I apologise in advance for the prosaic nature of my shots in a thread glittering with photographic ingenuity, very often exercised in exotic places. In my limited environment, a scene has to have a "Gawd - look at that!" appeal before I even remember I have a camera with me, let alone get it out; and that "appeal" is so intensely personal and linked to emotion - too often sentimentality - it's difficult to know if it interests anyone but myself.
Anyway, for months now the overwhelming amount of mud in the countryside has driven me to trekking the lanes, and viewing its wonders through field gates. Such a scene I have passed by for years, but only the panoramic function has persuaded me to record this, with Chew Valley Lake and its accompanying sails in the distance:
DSCF2952 by
wylyeangler, on Flickr
No gateway, and nothing much startling about the next photo, except for that which made me take it. What is that blush of colour amongst the trees in the garden; and at this time of year? I half suspected red bloomers on a washing line, but closer inspection does suggest something more like a tree. I must check with my binoculars. Anyone know?
DSCF2967 by
wylyeangler, on Flickr
I must have passed this stump many, many times in the last 30 odd years, but only recently noticed it. The remains look about 20 years old, and I regret the absence of the memory I should have of that gate scene, when possibly the tree was in its prime: something immensely sad about many felled trees and the void thus created.
DSCF2453 by
wylyeangler, on Flickr
This was a shot with only the intention of practising what Duncan and Martyn have taught me, but at the time I didn't notice the obvious contribution made by an earlier equestrian interlude! So much more eloquent than Morecambe's, "What do you think of it so far? - rubbish!", I am reminded of Beecham's, (the conductor) famous remark about a horse that pooped on stage during an opera: he said, "Not only an actor, but a critic too!". This shot reminded me of that, and made me laugh:
Dobbin's comment by
wylyeangler, on Flickr
Rob's recent comment on the longevity of some old transparencies I posted here, got me to looking for more. Below is a shot taken not this winter, but during the freeze-up of 62/63. So amazing was that time, that despite being a hard-up student, I devoted a whole 36-shot cassette of Agfacolor reversal film to it! My sister in Sydney was experiencing almost unprecedented heat and humidity even for 'down-under', and the shots sent to her were later returned with some sort of mould growth on them, an example of which is discernible here. All my other Agfacolor transparencies are still in original condition, adding to my prejudice spawned back then that that emulsion was superior to Kodachrome's:
Duchess's 1962-3 - now built on by
wylyeangler, on Flickr
This a part of a "Capability" Brown
inspired landscape - a 'gate shot' too - soon to be despoiled by the M32 and housing, but my 'playground' as a kid. Almost exactly 50 years later, I'm amazed to see I did take shots into sun, but back then I would have exposed for the shadows, the complete opposite of what this thread has educated me to do.
Pete
