Author Archives: athyfoto

Shaking pipes

Break the ‘rules’ . . . . Two pipers warming up, as a straight shot it would be a bit boring. So who says you need to make sure your pictures are perfectly focused, tack sharp? I already had some ‘straight’ shots and decided I wanted to get an abstract and so I think this was shot at 1/8th at f10 and shook the camera during the exposure. You can’t get much further away from a sturdy tripod and cable release! Anyway I was happy with the result, the colours and the introduction of movement work for me.

Abstract image of pipers

Pipers

Look up

Again I say . . Rules are made to be broken, especially in photography where everything is personal and subjective. For this image I totally ignored the “problem” of converging verticals because I felt that in this image they contribute by accentuating the soaring height of the huge pillars and arches. I used a 10 – 20mm super wide at the widest end and angled the camera upwards to exaggerate the look even more.

I wish you all a very happy Christmas as well as peace, prosperity and plenty of ‘keepers’ in 2014!

Ripon Cathedral

Ripon Cathedral, look up

Woodland Walk

Rules are made to be broken, especially in photography where everything is personal and subjective. For this image I threw out the ‘rule of thirds’ and placed the walker (my son) right in the middle of the frame. It felt right at the time and I think it works for me. I converted to mono because in the colour original the colour green was quite overpowering.

This was a walk around Swinsty reservoir earlier this year in June and my son, being much stronger and fitter than me, was striding off purposefully with most of my gear over his shoulder.

Marching into the distance

Marching into the distance

A Three Headed Mill ~ colour.

I was asked what the first image I posted looked like in colour so I thought I would post the original shot for comparison. The reason for converting to mono was that the light wasn’t great on the day so the colours weren’t popping. I know that isn’t always the reason for deciding to convert but I decided to interpret what I felt while standing there. I was thinking about how dirty and noisy these mills were back in the day and how still and silent it was now. The artwork has been there for around fourteen years, there are bits of it not there now and there was a slightly melancholic feel to the scene. Anyway here is the original shot.

Colour version

Colour version

A Three Headed Mill

This art installation is at Trencherfield Mill near to Wigan Pier. Created by Andy Hazell it was installed in 1999. Apart from that I know very little about it, but it wouldn’t let me pass without making a picture of it. The bottom head has a giant can opener that has just cut round the top of the head! The Mill is home to a “. . . horizontal twin tandem triple expansion engine built 1907 and developed 2100 horsepower.” Well it sounds impressive, I have seen it once but it wasn’t running. They steam it up on Sundays apparently so I may have to check their calendar and pay another visit.

A sculpture of three heads on a mill wall

Three Heads

Out on the lake

We spent last weekend at Bowness on Windermere. The weather, while dry, was not great but the Lake District is famous for its variety in weather conditions. On Saturday morning we decided that as it was clear and frosty that we would go out on the lake and get our lungs full of fresh air and enjoy the beautiful scenery. While we were sitting on the boat at the pier waiting for cast off the clouds rolled in and the light changed completely. I managed to make a handful of pictures and here are four of them.

Click on an image to launch larger versions in a gallery.

Dappled light

I made this picture a couple of months ago. These things were growing like mad under the shade of a Rowan Tree and they were just about to go over. The foxgloves had all gone and these were the last of the colours as the autumn started to take hold. This is a wooded area where we often see Pheasant feeding themselves up in the autumn and the males like having the odd battle over grazing rights. In the spring the Pheasant will be wandering around here looking for a mate and displaying by rapid beating of the wings and a loud call. The males will be fighting again, this time over the females.

Fading woodland plants

The last of the colour