Lux Fine Photography: 2011

Saturday, 28 May 2011

I have moved!

I have moved to wordpress - just because they look better and give me better control over how I present my pictures. I am slowly transferring my photos over :) which will take me some time - so I wont be putting any new pics up for a while yet - just transferring.

From now on I am here:

http://theeyenology.wordpress.com

Cheers

Wednesday, 25 May 2011

Canary Wharf, London

I have a new favourite place in London - Canary Wharf. Lots and lots of glass, interesting architecture, skyscrapers, and reflections galore. The Canary Wharf Underground Station is a masterpiece in itself - has a very Metropolis feeling to it, and is a very deep hole in the ground! This building is the HSBC building on a Friday afternoon when all the suits were hard at work.

From Wikipedia:

"Canary Wharf is built on the site of the West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs. From 1802, the area was one of the busiest docks in the world. By the 1950s, the port industry began to decline, leading to the docks closing by 1980. Canary Wharf itself takes its name from No. 32 berth of the West Wood Quay of the Import Dock. This was built in 1936 for Fruit Lines Ltd, a subsidiary of Fred Olsen Lines for the Mediterranean and Canary Island (Insula Canaria (from canis) "Island of Dogs") fruit trade. At their request, the quay and warehouse were given the name Canary Wharf.

Today Canary Wharf is a major business district located in London, United Kingdom. It is one of London's two main financial centres, alongside the traditional City of London, and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings, including the second tallest (and tallest completed), One Canada Square. Canary Wharf contains around 14,000,000 square feet (1,300,000 m²) of office and retail space, of which around 7,900,000 square feet (734,000 m²) is owned by Canary Wharf Group. Around 90,000 people work in Canary Wharf and it is home to the world or European headquarters of numerous major banks, professional services firms and media organisations including Barclays, Citigroup, Clifford Chance, HSBC, KPMG, Skadden and Thomson Reuters."

Thursday, 19 May 2011

Morris Dancers

In the Autumn of 2009 we went for a short break down to Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, and next to the B&B was a car park. In the carpark one morning these two and about eight other men came out in all their glory to practice. It was kinda cool - I wasn't the only photographer there. I do think the Forest of Dean is absolutely gorgeous.

Wednesday, 18 May 2011

The Arts Quarter, Leicester

More of Leicester's architecture, this time a lovely building across from the Athena building, in the Arts Quarter. It houses a cinema I think, and a number of cafes etc. I liked how the building even though it was very modern didn't look too out of place in amongst the Deco, and Victorian buildings. Leicester is beginning to grow on me.

Sunday, 15 May 2011

May Day Parade, Quorn

These fine pairs of legs belong to members of the Quorn Pipe Band in the May Day Parade, 2011. You could hear them well before you saw them coming down the street, kilts swings, tassels flying.

Friday, 13 May 2011

No. 18

Monday, 9 May 2011

Mary Gauthier @ The Musician, Leicester

We went to see Mary Gautier last night at The Musician in Leicester. She really was awesome, wonderful musician. She was accompanied by Tania Elizabeth and Dave Glover. Tania Elizabeth was on fiddle, and was fantastic, really into the music, and a great accompaniment to Mary Gautier. Dave Glover was an Irish guy who is currently working in Nashville. He was good, I think he has potential, but MG outclassed him by miles. I would say go see them all if they are in the area.

From Wikipedia:

"Gauthier was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Given up at birth by a mother she never knew, Gauthier was adopted by an Italian Catholic couple in Thibodaux, Louisiana. At age 15, she ran away from home, and spent the next several years in drug rehabilitation, halfway houses, and living with friends; she spent her 18th birthday in a jail cell. Struggling to deal with being adopted and her sexuality, she used drugs and alcohol. These experiences provided fodder for her songwriting later on. Spurred on by friends, she enrolled at Louisiana State University as a philosophy major, dropping out during her senior year.

After attending the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, she opened a Cajun restaurant in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, Dixie Kitchen (also the eponymous title of her first album). Mary ran, and cooked at, the restaurant for eleven years. She was arrested for drunk driving opening night, July 12, 1990, and has been sober ever since. After achieving sobriety, she was driven to dedicate herself full-time to songwriting, and embarked upon a career in music. She wrote her first song at age 35.

She sold her share in the restaurant to finance her second album, Drag Queens in Limousines, in 2000. The summer of the release of this album, she was invited to play 11 major folk festivals, including the Newport Folk Festival. Drag Queens in Limousines won in The 1st Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Folk/Singer-Songwriter Song, and she was nominated for Best New Artist of the year by the Boston Music Awards. She was nominated for three GLAMA awards ( Gay and Lesbian American Music Awards) and won best country artist of the year. In 2002 her third album,"Filth and Fire" was named "Best Indy CD of the year" by Jon Pareles of The New York Times, in 2002.

She moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 2001 and secured a publishing deal with Harlan Howard Songs, then secured a record deal with Lost Highway , a division of Universal Music, in 2003. Her first major label release, in 2005, Mercy Now was on the top 10 list for the year in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Daily News, and Billboard Magazine. She was awarded "New Artist of the Year" by The Americana Music Association the same year. Mercy Now was voted the #6 Record of the Decade by No Depression Magazine. Her second Lost Highway release, "Between Daylight and Dark" appeared in September 2007. She has had her songs recorded by numerous artists, including Jimmy Buffett, Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, Bill Chambers and Candi Staton. Her latest release is called The Foundling and was released by Razor and Tie Records in 2010. It was named the #3 Record of the Year in the LA Times by music writer Randy Lewis."

Thursday, 5 May 2011

I went out walking...

It's funny when I was fifteen and full of grace - or is that face? I painted a picture of an imagined tree - it looked very much like this one. It is a very cool tree. The fields behind are hi-lighter yellow and very, very pretty. This was taken on the pathway from Shepshed to Belton, Leicestershire.

Monday, 2 May 2011

Spring has sprung!

I took this as the sun was setting and we were on the final leg of our evening walk through a field full of lovely flowers. I liked the movement in this shot, I tweaked it a bit with a golden yellow filter, the flowers were yellow to start with so it just deepened it a little. I think it works.

Saturday, 30 April 2011

Kinsale, Co. Cork

He was so cute just sitting out on the step, and so well behaved as he never moved off the step, even though he would have been straight on to the road and away if he had. If this dog had been anything like my childhood Australian Terrier it would have been away and gone just as the door opened a crack.

Friday, 29 April 2011

Queen Victoria Memorial, London

I confess I didn't catch a train down to London to be with the b'squillions of other people lining the Mall and other streets for a glimpse of the happy couple and their royal entourage. Much like rugby games sometimes the best view is to be found on the small screen, from the comfort of your own couch, with a refillable glass of Pimms No.1. So I have no photos of the big day, instead this is Angel of Justice (I think), which can be found on the Queen Victoria Memorial, outside Buckingham Palace.

From Wikipedia:

"The Victoria Memorial is a sculpture in London, placed at the centre of Queen's Gardens in front of Buckingham Palace. It was unveiled in 1911, the sculptor being Sir Thomas Brock and completed with the installation of the final bronze statues in 1914. The surround was constructed by the architect Sir Aston Webb, from 2,300 tons of white marble. It is a Grade I listed building.

It has a large statue of Queen Victoria facing north-eastwards towards The Mall. The other sides of the monument feature dark patinated bronze statues of the Angel of Justice (facing north-westwards toward Green Park), the Angel of Truth (facing south-eastwards) and Charity facing Buckingham Palace. On the pinnacle, is Victory with two seated figures. The subsidiary figures were gifted by the people of New Zealand. The whole sculpture has a nautical theme, much like the rest of the mall (Admiralty Arch etc.). This can be seen in the mermaids, mermen and a hippogriff, all of which are suggestive of the United Kingdom's naval power. There is a similar memorial to her husband, Albert, the Prince Consort outside the Royal Albert Hall."

Wednesday, 27 April 2011

No. 16

This was taken along the old bluebell railway (which no longer exists) that ran between Loughborough and Coalville, Leicestershire. It was named for the bluebelles that would line the route. It is now a walking track that is shrouded in bushes and trees that can be seen on google earth, but isn't acknowledged as a walkway by google maps.

Monday, 25 April 2011

Botanic Gardens, Wellington

Springtime in Wellington, New Zealand is pretty special. The Wellington Botanic Gardens plant many, many tulip bulbs (approximately 25,000), and wait for the spring growth to pop up and bloom. Garden beds full of tulips looking gorgeous with their many colours. Of course they have many other plants, flowering and non-flowering, they have many fine rose bushes as well. Well worth a visit!

Friday, 22 April 2011

Spring Carnival, Upper Hutt

This lovely Punch and Judy show was part of the Upper Hutt 2010 Spring Carnival, both young and old(er) stopped and watched the puppet show. It was a great day out, the weather mostly held out and there were a lot of people out to see the stalls and listen to the various performers.

Tuesday, 19 April 2011

Panels

These iron panels caught my eye in Krakow, Poland. They covered the side of a building just oxidising in the sun. I liked that each panel was changing colour in it's own way, quiet chaos in a uniform kind of way.

Thursday, 14 April 2011

Bring back my bonny to me, to me

I like it cause it's bonny or it is bonny because I like it. Either way the Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow is pretty cool, the building as well as the art. The outside had lots of fairy lights draped from the buildings eves - which was cool, although it reminded me of a Gretchen Wilson song that talks about keeping the christmas lights on the front porch all year long. It had a number of interesting windows - I like windows. This is my interpretation of what I saw on a freezing cold day through one of the windows.

Wednesday, 13 April 2011

Reworking No.2

I think I like this version better than the other version of No.2. I just like all the detail - similar to what you get when you take the time to look at a Pollock.

Tuesday, 12 April 2011

I heart the Tate Modern

I love visiting the Tate Modern - I admit it is my favourite British Museum. I had just finished looking at one of the exhibitions and was walking past the balcony and saw these two admiring the view of the Thames, St Paul's Cathedral and over the Millennium Bridge. I snapped the shot and left them admiring the view and none the wiser.

Monday, 11 April 2011

Mount Saint Bernard Abbey, Leicestershire

A twelve km hike there and back from our place, it was a lovely day for it though. The church itself is very functional for me and very much what you see is what you get. Which I think is fine it is a functioning church and monastery - lovely place for a picnic, which we saw a number of families doing on the large green spaces.

From Wikipedia:

"Mount St Bernard's Abbey was founded in 1835 on 222 acres (0.90 km²) of land given by Ambrose de Lisle, who wanted to re-introduce monastic life to the country. He was helped by a loan from Bishop Thomas Walsh, the Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District. At first, the monks lived in a four-roomed cottage but later domestic buildings and a chapel were built. The first monks were Augustine, Luke, Xavier, Cyprian, Placid, Simeon and Fr. Odilo Woolfrey. The first monastery was opened in 1837, designed by William Railton. The permanent monastery, as it stands today, was completed in 1844 with donations from John Talbot, the 16th earl of Shrewsbury, and other benefactors. It was designed by Augustus Pugin, who offered his services free. In 1848, it was granted the status of an abbey by Pope Pius IX and its first abbot was appointed, Dom Bernard Palmer. It was united with the Cistercian congregation by a papal brief in 1849.

In 1856 a reformatory school for young Catholic delinquents was founded at Mount Saint Bernard. It closed in 1881 after several episodes of disorder, but re-opened temporarily in 1884-5 to house boys who had burnt and sunk their own reformatory ship moored in the Mersey. The abbey suffered from financial problems and a lack of monks joining the community through the nineteenth century. This improved in the twentieth century and the church was extended between 1935 and 1939, although it was not consecrated until 1945, by the Bishop of Nottingham. Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi was a monk at the abbey from 1950 until his death in 1964.

The monks get up at 3.15am every day and go to bed at 8.00 pm. The three focuses of monastic life at Mount St Bernard's Abbey are prayer, work and reading with study. They take part in daily liturgical prayer, known as Opus Dei or Canonical Hours. They meditatively read the Bible, which is called Lectio Divina. Silence and solitude are very important to the order and the abbey. Their work includes running their 200-acre (0.81 km²) dairy farm, pottery, bookbinding, beekeeping and tending the vegetable garden and orchard. They also run a gift shop where they sell the items that they make in the abbey. The abbey has a guesthouse for friends and family of the monks, retreatants and those who are interested in the monastic life."

Sunday, 10 April 2011

No. 13

These lovely trees surround the Broadmarsh reservoir, Shepshed, attached to one of the trees was a sign saying keep out. Which is understandable you don't want people swimming in drinking water. I love how the trees look the part like they are guarding the land. I also like how it reminds me of silent movie backgrounds.

Saturday, 9 April 2011

No. 12

Fresh off the boat so to speak. We walked to Mount Saint Bernards Abbey, just outside of Shepshed, Leicestershire. It was a lovely day today, very sunny with a hint of breeze. We walked through the Broadmarsh Reservoir and slogged up the hill - this is halfway up the hill in between the reservoir and the abbey.

Friday, 8 April 2011

Jewish Memorial, Berlin

Perspective is a wonderful thing.

From Berlin.de:

"Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial, located in Mitte on a stretch of the former “death strip”, where the Wall once stood near the Brandenburg Gate, is Berlin’s stunning monument to the Holocaust, dedicated to the Jewish victims of the Nazi genocide of World War II. Impressive in its awesome grey soberness, rather than sombreness, it includes an underground Ort der Information (Information Centre) located on the south-eastern side of the memorial grounds, accessible via two flights of stairs or a lift.  

The 800sqm Information Centre complements the abstraction of the memorial with personal documentation about individuals and families. This includes biographical details, recordings and information about memorial sites throughout Germany and Europe. Documenting the universal issue of genocide, the centre represents a central focus on the diverse memorial sites across Germany which stress the living memory aspect of remembrance. In Berlin an examples of this is the Stolpersteine (tripping stones) initiative – plaques on street pavements, usually outside the house’s main entrance, commemorating deported Jewish residents.  

It took 17 years for the Memorial to be completed in Berlin. Its foundation stone was a Bundestag resolution passed on June 25, 1999 to erect a Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This was followed by years of discussion and deliberation, until the Monument was completed on May 8, 2005. US architect Peter Eisenmann conceived the winning design consisting of 2711 rectangular blocks of concrete laid out in grid formation, recalling tombstones. The monument is open day and night and it is possible to walk through the concrete slabs at one’s own pace. Visitors are not allowed to climb on them though, something which is particularly hard for younger visitors and small children to resist. The effect is that of inner dislocation in a destabilising maze as the ground is uneven and the blocks vary in height and size. An ideal setting for quiet contemplation."

Wednesday, 6 April 2011

Pretty, Pretty Sainsbury's

Hottest day of the year so far! Sainsbury's is not really somewhere where you'd think of funky dunky squares of coolness - but what do I know? I liked how almost every window pane was showing something different, even when they were reflecting the same object.