The railway viaduct that crosses Woodhouse Washlands is always a little disappointing, photographically speaking. The best vantage point is probably from atop the road viaduct, but there is no pedestrian access to that. From ground level, the railway viaduct becomes obscured by hawthorn trees and I think the shots included here below are from perhaps the best location, but still not ideal.
At this time of the year, bare trees allow a little more visibility that becomes lost when they’re full of foliage.
Sunday has become the day where I write up my thoughts on the album I’ve been listening to this week on my other blog. As those tend to be much more wordy affairs than what I post each day about photography, Sunday’s posts here are likely to be somewhat short.
I can say, even though I’ve not written how I feel about this week’s album yet (Talk Talk’s Spirit of Eden), that it’s a great piece of music.
I was going to post this yesterday, but it seemed somehow inappropriate to name a post “Bunny girl” given it was International Women’s Day, even though there’s no ill intent intended. It just seems a fitting title for the picture.
It’s a piece of artwork on one of the supports of the Mosborough Bypass. It’s right next to the River Rother and I’ve not walked this far along the viaduct before, having normally angled away across the washlands at this point on a walk, so I’ve not seen this piece before and don’t know how long it’s been in place. The way the light was hitting the concrete lit it up nicely though, and the Yashica Mat has rendered a crisp image.
I’m not sure that “Bunny girl” is the right title though – those look more like mouse ears or something.
This viaduct is a familiar subject for my photographs (and this blog) it being only a mile or two from where I live, but it’s interesting enough for me to have taken a number of pictures at the location. I fully expect that I will take more, and that those will feature here on the blog also at some point.
I like the subtle curve of the roadway on this picture, plus I’m very happy that I didn’t behead that street light when composing the shot.
Incidentally, the location ///bypass.viaduct.curve is in the wilds of Siberia if you use the What Three Words app to look up the location that shares the three words of today’s post.
Down on Woodhouse Washlands lives this fallen willow tree. It’s trunk is broken and splintered so that much of it lies almost parallel to the ground. But the tree is a survivor and its limbs rise finger like from its fallen trunk.
These were the first three shots from my replacement replacement Yashica Mat 124G – the one that replaced the one with the shutter problem. So far, everything seems to be working as expected with this one and the test roll I shot has delivered a bunch of pictures I like, including these.
The Gosvenor Casino in Sheffield occupies the building that once housed Silver Blades, once the city’s only ice-skating rink. Sheffield still has an ice-rink, but it’s now located in Attercliffe and is the home of Sheffield Steeler’s, our local ice hockey team.
Ice hockey took place at Silver Blades too, although I was never involved in the sport and just went to the rink to skate about with friends and play video games in the mini arcade that was there (teetering about on a pair of skates and attempting to play Marble Madness took a degree of skill!).
When I first went to the rink I would hire a pair of boots. They were, if I remember correctly, all purple and always felt somewhat damp and clammy. After going for awhile, I decided to invest in a pair of my own skates and got some Bauer hockey boots. While I was never a skilled skater, I was proficient, and could get up a decent sprint on the ice.
While most of the sessions involved skating around in an anti-clockwise circuit (complete with a DJ playing music from a booth overlooking the ice, usually with a bunch of kids crowded below submitting requests), there would also be a short daredevil intermission half way through the evening where the circuit would become a figure-of-eight health-and-safety nightmare (although I cant ever recall any serious collisions happening).
I’ve not skated for about three decades now. I wonder if it’s one of those things you don’t forget how to do?
I’m having a run of days this week where I’m short on time and having to upload somewhat short posts to the blog. Today is another such day, unfortunately. Apologies for the lack of words!
So here are two photos I took in Birmingham in January, the first of the cathedral, the second of the art gallery.
While walking around the Derwent reservoirs, my descent back to my car took me through some pine forest where the low winter sun was shining beneath the canopy illuminating the trunks of the trees.
I attempted two shots with the XA3, which didn’t turn out badly at all – I was expecting camera shake as, despite the sunlight, it was still quite dim beneath the canopy, and braced myself against trees to attempt to keep the camera steady. Luckily there is only perhaps minimal evidence of any shake.
Steel City Snapper photography 