The pictures I’m sharing at present are the result of one of my occasional rambles around town. These trips are usually pretty aimless beyond a rough route plan, and even that is subject to change at short notice, with me just going whichever way looks like it may be interesting.
The city centre undoubtedly has a whole range of things to photograph, a great many of which I will not have noticed or considered photographing before, but at the same time it can feel over-familiar, so it’s a matter of just walking an looking for things to catch my eye.
The shots today are gathered purely because they all feature a splash of red (maybe fuchsia in the second picture), whether it be a post box, or a Chinese restaurant.
There will be a similar mix of stuff in the coming days’ posts.
Olympus OM-10, Zuiko Auto-S 35mm f/2.8 & Kodak Gold. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.
I had hearing aids fitted today. A year or so back I decided to get a hearing test, not because I’d noticed any distinct hearing loss as such, but because I’ve suffered from tinnitus for several years. Thankfully, although the tinnitus is always present, my brain mostly filters it out and I don’t really notice it unless I stop and “listen” for it. Nevertheless, I felt that getting my hearing checked might be a good idea.
The result of the test was that I found I had some partial high-frequency hearing loss. Not really enough to notice a problem (although I have found that it can be more difficult to follow conversations in certain noisy environments, such as restaurants), but still something worth treating – especially as, apparently, if you don’t treat such loss then, over time, your brain can “forget” the frequencies it no longer receives at which point no corrective action is possible.
As my initial diagnosis was through a high street provider, the only options they had for hearing aids from them would have to be paid for (and believe me, hearing aids are not cheap, with some costing several thousand Pounds for a pair!). Thankfully, it’s also possible to get free hearing aids in the UK via the NHS, although the range may be more limited than that which is available privately. But, given the cost otherwise, I felt trying the free option first would be a good plan.
The downside of going via the NHS is the lengthy waiting lists that can be involved, and after visiting my GP to get the ball rolling, they advised me to contact the three closest NHS trusts to see which had the shortest waiting list so they could refer me to the relevant audiology department. It was a six week wait for the consultation, but it has then taken another nine months until today when I actually got the hearing aids fitted.
I’m now sat typing with them feeding me a newly amplified range of sounds (I ‘d forgotten the range of clickety noises that the keyboard makes when you can hear it properly!), which is nice. The devices are pretty small and unobtrusive, and not causing much in the way of discomfort – they itch a little, but I think I’ll get used to the sensation of them being in my ears fairly quickly.
I’d have preferred not to have needed hearing aids if I’m honest, but a combination of getting older (although I’m not that old yet) and, I suspect, damaging my hearing through the over use of headphones and loud music (and probably videogames too – particularly Battlefield, which effectively placed me in an aural warzone…) has led me to this point. I’m thankful to have access to the means to correct the condition, especially given I’ve gotten the treatment at no cost.
I appreciate that this has the sum total of zero connection with the photography stuff I normally post about, but it feels like a significant enough event to memorialise here on the blog.
But here’s a picture of an old car. It’s not as old as me though, so it’s ears are probably still fine. 🙂
Olympus OM-10, Zuiko Auto-S 35mm f/2.8 & Kodak Gold. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.
I often put my car in a car-park beside Victoria Quays when I go for a walk around town. It’s slightly inconvenient for the town centre, being further away from the shops etc., but has the considerable benefit of being much cheaper than the car-parks that are more central.
One of the exits from the car-park takes you right to the canal-basin and remaining wharf buildings (now all home to modern offices and other businesses) and there is always a fleet of canal boats moored there, many of which make for nice pictures. Likewise, the straddle wharf and other warehouses are also nicely photogenic. As a result I’ve taken many pictures at this location, often of the same subjects (especially the aforementioned straddle wharf).
It’s not the only location that receives this regular photographic attention. The Kelham Island area of Sheffield has featured on the blog on numerous occasions, and constant readers will know that I take a trip to my favourite seaside town, Mablethorpe, every autumn.
While I enjoy visiting and photographing these places, I do tend to notice that I photograph the same things over and over again, even though there are undoubtedly countless other subjects and compositions to be had. I wonder if people see these pictures and think, “Oh, it’s that thing again…”?
But conditions can change and shine a whole new light (both figuratively and literally) on these subjects. Different times of day, different weather, different seasons, all can make for new ways of seeing things, I feel, and so I’ll no doubt be here with yet more pictures of the Straddle Wharf, the Mablethorpe Rock shop, and the chimney-stack at Kelham Island heritage museum.
Olympus OM-10, Zuiko Auto-S 35mm f/2.8 & Kodak Gold. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.
The final batch of pictures from my Yorkshire Sculpture Park visit. As previously, I’ve added a little information about the artworks below each picture, but you can find out more at the park’s website.
Seated Figure by Sean Henry
Sean Henry makes detailed and life-like sculptures of anonymous figures, often in casual poses and deep in thought. They are usually based on members of the public or actors, and scaled either up or down, so they are never actually life sized. Seated Figure is a monumental 3 metres tall. The artist uses clay to model his works in the studio, before they are cast in bronze. (taken from the YSP website)
This piece can be seen from miles and has a commanding position looking out across the landscape from the top of a hill.
Charity by Damien Hirst
Charity is based on the Scope charity collection boxes that used to be common on British streets. It features a young girl wearing a calliper and cradling a teddy bear. It has a donate box asking people to ‘please give generously’. Hirst’s interpretation questions outdated ways of depicting disability and seeking charity. (taken from the YSP website)
The charity boxes that inspired this piece were a common sight when I was younger, although not with the additional flourish added by Hirst, which features the collection box pried open by a crowbar. I was amused and happy to note that crows had taken up residence within the open collection box and were carrying nesting material in there as I watched.
The Virgin Mother by Damien Hirst
Damien Hirst’s The Virgin Mother stands at 10 metres tall and is the tallest sculpture at YSP. A powerful presence in the landscape, it is partly inspired by the historic sculpture Little Dancer of Fourteen Years(c.1881), by Edgar Degas. Hirst deliberately makes the materials look different than they are, for example The Virgin Mother is bronze painted to look like plastic. (taken from the YSP website)
This is a striking piece of sculpture and my picture doesn’t really give a sense of scale, with a full grown adult barely reaching the figure’s calves. It’s also slightly disturbing with the figure appearing intact from her left profile, only to reveal tissues, muscles, bone, and a fetus in her womb. Where her left hand crosses the demarcation between outside and inside, the fingers are severed.
Two Large Forms by Henry Moore
The colossal sculpture is impressive in both scale and composition, appearing very different from every angle and continuing the theme of points that almost meet, which appears in much of Moore’s work. (taken from the YSP website)
I’d originally intended to get the whole sculpture in frame when I took this shot, but I liked how the child gave a sense of scale to the piece, so moved the viewpoint.
Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tmax 100 (expired 2008). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 for 7 minutes @ 20°
More pictures from my Yorkshire Sculpture Park visit. Again, I’ve added a little information about the artworks below each picture, but you can find out more at the park’s website.
Wall Dale Cubed – Sean Scully Made for YSP, Wall Dale Cubed uses 1000 tonnes of Yorkshire stone from a local quarry and was constructed over many weeks. Importantly to the artist, this colossal work is built in the same way throughout, which connects to ancient stone walls in Ireland, so that ‘when looking at the outside of the block, one can feel the inside without being able to see it’. (taken from the YSP website)
Galaxy was a Memory, Earth is a Souvenir by Kimsooja Kimsooja developed this elegant and towering conical sculpture in collaboration with scientists at Cornell University. The nanopolymer in which its panels are covered enhances the refractive qualities of light, giving an iridescent effect similar to that which occurs naturally on the wings of a butterfly or a beetle’s shell. It is responsive to changing light conditions and brought to life by sunlight on its surface. (taken from the YSP website)
The structure apparently has a mirrored floor which make it look like it pierces the earth below, although I didn’t walk close enough to it to see this aspect.
Peter’s Fold by Andy Goldsworthy
In Britain, folds have been made for hundreds of years as animal pens and Goldsworthy has developed the traditional fold to make contemporary sculptures. Peter’s Fold was built using drystone techniques by master wallers who have worked with the artist for many years. The Yorkshire sandstone was sourced from Hillhouse Edge Quarry in nearby Holmfirth. It is built around a common lime tree with distinctive epicormic growth, which occurs when dormant buds beneath the bark become active. (taken from the YSP website)
I decided to take the picture from a low vantage point on the grass. Unfortunately, due to the way TLR cameras work, I didn’t spot a stray blade of grass in front of the taking lens which resulted in a blurred smudge on the image. I’ve attempted to remove this and not done too bad a job (although you can probably see the joins if you look closely…)
Tree Stump by The Tree
This isn’t an actual artwork, but this lone tree stump surrounded by daffodils looked pretty photogenic, so here it is, in amongst it’s more famous fellow park residents.
Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tmax 100 (expired 2008). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 for 7 minutes @ 20°
Back in April I took a trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The venue features indoor gallery spaces, but also a significant landscaped outdoor park dating to the 18th century. Throughout the park are an large array of sculpture and artworks of varying styles, types, designs, and sizes.
On this visit I took my trusty Yashica Mat 124G and a (potentially less trustworthy) roll of expired Kodak Tmax 100 film that had been sat in the freezer for several years. As you can see, there was no need to worry about the condition of the film, which has produced lovely results.
I shot the whole roll at the park and will post the pictures over the next few days. I’ve added a little information about the artworks below each picture, but you can find out more at the park’s website.
Djinn – Bharti Kher
This huge, 5-metre tall bronze sculpture is very striking. It forms part of a series titled Intermediaries that take South Indian golu dolls as their starting point. These small, colourful clay figurines that are displayed in homes as part of the Navaratri festival depict gods and goddesses, animals and people.
Riace Figures – Elizabeth Frink
There are three of these figures gathered together, titled Riace II, III, & IV (although only two of them feature in my picture – I don’t know which ones).
The Riace figures are inspired by the 5th century BCE bronze sculptures that were rediscovered in the sea off the coast of the Riace region of Italy in 1972. Frink said ‘the original figures are very beautiful, but also very sinister, and that is what they are supposed to be’.
Buddha – Niki de Saint Phalle
The black and white picture, while pleasing, doesn’t really do justice to the bold colours that make up the mosaic surfaces of the figure.
Sitting – Sophie Ryder
Known as the Lady Hare – which Ryder describes a companion for the Minotaur – the work combines a female body with the head of a hare, a mystical creature in folklore.
Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tmax 100 (expired 2008). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 for 7 minutes @ 20°
Steel City Snapper photography 