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Archives for category: Photography
Whilst the country grinds to a halt under the customary half inch of snow, much hoo-har is made about the chaos it brings. Many people also like to record the first fall, when all is deep, crisp and even, shrouding the mundane and giving everything a temporary moment of picturesqueness. Me, I like the way the frost has formed on these wire fences, growing fragile fingers like coral on an ocean reef:
I’ve been out and about with my Whippet recently, enjoying the last gasps of Autumn as it resigns itself to Winter. I have enjoyed it so much I thought I’d share a little of it with you…
Take a look at these little fellows. A small collection of carte de visite by early commercial photographers.
The albumen prints are pasted onto thick board, some gilt-edged, and are richly decorated with type on the reverse:
These were produced at the time when commercial photography was becoming more widely accessible and affordable to the English middle classes, who wished to emulate the aristocracy by commissioning portraits. At Portraits in oils were rather expensive, time consuming affairs, the opportunity to commission a portrait using newly fashionable photographic processes – often having them painted over to resemble an oil painting – was just the thing…
More images of all the cards can be viewed here.
OK, so I have a new camera. I’m testing it out. I am exploring the settings. I’m liking it. Sheffield city centre, Fargate, 23 July 2011 at around 3.40pm.
Boys and their toys…
This is my new toy. I’m very excited. Almost as much as when I bought my first SLR second hand in 1986.
I used this K1000 for about 15 years until the repairs became too frequent and expensive. I’ve had other Pentax’s since, as well as a Canon, a couple of Nikons and a Fuji. I hope this one lives up to its promise.
You can see images of some of my camera collection here and here.
I have recently been photographing my collection of old cameras, and was mightly pleased with the results, especially seeing the thumbnails after transferring them from camera to computer:
The first selection of bigger images from this set can be found on my other blog right now! It is a blog dedicated to typography. Not snobby typography, but the ordinary stuff that we encounter everyday. Go on, if you’ve got this far, I think you’ll enjoy it. Go see. It’s ok - I’ll still be here when you get back…
I was in London earlier this week with a group of students. Not for the demonstrations – this was planned ages ago – but for a bit of visual sustenance. These are a few of my photographs – more will be posted at a later date.
I don’t usually post anything quite as random as this but thought that I’d share it with you. The last of the day at the bottom of my garden. It’s the end of my holiday and I’m feeling a little melancholy.
Normal service will resume shortly…
I spent this Wednesday in Cambridge with a very lovely bunch of photography students (Hello! Yes – you are on the internet but not on Facebook!) and I took my humble camera (very poor by the standards of the equipment that was being toted around me that day!) to do a little work of my own. These were all originally colour images and have been modified in PhotoShop – there has been no editing of the content but just a black and white conversion, along with a small number of appropriate specific tonal balances to achieve a more concentrated effect.
These first images were taken from the tower at Great St. Mary’s where you are rewarded by these excellent panoramic views only after climbing a hundred and twenty or so steep, cramped, spiral stairs, and a few minutes rest to gather your sensibilities! The view above shows the very impressive facade of King’s College and it’s immaculately manicured lawns. I took a couple of close up images of the grass last year which can be found on my Flickr site. This is lawn maintenance for the criminally insane!
This shot shows the rooftops of Caius College and Gonville College with Trinity College and St. John’s College in the background. I really enjoy looking at buildings from above; their unseen gables, chimneys, spires, fire escapes, landings and hidden inspection points. I like to imagine these environments as secret topographies; realms where alternative lives are played out, only to run for cover when someone like me is watching!
Inside the church, as befits its claim to be the ‘University Church’ there are memorials and tributes to the great and the good (or at least the privileged and moneyed) in both simplicity and extravagance.
This elegant plaque does have an english translation from the Latin, but I deliberately avoided reading it (I usually read everything, much to Mrs. Lestaret’s annoyance!) to retain some of the asemic qualities it offered.
I was particularly drawn to this swash tail and it’s relationship to the V and A. It makes a very comfortable threesome.
I was particularly taken by this unusual character that I hadn’t come across before that I assume to be a ÿ. The whole area of diacritics is very exciting to me as a new ‘asemic explorer’ and this has started a whole new set of possibilities. But first I must learn some more about the subject as I feel very limited in my own language. Consider the character below. If anyone can shed any light on what this is, please get in touch.
There is a beautiful inscription almost directly opposite (but along way off) that shows some great examples of the ‘long s:’
Esteemed or efteemed? The ‘long s’ is derived from the formal roman and rather than attempt to do better than this and this, I will leave you to follow those links for more information. The wikipedia description is also very informative.
Bufinefs. I like the sound of that!
Back to more serious matters, especially relating to memorials and letter cutting, there is a story behind the image above. I don’t know what it is, but someone else may do. What was originally in the depressions around this memorial? Why are they no longer there? I have not seen other stones with these hollows before and surely they are deliberate recesses for brass/bronze ornaments?
I then began to investigate those stones that had become worn over time. I like the weathering of gravestones and the remnants of lettering left after a century or so of environmental abuse, but these represent the deliberate weathering by the repeated foot traffic by a few centuries of worshippers.
Some names desperately clung on to legibility, but alas, theirs was always a losing battle, albeit over a long period of time.
Beautiful textures of stone polished by centuries of unassuming abuse and the very last remnants of the craftsman’s chisel marks shown in the ‘a.’ Just how long will it take to erase this name?
The variation in line width takes a real hit in this inscription. How much longer before we can no longer make out what it says from the marks left behind?
This stone is set into the side of a tiny window about two-thirds of the way up the stairs of the tower. I love the sharpness of the ‘u/v’ in the word church, which gives the impression that this is original to the 1602 or 7 date.
I took a lot of images whilst I was there, especially of the sculptures outside the Fitzwilliam gallery (who I refuse to link to because of the jobsworth attitude of the woman who was in charge of the admissions desk when we got there.) The gallery is really excellent, but beware of going in a group unless you have recorded every communication with them. Their security people are very, very efficient.
A note to the photography students: as I said at the start of this post, all of these images were originally shot in colour. I chose to show them here in monochrome because I felt that they worked better that way. As the photographer, I choose to present my work in the manner and format (in this case, web) that I wish, because I have that choice. Many purists (read professional photographers) would say that this is either wrong or deliberately misleading. I’m ok with that: I’ve been honest here in admitting these images have been digitally manipulated and have presented them with this disclaimer, in plain imitation of those who can create these effects (wrong word) by more traditional methods that require specialist knowledge, equipment and experience. Those who know me or are regular readers of this blog will know how much I value the craftsmanship in any artistic endeavour and I hope will recognise my humble acknowledgment. Many of my recent students will only know me as a digital designer because of my teaching responsibilities that involve about 80% of my time within a digital environment.
I will finish with a straight shot then. From the east side of the tower you can look down on the marketplace. This shot sees the ecclesiastical extravagance of the university architecture against the gaudy temporary market awnings. I am rather pleased with this. It is a full frame shot with no digital manipulation, no cropping, no image adjustment, no enhancement. It’s what I saw.
