The Holy Grail in stained glass

In the early twentieth century the story of the Holy Grail became a subject for church stained glass. It usually features the Mallory telling of the tale in which Sir Galahad is the finder. This example can be seen in St Giles, Goodrich, Herefordshire. It is a commemmorative window made in 1928 by the stained glass artist Archibald John Davies (1877-1953). Davies studied at the Birmingham Municipal Central School of Art, set up his studio in Moseley c.1900 and moved to the premises of the Bromsgrove Guild in 1906. Here his work shows the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement. The glass in the panels at the top of this window (out of shot) show nearby Goodrich Castle and the River Wye.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

The Malvern Hills toposcope

Go to any notable viewpoint and you're quite likely to find a toposcope. You may know it by a different name: perhaps topograph or orientation table. Whatever you call it the device will probably be circular, show the points of the compass (or just North), and will have pointers and labels for nearby visible features (hills, rivers, settlements, buildings etc). Sometimes, much less helpfully, it will show the direction of towns and cities over the horizon or even in a different country or continent. Today's photograph shows the toposcope at the summit of the Malvern Hills (Worcestershire Beacon), and the view to the west, across Herefordshire, to the county's high point and  boundary with Wales at the Black Mountain.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

The branch in the pond

In time every tree branch that falls into water loses all its leaves and bark. Where the branch is below the water it goes dark with the water-logging. The part of the branch that remains above the water tends to become weatherd and bleached. This branch has followed that path. The reflection that produces a line of symmetry at the water level appealed to me. However, on the pond bank and through my viewfinder I only appreciated it in three dimensions. When I got it up on my computer screen the form in two dimensions jumped out at - it's a fish swimming left to right. You can even see its mouth!

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Christmas baubles past and present

When I was young I particularly liked Christmas tree baubles of the type shown in today's photograph - a ball with a deep indentation. I suppose they seemed to offer more than a plain sphere, looking as they do, somewhat like a model of the earth with a glimpse of the hot core. In those days baubles were made of glass but today safer plastic is favoured. However, the example shown is glass, one of several indented baubles we bought several decades ago. Every few years one of them is dropped and it breaks and eventually we will have none left. But until that time I'll enjoy how they look and how they are a tangible reminder of festive seasons past. Merry Christmas!

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

Scullers on foggy River Wye

Ross on Wye has a rowing club that holds an annual rowing regatta. From my casual observations the club is enjoyed by both competitive and recreational scullers, and sculls of varying size can be regularly seen on the river. This couple's dress and their leisurely motion suggested they were engaged in recreational sculling and the warmer clothing was appropriate for a foggy morning (though the fog was beginning to lift even as a I fired off a few shots.)

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Ledbury superstore at dusk

Recently, as we were walking back to the car in Ledbury when the light of the day was being replaced by darkness, I began to wonder. Is the period between the setting of the sun and the time when the sky has no remaining light from the sun properly called "dusk" or "twilight"? A quick search through the OED revealed that the words are almost synonyms, with dusk cited as "the darker stage of twilight", and being used only in connection with evening whereas twilight can also refer to the morning. So, which word is most appropriate to describe the scene above? The title of the post shows my preference.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Bird photography backgrounds

How does the background of today's bird photograph fit with the idea of two basic backgrounds that I mentioned in the previous post? Well, it does show the habitat of the moorhen, though not very well: water is only a part of what a moorhen needs. However, I haven't posted this photograph because it is an exemplar of that style, but because it is a discomforting, almost semi-abstract, example of that genre. It's the sort of shot I can't not take!

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Pied wagtail and backgrounds

There are, it seems to me, two classic bird photograph backgrounds. One shows the habitat of the bird in the image while the other deeply blurs the background to focus the viewer's attention solely on the bird. Both approaches have their advantages but the second is the easiest to achieve by far. I photographed this pied wagtail as it searched the outdoor cafe area, where we were sitting, for crumbs. In the shot it is perched at the corner of a wooden table and beyond is paving.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Mandarin drakes under the branches

The mandarin duck is a perching duck, closely related to the wood duck or Carolina duck. It is an introduced bird in Britain but one that has become an established breeding species to the extent that there are as many or more than in most of the eastern asiatic countries in which it is indigenous. In the Forest of Dean they are common, particularly at Cannop Ponds where the tree-surrounded pools offer an ideal habitat. These birds were enjoying the shelter of the bankside trees. Through the viewfinder the muted colours of the water and branches next to the strong colours of the drakes reminded me of the  compositions of some Japanese art.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Old pub advertisement

The Queen's Arms at Newhall Street, Birmingham, is a pub designed by the architect, Joseph D. Ward, who worked for the brewers, Mitchells & Butler. It dates from c.1870 and has been extensively modernised twice, the first occasion being in 1901 and the second in the late C20. The tiled advertisement on the corner of the pub must date from the 1901 remodelling and has suvived remarkably intact. It employs a cassical egg and dart border (awkwardly broken by the name at the top, a cartouche with gold medal awards from the C19 and a style of lettering frequently seen at the turn of the century.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Forward Together

I like the idea of public sculpture better than the reality. Why? Because really good public sculpture, it seems to me, is quite hard to find. So much of it offers too little in the way of interest or challenge, or is gimmicky, or weathers in a way that changes its essence. So, when I come across a piece that I appreciate I'm both surprised and pleased. A recent example is "Forward Together", a piece by Luke Perry in Victoria Square, Birmingham. It is a representation of people literally pulling together on a chain to achieve a goal. The figures seem to be made of CNC-cut metal and based on high contrast photographs. It is, I'm sure, a sculpture that will repay several visits.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Looking up in Ludlow

The Shropshire town of Ludlow has many interesting old buildings with a cluster of them visible in this photograph taken from Broad Street near its junction with the High Street. From left to right they are: The Butter Cross, a classical-style market hall of c.1746; No.1 King Street, a plain, brick-built late Georgian (c.1829), former house, now with a ground floor shop inserted; the tall and imposing C15 crossing tower of St Laurence, the parish church of the town; and Bodenhams, an ornate, timber-framed shop and dwelling of c1462.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Look up to see the past

On 5th January 2006 I published an early blog post entitled, "The best is often over our heads". The theme of the piece was that the original architecture of commercial buildings has often been replaced by cheap, plain, fashionable work and that if we wish to see the best of what remains we must look at the upper storeys. I was reminded of this when looking at the timber-framed upper storeys of the Boots shop in Ledbury. The ground floor is C20 corporate in style with the late 1500s work exposed above (the sash windows excepted: these are C18 or C19). But, I now ask myself, is this what was on show in 1600? It could well have been covered in stucco quite soon after construction and the woodwork revealed centuries later. Many Herefordshire buildings have timber framing hidden under later modernisation. Incidentally, these upper storeys can be seen in this photograph of the High Street

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Hollins memorial, St Paul in the Square, Birmingham

The Georgian church of St Paul in Birmingham is located in the city's last remaining eighteenth century square. It has a number of interesting features but on our visit to the building what caught my eye was a stained glass window flanked by a portrait bust on one side and carving in the splay of the other side. The dedications are to the architect-sculptor, William Hollins (d.1843), his wife Catherine (d.1831), and their children. These are decorated with beautifully carved vines and is the work of William Hollins' sculptor son, Peter. I don't recall ever having seen carved memorials in window splays before. The way the light caught the carving was very appealing.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

The Cathedral of the Forest

The village church of All Saints at Newland, Gloucestershire, is known as "The Cathedral of the Forest." It was given this name due to it being one of the biggest and most ornate churches to be found in the Forest of Dean. Construction began just before 1216. Much of the main structure dates from the C13 and C14.

The most notable work of the C15 is the pierced tower parapet and the ornate pinnacles. The photographs also show a preaching cross. Its base of five steps was rebuilt in 1864. It was presumably at this time that the column and cross were added. The sun dial on the exterior was donated by villagers to mark the millennium.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2