Green Ayre Station

This photo was taken a few yards away from yesterday's photo. You can see the Skerton Bridge in the background. I moved a few yards away from the Lune so that some of the bridge was in the background.

I suppose the image is of a work of art, but it was once a working railway crane, and serves as a reminder that this was the site of Green Ayre station which closed in 1966. I did change this photo to sepia as well as the monochrome version that you see on the right. This time I preferred the monochrome.

Happy snapping

Skerton Bridge

This is Skerton Bridge across the river Lune in Lancaster. It is interesting because it is flat. A friend told me that it was the first flat bridge in Europe and so he supposed it was the first flat bridge in the world. I haven't found any supporting evidence.

Even more interesting is that when it was built in the 1780s it replaced a bridge that was further downstream. I went on a guided walking tour and was told that this medieval bridge was roughly where the Millennium footbridge is now. And this makes a lot of sense. Take a look at a road map and see how convoluted the A6 is now. It wouldn't be if it followed this route.

As for the photos, I liked the lighting which is a good reason to take a photo of almost anything, and I also like the sepia version which gives it an older, Victorian look if it wasn't for the block of flats in the background.

Happy snapping

Old Lancaster

I came across this old photo of Lancaster recently. I scanned it and I will do some work on it to see how it can be improved, but this is the original. You can see Lancaster Town Hall which was opened in 1909 so there is a start in dating it. The person who owns the photo only had a vague idea of the date. If you can shed any light on the age then please get in touch. In the meantime I will have a go at amending it and I'll let you see the results when I have finished.

It's not just the age of the photo, if you know anything about the buildings that are no longer there then let me know about that too.

Happy snapping

P.S. I looked to connect three sections of this photo today (6th Jan) and there is a slight gap between the sections so you may have to wait to see my amendments.

More Bare Photos

I visited a friend before Christmas who lives in the flats in Bare, Morecambe, and the view from her flat is fantastic. I only had my compact with me but I will return with my SLR and tripod and take a few more including the views of Morecambe Bay.

These views looking east have an air of Walt Disney about them. They look to me like the start of a film and the camera is going to move gradually towards one of the houses in the foreground. I'll show you photos of the Bay when I take them.

Happy snapping

Bare Photos

If you have the best view in Europe on your doorstep then you may as well make use of it. The view changes with the weather and this view is no exception. I took it a couple of weeks ago when we got our first snow. I was in an area of Morecambe called Bare.

Cross the road and you get this view of Princes Crescent which I took because it was twilight. I also took it because of the lights on the Christmas trees but the lights from the shop dominate the view. The main reason that I took this photo is because there was a wall here to rest the camera. It didn't matter too much for the view of the Lake District but it was darker looking up the street and without a tripod at the time I didn't have much choice.

Happy snapping.

P.S. I am writing this while watching a drama about Morecambe and Wise and there was a view of the Lake District from the Stone Jetty. The sunset, as usual, was fantastic.

From the Millennium Footbridge

For the last two views of London I have chosen St Paul's from the Millennium Footbridge. I didn't notice any wobbles at all when I took the photo from the middle of the bridge. The photo on the right is taken from the southern end of the bridge near the Tate Modern.

Both photos show the importance of lighting. I have shown you the Tate on Christmas Eve and really the building is not at its best because of the lighting. It also shows you that you just have to turn round in London and you get many great views.

Happy snapping

Soho

Even if some councils are now taking down there Christmas trees, see http://politicsfornovices.blogspot.com/2010/12/happy-november-and-december-to-you.html I still recognise the first of January as part of the Christmas period so I don't mind showing you Carnaby Street with its Christmas decorations on the left. I am not sure about the message coming from Father Christmas's space helmet but it was certainly different.

The photo on the right reminded me of a photo that I took in Paris which can be seen at http://photographyfornovices.blogspot.com/2010/11/monet-was-here.html The pub is called The Glassblower on Glasshouse Street. There must be some history there but it was the architecture that struck me.

Happy snapping