NO! to Bushwood

Perhaps it was an omen, and that the sun does indeed shine on the righteous. In this case the righteous indignation of the villagers of Caddington and Slip End to the proposed building of some five and a half thousand homes in pristine greenbelt, who already suffer from an inadequate infrastructure to cope with existing local projects.

The sun shone on icy roads and pavements as first the organisers then the support teams and the Press gathered in the Slip End Village Hall car park. They were waiting for those who planned to walk in protest between the two villages most affected by this ill-conceived attempt by Developers to build their proposed monstrosity in an area which is outside the preferred zones for new housing within the area.

Esther Rantzen was there at the start, as were Ruth Gammon, Richard Stay and Nigel Huddleston, and several faces known to the local community, and as the crowd swelled, the St. John Ambulance team and the Police were on hand to help ensure the smooth running of the march. Despite this, numerous vehicles did find themselves retreating or being diverted, but good humour was in abundance, as were dogs who were more used to solitary walks. Families were out as much to enjoy the sunshine and the social gathering as to protest, and it was also obvious that the schools, parents and churches had been helping children to create their own personal banners and tabards.

Despite many choosing to join the march part way through or at the final destination, there was a very commendable turnout of willing villagers who braved the cold to make the full distance, though they did have to be coaxed to chant – to many it was undoubtedly a great social occasion, even though whilst photographing the event I did hear a lot of talk that was centred on the point of it all.

Once everyone had arrived at Caddington Green, the case (CaSE4!) was explained in greater detail, as to why it was essential that the local voice was heard, even though the Developers have yet to make an official Planning Application. One of the local doctors, Dr Verity, also spoke to the crowd, to appeal for people in the ‘at risk’ groups: the elderly and and the under-5s, to visit the surgery for Swine Flu jabs. Can we be immunised against greedy and devious Developers?

It will be interesting to see how prospective local politicians treat this issue when they seek our vote this Spring.

Slumdog Coincidence

Tonight was special – my niece's name writ large on the screen for the hair and makeup for Slumdog Millionaire shown on Film Four for the first time, my first viewing, and on Virginia's Grandma's 94th birthday!

It was great to see it all the way through, and albeit fleetingly to have spoken briefly with Virginia earlier in the day in Mumbai. A fitting way to end the day, what a great film.

Now, the Return Trip to Paris

Originally the training trip to Paris was to be between Christmas and the New Year, but Eurostar’s problems caused a change of plans, and made me nervous about the timing of the visit, but it worked out reasonably well in the end, and I was lucky as other travellers suffered cancellations. I kept my camera ready and captured little architectural details and challenged myself to try to capture scenes at high speed through grubby windows as the landscapes of England and France sped by.

Once in Montmartre I grabbed every small break from the computer screens to keep taking photos of life in that part of Paris, and I was amazed at just how many people were out and about in the ice, snow and cold, and at the hours at which I found them, they were outside restaurants on the pavements chatting merrily, and the Sacré Couer Funicular Railway was still running at one o’clock in the morning, though I think it may have closed soon after I shot a punter going towards the turnstile.

I learnt just how versatile is the Canon 5D in near darkness when using ISO 6400! I even found a spot in the area for which I carried a memory from my first ever visit to France, when I was a teenager! However, that visit was in the warmth of Spring or Summer!

Just the Day before I Left for Paris…

The sun shone out of a blue sky and the air was crisp and cold, but the temptation to get out to take pictures was irresistible, and I was fairly sure that Tringford Reservoir would be a haven for birds in need of food, and the public would be out for walks around the edge, and more than willing to offer. As I passed Pitstone, I spotted some hot-air balloonists out in the reasonably still air, however as is often the case I was arriving late, but at least they added some interest to the Windmill.

After a few shots that included the Ivinghoe church, I set off for Tringford where I was rewarded with a low golden light across the reed beds and slowly melting ice across much of the surface – the small trapped twigs melted some circles in the ice which made interesting patterns, and the blue ice against the golden reeds made for an interesting contrast in colour.

Further in where much of the ice had melted, small islands were left, which meant bread thrown by passers by was only reached by skittering ducks or the long necks of swans.

I caught a hurried sight of a cormorant, interesting groups in silhouette and one narrow boat idling along the nearby canal. Altogether a restful interlude before my trip to the Montmartre district of Paris, where I spent six days, mostly alongside an American photographer to help him understand how Lightroom was to help in his photographic workflow, how it linked with Photoshop, and also how he could explore new retouching techniques for his fashion and beauty photography. Galleries of images taken mostly at night in the few breaks I took from the training, and these sunnier pictures are now ready.

Paris and Training

Aboard the Eurostar train, it took a while to get seated, since the aisle was so narrow, but once that was behind me, I took the camera out - only to find we were entering a tunnel! It was at this time an American made a comment on my lens and then the camera.

Hugo, for that was his name, and I got chatting about photography and iStockphoto. I gather he works for them on the technical side. He requested my business card, but apolgised that he hadn't brought his own, promising he'd take a look at my blog, and would also mention my book on his site, despite his being a PC person! I'll keep a look out for his email giving me his details.

The weather outside whilst journeying across northern France was dull and overcast until the outskirts of Paris, when there was a glimmer of wintry sunshine from breaks in the clouds.

It was easy to spot Marco, mine host for the next six days, as he stood as promised with his helmet immediately ahead of me at the end of the Gare du Nord platform. We greeted each other as if we had known each other all our lives, and it has been as easy as that between us the entire time. He then helped me to a taxi, and he then sped off on his scooter, and we arrived at his apartment just after he had parked up.

I am here to help him learn how Lightroom can benefit his overall workflow with Photoshop, and to help him to extend his retouching skills. It is both fun and challenging with both of us exchanging our life experiences and joshing each other over our choices of computer platforms!

In the few moments when he has had other commitments, I have managed to capture a few of the local scenes, but the light has never been brilliant. Pictures taken the day before I left for France at Tringford Reservoir and those taken since may have to wait for my return before appearing, but I will try to get something up sooner.

Although our temperature has hovered around the -5˚C mark, we only had a short flurry of snow this morning (Wednesday); that did not settle, yet I hear the UK has had quite a fall, which makes me wonder whether Eurostar will have the wrong type of Snow!

AA, ECU, LR, PS and QC at Xmas!

Free time has been scarce over this Christmas period, so a gallery of images taken around the village probably a week ago, have yet to be sorted and displayed. Having time together with both my daughters was great, and afforded the opportunity to take some shots of my elder daughter’s neighbourly birds, as I waited for the arrival of the AA man!
Why was I waiting for this visit?
– On the journey over to Grantchester, my car’s display was trying to get a message to me via an orange engine symbol warning light on the dashboard. I also detected a misfire. The AA man arrived in a skid, that gave me cause for concern over his abilities as a driver, but his lack of acumen in this department was not reflected in his diagnostic ability, fortunately!
He checked that his initial diagnosis was backed up, by thoroughly checking that the ECU (Electronic Control Unit) was sending the right signals, and that the fault lay with the Coil Pack. It was not taking the signal that produced the spark for Cylinder Two, and guess what? It was a chunky, sealed unit, that from bitter experience I knew was going to be costing me a three-figure sum; but not on Christmas Day. Nor on the day after, nor the day after that! I have now purchased four new spark plugs and this coil pack, and so my car has certainly had its fair share of Christmas presents – far more than I have spent on others or myself over the same period! It is also due a service, so it is in for a Happy New Year too!

I am currently awaiting confirmation of a trip to Paris to help an Italian, Paris-based fashion photographer with Lightroom and Photoshop workflow, and retouching for close on a week. Eurostar’s mishaps caused a postponement of this venture from the inter-regnum twixt Christmas and the New Year.

My using both iChat and Skype over the last few days has helped several photographers remotely, from as far as the South of France and as near as north and south London, and somehow allowed me the time to send in an initial submission to Quality Control (QC) at Picture Library, Alamy – I learnt this had been accepted just yesterday, so when I can spare the time I shall be getting some of my work up there, for sale.

Stop Press – News – The Paris Training Trip is booked, but my mobile number will still reach me.