Texture-on-Sea

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Sunderland is the farthest north I've been, and in November, 2006, it was very cold. This was around 3.30 in the afternoon and the sun was low, daylight would be gone in an hour. This is the lighthouse at the end of the north breakwater of the pair protecting the beach on the Roker foreshore, and I walked out there in the sea wind to explore stone, iron, rust and light. The texture of the stone construction of the tower appealed very much to the lens, and is characteristic of the way all coastal engineering fares at the hands of the elements. The shot was a simple one, looking up the tower against the late afternoon sky, and enhancements were simply sharpness, gamma correction and contrast. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Old Streets by the Sea

As a summer town, Blackpool is usually recorded on film in the good weather. That famous tower is commonly shot against a blue sky, and from the perspective of a busy, bustling foreshore, filled with holidaymakers. So when I was walking these streets in November, 2006, dodging hail and showers between comics shops and fast food shops, it struck me as an atmospheric and atypical way to see the place. Though many of these buildings probably date from the early 20th century, the streets themselves are 19th century or earlier, and the perspective compression of a mild telephoto effect here really shows up the organic lack of symmetry. These streets are probably less than 100 meters from the beach and were built over ancient dunes, thus the rise and fall of profile and undulation along the coast. This gives a rustic, weather-beaten character which is very photogenic. The picture was sharpened, slightly gamma-corrected, and the contrast and colour were brought up a little. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

The Olde Magycke Shoppe

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Soft light can do wonders with texture. While a sunny day will throw texture into relief that can stun the eye, an overcast day can blend tones and soften edges until a living place takes on the subtle feeling of a painting. This was a very overcast day, in fact it was raining for most of it, but my exposures were long enough that for the most part the rain did not register. Looking almost like the work of the 'Painter of Light,' and stocking everything from magic books to crop-circle goodies, this is the 'Henge Shop' in the village of Avebury, Wiltshire, England, one of the buildings which stand actually within the arc of the 6000-year old stone circle that dominates the area. It was photographed on a drizzly morning in early December 2006 during a coach trip around the Neolithic and Bronze Age attractions of the south country. The camera did the focus and exposure, I handled the framing and composition. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Photo by Mike, 2006.