Regular readers to this site or its sister, and bigger site, Parlington Hall, will realize that I have a great fascination with taking photographs of the location. Sadly other things conflict with my ability to get out and record the landscape with a digital camera, so the opportunities are limited. However, and as other keen photographers will know, you may catch a scene, that once in a lifetime shot, takes your eye and quickly you capture the moment. Looking at the result on the camera LCD may well appear to show that all is well, however when you pop the memory card into your computer and view the image full screen, your dismay is immediate… Oh No! It’s FUZZY, or just out of focus.
Archive for the ‘Photography’ Category
Are we on the Cusp of a Photographic Revolution?
Friday, July 1st, 2011October Sunshine, Yorkshire
Sunday, October 10th, 2010
Sunday was a day of work, as I had much to do, however after hours of toiling away I decided to take a break in the late afternoon sunshine, getting the benefits of a fine autumn day and stroll along Parlington Lane, Aberford, Yorkshire, armed with my E30 Olympus Camera with a 12-60mm Zuiko lens. The lens is terrific, good range, ideal for general purpose usage and very very fast auto focus that rarely lets you down. The header picture says it all for me, lots of light coming into the woodland at a low angle, giving some really expressive imagery. After the initial picture some time has been spent in Aperture and Photoshop making the photograph more expressive and surreal.
Gascoigne Spa Baths
Friday, October 1st, 2010
I put an article on the Parlington History site recently about the spa baths that were sold in 1911.
The Sale by Hollis & Webb
On Tuesday 30th May 1911 at 3:00pm the Boston Spa Baths along with a Corn Mill in Sherburn in Elmet and some agricultural land were sold at auction, by order of T. Herbert Prater, Esq., Agent for Col. F. R. T. T. Gascoigne D.S.O.
The baths were lot 14 and described thus: Boston Spa
The famous and beautiful Boston Spa Baths and saline spring and well timbered Pleasure Grounds, together with boating and valuable extensive Fishing Rights in and upon the River Wharfe.
The BATH HOUSE is of attractive design carried out in stone with slated roof, and contains two baths (h. and c.), with accommodation for another bath, cosy Tea Room, excellent large Refreshment Room, with a three window bay from which delightful views up and down the river are obtained, Pump Room with stove and hot water cylinder, Kitchen with range, one Bedroom, Scullery, Coalhouse, Pantry and two E.C’s [Earth Closets?]
Summer Solstice
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
Yesterday saw the start of summer time and to celebrate the event nature produced a dramatic sunset over the northern sky at Parlington, here is one picture from a collection I captured as the sun set! For those interested the image below is a satellite view of Parlington showing the sun rise and set along with the moon rise and set. Sunset was 21:40 @313.9° which is the orange line, sunrise is the yellow line at 04:33 @46.1°, the moon rose at 16:36 @119.5° and set at 01:07 @246.0° Moon’s disc was 70% illuminated. This info thanks to Steven Trainor of The Photographers Ephemeris [TPE].
Wetherby Craft Fair (Part Two)
Tuesday, June 15th, 2010
The above picture is something and nothing, but I see the image as a representation of the old Hall disappearing into the ether, which is represented by the clouds in the sky! Which seems to have sucked the Hall from the landscape, of course this view was obscured for centuries, my photograph is taken from the location of the old kitchen, looking across where the central section stood after the 1730′s! The picture is sized A3+ [330mm x 483mm].
Beech Tree Roots
Forest Floor is Locked Down
Monday, June 14th, 2010
During a walk through the woods here in Parlington, I came across this extraordinary scene, there on the floor of the forest was a lock and clasp in the tangle of dead leaves. It is as if there is a doorway to the lower extremities of the planet, a kind of door to Hell itself, do not pass Purgatory, continue straight down to Hell! Well I wasn’t going to lift it now was I, Instead I took a photograph of the hidden entrance.
Wetherby Craft Fair (Part One)
Sunday, June 13th, 2010
I took some of my pictures to Wetherby Craft Fair yesterday, these range in size from postcard to A3+ [330mm x 483mm] and are views of local scenes and some other prominent features that have caught my eye whilst out and about. There was good deal of interest but the throughput of visitors was not as I had hoped, it was a lovely day, for a change, and most people were interested in outdoor activities, and no doubt awaiting the evening England v USA match.
BBC – A History of the World
Monday, June 7th, 2010
For those interested in all things historical, I’ve added a short article about the Brewster Stereo Photo Viewer to the new BBC “A History of the World” web site which acompanies the rather good Radio Four series, “A History of the World in a 100 Objects”.
The site and in particular my article about the viewer is here: Brewster 3D Viewer
The article on my on the main Parlington History site is here:
Artefacts Section
The idea is a naked attempt to push more visitors to the History site, as people keep telling me that the profile of the site is too low!
Glass Prints
Friday, May 21st, 2010
I stated some months ago about offering prints of my photographic work on a new site called Parlington Gallery at www.parlington.biz. Initially the site was set up to display some local landscape paintings done by Anthony Christian who lives nearby, and to this date these are all that are on the site. I also suggested that a computer generated 3D model of the triumphal Arch was nearing completion; this has proved slightly problematic as the rendering side needs to be done in a series of tiles to make up the large image required for a paper print. The file sizes are in excess of 200MB so are quite unwieldily, and thus far the tiling keeps breaking down! So the print is on the blocks while the issue is resolved.
Ready Set Go! Election 2010
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010
Day two of the 2010 election campaign, and as I drove up past a rather sinister looking Triumphal Arch, see picture above, I took a few moments out to grab a shot of it. I believe it was trying to tell me something, it was erected as a rejection of the policies of Lord North and the monarch George III, with their unpopular civil war against the American Colonialists. I would love to change the inscription to address the issue of the corrupt parliamentarians of our time, to: “Victory by the People of Britain over their Corrupt Political Class, 2010″.