This building, standing in the middle of the Shambles market in York, dates back to the 14th century in the oldest part of its structure. It was originally two separate buildings which, over the centuries, have become interconnected and now form a single property.
The building has been in commercial use since 1830 and has been host to a chemist’s shop, a hatters, a cafe, and is now home to Gert and Henry’s restaurant.
I took this photograph, of the Christmas-themed play area behind Sheffield’s Meadowhall shopping mall, without much confidence that it would turn out. The light was dark, I only had 400asa film in the camera, and the XA3 only really gives me control of the zone-focus . Everything else is handled by the camera’s small electronic brain.
So colour me impressed by how well this turned out. I have no idea what aperture was selected, but it was good enough to get the important elements in acceptable focus. Likewise the shutter speed – there’s a little motion blur on the figure at left of frame, but it was fast enough to prevent camera shake. The exposure has given me plenty of detail in the shadows, but avoided blowing the highlights. and the sky (which was a muddy, light polluted scud of clouds) also has great definition.
It’s always great when a little camera like this delivers the goods.
I was a little curious as to how the XA3 would handle this scene when I saw it. I’ve shot into the sun before, but this scene had both the sun and the bright reflection on the railway tracks to contend with.
The result was much more flare! However, despite the flare, it’s not too obtrusive I don’t think, and perhaps gives a sense of brightness that you would probably expect when witnessing something like this first hand.
A few weeks back I decided to go for a walk on the Trans Pennine Trail. I’ve walked the stretch close to where I live before, reaching as far as Renishaw a few miles to the south, but I’ve never followed it any further than that.
So, on the day in question, I decided that I would see what was down there, walking the stretch between Renishaw and Staveley and then following the Cuckoo Way on the return journey.
Looking east from the Trans-Pennine Trail towards the village of Mastin Moor. The Cuckoo Way meanders its way north over near where those pylons stand.
The Trans-Pennine Trail follows the path of an old railway along this stretch of it’s route and is relatively straight as a result. It’s also flat and doesn’t tend to get muddy at all. The Cuckoo Way, on the other hand, follows the route of the Chesterfield Canal and can be hiked all the way from Chesterfield to the River Trent – about forty five miles away as the route takes you.
Looking west from the Cuckoo Way. The Trans Pennine Way is where the row of trees is on the horizon. The houses are on the outskirts of Staveley.
The Cuckoo Way is easy to walk in many places, particularly sections where the canal still exists, but this stretch just winds through fields, sometimes with little sign of where the waterway once flowed. This particular stretch was quite muddy. Not wet sloppy mud, but the thick stuff like you find on a playing field after a game of football has been played when the ground isn’t dry. It quickly clogged up the soles of my hiking boots with it’s thick clay-like weight and took quite some time to wash off when I got back home.
Heading back north and following the former route of the canal. Teh Cuckoo Way is just off-camera to the right.
About halfway along Derwent reservoir there is a tributary on it’s western bank where a side valley joins the main. It was across this part of the reservoir from the south that I noticed these trees and the reflections of their trunks in the dark water.
Because of the time of the year the sun was low in the sky and cast a shadow across the water and the foreground trees, while those a little further back caught its light. I liked the layers and contrast that this created.
I almost forgot to write and post my blog this evening!
I faffed around doing stuff on the computer for a bit after work, then took a shower and headed downstairs to veg out for the evening (“veg out” actually means “be remorselessly harassed by my two self-centred cats for a couple of hours“…). I was about to take my cup of tea into the living room when I remembered.
I’m approaching my two-thousand-consecutive-daily-post milestone this year, so I’d like to try and make it there if I can. Not that it really means anything. But, yet, somehow it does…
Three pictures of Derwent dam today. There was a little water over-topping the dam wall while I was there, but no sign of the cascading curtain of white water that appears when its in full flow, sadly.
The Yashicamat had no chance of getting the whole structure in frame from the available vantage points, so I opted for a couple of shots showing each of the dam’s towers, plus an extra picture of the century old sign warning of a £5 fine if you bathe in the water!
The dam is perhaps most famous for the part it played in WWII, serving as a practice ground for RAF 617 squadron, or the Dam Busters as they are better known. Because of the similarity to the dams in Germany’s industrialised Ruhr valley, it was used to practice the low-level flying needed to drop the Upkeep bouncing bombs that would breach the dams during the raid.
I took more shots at the location with my Olympus XA3, so I’ll share those too at a later date.
Did it make a sound if no-one was there to witness it?
I managed to get out for an hour or so today to test my replacement Yashicamat 124G. I stayed local this time, going for a walk around the nearby Woodhouse Washlands. I was blessed by some decent light too, so if all is well I’m hoping I might get some nice pictures. I just need to find some time to develop the roll now!
A couple of shots of the northern branch of Ladybower reservoir in the Peak District. The structure crossing the water is an aqueduct which carries water from Derwent and Howden reservoirs, which are upstream to the north of Ladybower, taking it to a treatment works near Bamford and from there to the cities of Derby and Nottingham.
Steel City Snapper photography 