Review Of The Year - March & April

Most of March seemed to be a really snowy. Marmalade certainly knew the best place in the house to keep warm. It wasn't a very good one for me either, as I had to start a new job, after nearly 12 years in the old one

The bad weather had gone by April and Gail & I took a trip up to Whitby in Yorkshire to see the Steampunk and Goth festival that takes place there twice a year. There were certainly some interesting costumes, and Whitby is a very nice, old fashioned seaside town, with quite a picturesque harbour.

Faded Grandeur

Today is June 1, and Theme Day in the Bloggersphere. This month's theme is 'The Beauty of Decay'.

Although there are a number of spots in Nottingham that I could have taken a photo of for the theme, I wasn't sure whether I was going to participate or not. But now that I have, what to show you?

Well I have gone for this shot of Whitby Abbey in Yorkshire, where we went a few weeks ago. It is one the sides, and I took it with my fisheye lens, to give it that distinctive look. Most photos you will see, will be of the front; but I wanted to be a little different.

Being so old, the abbey is very slowly crumbling away, but as it belongs to English Heritage, they are doing what they can to preserve such an impressive building, which dates back to 664AD.

To The Lighthouse

Well it's been a bit of a strange day today.

It was back to work today, after the bank holiday. Also it was the first day of the builder starting work in the house. We are having two rooms knocked into one, and today was the day that the wall was to come down.

It was not as dramatic as the one in Berlin, but it still meant that I had to have a half days leave, as the builder had found something in the ceiling that needed my attention. Fortunately it was nothing serious, and the rest of the bricks could come down. So I spent the rest of the afternoon collecting the bricks ready for a possible job in the future, or donation to my next door neighbour.

We then went to the local DIY superstore, to look at new lighting, as obviously they are presently different, being formally two rooms, and we were looking for something discrete, as the new room will be doubling up as a photographic studio, and we don't want big chandeliers getting in the way of the studio lights and backdrops.

So what does all this mean? Well quite simply, I didn't get the opportunity of taking any photos today, even though it has been lovely and sunny again. So it's been a quick trawl through the archive, and I pulled this picture out of the promenade at Whitby.

The Artist And His Muse

Whilst in Whitby, we managed to meet up with top professional photographer Damian McGillicuddy, who was teaching several budding photographers about lighting outside the railway station, and using a local model called Mischkah Scott.

We've met Damian a few times now, the first time was at the NEC. He was there helping to launch the Olympus OMD. We have also been to his studio in Chester, on one of his courses and managed to have a go with the fab camera.

So for my contribution to the City Daily Photo's May Day theme of 'The Artisan', I'm showing you a top photographer in action, who wakes some really stunning images. If you want to see how stunning; here's a LINK to his Facebook page.

To see more artisans in action taken by my fellow bloggers, please follow this LINK to the City Daily Photo page.

Sutcliffesque

Frank Meadow Sutcliffe was a Whitby based photographer, who in the late 19th and early 20th century recorded many images of fisherfolk, street scenes, buildings and ships in his adopted town.

The images he took are quite striking and make for excellent historical records of how the people lived and worked there over a hundred years ago.

Sadly we didn't get to see any of his original images at a local art gallery, but in recognition of his art, I have tried to emulate his style by using Lightroom on one of my photos that I took in Scarborough yesterday.

A Costumed Love Affair

Well there were certainly a lot of people walking around Whitby in some fantastic, strange and outlandish costumes.

Here's just a few of the many characters that we came across on our travels along the cobbled streets of the town. So many variations on a theme, that I could post different images all week.

The feathered ensemble that this woman is wearing is quite incredible. And I love the face she pulled whilst I was taking their photograph.

Whilst looking at the Victorian railway station, we came across that couple in period costume. As luck would have it, a train had appeared that was pulling some original carriages, as part of the North York Moors line. So we asked them to pose by it, and I think it makes for quite a good shot.

We came across 'Gandalf' as he was walking around a corner. He was with his wife and carrying a local newspaper. His was was dressed normally, so he handed her the paper, whilst he looked mystically into the distance.

Hello Whitby

Here are three shots from this good old English seaside resort, that fortunately hasn't changed that much since the Victorian times.

The first shows the famous abbey which was founded by Benedictine monks in 657AD, and like Beauvale Priory here in Nottingham was closed by Henry VIII during the Reformation of the 1530s. It is a Grade I listed building and now owned by English Heritage.

The second shows the harbour area and the inlet of the River Eske. Whitby was, and still is famous as a fishing port, and we've eaten some very tasty fish and chips using local ingredients.

Also on a fishing theme is this pile of cages that are used for catching crabs and lobsters. There were loads of them all piled up, ready for the next trip out into the North Sea.