Transformative fog

On a recent foggy morning we walked past a pond that had increased greatly in size following an extended spell of rain. Quite a few of the pond-side bushes and trees now had their roots in water and were making good reflections. However, it wasn't the increased size of the pond that caught my eye as much as the way the fog was giving a different emphasis to the trees.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P950

Under the Market House, Ross on Wye

The Herefordshire town of Ross on Wye has a late seventeenth century market house. It is made of red sandstone columns and arches that are open to the public and a stone and timber room above (now a gallery selling the work of local artists and craftspeople). It was originally designed to offer a covered space for market stalls, something it still does to this day. On non-market days it is a place to sit, shelter from the rain (or intense sun!), and generally watch the world go by. As I was doing just that the other day someone was using it as a vantage point for a phone call and I took this shot of the scene. I've converted it to a black and white image because the strong blue fascia of the Boots store was overpowering the composition and weakening the strong silhouettes.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Decorative lamps, The Royal hotel, Ross on Wye

The Royal hotel, Ross on Wye, dates from 1836-7 and is one of the earliest, purpose-built hotels (as opposed to inns) in Britain. It is a large, three-storey, stuccoed building located on the site of the old Bishop's Palace, in a prominent position overlooking the meander of the River Wye. The two large, ornate lamps shown above flank the main pedestrian entry to the building.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Bus station silhouettes

We regularly walk from home for business and pleasure. It's good to leave the car in the garage, stretch our legs, enjoy the sights to be seen, and feel we are reducing, in a small way, our contribution to climate change. We also, periodically and for the same reasons, use the train or the bus. Our bus journey usually takes us to and from Gloucester and necessitates the use of what I call a bus station, but what is labelled the Transport Hub. It's across the road from the railway station so I suppose it has greater claim to the title of Hub than many similarly named places. But to my mind it is, and will remain, the bus station, a place where bright yellow double-deckers and passenger silhouettes can be found.

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

Fog, sun and silhouettes, Ross on Wye

There's a lot to be said for photographing in fog, not least the way that type of weather renders familiar scenes unfamiliar. In recent years I've posted quite a few photographs of the spire of Saint Mary's church in Ross. I've also included a few with the crenelated Gazebo Tower (here decorated with birds) and the crowded chimney stacks of the Royal Hotel. However, I've never made them, collectively, the sole subject of a composition. It was seeing them through the filter of the thick morning fog that prompted this shot.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

The back end of the year

When I lived in Yorkshire I often heard the last month or so of the year referred to as "the back end". The meaning of the phrase is self-explanatory. However, I never heard the beginning of the year referred to as "the front end", only "the new year". When I looked at this photograph it spoke to me of that Yorkshire "back end", a time when it is typically, cold or damp, when shadows are long, the bracken is dying down, and the brief appearance of the low winter sun draws a few more people away from their fire-sides and central heating. Of course, the dog walkers are out whatever the weather and this couple with their four animals, silhouetted against the woodland, made a nice composition for this passing photographer.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Silhouettes at the quarry

On a recent walk in the Forest of Dean we went to look at a large, working quarry. Like all such places it was fascinating. It was a massive and deep undertaking that appeared to be supplying stone for a variety of purposes. At a number of locations were piles of rock that had been assembled by type: principally size, but also, it seemed, colour. The quarry was at the highest point of that area of the Forest and the very highest summit was a heap of relatively small stones. A couple of other walkers and their dog were using the heap as a viewpoint. We decided to do the same and as we approached I took this silhouette shot of them as they surveyed the distant horizon.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

The cold light of (almost) winter

 

A necessary visit to Tewkesbury found us, in the early evening, on the bridge over the canalized River Avon looking towards the dark, derelict bulk of the Borough Flour Mill. The cold colours of the sky and its reflection caught my eye, and as I studied the composition in my viewfinder I noticed the pleasing contrast of the leafless branches. In the bright light and colours of daytime in spring and summer this view has only a little to commend it. But in these almost monochrome conditions of late November the silhouettes of the same view are much more appealing.

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

Spot the dog

Another day with a cloudless blue sky caused me to look nearer and look lower in search of photographs as we walked in and around the town of Ross on Wye. Few subjects presented themselves until I saw this young couple walking their dog and entering the "tree tunnel" that we were in. The dog was off its leash and was too quick for me to get a shot of it silhouetted with the people. However, this photograph allows you to play "spot the dog" - it's visible in the shot and not too difficult to find if you follow the obvious clues.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

The River Hull

The city of Kingston upon Hull (usually abbreviated to Hull) grew up on the banks of the River Hull at the point where it flows into the River Humber. The River Hull is tidal and, flowing through the city, it is bridged at many points. Most of the bridges can be raised or swung to allow the passage of ships, as is the case with the one in the photograph with its control tower. The river's long commercial use has resulted in many structures built along its banks, some of which, though mundane, can provide useful foreground interest.The large structure spanning the river is a tidal barrier with its gate in the raised position.

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

Fenland smallholding

The Fens used to be a land of small, independent farmers and smallholders, each earning a living from the fertile soil of this drained, lowland area. However, mechanisation and the pressure for cheap food led to consolidation, bigger farms and contractors working the land. Smallholders still exist, but in much reduced numbers, often as hobbyists. This old smallholding appears to have been recently sold. I photographed it on a frosty morning as dark clouds moving in from the west began to obscure the sun and turn the day darker than was promised.

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