It's an Illusion, Just an Illusion................ (Part 1)

Someone once said that, back in the nineteenth century I think about photography in general. So today with crisp sharp focus, perfect colour and the ability instantly to retake a photograph a look back at the past perhaps. Well not to far back!

With my interest in vintage or old fashioned photography in general. It was only a matter of time before I started manipulating my own photos into something older.

At first my attempts were quite basic

1. Find a suitable photograph.
2. Convert to black & white
3. Add noise and dirt
4. Tone it to sepia
5. Find a suitable frame and merge the two together.

This is the sort of result you get -

The Suffragette 

I am quite fortunate in living near to Beamish the North of England Living Museum and this lady enactor neatly dressed as a suffragette for the 1913 town scape, provided the perfect model.

OK the streets are a bit clean for a real 1913 shoot and the models figure is defiantly 21st Century. 

Overall though not a bad attempt I think.

However as time has gone on I have thought about something more realistic.

A couple of years ago I happened to be in Portadown, Co. Armagh in Northern Ireland just as it was hosting it's "Country come to Town' Carnival. Lots of traction engines vintage cars and the police tractor (honestly!!)

For me however the stars of the show were the Ulster Edwardian Lady Cyclists, and here they are -

The Ulster Edwardian Lady Cyclists

Don't they look great? Six ladies of ascending years not only dressed for the occasion and riding period cycles, but they really do look the part.

I spent hours, or it seamed like it carefully cuting out the background until only the ladies themselves remained. Then I tried adding them to some of the vintage street scenes I have in my back catalogue - but nothing worked. I shelved the project for a couple of years and have only just returned to it, when I had an idea.....................

But more of that next time.

A Clydeside Boardwalk

"A Clydeside Boardwalk"

"I have to confess, I have something of a soft spot for the River Clyde, Lanarkshire and the town, actually The Royal Burgh, of Lanark. Just a mile or so away from where this photograph was taken. 

This charming walkway provides visitors to The Falls of Clyde from New Lanark through the Falls of Clyde Nature Reserve, managed by The Scottish Wildlife Trust."

This is what I wrote to describe this autumn or early winter riverside scene when I posted it on Flickr on the 16 December 2017. It was well recieved with, so far just under 500 views but 22 Favs and a sprinkling of comments it can be viewed on the page by following this link  

A Clydeside Boardwalk

However an autumn scene was not what was on my mind when I shot the photo in early October when the leaves were still very green. What I did have in mind was an HDR shot. Si I took three exposures one correct, one under and one over here are the originals:

Ten_36701

Ten_36702

Ten_36703

With the intention of later producing an HDR something like this -

"HDR Boardwalk"

However as often happens, other photo projects got in the way and this went by the wayside. But then I found I had nothing to post just before Christmas which I had timed to celebrate my 2000th photo on Flickr (yes it was The Redhead, but more of that post later) Looking around in my archive for something suitable (it could not be The Redhead) I stumbled over this and thought, Indian Summer Filter and as if by magic the finished result, as posted appeared. It did of course help that the trees in the forground are fairly young so did not have many branches or leaves.

I would be interested to know which photo you prefer, 

"A Clydeside Boardwalk"

OR

"HDR Boardwalk"

In my teens and early twenties I had a mild fascination for infrared photography. Back then (in the late sixties early seventies) there was not much infrared film stock available. I could only obtain Kodak Black & White Infrared, but I knew that others were available.

I obtained some film and found that - to my relief It could be processed in normal Kodak chemistry - I had to go out and buy the developer as my normal developer Ilford Ifosol and Persoptol, I was unsure if I could use! So I purchased a packet of Kodak D-76 (yes a packet, it was a powder like many developers then)

Went out and started taking photos - for some reason I concentrated on people - this was the sixties of course and being different was the norm!

This is the kind of results I achieved - Weird but not to my eyes unappealing.

Then I found out that the real use of this medium should be landscapes, trees, woods that sort of thing.

And this was the result, not exactly grabbing your attention is it?

Lacking depth of  contrast and definition, so I gave up.

Then in 1976 after marrying The Redhead, I thought I would have another go - just to see if I had improved my techniques.

The answer as you can see was a triumphant NO. So I really did give up, or so I thought.

Along with digital photography comes digital processing, this can be where a fairly lacklustre photograph can sparkle and shine. And tucked away inside of the free and excellent Color Efex Pro 4 is the ability to produce dramatic and beautiful images.

So back to The Dene, this time after a snowfall and with just an iPhone and some post-processing this is how infrared Photography should look and in glorious COLOUR!!!

Historical enactors can be a superb source of subject, especially when they are caught unawares!

The first photo was taken at Beamish Open Air Museum in County Durham, England. There they have a working farm set in the wartime era (1940's) and this enactor was chopping firewood whilst having a conversation with another. 

I shot 5 or 6 of this lady in different swings of her axe and decided that this was the best shot. I then thought about film types, Ektachrome was developed in the 1940's and I had images of a couple of styles of slide frame I could use.

In reality Ektachrome 64 would not have made a significant colour change to the original image but as 1940's film deteriorated with age I thought a little bit of aging would be appropriate.

I called this photo "Determination"

Funghi, Mushrooms, Toadstools, whatever are a major feature of woodlands during Autumn. But they can be difficult to photograph. So here I have used the simple appraoch of taking three exposures, one under, one over and one just right combined them to produce this rather striking image.

Not so sure if it is edible, but it looks nice!

I have a mild fascination for watching other photographers take photos, and here on the NYMR at Gromont. I have managed to catch two phone photo ladies taking a shot of the steam engine. Why Black & White, well that just so happened to be the way I had set the camera up for a little bit of steam train nostalga.

I had already posted this photo of a lane in Licoln with a rather determined lamp post determined to get in on the act. When I posted it I thought that it looked best in monochrome but now I have reprocessed it as an HDR. I think it looks really good.

Well, just as you think you have just taken the perfect photo of this flower in the Rose Garden at Mottisfont Abbey in Hampshire.

You get home, process it and ...a spider has got in on the act and started weaving a web in the background. Oh well next time perhaps!

Some days you plan a visit, you have for one reason or another to go on that day, and well things are less than kind to you.

That is exactly what happened to me on the 10th of May 2014. Staying in Edinburgh and with a tight schedule I could only visit the lovely Inveresk Lodge Gardens once and not for the whole day.

So when the alloted day arrived, cold dull and wet I just had to go!

This is the original ISO of 800 and 1/250th of a second (to avoid any kind of camera shake) the greyness of the day comes through.

However with the rain droplets and a little bit of post processing, I think the end result is, well, not bad. What do you think?

I sometimes think that photography is really about opening your eyes to your surroundings!

This photo was taken in the side passage of The Blue Bell in Fossgate, York.

A pub that is considered to have an interior of national importance. It consists of two small rooms served by a central bar and here in the side corridor by a hatch, no doubt much in vogue when having a glass or as described in some parts of these islands as "a wee refreshment" was not socially acceptable.

This photo forms one of my series on British Pubs.

Double Redhead. That is the title I have given to this little piece of fun. Purporting to be one of thise "disasters" of the film photography era where you accidently make a double exposure! Later in this Blog I will be posting some real 1950's/60's double exposures all taken by accident.

Sometimes you don't have to look far to find an interesting subject. This one was actually taken through a window of my home.
This is Weather Hill in County Durham. Not very big or very noteworthy although Watling Street (the Roman road) crosses it.
Not a lot of post processing here and the only thing special about taking the photo was the use of a polarising filter. What I have done is cut the size down to a letterbox format so that the eye is more focused. Do you like it?

Here is another Infrared photo this time underwater in a rockpool in North Yorkshire, can you spot any wildlife?

Ever since I discovered infrared photography in the late 1960's I have had a mild fascination for it.
I quickly learnt that some things make better subjects than others and that they can be quite startling.
Digital Infrared gives you the ability to create images in colour as opposed to chemical Black and White.
This photo was taken in late Autumn (Northern Hemisphere) and since then I have experimented with different tones I think that this one brings out the feeling of an autumn evening.

Just off North Road can be found  this gem in the heart of Durham City.
The park occupies 4.3 hectares of land hugging the hillside just to the North of the city centre.
At its peak there are grade 2 listed Battlements dating back to 1858.
19th century philosopher John Ruskin, described the spectacular views from the battlements of Durham Cathedral, Durham Castle, the railway viaduct and over the City as 'the Eighth Wonder of the World'.

Todays Flickr post is of this fifty year old locomotive in straight HDR she can now be found on the NYMR in North yorkshire

Today's second post is an HDR of the River Arun discharging into the English Channel.

Relatively simple process taken by a three shot HDR technique two stops under exposed and two stops over.

The real problem I had was levelling of the horizon which was at a 25 degree angle due to the rapid shooting at HDR.

before Levelling off the horizon

The finished article

Is it HDR or is it not, well, yes it is, I know I could have simply increased the contrast and the colour saturation, but I didn't.

Taken as a three shot HDR 2 stops under and 2 stops over exposed and then processed with Photomatix. Gives I think this pleasing result.

Rievaulx Abbey

A former Cistercian abbey in Rievaulx, near Helmsley in the North York Moors National Park.

Headed by the Abbot of Rievaulx, it was one of the wealthiest abbeys in England until it was dissolved by Henry VIII of England in 1538.

founded in 1132 by twelve monks from Clairvaux Abbey as a mission for the colonisation of the north of England and Scotland. It was the first Cistercian abbey in the north. With time it became one of the great Cistercian abbeys of Yorkshire, second only to Fountains Abbey in fame.

Its remote location was ideal for the Cistercians, whose desire was to follow a strict life of prayer and self-sufficiency with little contact with the outside world. The patron, Walter Espec, settled another Cistercian community, founding Wardon Abbey in Bedfordshire on unprofitable wasteland on one of his inherited estates.

The abbey lies in a wooded dale by the River Rye, sheltered by hills. To have enough flat land to build on, part of the river was diverted several metres west of its former channel. The monks altered the course of the river three times during the 12th century. The old course is visible in the abbey's grounds. This is an illustration of the technical ingenuity of the monks, who over time built up a profitable business mining lead and iron, rearing sheep and selling wool to buyers from all over Europe. Rievaulx Abbey became one of the greatest and wealthiest in England with 140 monks and many more lay brothers. It received grants of land totalling 6,000 acres (24 km²) and established daughter houses in England and Scotland.

Towards the end of the 13th century the abbey had incurred debts on its building projects and lost revenue due to an epidemic of sheep scab (psoroptic mange). The ill fortune was compounded by raiders from Scotland in the early 14th century. To make matters worse, the great reduction of the population caused by the Black Death in the mid 14th century made it difficult to recruit new lay brothers for manual labour. As a result the abbey was forced to lease much of its land. By 1381 there were only fourteen choir monks, three lay brothers and the abbot left at Rievaulx, and some buildings were reduced in size.

By the 15th century the Cistercian practices of strict observance according Saint Benedict's rule had been abandoned in favour of a more comfortable lifestyle. The monks were permitted to eat meat and more private living accommodation was created for them, and the abbot had a substantial private household.

The abbey was dissolved by King Henry VIII in 1538. At that time there were reported to be 72 buildings occupied by an abbot and 21 monks, attended by 102 servants, with an income of £351 a year. The abbey owned a prototype blast furnace at Laskill, producing cast iron as efficiently as a modern blast furnace.

Henry ordered the buildings to be rendered uninhabitable and stripped of valuables such as lead. The site was granted to the Earl of Rutland, one of Henry's advisers, until it passed to the Duncombe family.

In the 1750s Thomas Duncombe III beautified his estate by building the terrace with two Grecian-style temples. They are in the care of the National Trust. The abbey ruins are in the care of English Heritage.

When awarded a life peerage in 1983, former Prime Minister Harold Wilson, a Yorkshireman, adopted the title Baron Wilson of Rievaulx.

I find that the period setting of Beamish Museum, in County Durham, adds enormously to the feel of this photo. Taken at 1/400 and f9 and an ISO of 400 the image responds well to processing through Photomatix.

The Tramstop

Beamish Museum's Sunderland No 16 tram alongside a Tramways Inspector.

 

No 16 was built as an open-top tramcar by Dick, Kerr & Co., Preston, in 1900, however to increase capacity it was later rebuilt as double dekker.

 

Sunderland's tram system closed in 1954 and No 16 became the changing rooms for local football clubs.

 

Eventually it found it's way to a farm and was used as storage until the tram found a new home at Beamish in 1989. But it was not until 2003 that it finally entered service at the museum.

The picture I have chosen to upload for today is of the rear entrance to the extensive walled  at Llanerchaeron This shot was taken on a bright sunny day in June 2015 as a three shot HDR. However rather than just process as an HDR I have here, converted it to a "Artistic Monochrome" in Photomatix and bled colour back to 20%. Following that I have increased the green hue using Photoshop. I think it adds a mysterious but inviting look into the walled garden.

Llanerchaeron, onetime known as "Llanayron House" , is a grade I listed mansion on the River Aeron, near Aberaeron, Ceredigion designed and built in 1795 by John Nash for Major (later Colonel) William Lewis as a model, self-sufficient farm complex.

The neighbouring parish church of St Non was also redesigned by Nash.

My first post to Flickr for 2016.

This image taken underground with, unusually for me, my Canon set to Automatic. Is of an enactor at Beamish Museum in County Durham.
Simply adjusted for tone and shadows it was converted to black and white and then a 20% tint added.

                                                              The Pit Deputy

 The deputy could be compared to a supervisor, he was responsible for an area of the pit underground, known as a "District".
He would walk the roadways (tunnels) and crawl along the coal face where men were working. He would be supervising all aspects of health and safety and mostly stop and speak to the men on his District.

 There would be a deputy on that distrct/area every shift and they would "hand over" to each other.

Although an official, he would mostly be part of the team and would most likely be part of the community above ground.

He would have a senior man higher than himself, that person being an Overman who would be responsible for a number of districts.

One below the Deputy would be the shotfirers, which as it's name suggests were responsible for exploding the powder to break the coal or rock into smaller pieces.

Seen here in Beamish Museum's, Drift Mine (a mine that can be walked into, rather than a Deep Pit that required shafts and lifing gear).

My final posting on Flickr for 2015 - From Threads Come.....

At Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire. Shot at 3200 DIN and 1/50th of a second this image of a weaving machine, of some sort, was lightened in Photoshop and then processed using Pixir - something new for me.

Quarry Bank Mill in Styal, Cheshire, England, is one of the best preserved textile mills of the Industrial Revolution and is now a museum of the cotton industry. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

The mill is on the bank of the River Bollin which provided water to power the waterwheels. It was connected by road to the Bridgewater Canal (see my previous photo post) for transporting raw cotton from the port of Liverpool.