Sheep etc.

[Mr Badger]

Shouldn't that be a ram-dom abstract?

 

[Ed Sutton]

Shouldn't that be a ram-dom abstract?

 

[sirch]

I've not looked in here for a while, glad to see it is still going and random abstract is great.

 

[Ed Sutton]

The last visit for the year to a big show for me yesterday, to a very hot Westmorland County Show. It was hard work on a number of counts. Even when I got there at 8.30 it was hot and very sunny. For reasons nobody could fathom the judging was split in to two periods with the sheep I wanted to photograph not being judged until 12.45. It was probably Covid related but didn't seem to achieve much except in my case mean that I was tired and dehydrated by the time the judging started. This didn't help me see pictures.



With the show season being disrupted this year it's seen a change in exhibitors. Quite a few of the usual faces were absent in the Lonk section which was down in numbers, so there wasn't much for me there, plus the angle of the sun made it tricky to get in a potion where everything wasn't strongly back lit.



I had similar problems when the Gritstones were judged. My two favourite breeds and I couldn't get where I wanted to photograph them. Luckily the few Whitefaced Woodlands were judged in the morning (they were lumped in a mixed breed class rather than being categorised as hill sheep - Lonks, Grits, Swaledales, Rough Fells etc) before I started to flag, and I got in better position. I actually think Woodlands are the best looking of the Pennine breeds, but the Lonk story and Lancastrian heritage interests me more which is why I gravitate towards them.

These Woodlands were being bribed with carroty snacks.



Not that it made them behave!



As a picture I think the next frame works better, but I'm not sure if it's clear enough what is happening. Look closely and the front hooves are off the ground though.



This was certainly the most challenging day I've spent at a show. The heat was a big factor as by one o'clock I just wanted to curl up in the shade and go to sleep!

Sheepish fashion notes.





Was I being judged by this Kerry Hill?



A very fluffy Portland - a small and ancient breed.



I'm sure that if it hadn't been so hot I'd have made more of an effort, but I'm still pondering the future of this project as I feel like I've run out of steam.

 

[Ed Sutton]

I forgot to mention that I've noticed more entrants in the Derbyshire Gritstone classes, and some of the newcomers wear white coats. I'm putting this down to the Gritstone being classified as 'at risk' by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust last year resulting in rare breed sheep keepers taking an interest in the breed and starting flocks.

The white coats, and halters on the sheep, are the give-away that these folk are new to showing Grits. Some breed societies - mostly the rarer breeds - stipulate that handlers must wear a white coat when showing sheep. Hill sheep farmers are more informal. After a couple of shows the newcomers ditch the coats!

Gratuitous Gritstone judging picture.



In other news; one of the sheeperazzi got their revenge on me! View: https://BANNED/billplumtree/status/1436278939484364804

 

[superpippo]

#1 is like the second coming - with sheep in charge.
I like the Portland shot

 

[Ed Sutton]

Ever since I found out about it in 2017 I've wanted to go to the Lonk Breeders show but the date has always clashed with the one fishing show I do annually - which earns me money! In 2019 I decided to miss my show and get to the sheep show. like an idiot I got lost (despite having been to the venue for an agricultural show previously) and gave up driving round in circles. :banghead: Last year it was cancelled. This year the dates didn't clash and I didn't get lost!

Probably not originally a Lonk show it's said that a sheep show has been held there, or thereabouts, since the early 1700s and there's a strong desire to maintain the tradition among the breeders. I don't know if the pub is named in honour of the show, but it's a field behind the pub where the show takes place. The pub's sign is wondeful.





As always it was pretty much a case of the same old subject, but in a different setting. However, there was one unexpected bonus. Those sheep of some breeds which meet the breed standard, are horn branded. This is something I've seen photographs of being done to Swaledales (which are 'crowned') and hoped I might get an opportunity to photograph when Lonks are 'starred'. At first I wondered why there was a gas heater going on a warm September morning.



Then I saw the iron being removed from it, glowing red hot. My angles weren't ideal, but I got one or two shots which show what's going on.





I must find out why some sheep are 'double starred'.



The Lonk zine I got printed has now been seen by a number of the breeders and it's been well received. So much so it looks like I'll have to get more printed. In fact I was gobsmacked by the reception it's had and the offers of help to further my Lonk photography which it's generated. Time will tell if anything comes of them.

There were so many entries in a few classes they awarded rosettes down to sixth place.



At the end of the day they posed for a group photo (not my idea) with the Supreme and Reserve champion sheep. All in all a really enjoyable day out.

 

[Ed Sutton]

A few more from yesterday.



This one wouldn't be lead anywhere so...

 

[Ed Sutton]

Good to be back at the mart for the Lonk tup show and sale today. I'd forgotten how dark it is in the main shed and struggled with the zoom I took along. Luckily I had my 28mm and 50mm so went 'old school'! Better light in the show shed and sale ring though and it was back to the zoom - except to go ultrawide.

Just a few for now. Might post more later after I've whittled through everything.

Pre-show there is much checking of sheep and note making in the catalogue.



27 shearling tups for the judge to deliberate over. Needed my 20mm to get them all in. Then I went for a sausage and bacon barm in the cafe while they were whittled down!



Top sheep in the show, but didn't make the top price. It's beyond me how that works.

 

[superpippo]

I like those. Pity the girl's hair covers her T shirt words and I think that the sheep is a little too out of the DoF

"a sausage and bacon barm" - isn't that heresy at a sheep show?

 

[Ed Sutton]

I like those. Pity the girl's hair covers her T shirt words and I think that the sheep is a little too out of the DoF

Yeah the hair is an annoyance. I have similar pics from other shows and sales where the words are legible, so not a worry in the larger scheme of things.

Depth of field is a continual problem in the marts as the light is so low balancing shutter speed with aperture and ISO is always a compromise. Not as difficult with digital as it would have been with HP5 though! At least the uniform LED lighting has made getting a white balance easier than when it was a mix of three artificial light sources.

"a sausage and bacon barm" - isn't that heresy at a sheep show?

Tasty though!

 

[Ed Sutton]

A few more.

Pre sale lot numbering and weighing up what to bid on.





Everyone gathers round for the judging.



Which is a serious business.



Prizes handed out. Tups have their tails left intact while ewes have theirs docked.



Quick snap of the champion and reserve for social media.



The sale ring.





Six gimmer (female) lambs all the way from Scotland.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Two sales and shows in one day yesterday. First up were the Derbyshire Gritstones which interest me almost as much as Lonks. Later it was Cheviots, which are just another sheep to me but which appear to be taking over the moors where Grits and Lonks used to predominate from my casual observations. There were more Cheviots on sale than Grits, although there were plenty of entries in the show, and again it was noticeable that a number of small flock owners were there with their Grits. One couple I spoke to have a flock of 15 which they got to keep the grass down in their horse paddocks, choosing Grits because they liked the look of them. I'm sure their recent rare pbreed status has increased their popularity with smallholders and the like. There does appear to be a growing interest in 'heritage breeds'














Something I've noticed when looking at the work of a couple of other sheep photographers I know is that they have a tendency to show details and to isolate subject, but I always seem to lean towards wider views with lots going on in them. I've also found myself hoping for the unexpected to intrude into the frame - such as the sheep in the last pic above.

Cheviots to follow.

 

[Ed Sutton]

There are different traditions for showing and selling different breeds. Some, like Cheviots, have their fleeces dyed. Going back natural materials were used, such as peat. Today colour comes in a spray can. All get some extra enhancement, in this case the white bits get baby powder rubbed in.



The towel is to keep the powder off the dyed fleece which has been hand clipped to enhance the body shape and allow for the lot number to be stamped on it.









Quite a few of the Cheviot tups were very lively. Up...



..and away!





Off to pastures new.

 

[Ed Sutton]

I should have gone to market. Instead I drove past a big sheep sale to get to a sheep dog trial where I realised I can't see a way forward with trials as a subject.

The action shots look acceptable at this size, but they're big crops and soft to start with. I could 'invest' in a longer lens but those pictures aren't really what I'm interested in taking. And that's the problem. I don't have an idea of what kind of pictures to take, that I haven't already taken, of trialing.

On the bright side there's a two day sheep sale coming up.

 

[superpippo]

Of those last shots, I feel that those that are not of the dogs trialling are the best, - the handler greeting his dog, the dog asleep.
These take my attention more than the sheep being herded. Which I suppose may be perverse of me given that the event is a sheep dog trial.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Of those last shots, I feel that those that are not of the dogs trialling are the best, - the handler greeting his dog, the dog asleep.
These take my attention more than the sheep being herded. Which I suppose may be perverse of me given that the event is a sheep dog trial.

That's my feeling too. But the opportunities for that sort of picture are quite rare. I'd like to get more pictures showing people watching the action - from in front of them - but that would entail standing in front of them and blocking their view! Back of the head shots get tired after one or two.

 

[superpippo]

Good point re the faces. Hard to know what to do , other than a telephoto but I suspect that would not work

 

[Ed Sutton]

Good point re the faces. Hard to know what to do , other than a telephoto but I suspect that would not work

There's rarely a chance to get the angles right. To use a telephoto I'd have to stand in the pen!

 

[Ed Sutton]

Photographically things haven't moved on much with the sheep, but there have been developments. First I had an email asking me to phone the auctioneer. I feared the worst - someone had complained or something. Actually the mart were offering to recompense me for providing them with photos for social media. I didn't turn them down! Second, a sheep breeder bought some photos of his sheep. And I thought farmers were tight! Third the Lonk breeders have an annual dinner, to which I have been invited as their guest, because of the zine I did. I have a few orders for the zine too. I also have an offer of assistance for a more wider ranging Lonk project I have in mind. When that gets going I'll probably start a fresh thread.

In the meantime yesterday and today was the big autumn sale. Day one over 5000 ewes, today over 300 tups. I left at half two yesterday and when I got home the live-stream was still going on, and didn't finish until half six. this morning all the staff were knackered - they'd started work at seven thirty on Friday morning!

Here are a few from yesterday, with some from today in the next post.

 

[Ed Sutton]

 

[ancient_mariner]

Photographically things haven't moved on much with the sheep, but there have been developments. First I had an email asking me to phone the auctioneer. I feared the worst - someone had complained or something. Actually the mart were offering to recompense me for providing them with photos for social media. I didn't turn them down! Second, a sheep breeder bought some photos of his sheep. And I thought farmers were tight! Third the Lonk breeders have an annual dinner, to which I have been invited as their guest, because of the zine I did. I have a few orders for the zine too. I also have an offer of assistance for a more wider ranging Lonk project I have in mind. When that gets going I'll probably start afresh thread.

Congrats Dave - really good to get some recognition, and you know it's real if people are spending their money.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Congrats Dave - really good to get some recognition, and you know it's real if people are spending their money.

Thanks Toni. I was most taken aback by the invite to the dinner. I think 'gobsmacked' is the word!

 

[superpippo]

Thanks Toni. I was most taken aback by the invite to the dinner. I think 'gobsmacked' is the word!

What will be the main course?

 

[Ed Sutton]

What will be the main course?

I'm hoping it will be Lonk lamb.

 

[gramps]

Photographically things haven't moved on much with the sheep, but there have been developments. First I had an email asking me to phone the auctioneer. I feared the worst - someone had complained or something. Actually the mart were offering to recompense me for providing them with photos for social media. I didn't turn them down! Second, a sheep breeder bought some photos of his sheep. And I thought farmers were tight! Third the Lonk breeders have an annual dinner, to which I have been invited as their guest, because of the zine I did. I have a few orders for the zine too. I also have an offer of assistance for a more wider ranging Lonk project I have in mind. When that gets going I'll probably start afresh thread.

Well done you!

 

[Ed Sutton]

Well done you!

Thanks.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Last sale of the year for me today.

Still trying to find new 'angles'.



I was trying to capture the echo of the sheep and people with their backs to me as if they were all looking at the same thing.





I went on a bit of a 'sub-framing' binge.









This spot is a pain for white balance with very orange light to the left. Auto white balance actually gets it close to how it looks to the eye, but that looks wrong in a photo!



A ringful of sheep was tricky to make a picture of from where I'd positioned myself.



Good idea poorly executed. At least it's an excuse to have another try.

 

[sirch]

Photographically things haven't moved on much with the sheep, but there have been developments. First I had an email asking me to phone the auctioneer. I feared the worst - someone had complained or something. Actually the mart were offering to recompense me for providing them with photos for social media. I didn't turn them down! Second, a sheep breeder bought some photos of his sheep. And I thought farmers were tight! Third the Lonk breeders have an annual dinner, to which I have been invited as their guest, because of the zine I did. I have a few orders for the zine too. I also have an offer of assistance for a more wider ranging Lonk project I have in mind. When that gets going I'll probably start a fresh thread.

Well done, congratulations. I haven't looked in on this thread in a while but it's good to see it is still going.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Well done, congratulations. I haven't looked in on this thread in a while but it's good to see it is still going.

Thanks Chris.

 

[Ed Sutton]

An addition to the occasional 'Sheepscapes' series.

 

[Ed Sutton]

There'll be signs to the sheep dog trial the Facebook post said.

I don't know where the sunlit uplands are that I've heard about, but they're never on the east Lancashire Pennines when I go there. The mist shrouded uplands however... With the low cloud and drizzle the trial would have been a trial in any case, so I gave up and engaged Plan B. Everyone has a Plan B these days! As it turned out this provided an unexpected bonus in the shape of Lonks.

The moors have been worked for centuries. Study old maps and there are quarries and mines all over the place and in the valleys were mills. It's the juxtaposition of farming and industry which attracts me to try my hand at landscapes in the area. That's when there aren't sheep close enough to make a picture on their own. Landscape, in the more usual unpopulated, no signs of human intervention, isn't my subject, but put some sheep in the frame, some agricultural detritus, a wind farm and I start to get interested.



It's coming to the end of tupping time. Down at sea level where I live it's over, but at 1,000 feet or more it's still going on. This lad's been busy.





Lonk ewe and moorland.



The mist began to clear. It's very Peter Brook (who, I believe, painted from photographs) up on the moors.



Then the sun broke out over Burnley.



I'm not one for trying to find pictures I have thought up but there is one I have in my head. If the silage bales and muck heap were a well horned tup this would be close.



This is just a sheep.



As I crossed the boundary to another farm there were incomers. Herdwicks!



This was the first time in ages I've managed to get out with a camera so it was good to return with some useful pictures fro what might be next year's project, as yet untitled, but something like 'Lonk Country'. If I can nail the title down it'll give me the nudge to get on with it.

In other news. Someone bought a copy of my poultry book to donate to the Lancashire Record Office. I was quite surprised. Checking their website I see they also accept photographs - prints and digital copies. I found one photo from the 1950's of the Lonk sheep show.

 

[sphexx]

The moors have been worked for centuries. Study old maps and there are quarries and mines all over the place and in the valleys were mills.

I think most of those ‘lumps’ that you see, as in your first here, are old mining/quarrying spoil heaps. All over the Dales.

And congrats on sales & invites!

 

[Ed Sutton]

I think most of those ‘lumps’ that you see, as in your first here, are old mining/quarrying spoil heaps. All over the Dales.

Probably. There is a coal shaft marked on an old map (close by where the tup is standing), and small quarries at the back of the farmstead. I can spend hours on the National LIbrary of Scotland's map resource website. https://maps.nls.uk

And congrats on sales & invites!

Thanks.

 

[sphexx]

Probably. There is a coal shaft marked on an old map (close by where the tup is standing), and small quarries at the back of the farmstead. I can spend hours on the National LIbrary of Scotland's map resource website. https://maps.nls.uk

Thanks.

Lead mining too I think.

All sorts of activities must have gone on up in the hills in days gone past. One of the saddest things I know is one of those big stone water troughs carved out of a rock at the very top of a hill — just about complete but then it split in two. Could have been there for a hundred years or a thousand or two .

 

[Ed Sutton]

Lead mining too I think.

All sorts of activities must have gone on up in the hills in days gone past. One of the saddest things I know is one of those big stone water troughs carved out of a rock at the very top of a hill — just about complete but then it split in two. Could have been there for a hundred years or a thousand or two .

There's a Lead Mines Clough in the West Pennine Moors. And an ancient burial site nearby. The clough is over the back of the plantation.

 

[Ed Sutton]

A different sheepy landscape. My local saltmarsh.



It's still tup time there too. The floodbank lets me get a lower viewpoint without straining my knees!





Backlit mule.



These lambs looked like they were plotting something when I arrived. Hence their sheepish demeanour.

 

[Ed Sutton]

 

[sphexx]

View attachment 338966

View attachment 338967

I have mixed feelings about this. The popular dog walking area here passes along a former railway cutting, quite deep & steep but easily accessed by dogs. There is farmland above which is arable usually but from time to time they put sheep there. There’s no way you can tell if/when they are there (no doubt dogs can ) and the ’fence’ is only a strand or two of wire. My neighbour had a dog shot when it strayed up there and I doubt it was ‘worrying’ sheep though obviously a possibility. Responsibility cuts both ways -- the estate could put a warning sign on the public path for example.

Adjacent to another public path they do erect a leccy fence but seem to have no idea how to change its direction so I have often found it lying flat and had to attempt to put it back up to keep the sheep in.

My view is also coloured by the fact that when they grubbed out the hedges in that field they rolled the tree stumps down onto the public land! .

 

[Ed Sutton]

I have mixed feelings about this. The popular dog walking area here passes along a former railway cutting, quite deep & steep but easily accessed by dogs. There is farmland above which is arable usually but from time to time they put sheep there. There’s no way you can tell if/when they are there (no doubt dogs can ) and the ’fence’ is only a strand or two of wire. My neighbour had a dog shot when it strayed up there and I doubt it was ‘worrying’ sheep though obviously a possibility. Responsibility cuts both ways -- the estate could put a warning sign on the public path for example.

Adjacent to another public path they do erect a leccy fence but seem to have no idea how to change its direction so I have often found it lying flat and had to attempt to put it back up to keep the sheep in.

My view is also coloured by the fact that when they grubbed out the hedges in that field they rolled the tree stumps down onto the public land! .

I like dogs, but having been bitten (admittedly only a play bite, but it drew blood) by one that was running free on the local playing field I'm in the keep the bloody things under control camp! There are now signs asking/telling people to keep their dogs on leads on most of the playing field. Not that much heed is paid.

It's the first time I've seen any sheep on this field which has a newly popular footpath running it's full length. Which could well explain the signs. I wonder if they'll last. The one on a gate to the canal bank, which has no public access but is walked, didn't last long. Still, I expect these sheep will be moved in a week or two.