddleston in the title role, directed by Josie Rourke.

The image seemed an appropriate companion for the Magna Carta picture. Shakespeare’s tragedy (1605-8) is based on the life of Caius Marcius Coriolanus, a Roman general turned politician who, after being deposed, schemes to exert his own will upon Rome. He rails against the idea of allowing plebeians to have a say in politics and leads an assault against Rome. Ultimately, he is persuaded to sign a peace treaty. However, like the despotic King John, his alliances become his burden; he is murdered by conspirators from within.

King John died in 1216. Most historical accounts give the cause as dysentery contracted while on campaign against the barons (the first agreement of Magna Carta having been dishonoured by both sides). However, in another Shakespeare play, King John, he is poisoned by a monk within his own cortege.

The plots of not only Shakespeare’s histories but also his tragedies often came from history books of his time, most notably Holinshed’s Chronicles. They are history redux. Thus the link with my very much more humble 365 redux was impossible to ignore!

Echoes of times past

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Rachael

365/8

Today’s 365 is from 2009. It’s quite handy that I did a project 365 in 2009, as there are images from every day; helpful when I find that I didn’t shoot on that particular date in any other year I have on file. But still, I have to come up with a new image, or a re-edit at least. Some days when I did my first 365, I struggled to find one image worth downloading. Luckily, on 8th January I went for a stroll along my local waterway, the Wey Navigation, and took several pictures. Here’s one I hadn’t processed until now. It is a fitting image to choose in the context of a project that involves revisiting the past; the building reflected in this picture is a modern apartment block built as a pastiche to echo the Victorian mill that used to stand here. The original building could not be renovated as it burned down in 1963, in the last of many fires on this site (the perils of milling seed oil).

Spectra over London

Posted on August 10, 2014 by Rachael

Spectra, by Rioji Ikeda, is one of several art installations in London at present to commemorate the centenary of the start of WW1. Certainly an imposing sight. You don’t have to go into London to see it as it is visible for many miles around. However, if you do want to see it for yourself, you will have to be quick – tonight’s the last night.

Lifeboats and heroes

Posted on May 18, 2014 by Rachael

Last week I had the chance to pop down to Selsey and photograph the RNLI’s Lifeboat station. It is an imposing structure, with its long gangway linking it to the shore. I have always been fascinated by the story of lifeboats. Perhaps my interest lies partly in the fact that a good portion of my first twelve years were spent at sea, even encountering a lifeboat on a particularly foggy day off the Devon coast when it was a very welcome sight indeed. The story of the lifeboat service is full of daring deeds and sacrifices. I have often wondered why the BBC, or indeed, Hollywood, has failed to make a drama about it. Still, to this day, the lifeboats are manned by volunteers, people with day jobs who feel it right to offer their service in aid of those in peril on the sea.

If you are interested in maritime history, you might enjoy this blog: Map of Time.

Photo essays and projects

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Rachael

4″, f/11, 35mm, ISO 200, Big Stopper and circ. polariser

The internet has, mostly, been a marvellous thing for enthusiast photographers, not least because images are readily available for our viewing and educational pleasure. Although there is still nothing quite like seeing an image in print, we no longer need to buy a magazine or go to an exhibition for our daily dose of photo inspiration.

1.6″, f/7.1, 70mm, ISO 200, Big Stopper and circ. polariser.

As most of us have realised, however, volume does not equal quality and discernment is a skill we must develop to become better photographers. One of the difficulties in our way is that fact that most photosharing sites, like Flickr and 500px, reward the high-impact, stand-alone image. Often, subtler images, that reward a more lingering gaze, are overlooked in the frenetic world of internet attention spans.

2″, f/8, 70mm. ISO 200, Big Stopper and circ. polariser.

Recently, I have found myself enjoying Adobe’s image-sharing site, Behance, not only because overall the standard of imagery is high, but because Behance is geared towards projects rather than stand-alone images. This is where the professionals hang out and, perhaps because they tend to be working on commissioned projects, the site abounds in sequences of images, connected visually and creatively into cohesive wholes. If you have not yet found Behance, I recommend a visit. Just select photography from the ‘creative fields’ drop down menu and soak up the gorgeousness.

20″, f/11, 70mm, ISO 50, Big Stopper and circ. polariser.

Inspired by what I have been seeing there, I have started to make sets of images, linked by style, subject or even colour. The five images posted here were all taken on the same day last week when I had to be in West Sussex. The weather was stormy, with sudden bursts of bright sunlight in front of heavy skies, so I decided to exploit that changeable feeling, deliberately using a variety of shutter speeds to capture the sea’s mood. By afternoon, the weather had eased but I attempted to carry the morning’s colour palette into the afternoon’s shoot, at Selsey Lifeboat station.

1/60, f/11, 16mm, ISO 50, Big Stopper and circ. polariser.

Incidentally, the second image is of a wrecked portion of WW2 mulberry harbour that has been rusting away on Aldwick beach for seventy years. Believe it or not, I grew up literally a stone’s throw from this wreck but have only now bothered to photograph it. Sometimes we overlook the things closest to us.

Of barges, trains and automobiles

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Rachael

Recently I have started to retrace my steps along the Wey Navigation towpath with a view to getting some more up to date pictures for a possible book project. Most of the Navigation runs through pretty countryside but there is one spot, between New Haw and Pyrford, where it runs close to, and is indeed crossed by, the M25, Britain’s busiest motorway. It is not the most picturesque of landscapes but still full of interest for the photographer. I enjoy the challenge of trying to make images here.

Although not conventionally beautiful, this is a very significant spot in the history of transport. Here, within a few paces of its passage under the motorway, the Wey Navigation meets the Basingstoke Canal. The Navigation is not a canal strictly speaking but a river made navigable, and it predates the canal age by some hundred years. Thus the Basingstoke Canal (opened in 1793) represents a later evolution of British transport, although it was never as successful as the Navigation and fell into disuse first. A sign here points to Thames Lock (3 miles), Guildford and Godalming (12 miles) and Greywell Tunnel (31 miles via the Basingstoke Canal).

Immediately after its junction with the canal, the Navigation passes under a bridge that carries the main London to Southampton railway line (1838). The railways of course were a further development and largely responsible for supplanting the canals as the principal means of goods transport.

Then there’s the motorway, the next stage in the development of transport. An iron footbridge next to the railway bridge adds a further layer, albeit rather older and more environmentally sound!

I have had a few funny looks from people during my visits here, and on a couple of occasions people have stopped to ask me what on earth I am photographing. Yet, rather amusingly, I am clearly not the first photog to see potential in this location, although I don’t think I would ever go to such lengths to advertise my Flickr photo stream!

Some people will do anything to get people to look at their photos

In some of my shots I have tried for a desaturated, moody look, to suit the industrial feel of the place.

But sometimes I just can’t resist going for colour. When the late afternoon sun peeps under the motorway, it almost looks pretty.

The next shot does not properly belong here as I took it at Weybridge Station, while waiting to meet my daughter. But it was taken on the same afternoon as some of the earlier pictures, just a few minutes later, and it has got a train in it…

Of all the photographs I have taken here so far, strangely my favourite has no train. I like the simplicity of the brick bridge against the sky. It seemed to demand a contrasty black and white conversion.

ISO 50, 16mm, f/16, 11″
ND .6 Hard Grad, Circ. Polariser, .9 Pro-glass

Painshill in winter

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Rachael

A shot from Tuesday’s visit to Painshill Park in Cobham, Surrey. Those eighteenth century landscape designers knew a thing or two! Two of Painshill’s famous follies are visible in this view, the Gothic Temple and the Chinese Bridge. For the techies, I used a .6 ND hard grad for this shot, and a circular polariser, of course. I have written several other posts about this favourite location of mine. Just click on the tags, Painshill or Painshill Park to find them.

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