Single frame… Leawood Pumphouse

Leawood Pumphouse, January 2018Leawood Pumphouse, January 2018
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 24mm, 1/105s, f8, ISO 400

Leawood Pumphouse was built in 1849 to supply water to the Cromford Canal in Derbyshire. A Watt-type beam engine draws water from the River Derwent through a 150 yard tunnel to a reservoir in the basement and then up 30 feet and into the canal.

The pump’s piston has a diameter of 50 inches, a stroke of 10 feet and works at seven strokes per minute and is capable of moving 39,000 tons of water in 24 hours! The immense size of the pump is due to the fact that there were restrictions on removing water from the river, doing so was only allowed between 8pm on Saturdays and 8pm on Sundays.

The pump house closed along with the canal in 1944 but it was restored in 1979 and is regularly steamed.

Single frame… Steel City Sunset

Steel City SunsetSteel City Sunset
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 29mm, 1/100s, f9, ISO 400

I popped up to Sheffield on Saturday to view the exhibition of images from last year’s Photo Marathon Sheffield that both I and my wife took part in…

Heading back to the railway station (and The Sheffield Tap for a cheeky pint…) I noticed the sunset was being reflected in ‘The Cutting Edge’ an 89m long stainless steel installation by Si Applied Ltd (Chris Knight, Brett Payne and Keith Tyssen) and Keiko Mukaide.

The Cutting Edge – ‘A sinous stainless steel blade gaining in height as it runs downhill towards the station entrance. The smaller end of the piece is almost circular in cross section and decorated with backlit glass work by Mukaide; the station end is a very thin ellipse also with backlit glass by the same artist. It is also lit along the length of its base.’

Classic vehicle – Renault 1000Kg light van

Like fellow blogger Jim Grey I photograph old cars whenever I spot one and although a beautifully restored example is wonderful to see, I do prefer those that have been allowed to age gracefully…

Renault 1000Kg light vanRenault 1000Kg light van
Pentax MZ-M, SMC Pentax-M 50mm f/2 – 1/90s, f8 – JCH Street Pan 400 rated at ISO 320

The Renault 1000Kg light van was introduced in 1947 but the 1400kg version introduced two years later soon became the more popular model.

This particular example was spotted in a small commune in the Nièvre department of France and is an example of the 1000Kg Voltigeur model manufactured between 1956 and 1963. As a diesel engine was only offered as an option from 1961 I’m assuming that this one has the 1996cc petrol engine.

Renault 1000Kg light van-20170801Renault 1000Kg light van
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 93mm, 1/60s, f8, ISO 400

I’m not certain that those tiny wheels (that don’t even remotely fill out the wheel arches) are the originals and sadly the van doesn’t appear to have moved in quite a while even though the ’89’ part of the registration indicates that this vehicle is registered in the neighbouring Yonne department.