St David's Cathedral, Pembrokeshire

 

click photo to enlarge

St David is a small settlement in Pembrokeshire, Wales, that has the status of a city, largely because of the cathedral of St David that is located there. It is widely quoted to be the smallest city in Britain, though the City of London is smaller in area than the parish of St David. The cathedral itself looks more like a large church, and is similar to those medieval and later parish churches that were elevated in status as the population increased in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. St David's cathedral grew from a C6 monastic community and the current cathedral was begun about 1118. Repeated rebuildings due to bad workmanship, earthquakes and neglect were necessary, and major work was undertaken in 1862 -1870 by George Gilbert Scott. To this visitor the building was a remarkably interesting oddity, not least because the undulating ground in which it is set allows a photograph that shows the cathedral from above.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Leisure Centre shadow

A visit to a nearby city from the market town in which we live presents the opportunity for more "urban" photographic subjects. Gloucester isn't the biggest of cities, but neither are Hereford and Worcester, the other easily accessible centres of higher population. Birmingham, though more distant, is the nearest city that presents the full range of urban subjects. But, on this occasion it was Gloucester and a photograph of a large, anonymous-looking leisure centre with its subdued colours, curves and shadows complemented by a figure in just the right place.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

BHS, Hull

When, in 1971, I moved from the Yorkshire Dales market town of Settle to the East Yorkshire city and port of Kingston upon Hull, it was something of a culture shock. The countryside, hills, mountains, valleys and villages of the Dales were replaced by the imposing city buildings and flat, urban sprawl of the city. I was often asked if I regretted the move and my answer was always the same - "No"- because the visual interest and history of the city was something that I appreciated and which provided a seemingly endless supply of subjects for my camera. One of the most noticeable buildings was the BHS store in the main shopping area. This former Co-operative store has a huge, fine and imposing, concave mural of 1963 by Alan Boyson that references the city's fishing fleet.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10     2015

Gloomy city

This photograph was taken at the end of January when we had a few days in London. It was taken in the early evening as the daylight was fading and man-made lighting was starting to appear in the streets and offices of the city. Looking at it I'm reminded how hideous most of the new towers are at an individual level, and how they are even worse collectively. I chose to put this shot on the blog now because today, unlike the day I made the image, it seems to capture the gloom that is descending on the city and country as the spread of coronavirus quickens daily.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2