Morecambe Panorama

Hi All,

Took this panorama on my recent trip to Morecambe Bay at low tide, it was a really sunny day but the conversion to black and white made it look rather moody, i like it.

(image © Gary Danton)

thanks

Gary

Morecambe and Heysham

Hi All,

A few weekends ago I went on a great camping trip to the lakes and popped into both Morecambe and Heysham for a look around. I managed to take a few great shots while I was there.

As mentioned in other posts, I’m always on the lookout for interesting ghostsigns, this one didn’t disappoint! Advertising a long defunct cinema, this sign for the palladium is right on the sea front in Morecambe.

(image © Gary Danton)

The following shot was taken on Heysham beach just as the tide was starting to come in, despite the gloominess of the image, it was actually quite a nice day, what could be described as sand castle weather. The rock outcrop caught my eye, and after trying several compositions this is the one I settled on.

(image © Gary Danton)

That’s it for now, I have a few more pics from the camping trip that I’m still working on, but I’ll post in the next few days.

Thanks

Gary

Related Articles

• Shifting sands: crafting castles on Morecambe beach (telegraph.co.uk)

Another Ghost Sign – Gordon & Co, Bolton

Hi All,

Way back in may this year, I posted a few pictures i’d taken of ghost signs in Horwich, well I’ve found another one now, this time round the corner from where I work.

I’ve driven past this everyday for the last 18 months and never noticed it before, and its in great condition Here it is in all its glory:

(image © Gary Danton)

The rest of the set is on flickr here

I’ll post more as I find them.

**********************************

Update:

Just realised that this was my 100th post!

***********************************

thanks

Gary

Fire at Dickinson’s, Blackrod

Hi All,

About half 8 last night, I looked out my back bedroom window and saw what could only be described as armageddon. Surrounded by a pall of smoke was Dickinson’s recyling plant, down the road from me.

Rushing down to get a better angle, I took the following shot:

(image © Gary Danton)

The fire burned throughout the night, and was still going this morning (despite the rain) – you could smell it the other end of Horwich!

More on this story on the Bolton News website

thanks

Gary

Got It!

Hi All,

As it was my birthday last week, I saved up all my birthday money and plumped for one of these bad boys:

(image © Nikon)

This has been on my wish list for some time now (as mentioned in a previous post back in march) and i’m really looking forward to playing around with depth of field. I’m also planning a project using this lens (like my “It’s in the details” set on flickr), my general thinking is a 35/35/35 concept, 35 shots over 35 days with a 35mm lens, but we will see

A good review of the lens can be found via kenrockwell.com

Thanks

Gary

RAF Tilstock

Hi All,

Last weekend we had a great time camping in Wem, Shropshire. As it was close by, we couldn’t miss the opportunity to do some urban exploration around the remains of RAF Tilstock (source: wikipedia)

Construction of an airfield was completed by mid 1942, with a classic three concrete runway RAF “star” arrangement. The name ‘Whitchurch Heath’ being used until 1 June 1943, when RAF Tilstock was adopted. Between 1 September 1942 and 21 January 1946, the airfield was used by No. 81 Operational Training Unit and No. 1665 Heavy Conversion Unit Royal Air Force for the training of pilots and crews in the operation of Whitley, Stirling and Halifax heavy bombers. During the 1950s, Auster AOP.6 ‘spotter’ aircraft of No. 663 Squadron RAF used the facilities of the otherwise non-operational airfield during weekends for liaison flights with Royal Artillery units.

(image © Gary Danton)

There are perhaps 15 abandoned structures at the site, all in various states of disrepair. Several are holding up really well considering their age. The more solid buildings are the sqaure brick type stuctures. The are a number of prefabricated buildings (typically breeze blocks and corrogated steel) that are now missing roofs and walls.

(image © Gary Danton)

(image © Gary Danton)

This is the remains of a Sunbeam-Talbot 90, left at the site probably when it was abandoned in the 1950′s. Theres not much left of it, although what is left is in surprisingly good condition, probably because its been spared the worst of the elements over the years.

(image © Gary Danton)

This is the remains of a WW1 trench system that was used for training troops stationed at the camp (source: wikipedia)

Opened in 1915 as a training base for the British Army, it had a capacity for 30,00 men for training in trench warfare. It additionally acted later as a store for supplies, with its own railway depot feed by a 1 mile (1.6 km) branch line from the LNWR’s Crewe and Shrewsbury Railway. As casualties mounted, it became a hospital with a fully fledged barracks.

The scale and size of the camp brought about the appointment of the first female police officers in the Shropshire Constabulary, to manage and restrain local women from heading to the camp.

After the war ended, the facilities were downgraded, with the British Government keeping ownership of the site for Army training purposes.

A link to the location on google maps is here.

Thanks

Gary

Summer Solstice

Hi All,

Last week I had the pleasure of trekking up to the Two Lads to watch the sunset of the summer solstice. This was the first time i’d done anything like this so didn’t know what to expect. The jaunt was organised by one of my friends as a geocaching event, and a few extra’s tagged along.

(Image © Gary Danton)

The above image is taken from the footpath looking down on what I believe is Pilkingtons Quarry, an unfortunate scar on the landscape (you can see it from my house across the valley – about 3 miles away).

(Image © Gary Danton)

The above image is of two of my friends – Mark and John.  I took this immediatly after the quarry shot, and was lagging behind

(Image © Gary Danton)

This is Rivington Pike silhouetted against the sunset, i’m surprised just how well the D40 held up to the low ligh conditions, even with the ISO set manually to 200, i was expecting some horrible shutter speeds (I even took my tripod just in case) but I was pleasantly surprised.

(Image © Gary Danton)

This last image is on Mark and John silhouetted against the sunset, and is one of my favorites of the day.

We finished up the evening by carrying on the the Pike to watch the remainder of the sunset, and walked back to the car in the dark (lol). I’ve already booked my place on the winter solstice walk.

The rest of the set can be found on flickr.

Thanks

Gary

The Indestructible Camera

Hi All,

Just like to draw your attention to a brilliant news story found via AOL News.

The story centers around a member of the coast guard, who after noticing something encrusted floating in the sea, discovered it to be a Nikon point and shoot in a waterproof case. Some brilliant investagative work led him to track the owners of the cameras over a thousand miles away!

(image © Paul Shultz, HO / AP)

You can check out the whole article here, along with a great video of the camera being attacked by a hungry sea turtle!

Thanks

Gary

Grasmere & Coniston, Cumbria

Hi All,

Just a few pictures today.

At the beginning of June, one of my mates came to stay for a few days and we took a trip up to the Lake District. First stop was Grasmere – I love this place!

The image below was taken in one of the main car parks looking back over the hills.

(image © Gary Danton)

Amongst other places we also took a quick trip to Coniston, we were a little disappointed that the Bluebird had been moved for restoration from the local museum (that was the main reason for the trip really!) but i’ll settle for the following shot.

(image © Gary Danton)

This image was taken of the hills over looking Coninston. Both images were shot in colour, then processed as high contrast black & whites in Photoshop CS5.

Thanks

Gary

Hunger Hill, Bolton

Hi All,

Just a quick post today. I took this image a few Fridays back on my way home from work, the sky was a glorious blue and the clouds were wonderfully defined. To take advantage of this I dusted off my old circular polariser and gave it a shot..

(image © Gary Danton)

I decieded to convert to a high contrast black and white image, the colours, while strong lacked the impact of the B&W version. Hope you like it.

Thanks

Gary