Throwback Thursday… York Minster, illuminated by Patrice Warrener

York Minster-20051104aYork Minster
Nikon D100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/2.8-4 AF-D at 42mm, 2s, f8, ISO 400

What was I photographing on this day in previous years?

Sixteen years ago it was York Minster, bathed in light by the French artist Patrice Warrener.

York Minster-20051104aYork Minster
Nikon D100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/2.8-4 AF-D at 42mm, 1.5s, f8, ISO 400

Two projectors were used to illuminate the west front of the Minster, creating a design called the ‘Heart of Yorkshire’, part of a project to ‘breathe new life into the city centre in ways that are both sympathetic to our treasured heritage and reflective of leading-edge contemporary art’ (according to a member of the City of York Council at the time).

Throwback Thursday… Wensley Park, October 2007

Wensley Park, October 2007Wensley Park, October 2007
Nikon D80, AF-S NIKKOR 18-135mm f/3.5-56G ED at 90mm, 1/500s, f5.6, ISO 200

What was I photographing on this day in previous years?

14 years ago I was snapping away on a walk through Wensleydale (‘cracking cheese Gromit!’)

This image proves that it’s worth turning around to look where you’ve been from time to time… this clump of trees in Wensley Park was only lit like this for a few seconds!

Throwback Thursday… ‘Who Stole Bongo’s Trousers?’

John Cooper Clarke-20111021cJohn Cooper Clarke
Nikon D300, AF NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8D, 1/100s, f2.8, ISO 1600

What was I photographing on this day in previous years?

Ten years ago it was legendary performance poet John Cooper Clarke doing his stuff at The Flowerpot in Derby.

It was an absolutely fantastic evening of poetry, humour and anecdotes with the highlight for me being the poem (and preamble to) “Bongo’s Trousers”, the opening line of which forms the title of this post.

John Cooper Clarke-20111021j-bwJohn Cooper Clarke
Nikon D300, AF NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8D, 1/40s, f2.8, ISO 1600

Throwback Thursday… Midland Railway-Butterley

DUCHESS OF SUTHERLAND arrivng at Swanwick JunctionDUCHESS OF SUTHERLAND arrivng at Swanwick Junction
Panasonic Lumix GF-1, Lumix G Vario OIS 14-45 f/3.5~5.6 at 45mm, 1/320s, f7.1, ISO 200

What was I photographing on this day in previous years?

Nine years ago it was more steam trains! This time at the Midland Railway-Butterley in Derbyshire.

London Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) Princess Coronation class 4-6-2 locomotive 46233 DUCHESS OF SUTHERLAND was in operation and looked fantastic in the autumn sunshine.

I also paid a visit to the line’s demonstration signal box, a Midland Railway (MR) structure dating from 1895 that originally stood at Linby in Nottinghamshire.

Lever frame, Swanwick JunctionLever frame, Swanwick Junction
Panasonic Lumix GF-1, Lumix G Vario OIS 14-45 f/3.5~5.6 at 21mm, 1/160s, f4.5, ISO 200

Throwback Thursday… SIR KEITH PARK… at Keighley

Southern Railway Battle of Britain class 4-6-2 34053 SIR KEITH PARKSouthern Railway Battle of Britain class 4-6-2 34053 SIR KEITH PARK
Nikon D600, AF-S NIKKOR 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR at 48mm, 1/125s, f8, ISO 2000

What was I photographing on this day in previous years?

Five years ago it was a steam gala at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway (K&WVR).

Southern Railway (SR) Battle of Britain class 4-6-2 34053 SIR KEITH PARK was visiting from the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) but managed to wreak havoc with the day’s timetable thanks to defective sanding gear (something vital for the constant climb up to Oxenhope) and a leaking piston valve.

Built by the Southern Railway at Brighton Works in 1947 as 21C153 (designer Oliver Bulleid employed an idiosyncratic numbering system for his locomotives) and named after Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park, GCB, KBE, MC & Bar, DFC, the First World War flying ace and Second World War Royal Air Force commander, the locomotive saw only 18 years service before being withdrawn in October 1965 but luckily preservation would beckon and 34053’s restoration was eventually completed in 2012.

Throwback Thursday… Villegeneray, France

Propping up the roofPropping up the roof
Fujifilm X-T10, Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS at 24mm, 1/200s, f8, ISO 200

What was I photographing on this day in previous years?

Five years ago it was the commune of Villegeneray in the Nièvre department in central France…

A delightfully rustic place, the ramshackle woodwork above supported the roof of a building home to a tractor and the Hollyhock was growing through the framework of a water well!

HollyhockHollyhock
Fujifilm X-T10, Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS at 50mm, 1/80s, f8, ISO 640

Throwback Thursday… Mur-de-Barrez

Rue de la Pierre, Mur-de-BarrezRue de la Pierre, Mur-de-Barrez
Nikon D200, AF NIKKOR 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED-IF AF-S DX at 70mm, 1/125s, f8, ISO 400

What was I photographing on this day in previous years?

14 years ago it was the French commune of Mur-de-Barrez in the Aveyron department in southern France.

With a population of only 800 or so it was an incredibly peaceful little place to spend an afternoon, in fact we hardly saw a soul…

Rue de la Parro, Mur-de-BarrezRue de la Parro, Mur-de-Barrez
Nikon D200, AF NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4-5.6 D ED at 130mm, 1/500s, f8, ISO 400

Throwback Thursday… The Forth Bridge

Forth Bridge, September 2005Forth Bridge, September 2005
Nikon D100, Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO Macro HSM at 70mm, 1/160s, f5.6, ISO 200

What was I photographing on this day in previous years?

Sixteen years ago it was the Forth (rail) Bridge on my first ever trip to Scotland.

Although I did photograph the bridge as a whole it’s these detail shots, complete with trains, that remind my of the hour or so spent at South Queensferry as the sun went down…

Forth Bridge and Inchgarvie, September 2005Forth Bridge and Inchgarvie, September 2005
Nikon D100, Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO Macro HSM at 125mm, 1/160s, f5.6, ISO 200

Throwback Thursday… Skipton’s canals

The Thanet Canal, SkiptonThe Thanet Canal, Skipton
Nikon FA, Nikkor 45mm f/2.8P, 1/125s, f8 – Agfa vista plus 200 rated at ISO 100

What was I photographing on this day in previous years?

Five years ago it was the picturesque Yorkshire town of Skipton and its canals.

The first section of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal opened between Bingley and Skipton in 1773 and is still a busy waterway today (albeit with pleasure boats). The Thanet Canal (pictured above) was a privately financed branch built to serve Lord Thanet’s limestone quarries near Skipton Castle and is usually home to narrowboats taking a break from the arduous journey across the Pennines.

Leeds and Liverpool Canal, SkiptonLeeds and Liverpool Canal, Skipton
Nikon FA, Kiron 28mm f/2, 1/125s, f8 – Agfa vista plus 200 rated at ISO 100

I mainly use NIKKOR lenses with my Nikon cameras but the above image was taken using a Kiron 28mm f/2 lens that I picked up from a brocante (flea market) in France a month or so earlier… for the amazing sum of €0.50!