Damsels In Distress

As it was another lovely sunny day, Gail and I went to visit Rockingham Castle in Leicestershire.

The castle was built over 900 years ago & decendants of the original family still live there.

The insides were full of wonderful things to look at; furniture; paintings; works of art. The kitchen was amazing and full of cooking utensils and realistic looking foods. The staff were very knowledgeable and happy to answer questions.

The castle grounds are exceptional and are well laid out and full of interest. I especially like this hedge of different shaped and sized hedges that run the length of one of the gardens.

Some of you may have heard of, or seen a BBC drama series from the early 1980s called 'By the Sword Divided'. It was about a family caught up in the middle of the English Civil War. Well the castle was used extensively in the show as a backdrop to the action. So if you do fancy a day trip out somewhere, and want to pretend to be a Cavalier or Roundhead, I can personally recommend a visit, as I don't think you'd be disappointed.

First Of The Summer Wine

Gail & I shot a friends' marriage blessing in Long Eaton today & then went to Trent Lock Marina to take some photos of the happy couple in a relaxed environment.

It was a blessing, as they had got married in Holland, a few weeks ago. Alas we didn't get to cover that, as I've never been to Holland before, and it would have been a good experience.

It's been a lovely sunny day today. Almost too sunny! And hot too. The sort of weather which we should have got during July and August.

We have never visited Trent Lock before, so it was a bit of an adventure. It was a great place to walk around. Maybe bigger than Beeston Marina. Certainly a lot busier.

Whilst we were having a look around for suitable places to stop for photographs, I saw these three young girls relaxing and enjoying the warm weather; so I just couldn't resist taking a shot.

Where Eagles Dare

St Peter's Church had an open day today as part of the country's heritage weekend. This is where people can visit buildings that aren't usually open to the public, or have thrown their doors open wider than normally.

I have been in before, a few years ago, and then I only had my little Canon point & shoot. This time I had my Nikon, and so had a good look round for something that caught my eye.

This lectern was an obvious choice. The golden eagle is a work of art and is probably very heavy.

I took a fair few photos of different things, including carvings and stained glass windows. Some of which may appear on here sooner or later.

It's A Free Ride

One of our local bus companies unveiled a new bus today. One of several that will be running around the city centre every day, taking passengers to either the Victoria or Broad Marsh shopping centres.

What makes these buses special is the fact that they run on electricity. A first for the city. And what makes it extra special? The fact that you can ride on it for free. Which in this day and age is a rarity.

Crime Does Pay

Wednesday night is Headbanger Challenge night in Blogland, and Richard, our newest recruit has come up with this weeks' theme. He has picked 'through the window'.

Now this sentence takes me back to my childhood when I watched Play School at about 4pm every weekday. And everyday they used to either go through the round, square or arched window, and we'd see a film of something being made, a different country or some such thing.

So I'm taking you through the oblong window to Chester today and this pirate who was standing guard inside a shop; which I just can't remember what it's name was, or what it was selling. Still it makes for something different.

Don't forget to pop over to the other blogs to see how they have interpreted the theme, and enjoy this nostalgic song from the 1930s.


The famous American crime writer Lee Child was in town today, doing a book signing at Waterstones of his latest novel "A Wanted Man'. And he certainly was wanted, as there was a queue a mile long that stretched up the side of the building.
His wrist must really have ached after autographing so many editions. In fact one guy came along with a bag full of his previous novels to sign!

I have read one of his novels so far called 61 Hours. It was a good read too. Quite suspenseful and certainly a page turner. I will probably get this one when it appears in my local library, which I think is about his 12th so far.

I also had a bit of a surprise, as this young lady came up to me and asked if I was "Gailsman". I said I was, and she introduced herself as Eva, and she helped to write the Nottingham Confidential website; of which you'll find a link on my favourite blogs. She said that she enjoyed looking at my blog and thought my photos were great. I said that I found NC very useful for finding out about some of the events that were taking place in the city. So if you are reading this Eva, nice to have met you today and hope to bump into you at the next event.

A Touch Of Yesterday

Whilst walking along one of the main routes down towards the river in Chester, I spotted this old Morris Minor. It was in very good condition and is obviously looked after well.

What made it for me was the fact that the owner had parked outside a shop that looked like it belonged in the past as well.

So the three of us all stopped and took some shots of the scene.

I've had a little twiddle with one of mine, and tried to give it that authentic 1960s look, using Picasa.

Colour Rush

Due to our trip away to Chester at the weekend, I'm a bit behind in blogging. But I'm still here, and plan to fill in the gaps during the next couple of days. So do pop back and read all about our adventures in Lancashire.

As the city is quite a tourist attraction for one thing or another, we sat in a good vantage point and were able to watch lots of people going by. Of course I snapped all the interesting people I could see, including this guy, as I was drawn to his brightly coloured T shirt.

He knew I was taking his photo, as he gave a little smirk while I pressed the trigger. He walked on by, but then he stopped and came up to us. We struck up a conversation. He wondered if we lived there, and if we knew of any pub jobs going. We said that we were visitors and we loved his T shirt.

He said that he came from Austria, but had bought the top in Spain and was over here as a sort of missionary. He found it difficult to explain fully how he had ended up there, but knew Nottingham, and had passed through on his way up north.

We wished him luck in his job search. I said that I had seen an advert in a window of an eatery close by, who were looking for a chef. He said that he had done some cooking and would go and see if he could find it.

The Look Of Love

We are in Chester for the weekend with a photography friend of ours called Jurgen. We are here to visit the studio of professional photographer Damian McGillycuddy. He is opening his studio tomorrow and demonstrating how he takes his amazing photos of models etc.

It has been difficult in trying to find somewhere to stay, as the visit clashes with Ladies' Day at the races. When we got into town, we saw all these people coming from the racecourse in their finery. A photographer's dream. Shooting on the street, and people happy being photographed.

I spotted this rather pretty young lady handing out flyers for a local bar. I thought she looked lovely, and with such a wonderful smile too.

Tweetfest

After work today I went to meet up with a number of fellow Tweeters who Tweet about Nottingham. It's the first time that we have all gotten together in real life, rather than in the Tweetosphere. I met some new contacts and talked about my blog, as next Friday is going to be special, as it going to be the first ever Nottingham Day. Various things are being planned, so there should be plenty of photo opportunities on offer to record the event.

I wanted to stay longer, but couldn't, as Gail and I were off to a charity pub quiz, to raise funds for Oxfam, and to help support the former Barton's Bus garage in Chilwell, that is now being used as a venue for entertainment and art shows. It was good fun, although the team that I was in didn't win, we had the satisfaction of getting a number of questions correct.

X

I don't think I need to write many words to accompany this scene.

It happens all across the world. I just happen to catch these two in the Old Market Square.

Surprise, Surprise

That old Fishing Guy, Tom has picked this weeks' Headbanger Challenge theme. He has gone for the unusual theme of 'well that's a surprise'.

My contribution for the contest is this block of flats close to where we were shooting last night in Clifton. By day it looks like it is made of Lego, but by night, I think it takes on a more sinister appearance. Especially with all that communications equipment on the roof.

What surprised and pleased me was how little noise has appeared on the photo, despite it being dusk, and how the camera has retained the dark blue of the sky. Rather than turning it a dark brown or black, like you sometimes get with other cameras.

I took it with our new toy; a Nikon D3s. The lens that I used was a 24-70mm f2.8. Neither are new, but good quality second hand.

For the initiated, the ISO was set at 4000, 1/60 and at f2.8.

The ISO can really be cranked up. But I didn't want to do that. I'd rather see how it turned out at a more normal figure.

Don't forget to pop over and see how the rest of the gang have interpreted the theme, and enjoy this rather joyful song.

My blog photo today shows three girls who look surprised, curious or perplexed at what they are seeing or reading on the mobile phone. I shot this on Sunday, when we took a trip into the city centre as it was sun day too. Unlike today, where it has been raining for most of the day, and I got wet cycling into work.

Model Features

A second night of shooting models tonight at Lee's studio in Clifton.

This time it was more of a social evening, with a guest speaker who came to talk about taking local wildlife shots with a 10mm fisheye lens. He had taken some good shots, and none of them looked odd, or had the effect that that sort of lens can sometime achieve.

We had four models to try our hand with tonight. Two of whom, Gail and I had worked with before. And two new ones. All different, both in stature and style.

This is Danni; one of the models that we have shot before. She was quite happy to stand in the cool evening, while we snapped away with our cameras.

Yes, the picture is straight, it's the pole that has been bent over. A bit of a moody shot. One that just lit with the street lights.

Motorbikin'

Gail and I went on a model shoot this evening, at a local studio in Clifton where we have been before.

It's always a bit of an adventure, as you don't always know who the model/s are going to be, or what they will be doing.

But tonight we did, as Lee the owner of the studio had booked a professional model by the name of Emma Kate Dawson.

A member of the group had driven there on his motorbike, so it was drafted in as a welcome prop for Emma to pose on.

She was very good to work with, and changed into different costumes, for the different areas of the studio.

Fun In The Water

As it was a sunny Sunday, Gail and I had a trip into the city centre this afternoon, just to see if we could find anything to photograph.

We sat for a while in the Old Market Square, watching the people enjoying the attractions of the seaside. Which incidentally enters it's final week this week, before being packed away until next year.

There were quite a few kids playing in the water feature. Splashing about and trying to dodge through the jets of water.

This little boy seemed to be enjoying getting wet, that he just kept running through the jets.

On The Buses

I don't know, you wait for ages for a London bus to appear and then two turn up at the same time.

Only, I didn't take this picture in London, but this morning in Beeston.

They were being used as transport for guests at a wedding that had just taken place at the local church.

The bride and groom left in a more traditional mode of transport. Namely this rather grand Rolls Royce Tourer from the 1930s.

Nottingham's Day

Something quite special happened in Nottingham today. A first for the city, but should hopefully become an annual event. What am I on about?

'Nottingham Day'.

Nottingham Day has been created to promote local businesses, and of course the city itself. The first one was held at the Albert Hall.

I went along as unofficial photographer, as I have been following developments on Twitter, and it was quite an exciting morning.

The show was introduced by Adam Corbally, who was one of the finalists of this years Apprentice series. Alas, he didn't win, but came very close. He is now a motivational speaker, entrepreneur and is still involved in the family's greengrocery business.

Another guest speaker was Afran Razak; who is the owner of one Nottingham's best curry restaurants: The Curry Lounge. 'Raz', is no stranger to being on television himself, as he and his restaurant came under fire from Gordon Ramsey a few years ago and he has also been a Secret Millionaire, where he helped various worthy causes in his home town of Oxford.

There were also a number of trade stalls there from such organisations as Nottingham Forest Football Club; Nottingham Racecourse; Kanoo Travel and the Victoria Centre.

I also met for a Tweet-up this evening at a local bar. It was nice to meet some new people and have the opportunity of promoting my blog and my love of photography.

My photo shows (from left) Raz, Adam, the Lord Mayor's escort and the Lord Mayor, Leon Unczur.

Model Making

Here's a shot of a friend of ours called Mike, who we joined on a model shoot in the city centre a few weeks ago.

The model's name is Samantha and she's posing for Mike at the doors of the Council House. Obviously they are closed, as we went in the early evening.

They look quite grand doors. I don't know if they are original, from when the building was erected during the 1920s, or replacements from a later period. But they do make for a good backdrop.

If you want to see the photo that Mike took, you may find it on Flickr under Who's Photo, which is Mike's non de plume.

Making An Exhibition Of Oneself

Yes, it's Wednesday again and so that only means one thing; the Headbanger Challenge.

Stewart has dreamt up this week's theme of "a photograph that you'd like to see in an exhibition." Stewart's thought of this theme, as he will be staging one himself in a few weeks in his hometown of Grantham.

Now I like taking all kinds of photos, but I especially like street, or social photography and models; or glamour as it used to be called.

I think social photography is important, as it records the general public going about their daily lives, or can highlight important issues like homelessness or poverty. It's also very hard to do. I have a couple of friends, curiously both called Steve who are very good at it, and seem to be able to spot things before they happen.

Incidentally, today marks the birthday of probably the best photo-journalist that there's been so far and that's Henri Cartier-Bresson. What he managed to capture with his Leica is amazing. Other well known snappers include Bill Brandt, Robert Capa and Vivian Maier; who has only just become well known, some three years after her death.

As much as I enjoy hunting the streets of Nottingham for photos, I find it very difficult and often miss shots due to being too slow or too nervous. Sometimes I do bag a good one, such as the one in my header, which shows a couple of possible homeless guys juxtaposed with people enjoying their lunches in the sunshine outside the Playhouse.

Do pop over and see how the rest of the gang, including our newest member Richard (welcome Richard) have interpreted the theme, and do enjoy this short documentary about Vivian Maier.

As I mentioned previously, I also enjoy taking photos of female models, and Gail and I have done a few short courses together about how to do it. It's been a very interesting education and like to think that I have taken some reasonable pictures, like this one of a local model called Oona, who I had the pleasure of shooting a few weeks ago here in Beeston. There is obviously so much more to learn. Not just about getting the model to pose well, but thinking about the poses and how to light the scene. We have booked a Groupon course that will hopefully show us how to do this.

Tuesday Tidy-up

Here's last week's Headbanger Challenge silver medal winning photograph.

The theme that I came up with, as it was my turn to choose was stripes. And so I took this photo of some striped candies that were for sale in the Old Market Square.

Tomorrow is of course Wednesday, and so the new theme and photographs will be revealed. Although I have changed my header already; as I know what the theme is!

Blast From The Past

In this age of digital cameras, I was somewhat bemused to see this chap taking a photo of the beach in the Old Market Square using a film camera.

But a special one at that, as I think it is a Rolleiflex. Not that I am an expert on cameras, just remember seeing them being used by the likes of David Bailey in films and documentaries etc from the 1960s.

I had thought about striking up a conversation with him and finding out more about his enjoyment of photography, but I didn't want to break his concentration, while he was composing his picture through the unique vertical viewfinder.