BRISTOL 129 – MISTY MORNING, TEMPLE MEADS RAILWAY STATION

 

 

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Early morning, and the facade of Bristol’s main railway station – Temple Meads – is softened by the mist.

I have known this station for all of my life.  I can still remember, as a little boy – 60 years ago at least – riding out of this station on a train, and putting my head out of the carriage window (ah, the days before Health & Safety …) to see the great clouds of steam shooting up from the big, chugging and coughing locomotive that was hauling us along.

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Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm (equiv); 1600 ISO; Lightroom, using the Velvia/Vivid film simulation; Bristol; 20 Apr 2018.
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ARCHIVE 344 – MIST LIFTING, HERONS GREEN

 

 

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Early morning mist lifting at Herons Green Bay, Chew Valley Lake, south of Bristol; 6 Apr 2015.

Driving through the Chew Valley, heading for the Mendip Hills, I came out onto an open stretch of road beside Chew Valley Lake and was suddenly enveloped in thick mist.  But over to my left the sun was starting to rise, the mist was lifting and changing colours in the most visually seductive ways – and I swerved into a layby, jumped out and started taking pictures.

I was there for about an hour, and this is the first of a short series of images from that misty morning.  I love images with little detail, and the telezoom that I’m married to was just right for picking out scenes in that warm softness.

Chew Valley Lake is a large reservoir, the 5th largest artificial area of water in the UK.  It was opened in 1956, to supply Bristol with drinking water.  It has many memories for me because it was here, in 1967, that two school friends first opened my eyes to birds and birdwatching, and so set me on a path and interest that continued through to 2002.  I no longer go birdwatching, but I retain a deep love and feeling for birds, and see them as an essential facet of all land-, water- and skyscapes.

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Technique: D700 with 70-300 Nikkor lens at 78mm; 200 ISO; Color Efex Pro 4.

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PEOPLE 306 – GOING TO WORK 40

 

 

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Three travellers on the upper deck of an early morning bus.

The woman beside the window is engrossed in a newspaper, her expression reacting – negatively, perhaps –  to the day’s news.  But the other two people – further into the shot and less clearly seen – appear more passive and preoccupied.  And the steaminess of the bus’s window is thick, almost opaque in places, and densely textured.

Those two people at the back get to me.  First, they can only be partly seen, its almost as if they are fading into the background – which brings thoughts about the dehumanising effects of some workplaces, and of the unnaturalness of lives spent commuting and working in cities.  And second, both of these people are staring fixedly ahead.  Are they somewhere far away in daydreams, or do they see something nearer at hand, closer ahead, in either the present time or in times soon to come?

Also, this blurred image is starting to look like some sort of painting or daub (more probably the latter), and when any photo does this I feel I’m getting somewhere.

Earlier images from this series can be found here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28,  29, 30,  31,  32, 33  34  35  36 37  38 39 .  Each will open in a separate window.

Click onto the image to open a  larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it further – recommended >>> come on in, the grain is lovely!

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm (equiv); 12,800 ISO; Lightroom, using the Provia/Standard film simulation; Temple Meads, central Bristol; 15 Dec 2017.
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PEOPLE 305 – GOING TO WORK 39

 

 

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Early morning bus, inbound to the city centre, at Temple Meads.

A roaring dual carriageway passes the approach road that leads up to Temple Meads Railway Station, and there are busy stops for the buses bringing people into the city centre from the south.  Some passengers carry on into the city, others leave the buses here to catch trains, so that the buses spend some time at the stops before moving off again.

I got onto a traffic island in the middle of the dual carriageway, which halved the range to the buses, leaned on a lamppost and waited to see what would materialise.  I was looking for buses with steamy windows – some had them, some were clear, and on the towering double-deckers, it was more usually the windows on the upper deck that were misty.

Earlier images from this series can be found here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28,  29, 30,  31,  32, 33  34  35  36 37  38 .  Each will open in a separate window.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it yet again.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm (equiv); 12,800 ISO; Lightroom, using the Provia/Standard film simulation; Temple Meads, central Bristol; 15 Dec 2017.
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PEOPLE 302 – GOING TO WORK 37

 

 

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Contemplation – or perhaps, mercifully, some light sleep – on the morning bus in winter.  Leaning – or maybe slumped – slightly forward of the cleared circle of window through which he had been looking out at the world.

Lurking a little on a busy street, watching the stops where the packed, steamy buses disgorge their morning cargo.  I’m looking for pictures of passengers semi-seen through the steaminess of the buses’ windows.  Here, I was looking up at the upper deck of the bus, which is fine, but ideally I’d like to be more on a level with the upper deck, and I’ve found a place to do this.  Someone carrying out a similar project in London thought finding such an elevated viewpoint integral to the images’ success.

Earlier images from this series can be found here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28,  29, 30,  31,  32, 33  34  35  36 . Each will open in a separate window.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it yet again.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm (equiv); 3200 ISO; Lightroom, using the Astia/Soft film simulation; Capture NX2; Union Street, central Bristol; 1 Dec 2017.
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STANTON DREW 43 – VILLAGE LIFE 10

 

 

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Looking out from the village at sunrise, on a cold and very misty day.  Using a telephoto to isolate a small part of the scene.

An introduction to this Village Life series can be found here: 1 .  Further images are here: 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 .    Each will open in a new window.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it yet again – certainly recommended >>> can you see the two birds in the tall tree?  Woodpigeons, I think.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm; 400 ISO; Lightroom, using the Velvia/Vivid film simulation; Stanton Drew; 6 Nov 2017.
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STANTON DREW 42 – VILLAGE LIFE 9

 

 

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In the cemetery of the Church of St Mary the Virgin, in Stanton Drew, early on a very frosty, misty morning.

I have spoken about this delightful churchyard before.  Although neither Christian nor an admirer of church architecture, I love to come and wander here in solitude because this simple country churchyard speaks volumes to me, enriching both my eyes and my mind.  Wandering alone in this little churchyard always gives me time to think about the deeper things on Life, not least of which is the impermanence of everything, to which these weathered and leaning tombstones bear certain witness.  And, as I say, in solitude – this church is up at the end of a little road,  next to a farm, and I have never met anyone else there. I was going to say that I’d never met another soul there but, for all I know, they have been all around me as I walk and, if that is the case, then that’s absolutely fine by me.

I have often wondered what I would do if confronted by a soul or ghost – call it what you will – and like to think that my overriding emotion would be one of wonder, rather than fear.  But that scenario has yet to be tested although – if what I experienced is to be believed – I have on one occasion at least been very close indeed to a ghost.  I was with a friend in a roadside pub, parts of which are very old – dating back to the days when transport on England’s main roads was by coach and horses.  Sitting eating her meal, my companion suddenly became rigid and very pale – and dumbstruck save for “There’s something here …”.  Later she told me she had seen a tall woman, dressed in black, standing beside us.  After she had calmed down a bit, I walked around the many empty rooms of the old and rambling building, talking to the darkness, waiting to see if anything would appear.  Nothing did.  But later, a small child went into a room and immediately came out saying “Mummy, Mummy, come and see the little doggy!” – but the bare room was completely empty.  Someone told me that children are more sensitive to such phenomena than adults, but I don’t know if that’s true.

My attitude to ghosts is simple.  I know nothing about them but, because there have been so many reports over the centuries, I feel that there must be something there, though I have no idea what that something (or things) may be.

An introduction to this Village Life series can be found here: 1 .  Further images are here: 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 .    Each will open in a new window.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it still further – recommended.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 138mm (equiv); 1600 ISO; Lightroom, using the Camera Pro Neg. Hi film simulation; Stanton Drew; 6 Nov 2017.  I especially like the look this film simulation gives to this particular image.
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BRISTOL 127 – THE SUN BREAKING THROUGH

 

 

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A cold morning, and the rising sun starts to burn through the mists over Whitchurch village, on the southern outskirts of Bristol.

The first image in this series, along with context, can be found here.  Subsequent images are here: 2   .

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it yet again.

Technique: TG-5 at 100mm (equiv); 320 ISO; Lightroom, using the Camera Vivid film simulation; Whitchurch, south Bristol; 2 Nov 2017.
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PEOPLE 299 – GOING TO WORK 35

 

 

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All my pictures of Bristol’s morning rush hour have been taken in the city centre.  But here is something different, here is “rush hour” out in the sticks, out on the city’s edge.  To be sure there are still houses around, both to the left and to the right of this shot, but there are also trees and broad grass verges, and back behind the bus shelter are open fields with sheep and cattle. The sunrise of a clear, frosty morning is blazing in across that open farmland.

Two people wait for the morning bus to work, perhaps enjoying the bright (but still cold) sun, but for sure deeply engaged with their mobile devices.  Through the bus shelter’s icy windows we see only their engrossed shadows.

Earlier images from this series can be found here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28,  29, 30,  31,  32, 33  34  . Each will open in a separate window.

Click onto the image to open another version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it.

Technique: TG-5 at 100mm (equiv); 200 ISO; Lightroom; Capture NX2; south Bristol; 8 Nov 2017.
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BRISTOL 126 – PARADISE

 

 

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As you open this post, I can hear you thinking “This is Paradise?!  Has FATman finally lost it???”.  Well, to me, in a way, yes it is paradise.  Why do I think this?  Have I finally lost the plot?  And, then again, how can I have lost something I’ve never really found in the first place?

OK, explanations.  This is a little cut through between two back lanes in south Bristol, that I regularly pass through during the 5 mile walks that I use to relax and free my mind and to (hopefully) reduce my waistline.  Its a very simple little place.  Just some grass that is roughly cut by the local council, and a stream flowing through a little culvert – water which, despite the houses close in upon either side, probably explains why this lovely little spot has never been built on.

And then there’s this absolutely beautiful and serene tree, with a canopy like some vast umbrella, which looks just ideal for sitting under on some reflective day, although I have yet to do so.  Add to all this a very friendly little ginger and white cat who has lost most of his tail, and for the brief times that I’m within this quiet little space, I feel uplifted and very much at peace, and so … paradise …

And you’re seeing this delightful little spot perhaps at its best.  The cat’s not there, to be sure, but the grass has been cut, the tree is ablaze with autumn’s hues, and all is shrouded by a soft, autumn mist.

I have for a long time, perhaps for all of my life in fact, hankered after the simple life – I warmly recall my first years in Kenya, without phone, TV or radio, but with geckos chattering back and for to each other across my living room –  and those feelings have only accelerated since my retirement from work four years ago.  Modern life and technology seem only to make things ever more complex and rushed, but I’m after far more simple pleasures and a far more leisurely pace – and maybe this little, unpretentious space goes some way towards symbolising those ideals.

The first image in this series, along with context, can be found here.

Click onto this image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it yet again.

Technique: TG-5 at 57mm (equiv); 400 ISO; Lightroom, using the Camera Natural film preset; Whitchurch, south Bristol; 2 Nov 2017.

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