No doubt well known to many people but I have just discovered the work of Michael Kenna - simply stunning. If you are no aware of his work well worth a look.
Thursday 31 December 2009
The last 12 months - where did they go to?
I suppose year endings are always a time of reflection and resolutions to do things different or better in the future and this will be no exception. However, the added spice for me is that I have been going through my last 12 month's blog entries so what have learnt?
Well I suppose the first thing I have learnt is what a wonderful thing blogging is. I have no idea how many people will read this or have read my previous 12 months entries. I suspect the answer is fairly low but that is not the point. It has given me the space just to ramble on about things that concern me and have caused me to write something. At the time they may be nonsense but when looked at with the benefit of hindsight they do take on much more meaning - well at least to me.
The next thing is to realise that life is full of ups and downs and plans just don't come to fruition. I started the year still on the MA course at the DMU. From reading the blogs I was clearly in trouble by the start of the year and this trouble culminated in me leaving the course in March for medical reasons. I have to say at the time I was devastated as this had been a corner stone of my post retirement life. However, as time passed I came to realise that the course was not the way forward for me, well at least not photographically. It is a great course and I learnt a great deal but I have to wonder if it is worth paying all the money for. Don't get me wrong I would have been a very proud man when I had been granted my MA but at the back of my mind I still would have felt that this may not have been value for money. Beyond personal development I cannot see the course leading to any career advancements other than should a person wish to teach photography. My abiding feeling about the course is saddness.
So there is life beyond studying for the MA. You bet there is! I had my work selected for an international photographic exhibition and I was short listed for another competition. I have continued to develop my knowledge about photography and art in general and towards the end of the year I have started to carry out some new historical research.
None of these were on the plan at the start of the year and yet some how they have come along and made the last 12 months some time memorable and some time sad, even dull but overall I feel that I have achieved many things and many new things I still have to achieve. In short a good year. I wonder what next year will bring?
Any way to the one or two people who may come to read this may I wish you a happy and prosperous New Year and hope your year ahead is fulfilling as mine promises to be.
Wednesday 30 December 2009
Frustration....
Grey grey days. They are the curse of this time of year. Christmas is over and the new year has yet to begin so you are left with the left overs and grey days. The weather forecast promises one thing but mother nature does something else - usually, you guested it, grey days!
I have tried to busy myself but to no avail. I just want to get out and do something but there is no point as the weather is well - grey. Still looking on the bright side - this is part of the beauty?? of living in England and where would we be without moaning about the weather?
Pip Pip - lets hope the new year brings better weather.
Tuesday 29 December 2009
Notes on Blurb photobooks...
This is a note on what I have found out so far about setting up prints for printing in a Blurb book. Whether anyone finds this of any use is not really the point - it helps me:
Tutorial Training Video
Blurb use an in depth video produced by xcite to give you information about how to set your monitor up and ICC profiles etc. One or two points with the video:
- The video mentions a location where the ICC profile can be downloaded. This location does not exist;
- '...Blurb does not technically honor color/ICC profiles...' is the starting statement from the Blurb support site. This probably explains why No 1. does not work. The info on producing a PDF file for Blurb also provide some information around the whole ICC profile question.
- An independent user has produced a ICC profile which mirrors the one that Blurb uses. This is mentioned in Blurb's official blog - however when you go to the blog site it is covered in so many legal get outs that you have to wonder if it is worth using. Note: This was published in 2007 so how up to date this is really has to be questioned.
So from all of this I think the best way forward would be to use the standard CMYK profile in photoshop and then soft proof using this. According to the Xcite tutorial you loose about 10 % of the gamut compared to the Blurb profiles - however, as Blurb do not state what their profile is then this is a bit difficult to varify.
I was in such a bad place....
God I was in such a bad place in the early part of this year. I really let the MA course get on top of me and it distorted my whole perspective on life and photography. I have been rereading my blog entries and editing them for inclusion in my photobook of the year and I realise that I was getting quite ill. I suspect some small part of this was a fear as to what the future may hold if I dropped out of the course - well almost 12 months on I now know that the future is nothing to be feared but rather to be embraced as you truly do not know what is going to happen - this is a very valuable lesson to learn especially when you read so much tripe written about what to expect in the next 6 months/year/10 years and so on. No one knows - you just have to figure it out as you go along.
Perhaps this is most important things I have learnt over the last 12 months - oh and having an MA in photography doesn't really mean anything other than the satisfaction of completing the course. Not completing the course doesn't make you a bad person - nor does it make you a bad photographer. It is just one of a infinite number of ways forward. If only I had realised this at the start of the course. Ah well - ce la vie.
Monday 28 December 2009
2009 Year Book...
With the new year fast approaching I have decided to take stock and produce a year book for the last 12 months. I have been thinking about this for some time - may be a year or so after it was suggested to me by my good friend Diane. However, I have put this of and put this off but now I am going to to do it.
I am in the process of designing the layout but one thing I want to include is a selection of the entries for each month from this blog. I am going to do this for two reasons. The first it gives a good feel and flavour as to what I was thinking at the time the photographs were made. The second is to provide a permanent record of this blog. I am becoming more concerned that with digital age comes no guarantee of preservation - this blog is provided, free of service by Google - but what if they didn't do that any more? What if they turned it off or deleted it? Where is the record then? At least this way I will have some record. So let the work commence and hopefully by the end of January I should be the proud owner of my first year book - can't wait.
Sunday 27 December 2009
A strange influence is coming over me....
I am being drawn to produce monochrome photographs of birds. The style is reminiscent of Nick Brandt - not sure why that is but I do love his work. I have been experimenting with different breeds of birds and, to date, it would seem that birds with a predominance of red does not work well - so robins are out. Perhaps it is a reaction to the strictures of the RPS Nature group? I really don't know but I like where it is taking me.
Saturday 26 December 2009
The snark....
'...the impossible voyage of an improbable crew to find an inconceivable creature...' - Lewis Carroll
I really understand what these words mean. This morning I was out trying to find out the best sites to try and capture Fieldfares and Redwings. When I was out on Christmas day I had seen a large number of the birds in and around the Gaddesby area so I though a closer look would be in order. I found the birds all right but they were always just too far away. Get closer and they would fly. So the question is how much do I want to capture the birds? To try and do them justice requires significantly more application than I normally provide and ultimately will they still be '...an inconceivable creature...'? I have no answer to that question - yet.
Thursday 24 December 2009
The thrill of it all....
There is something deeply satisfying being reunited with a very old friend, somebody you grew up with - so it is with Roxy Music. I was an avid Roxy fan when I was younger had all their albums and so on. However, over the years I moved on and, whilst not forgetting the band they slowly dropped into the subconscious. Then comes a programme on BBC4 and it has all come rushing back. All the wonderful album including the most famous one ' Country Life' - "....the closest thing to porn at my age...' John Taylor - Duran Duran. Suddenly I was back there and so I had to go and buy the first three albums - probably the best period but of course now a days you just down load the music rather go and buy the LP - an experience in itself. So very indulgent but what the heck.
Wednesday 23 December 2009
Working on the back catalogue....
My good friend David is working on a series of images of Dimminsdale so I was passing the other month and captured this. In truth it wasn't like that at all. I was going to capture tree sparrows and I just happened to pass by the Staunton Harold reservoir when the light appeared just right. However, I have just started working on some of my backlog and saw this and decided to work on it - as with any time I start working on something it doesn't always workout the way I thought it would. This is a HDR shot just after dawn but by the time I finished it has changed into something different. Is this now a photograph I could display and enter into a competition? Well I guess that depends on the rules but I like it which at the moment is all that matters.
Tuesday 22 December 2009
One of the most attractive birds....
The starling is one of the most misunderstood and disliked birds in Britain. They are usually seen as nosey and messy - both which is true. However, if you take the time just to look at the bird you would see that it is beautifully marked bird with a fascinating character (I know this is anthropomorphising a bird but if we didn't do this then we wouldn't bird watch as it would take all the passion out of the subject and becomes just a collection of statistics).
Falling foul of the rules....
This possibly may become one of the most infamous photographs in modern wildlife photography. It won this year's Wild Life Photographer of the Year Award. The Guardian had a front page splash over the controversy. The reason for the controversy is whether this was a put up shot. It is supposed to be a wild wolf leaping the fence but it is now argued that it is, in fact, a wolf from a zoo in Madrid. What it does highlight is that the rules for wildlife photography are very strict on this and no doubt whatever happens with this photograph and its photographer they will be even stricter in the future.
The evidence against the photographer is laid out in a report in the Suomen Luonto (Nature of Finland) website. We will wait and see what come of all this.
A recuring search,,,,
This is the most popular photograph I have uploaded to flickr. There are a number of reason for this, one of which it was the first, but the main reason is that it keeps being found as a result of searches involving 'stags' and 'stags fight', 'red deer stags' and so on. Clearly this is a popular subject for a search.
Monday 21 December 2009
Probably the best ever set....
I know it is a little early to say this but I feel the Calke shoot today is one of the best shoots I have ever done. The results have been of the highest quality I have ever turned out. It pushes the bar to the next level - can I keep this up? Only time will tell.
To see the shoot click here
Tired but Happy...
It has been a tiring day, standing on a hill top at Calke Abbey in sub zero temperatures certainly takes it out of you, well it does me anyway. But it has been worth it. I have just looked at the images I captured this morning and they are great. I will work at these in the next few days - boy have I got some catching up to do - and I will no doubt have a better idea as to whether I am satisfied but early indications are encouraging. One last thing - it is great to be out of that cold wind.
Frozen fingers...
This is getting a bit of a stuck record at the moment - but I am cold. I have no one else to blame but myself as I have spent 2 hours on frozen hill top at Calke Abbey photographing birds. But what a wonderful 2 hours - great light, great views of the birds - brilliant. Now I just need to warm up.
I'm on line at:
I hope you enjoy
Sunday 20 December 2009
Reflective mood....
Perhaps it is the winter chill or more likely the year ending has started me off in a reflective mood and how the last few months have worked out.
The year started with high hopes which were soon dashed as I had to withdraw from the MA course. At the time this seemed like a big thing but now with benefit of some distance it was not. I hadf wanted to do the course but the reality is that I just like making the photographs that I do rather than for any greater academic purpose.
I'm starting to get the itch to go out to the east coast for the day - probably over the Christmas period - boxing day or new year's day are usually good as people recover from their previous days and nights activities the last thing they want to do is go out and bird watch. Mandy and I had a wonderful day at Rutland Water one boxing day. The place was deserted apart from the wildlife. Brilliant.
So what will the new year bring? Who knows other than more interesting experiences to enjoy. One of these I suspect may well come via flickr. I have spent the last few weeks working on this and slowly it appears to be paying dividends. It is such a wonderful way of experiencing photography from all over the world. There is a whole range of photographs from the best you will see any where to some which you wonder why put them out there - but that is the beauty of flickr - you just don't know what you are going to see. One of the down side of flickr is that your photography will appear in all sorts of strange places - to date my work has appeared in eco warrior news letters and anger management blogs. This can be frustrating but if you publish your work on flickr it is something that you have to come to terms with.
The contacts list is slowly growing. To date I have people who are interested in my photography from all the fours corners of the globe - the latest is from Qatar. This means that my work is being enjoyed by wider group of people than I would ever have hoped for. It also means that I get to experience their views on photography and this has as much to do with their culture and location as their respective photographic skills. It is a fascinating journey.
Another thing I will probably be exploring is the updating the blog on the go. The Posterous experience is catching - it is so simple - especially when using the iPhone. One note of caution though - it can be a long winded thing uploading photos if you are out of reach of a 3G network
Saturday 19 December 2009
Worth the freeze...part 2
Today was the first day that I strayed outside the confines of the house on a photographic mission. That makes this seem like some vital mission of national importance. Believe me it was not! No instead it was just nice to get after being side lined for a week with a bad back. So what to report? Well Swithland reservoir is a mixed blessing for bird photography. I have made some wonderful photographs at this location however you have to get the timing just right - usually dawn or just after as the main part of the reservoir is facing almost south and shooting straight into the sun is not to be recommended.
However, there is a second part of the reservoir that is further south and you shoot with the light behind you. This can be much better part from the fact that you have zero cover so most birds are just dots in the distance. So both locations have significant draw backs but that didn't matter today - it was just nice to get out.
So I was out but boy was it freezing. The air temperature was just about zero but with the wind chill it felt more like -10c as the cold wide was blowing straight into your face across a large frozen reservoir. The previous entry was typed into my iPhone at the scene and I have not corrected the spelling mistakes as it helps to show how cold it was but, and it is a huge but, the light was so clean and bright that it literally hurt your eyes. This was really Kodachrome light.
And the photographs? Well it is early days but they also look pretty good. I usually find that I take or so to really see the value of the shots I have taken so over the next few days I will work through the shoot and hopefully come up with some real winners. The ARPS portfolio - Leicestershire Wildlife is now growing at an inordinate rate. This is a good thing as it gives me more and more choices - and this is on top of the Birds of the British Coast portfolio or the Garden Birds portfolio. It is nice to have a large selection to work on.
Stanging by a big freezer...
The light is beutiful but my fingers are frozen solid. Welcome to Swithland reservoir. As I write this birds are tumbling and slipping all across the ice. Makes for great entertainment but I not sure the birds see it that way. It is after all a matter of life and death for them.
I'm on line at:
www.flickr.com/photos/guthlac
http://simonmarchini.blogspot.com
www.simonmarchini.co.uk
I hope you enjoy
Another frosty morning...
Its another cold on - at least it is nice and bright. I've just set and await with anticipation as to what might come along.
I'm on line at:
www.flickr.com/photos/guthlac
http://simonmarchini.blogspot.com
www.simonmarchini.co.uk
I hope you enjoy
Friday 18 December 2009
Worth the freeze...
It was worth the cold and frost. However, I wish the bird had landed on a branch with some snow on it - but for two hours I couldn't get the shot. Still something work on.
Freezing...
Cold afternoon trying to capture birds in the garden. As I write this a small group of house sparrows have just flown into the garden - so must get back to the day job.
Snow....
I've just finished writing the last post and I notice that it has started snowing. This is a blow as I was hoping to get out - however with my back slowly recovering then slipping on the snow or ice would not seem such a good idea. However if you want to see real snow then take a look at one of my contact's photos on Flickr. He lives in Iowa, USA where I guess they get a bit more snow than we do.
Progress....
Progress Progress! After spending most of yesterday prevaricating or working on the programming problem this morning I have cracked it - not bad work for less than two hours. Yepe!!!
I have also taken this opportunity to split my Lightroom catalogue. I use an awful lot of keywords and this really slows down Lightroom after a while - this is official from Adobe so this is the time to split it. It is going to take a few days but I hope to have it complete for the start of next year.
Thursday 17 December 2009
Greenfinches on Feeder...
Well what a waste of day. Earlier on I was prevaricating then I finally managed to sit down and start to write the code for the program. Great. However after two hours work I hit a dead end and I realise that my approach was not the right one - there is an old adage in programming that you should only program when all other easier options have been dismissed - it is all to do with diminished returns - well guess what I forgot this. If I had taken the more simplistic approach then I would have been doen and dusted in half the time - instead I am back to square one - GREAT!
So why greenfinches? Well, I took this morning when I was trying to find other things to do other than the task at hand - also it is nice to see the birds returning to the garden.
Prevarication...
I guess it must be catching but I am finding anything to do other than the jobs I have to do. There is some vital email I must look at, game to play and so on. So what am I putting off? Well I have just had another hard drive fitted - yes the first one is only 12 months old and now almost full so I have to amend my back up software and I just can't get around to doing this. I have written about have of the code but... well you know what it is like - just can't seem to get it done.
Oh look it has started to snow...now that is interesting - more prevarication. At least my back is a lot better. Now the sun has come out of and the post man has just been and delivered the post so ....arggh ...just can't stop prevaricating.
Wednesday 16 December 2009
Young Wood Pigeon & Blackbrid...
A bit restricted at the moment as to what I can photograph so I'm having to make do with whatever flies into the garden.
Inspiring Portfolios...
Day three of the back problems - things appear to be getting better. So it is giving me time to catch up on some of the reading I have put off for a rainy day. One of the magazines I have been going through is the Silvershotz Folios 2009. As usual there is an impressive array of photographers work on display - however two have caught my eye:
Mare
This is a wonderful and simple collection of photographs of the waves crashing against the beach by Alessandro Puccinelli. I love the simplicity of the photographs and the sympathetic use of black and white to emphasise the details of the wave. Well worth viewing.
Vanishing Cultures
Larry Louie has a series of photographs in and around the great Djenne mosque in Mali Here the building forms a brooding backdrop to his exploration of the people who live and work around the mosque. Again, his use of black and white reinforces each photographs punctum by contrasting light figure or feature, such as the white of a young child's eyes
Tuesday 15 December 2009
Immobile...
There is something about a bad back that from time to time you freeze - immobile in fact. This has happened to me on numerous occasions - quite often when I was at work - which more than once caused significant problems. However, that is in the past so all have to do is rest for a day or so and then try to slowly exercise my back so that the muscles relax and let me move again. Happily as I write this my back is recovering but yesterday was really frustrating. Most of the day I was immobile when what I wanted to do was get out and do something - anything but be stuck inside and I suspect I looked a little like our friend above. Lets hope the progress continues and by the weekend I can again get out and make some photographs.
Monday 14 December 2009
Bad back...
The curse of the bad back has returned and it is painful. Well the good thing in all this, if there ever is such a thing with a bad back, is that I know how to deal with it and that with some gritted teeth after a few days it should get a lot better. So why the robin?
Well the first reason is that I like this photograph. It is two years old and I was concerned at the time that I didn't have any robin photographs so I was on the look out for an opportunity to rectify this. As luck would have it this little fellow popped up and helped me. It was taken at Titchwell and the robin was obviously used to being photographed (more likely feed by people) he just sat there and watched me. He was so obliging that he was then when I came back with a bigger lens - which was nice of him.
The second reason is that Christmas is just around the corner and I though that I would try and enter into the spirit of the season and robins are very Christmasy. So here he is.
One final thing - I am still getting dates mixed up. The other day I was in Birmingham and I thought that is would go an see the MA graduation exhibition at the Custard Factory. What I surprise I got when I found that the exhibition was still being hung - I got there two days early. Doh!
Thursday 10 December 2009
Not quite to plan...
You know things haven't worked out the way you had hoped when the best photo is of a Robin. How the Robin is a wonderful bird, and this one decided it wanted to be feed and so came closer and closer but this wasn't what I was after. I had spent the morning doing some scouting out of locations - this time Thornton reservoir. It usually has a fine selection of water birds but I was more interested in birds around a feed that had been set out. I spent over an hour in the bushes and really the only half decent photo I came up with was of the Robin. I think I should enter a word of caution here - I haven't had a good look at most of the other photos so there may be many other photos I will eventually like but at the moment the Robin is it.
This is the frustration of wildlife photography. Some days it works so well and some days it is so frustrating. I have taken some comfort from the fact that I have gained a lot of other information from the scouting and this has been stored away. I just wish the photography it self had been a little more rewarding. Are well ce la vie.
Tuesday 8 December 2009
The one that got away...
Posted via email from SIMON's posterous
Wild life photography is very much like fishing ... it is always the one that got away. I was sitting just watching what might come by and out the corner of my eye I saw movement. I turned to see a kingfisher only 5 metres from where I was sitting. By the I realised what was happening it flew away. Such is life.
I'm on line at:
I hope you enjoy
Monday 7 December 2009
Unexpected Bonus...
Mud Mud and many other things. That was the car park of Watermead country park. This is a large gravel pit that is not part of a low lying country park that stretches for about five miles along the River Soar as it leaves Leicester heading north. It is one of my favourite places to test equipment and get used to new equipment. You can always guarantee a good show as the locals have fed the birds, particularly the swans and geese. As a result of this there is a huge flock of both that just hang around waiting to be feed. Great for photography!
So I went to Watermead to test my latest lens. I have just bought a Canon 500mm and I have to say it is shaping up to be a real addition to the groaning kit bag! I was just going to use the mute swans to give me practice - imagine my surprise when amongst the throngs of mutes there was a solitary Whooper Swan. I usually have to go out to Welney to see this magnificent bird and here it was just feet away. A real bonus!
Click here to see more examples of the Watermead Images.
Sunday 6 December 2009
Anti virus software...
This is the bane of any Windows machine. Mine has just expired so I needed to renew. Having seen the cost of renewal I decided to find a cheaper alternative. Luckily Microsoft now do a basic anti virus software - ideal. So I down loaded this and uninstalled the old version of Norton 360. Great. I went to install the Microsoft software and found this would not work. Having routed around in the control panel I found that not all components of the Norton software had been installed - GRRRRR.
So having spent another 30 minutes or so uninstalling all of the components from Norton I finally go the Microsoft software to work. Then I thought I need to cancel my Norton account. Another fruitless and frustrating hour as I could not contact anyone without installation key - and guess what this had been deleted when I uninstalled the software.
The moral of this story? Well I don't think there is one but this is just another frustration of using Windows operating system. You need anti virus software but when it come times to remove it it seems to have many of the properties of the software it is trying to protect you from.
Saturday 5 December 2009
Change of mind...
I'm having second thoughts about the subject of my ARPS submission. At the moment I have a nominal title of 'Birds of the British Coast'. Now this is an achievable objective and if I am honest I probably have enough photographs already to submit a very strong series of prints. However, this morning I was road testing my new lens and as I did this I realised that there was a significant area to study in recording the ordinary, the mundane and the everyday. Perhaps this is something I should work on? It certainly is a lot easier than spending hours on the road. However, this ease posses another problem - just how do you record the mundane in such a way as to make it interesting? This is an interesting problem to work at.
So what is the answer? Well the truth of the matter is that I don't have to come up with an answer any time soon. I can work at both strands simultaneously and see which produces the strongest results. So lets see how things develop and hopefully I will have a difficult decision to make later in next year.
Website: WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk
Watermead
The noise and furry of a large group of swans is a sight to see. It is made worse by the birds expectation to be feed. Pandamonium is let loose when some actually does feed them. Makes taking photos easier though!
I'm on line at: www.flickr.com/photos/guthlac http://simonmarchini.blogspot.com www.simonmarchini.co.uk I hope you enjoy
Friday 4 December 2009
Getting all web 2.0...
As you may have noticed from the last few posts in quick succession I have been trying out Posterous. This is a service that lets you upload to numerous web apps at the same time. So far it seems to work well. All you have to do is set up a simple account with Posterous and then select the other web apps you want to send your stuff to and that is it. It is really simple. However, there are one or two issues - all minor I have found so far.
The first is that the text appears unformatted. This means if you want to maintain a look and feel for something - such as this blog - you can't or at least I have yet to discover how to. The second is posting photos to flickr. I use quite a lot of keywords in my photos and these usually transfer over to flickr. Again, at the moment this doesn't happen. Also you can't post photos to sets by this method - as you can when posting to flickr directly.
However, given these minor problems, which I may well find an answer to over the coming days, the service appears to be really quite efficient. One entry and you are done.
I found out about Posterous from the ever interesting podcast Art of Photography. It is worth checking out.
Finally I am out tomorrow playing with my toy. Hopefully I will have some interesting photos to post over the next day or so.
More iPhone tests
Like any new systems there are few teething problems. Hopefully this is the last test. Anyway here goes.
I'm on line at:
http://simonmarchini.blogspot.com
I hope you enjoy
Another iPhone attempt
Another posting from the iPhone. It really should only be used when I am out and about - typing is really difficult with th iPhone keyboard!
I'm on line at: www.flickr.com/photos/guthlac http://simonmarchini.blogspot.com www.simonmarchini.co.uk I hope you enjoy
Live from the iPhone...
I would be lying if I said this was taken with me iPhone. This for two reasons: first the iphone camera is not very good and second this photo is nearly 30 years old.
Cutting down the time....
This is the first blog I will have created with posterous. This is a free service that should allow me to post to my blog and Flickr account simultaneously. I have no idea whether this will work but if it does it does open up a whole new world of instantaneous updates. Perhaps I will start a feed on Twitter? Well may be not.
Simon Marchini LRPS
http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk
Thursday 3 December 2009
Testing time...
I spent much of yesterday testing long telephoto lenses - for a nature photographer this was a wonderful opportunity. My old friend Pete Wileman uses some of the longest lens around that he uses in his business and so I was able to take advantage of this. This was a great day and it helped me sort out which lens I liked the best.
Tuesday 1 December 2009
An X files moment....
One of the Enderby Stones
Perception is a strange thing. To one person something is beautiful to another it is the worst thing he has seen. Ok this is a bit over the top but it does make the point. So why the X Files? Well I have been away from my photography for the past few weeks whilst I undertake some historical research. This is starting to reach a natural conclusion and I am starting to get the photography bug again. Anyway back to the story. One of the areas I have been interested in is a local common called Ratby Meadows.
The reason why this is called Ratby Meadow when it is about 10 km from Ratby is, in itself interesting (see schedule 1 of the ownership of the land document for details), and so when I did a search for the history of Ratby Meadows two different views of the stones in the field. They certainly are not natural so how did they get there and why? This is where the conflicting views come in. The official view as to what the stones are is rather bureaucratically set out in a 1977 document dealing with a dispute over the ownership of the land. Here the stones are nothing more than field boundaries tired up with the reason this is called Ratby Meadows.
The second view is a bit more into the world of the X files - they have a deeper meaning connected with lay lines and hay strewing: Which is correct? Well for me it is the first but the whole area is a remnant of a much older landscape so maybe they do have a much older meaning. They are surrounded by quite a lot of pre historic activity including a very old track way which does, indeed, point towards a very old church. So I guess you pays your money and you make your choice. It did inspire me to make this photograph so perhaps there is more to these than field boundaries. The mystery of the Enderby Stones? Now that is a bit X files.
Sunday 29 November 2009
Salt Mills...
It has taken me a few days to fully process the impact of Salts Mill on me - there was so much to take in. Where to start? Well first of all the negative. It has a lot in common with Walt Disney World - there is every opportunity to spend a lot of money of things you may well never use again but seem like such a good idea at the time. The second similarity is all pervasive character where ever you go with the mill. David Hockney is all around. His works are on display through out the public areas of the mill - whether it is in Gallery 1853 or in the restaurant or gift shop and so on. There is just no getting away from the man.
Now that is the negative here is the positive - well actually it is the same as above. I cannot think of any living artist who could carry such a display of his work and personality. Hockney can. His work's enlighten the drab, dark Yorkshire day like no other. The art work on display at 1853 is wondrous. The photo montage, the main reason for my visit, were even better than expected. You have to stand close to them to realise what acts of virtuoso they are. In an age of digital cameras it is so easy to ensure that photographs marry together if you are shooting a montage - how Hockney's were recorded on film so he had to shoot them from memory - yet they work so well.
Beyond the main gallery perhaps the most intense and rewarding experience is on the top floor. Here we have Hockney's stage designs displayed in a blacked out section of the mill floor sandwiched between another restaurant and an antique and cloths store - yet none of this distracts you from the power of the work on display and indeed the way they are displayed adds to the power.
What a great day out, great art well presented in a magnificent building which, when you consider the size of the place, somehow seems so intimate and yet is the size of a super tanker. One final note - the food is excellent as well. What more could you want?
Tuesday 24 November 2009
A change of pace...
I know I have been banging on about Hockney over the past week or so but would you believe I have not really given him any great thought. Instead of photographic matters I have been using the more analytical part of my brain. I have been doing some historical research. This is not the first time I have done this - my old website is still on line - this was completed in 1996 - almost as old in WWW terms as the subject matter!
Anyway back to the present. I have been working a map of the village showing all the historical/archaeological sites/information I have discovered. It has been really enjoyable and at same time so frustrating. You always seem to take two steps forward and one back. You develop a theory based on the information at hand and then discover new information that blows it out of the water. Sometimes I just want to scream but it is very absorbing. So the photography has had to take a back seat. This may change as I am off to the Salt Mill gallery tomorrow to see more Hockney - so I suspect I may well be back to photography over the next day or so!
Thursday 19 November 2009
Some developments....
Hockney montage seem to be a very cliché photograph. So I am thinking about how to use the ideas and take them a bit further - I am not suggesting that what I might be doing is 'good' or 'better' than anyone else's work. I am just using this as a means of experimenting with photography.
Titchwell...
Finally have got round to working on the Titchwell shoot. I was not too happy with them at the time but after a few days the photographs are not too bad. Phew.
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