Colourful carriages

My eye was drawn to these colourful railway carriages across the tracks at Grantham Station when we were waiting for the London train. The combination of a recent clean and the sharp, early morning light made them stand out from the more muted colours around them. I'm not a great fan of the myriad colour schemes of the "competing" railway companies that now ply their trade on Britain's railway racks, but these carriages satisfied my photographer's craving for deep vibrant colour.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

St Pancras-King's Cross pedestrian tunnel

The pedestrian tunnel in today's photograph was opened in 2014. It links St Pancras International with King's Cross St Pancras Underground Stations. The tunnel design is by the architects Allies and Morrison with the integrated "light wall"that features changing art installations the work of Speirs + Major. Whilst the tunnel is visually interesting to adults to children it appears to be absolutely compelling, the compulsion being to run through the zebra stripes completely ignoring the light show!

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

River Nidd rowing boats

Ten years ago I photographed part of a row of green and red rowing boats tied up at the side of the River Nidd in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire. I recently took another photograph of them - the row in the same location, the boats the same red and green. On the earlier occasion I made something of the numbers painted on them. But,there's only so much you can do with a subject like this so compositionally, this time, I went for repetition as the main theme, emphasising the elegant lines of the craft.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Knaresborough and the River Nidd

Many people know of the Yorkshire spa and conference town of Harrogate. Fewer know of its smaller, adjoining neighbour, Knaresborough. We visited this old, riverside town recently, and I re-acquainted myself with why I prefer it to the well-heeled Harrogate. The photograph gives a clue - Knaresborough is different, picturesque and has more interesting architecture. This view, of the River Nidd taken from near the ruined castle, is spectacular and, surprisingly, improved by the nineteenth century's addition of a railway viaduct (castellated and still in daily use).

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Wardrobe shadows

Shadows can transform scenes and objects, adding contrast and drama to the most mundane of subjects. Venetian blinds throw, I think, particularly interesting shadows, and over the years I've posted a few shots that include their sharp parallel lines laid across a domestic scene. The photograph above shows a very rectilinear wardrobe door with grain and shiny, minimalist handles. I tilted the camera to make the shadows a counterpoint to the lines of the piece of furniture in my semi-abstract composition.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Talbot Arms at night

As with the previous photograph, the main subjects of this shot are the filament, LED and moon light that illuminate a building. In this instance it is the Talbot Arms pub in Settle, North Yorkshire. The pub's sign is also well lit and its clarity anong the surrounding pools of light suggested a focal point for a composition. The talbot was a type of large hunting hound, white or very pale in colour, with hanging ears and great powers of scent. It features reasonably commonly on coats of arms.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Moonlit market place, Settle

A few days in the North Yorkshire market town of Settle, the place of my upbringing, produced a couple of night-time photographs. A small settlement such as this isn't the obvious place to look for night-time shots - cities are much more popular - but the combination of street and property lights with a bright moon drew my eye. The Shambles, the arched building on the left is not only a combination of of the work of seventeenth century and Victorian builders, but also, it seems, a place of traditional filament and modern LED lighting. The building on the right is the town hall.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Boston incongruity

It's hard to imagine a greater incongruity than the airbrushed painting and coloured lights of a ride at Boston's May Fair and the top of the medieval tower of the church of St Botolph. However, it caught my eye and appealed to me, not least because the ornate stone lantern that tops the tower appeared to be an unlikely crown on the painted girl's head.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Boston May Fair carousel horses

The May Fair at Boston, Lincolnshire, is the modern successor of the medieval and later fairs that were held in the town for centuries. Today the event is solely a fun fair, something that would be only an element of a fair of much wider scope in those distant times. As I wandered through the fairground rides my eye settled on the brightly painted horses of the carousel, each with its name written on its neck. During my lifetime such carousels have been a permanent fixture at this kind of fair, but in historic terms I suppose they are relatively recent.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Drake mandarin duck

On a stagnant, slime-infested pool, home to a single moorhen, a coot and a few passing mallards, we saw a remarkable sight - a drake mandarin duck slowly making its way through the scum on the surface of the water. The contrast between the opulent beauty of the bird and its surroundings could not have been greater. Its striking plumage of glossy purple, burnt orange, white and cream, black and iridescent green and blue seemed to deserve a backdrop of crystal clear water that reflected the sky and clouds above rather than this malignant mess. But it sailed on, seemingly happy in its chosen place, managing, despite the circumstances, to remain scrupulously clean. Until, that is, we got too close and it took to the air, perhaps heading for pastures (or waters) new.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P900

High key rose

High key photographs - images that are very bright/white with low contrast or minimal dark areas - appeal to me. However, I'm not especially adept at making such photographs. They don't come naturally to me; I have to consciously plan for such a shot. Moreover, I have yet to produce a high key image that entirely pleases me. My best to date is, I think, this example from quite a few years ago produced by over-exposure. Today's photograph has qualities that I like but isn't as successful.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

St Gilbert and St Hugh

St Gilbert and St Hugh are notable Lincolnshire saints, the former from Sempringham and the founder of the only English-originated religious order, the Gilbertines, the latter a bishop of Lincoln usually depicted with a pet swan. Consequently it is appropriate that the timber framed church of 1902-4 by the architects Bucknall & Comper at Gosberton Clough is dedicated to them, particularly since Sempringham, the home of St Gilbert is only a few miles distant. This is a building I have photographed once before and presented in black and white. On this occasion I preferred the muted colours.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Rolling through the tulips

On my yearly assignment to photograph miniature traction engines in Spalding I have had to find the best locations to for my shots. Quite the best place is the area of woodland that from mid-April to early May has colourful drifts of tulips. These flower successfully because the tree canopies at this time of year still let through plenty of light. Nonetheless, the sun is welcome for this photographic task because it illuminates the subject and shows of the colours to better effect. This particular traction engine was carrying not only the builders/owners but also, in a trailer, their basset hounds.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Headless grey heron

I don't keep count of such things but it seems to me that the bird I have photographed successfully more than any other is the grey heron. That's probably because it is a big bird, reasonably common, sometimes tolerant of a close approach, and one that I can fill fill the frame with even using my non-specialist lenses. Today's photograph was taken with the "super-zoom" lens of a bridge camera but the bird was close enough to have been snapped with a more modest lens on my everyday camera. For those who are wondering, this strike was successful and the heron quickly swallowed the fish it caught. The small photograph shows the heron's neck distorted by its passage.


photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P900

Clematis montana

Clematis is one of those plants that seems to benefit from a gardening regime of benign neglect. I took this photograph in the garden of someone I know, a place where that description seemed particularly appropriate. The clematis montana was climbing up a fence and spreading vigorously into the lower branches of shrubs and trees making a marvellous spectacle. When the flowers have died down and the seed heads have developed it will look less attractive to all but the birds of the locality.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100