Arrival at Turvey

Today was clear and bright, and I did have an initial destination in mind, but Road diversions put paid to that, and I found myself on a diversionary route, and this meant I was losing daylight, so I ended up heading for Turvey, where I found a different subject of interest; architecture. On this occasion, not avant-garde, but historic. But a look at my route taken before arriving there, involved several ‘about turns’ because every time a convenient turning appeared oncoming traffic would have meant holding up those motorists behind me, so I drove on! This added considerably to the mileage I encountered, as simply stopping was not a viable option due to the available width. However, upon my return I did now know where I was able to turn around, and find a suitable spot to park up.

On this occasion, the choice of lens was straightforward, so I was back to using my 5D MkIII with the 24-70mm, and the subjects I chose were all well lit except for one. Also, since I am somewhat pedantic in relation to verticals being vertical, I was invariably shooting with spare space enough to make such adjustments on the Mac when in post-production in Lightroom. I only took enough images to create a single page gallery, but it was therapeutic, and satisfying, especially as it was the first occasion for several weeks that I was not shooting with my mirrorless EOS R.

Thurlow Nunn Milton Keynes, Welcome Quality Architecture

I recently bought a secondhand car from Thurlow Nunn, Milton Keynes, and am pleased with my purchase and the service I received, but more than anything else it was the architecture of their Showroom that appealed to my senses as a photographer, and whilst collecting a replaced key for the vehicle, decided it was worth asking the management there if I might take some photos. David Hyde their Sales Manager was happy to oblige.

So I went back and collected my camera gear and returned to see what I could record to allow others to see what had appealed to me, I also needed to test the latest version of CamRanger, so brought along my iPad and set it up at Reception so that the receptionist could get an idea of what I was shooting (and anyone else who might be concerned) it performed flawlessly as I moved around both at ground level and up on the balcony where some of the new cars are displayed.

By the time I had finished I was bathed in perspiration, because at one stage I moved one of the very heavy display stands that gives the specifications of the vehicle  it is alongside, and yes, I put it carefully back where it had been! I took some shots that were duplicated and some that were intended to be brackets for an HDR, but they failed, so forty usable shots from sixty shot might have seemed a poor success rate, but I was keen to get as good verticals as possible, and in some instances my exposure was off, so forty makes a nice 8x5 grid in the gallery.

It is a handsome and flexible workspace as I had witnessed at the promotional day where I succumbed to the buying of my car, and I hope I have captured this in the shots taken this afternoon, and I can but hope that something may come my way to warrant the effort I have put in. Thurlow Nunn hopefully will at least point to the gallery when suggesting  what a visitor to the showroom would be seeing on arrival.

Friday Meetings and Architecture

I had an important meeting with someone at UCL in the morning, and later in the day a get together with three Pit Marshals from a long time back when we had all spent many Sundays at Brands Hatch helping others race with safety.

Between leaving UCL and the time of my meeting at the Artillery Arms, I spent the time looking at some of the contrasts of architecture between the old red brick of the Cruciform Building and the modern shiny white, green and glass of University College Hospital, and later, the spinnaker-like buildings at Old Street roundabout.

I spotted that the Post Office Tower was revolving the message of how many days there were till the 2012 London Olympics; 357 whilst I watched. The typical red London double-decker on the Old Street roundabout was also too good to miss. What is surprising is that the different styles do not so much clash as contrast.

The lighting was not always ideal, but with the help of the tools within Lightroom, I hope I have made them work.

Halton House Heritage Day

Sunday morning saw me driving towards Aylesbury to take a look at Halton House, once built for and owned by one of the Rothschild Banking family, which at the beginning of the twentieth century was given to the RAF and became an Officers’ Mess for RAF Halton, a training station for Boy Entrants.

They were holding a Heritage Day and opening to the general public, I found the architecture fascinating, and extremely challenging with countless people milling around all equally interested in taking photographs. I was really pleased to be able to correct converging verticals from the raw files in Lightroom and to handle the low light levels with comparative ease. How liberating to be able to switch from as low as 100 ISO to 1600 ISO and do all the shooting handheld and without any additional electronic flash. I was so amused by one painting that despite it being dimly lit I took a shot, the painter, Turner has captured the surreal scene with great humour.

Jaguar enthusiasts brought along a series of exquisite specimens which gleamed in the bright sun on the lawn in front of the house, and joined by a baby Austin. The whole show was run by young serviceman and women who were charming, cheerful and helpful.

Putteridgebury on a dull day

I knew that the chances were low that the sun would be shining, but nevertheless I took up John Sentinella’s offer to show me around grounds of Putteridgebury in his lunch hour. It is a College that is now part of the University of Bedfordshire, and he is connected with the Knowledge Hub.

The grounds are extensive with lawns, an ornamental pond, and numerous trees planted by dignitaries and royalty over several years. There are two mulberry trees, rather than bushes, but sadly one has suffered badly with a large branch having been brought down by recent winds. John offered me one of its fruit as I had never tasted one, and very sweet it was.

 My guide was showing me around and passing on some of the history, and took me to its very own observatory used by the local astronomical society. during our walk John mentioned they had Muntjac in the grounds and I even managed to catch sight of one, albeit in the distance.

They have beehives, rabbits and numerous birds, the only missing feature was sunshine! But I enjoyed the fleeting visit and the splendid Lutyens architecture and Jekyll landscaping.

Autumn and a Milton Keynes Car Park

Colour and beauty are not normally associated with Milton Keynes, but if that is your perception, you would be wrong. The car parks are bordered and divided by trees and shrubs, and have been well-chosen for their colour in autumn, as I found when I visited recently. Americans refer to our season rather too literally as fall, as this describes only how the trees and bushes shed their leaves. Autumn says so much more, as was demonstrated to me, and how I hope I have portrayed in this selection of images from the trip.

It was windy, and not always blessed with sunshine, so in some of the shots I endeavoured to capture the variations and feel for what was happening. When inside the Shopping Centre, I also tried to show how light played its part in highlighting architectural detail and how it gave long shadows when the sun was out.

None of these images have been into Photoshop; these colours are real, their intensity except in isolated cases, was as I saw them, the contrasts were provided by those who planted them, and I compliment those who made the choices, and those who have tended them. I hope I have proved that a car park can contain and display beauty for those who care to look.