Bridgenorth and Hampton Loade, end of 2015

 

 

It was a particularly grim Christmas, weather-wise, but we managed a little visit out to Bridgenorth and the Severn Valley Railway for a walk, and a few railway shots...

 

 

A not very inspired shot of the Mogul, but then the world and his dog was staked out on the best locations, the weather was manky, we were mainly out for a walk with a friend, and the picture was taken more out of habit than anything.

 

 

 

Another not terribly inspiring shot, this time of the DMU service heading for Bridgenorth, seen at Hampton Loade where we stopped for a very welcome cup of tea.

 

 

Appropriately as the final photo taken in 2015, the train heading away.

 

So what of the future?

 

Well we would say we'll blog a bit more often, and we do intend to but in the short term the hideous accounting hell of the HMRC Tax Self Assessment needs finishing off.  We have a wedding booked in (been a while since we did one, but we said we'd only do wedding shoots for mates).  We have a massive commission we're working on, a sculpture build, exhibition... we really, really need to update the website.  And good grief, do we need a new camera.  So much going on for 2016, lets hope we can be a little more proactive with the blog.

Liverpool

 

 

Towards the tail end of the year, we had the chance for a bit of a galleries-heavy trip to Liverpool, mainly a family day out with a chance to meet an old friend from College.  So just a few snaps really.

 

 

We rather like Liverpool, though it hasn't half changed in recent years.  Its all very smart now, which is nice to see, and the area around the Albert Dock is very pretty, even if a bit of the old industrial bustle would be nice.  This ship in the dry-dock, in dazzle-pattern camouflage, was eye-catching on a dull and overcast day.

 

 

The Museum of Liverpool provided lots of inspiration for model making, and more pics will be appearing on t'other blog.  In the meantime, the Token Railway Photograph of the surviving carriage from the Liverpool Overhead Railway which is on display.  All in all, a very nice museum with some very interesting exhibits.

 

 

We then moved onto the maritime museum which is always good, but a little depressing (as it mainly seems to contain models and artefacts of vessels which have sunk with immense loss of life), then onto the Tate.  The above grimy shot of the air vents was the only picture taken here, which is not a slur on the quality of the gallery, more that we were having more fun looking at the art.

 

 

 

Then it was onto the Bluecoat, where our friends' boyfriend works, so we spent a bit of time there.  A lovely gallery with some interesting work, and a nice community focus.  If only Bradford had something similar.

 

A brief trip to the main gallery near Lime Street Station, but by then places were starting to close, so we'll be making a return visit in the spring.

 

Back to the docks after a lovely day out, with more galleries and museums visited in one day than we manage most of the year.

Blackpool- beach and illuminations

 

 

A big day out to Blackpool this post, day and night shots for the illuminations.  First up, it was a walk on the beach at Fleetwood.

 

 

For anyone as into post-apocalyptic imagery as Ben, this looked of course like a river running between ruined buildings...

 

 

...prompting a few shots, and a plan for a possible miniatures shoot.

 

 

 

 

 

Odd lighting, to say the least.

 

 

 

 

It was then up to the hills near Waddecar inland of Blackpool.

 

 

 

 

A nice bit of a leg-stretch whilst we waited for evening, and then it was down to Blackpool, for a ride on the tram down the pleasure beach, so Amy could go into 'Light Trails' mode with the photography...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The illuminations, always worth a visit for abstracts.

Autumnal Keighley

 

 

 

Making the most of our local resident railcards, it was off to the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway for an afternoon.  The arrival of the Class 101 DMU ("Daisy" of course, to the kids) provided an opportunity for some unusual shots.

 

 

No, the railway hasn't been mad enough to let us at the controls, but rather these older trains have a glass partition you can see out of the front.

 

 

At speed through the woods, from a spot where I (Ben) have taken many lineside shots over the years... odd to see it from this angle.

 

 

Keighley station, waiting for the run back up the valley.

 

 

The steam service later in the day (after a very nice pie and peas lunch at Oxenhope) was in the hands of the Standard 4. 

 

 

A bit of long-exposure window hanging resulted.

 

 

Finally some shots having another go at something I tried last year at the steam gala, in the tunnels, first at Mytholmes...

 

 

...and then at Ingrow.

 

Haven't managed many railway shots, particularly since the new job started, so nice to get back on the trains for a day.