Industrial units and petri dishes

When I looked over the fence at these industrial units in Ross on Wye what caught my eye was the lines on every surface - on the walls, on the ground and even in the sky. On the ground I liked the way the parking bay lines ran the opposite way to the lines on the near metal walls. When I looked closer I realized the aircraft vapour trails paralleled the lines on the distant unit. Then I counted the vapour trails and lamented that the number of such trails seemed to be increasing daily, a sign that more and more people were putting their own self-interest and desire for a foreign holiday above the world's wider interest and I imagined each aircraft that passed over as a flying petri dish.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Socially distanced seating, Hereford Cathedral

The Covid19 pandemic has made us all very aware of the importance of social distancing. Recently we came upon an example of social distancing that made me stop and stare. The nave seating of Hereford Cathedral had been arranged with this in mind and, after decades of seeing naves with tightly packed seating separated only by necessary aisles, it looked decidedly odd. Adding to the oddness is the choice of inexpensive moulded plastic seating. Presumably this was chosen for ease of cleaning.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Lockdown High Street, Ross on Wye

The terms of the most recent Covid 19 lockdown severely restrict the circumstances under which people may leave their home. For someone of my age the two main reasons are shopping and physical exercise. I combine photography with the latter. But, a further restriction - the requirement to remain "local" to my home - limits the subjects on which I can focus my camera. Consequently one has to look more carefully at the immediate surroundings and search out subjects that, in more relaxed circumstances, might not be considered worthy of a shot. Not a bad discipline. Today's image was taken because of the way the sunlight was reflected from buildings across the street and from the damp road and pavements. The normally busy High Street at Ross on Wye is usually thronged with shoppers and visitors but on this occasion there were only two.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

A quiet street, Tewkesbury

The Covid-19 lockdowns and the restraint shown by many people during the pandemic has produced many weeks of quiet streets where the only people visible are essential workers, people shopping for food or those taking some daily walking or cycling exercise. I took this photograph in Tewkesbury on one such day. It shows the corner of Gander Lane and Church Street. The main building is the end of a unique curving row of twenty three late 1400s timber-framed dwellings, probably constructed as a speculative undertaking by the monks of the Abbey.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2