Close-ups on the cheap

Whilst we were in Wales back in the summer, we picked up a set of very basic close-up lenses which were designed to clip onto camera phones.  Very cheap as one of the three lenses was missing, and worth a play, we reckoned, so whilst on a trip up the Glaslyn Pass, Amy decided to have a go with them to see what they were capable of...

Potential there for some more work, but they are definitely suitable for a few more abstract experiments...

Utley and Steeton

Early Autumn, and I (Ben) started going a bit further afield on my morning walks on my non-work days.  I'd never done the top road up to Steeton before, and a nice morning with a bit of low-lying mist gave a good opportunity.

The road was nice and quiet (though the locals aren't too used to strangers up here, given the worried/suspicious looks I was attracting... though to be fair, that could just be me).

Some nice views from up top anyway, and somewhere I might return to.

Something rather more urban by contrast, back on the valley floor in Keighley...

Another morning, another misty start, another walk.

The mist gave some very peculiar effects with the lighting.

A quick train pic whilst I was walking past.

Back up through Utley Cemetery, which was looking nicely gothic in the mist.

It was nice on this second walk to be able to get a new look on familiar surroundings with this mist, and it will be interesting to see how the winter weather also transforms these spots...

August on the main line

Just a few train pictures from over the summer, taken whilst on the way to and from some gallery visits... some of these ended up being published online incidentally.  Carnforth first, above, with a train from Barrow in Furness just about to set off.

Leeds next, before and after a visit to the Tetley.  Just a few pics on the phone, which is better than getting an SLR out for pics on the station (the rules state you're meant to notify station staff if there specifically to take pictures, but just getting a few snaps on the phone is a lot less hassle).

EMT High Speed Train.  Nice to see these still around, a proper design classic by Sir Kenneth Grange, and something that I've been studying as research for a miniatures build I'm doing.

The slightly uninspiring new Northern livery.

Under the roof at Leeds.  Despite only being rebuilt relatively recently, it is apparently going to be rebuilt yet again, as part of the redevelopment ready for HS2 (because Leeds needs even more shops and trendy inner-city apartments).  Meanwhile, nearby Bradford still has a concrete wonderland for one station, and a glorified bus shelter for the other.  Cest la vie.

Saltaire, with a train from Settle passing through in the rain...

...and the Scarborough Spa Express heading through Bingley on one of the last runs of the season in September.  Shame it isn't steam-hauled until York, but at least the class 33's made for unusual and rare motive power.

Hebden Bridge Exhibition

Somewhat tardy in posting these pictures, but then I (Ben) managed to lose the memory card... back before the summer we attended an exhibition being run by a work colleague of Amy, taking part in an Arts Festival in Hebden Bridge.  The chapel, in a tiny village up on the hills overlooking the town, is a regular venue for arts and music, and a nicely forward-looking way of encouraging use of a lovely old building alongside religious services.

The main space was filled with a mix of suspended pieces which caught the light nicely (being partly composed of transparent cellophane) and folded-paper pieces on the church pews, all specially made with the venue in mind.

The project was the work of a locally-based artist, Komal, who put on the show with the assistance of some fellow artists and workmates.

The slightly-faded grandeur of the building was an attraction in its own right, such as this stairwell leading up to the activity/refreshment room upstairs...

...where there were some interactive activities being set up, mimicking the pieces laid out on the pews downstairs.

More nice details inside the building, a line of battered coat hooks.

Tea and Cake, an essential of any exhibition.

Another detail for the nerdy student of design, an early illuminated sign for the exit.

France

Just a few pics on the blog today, shot in France during the holiday to Disneyland Paris.  This wasn't a photographic holiday, but a family one, so not many pics (and we were using an iPod to avoid having a big camera to lug around), but a few for here nonetheless.

Of course, there was the opportunity for some train pics, of some slightly unusual subject matter... not that Disney made it easy, mindyou, as much of the railway circling the park is hidden from view, or obstructed by bushes and so on...

A slightly unconventional railway pic, part of the fake movie set representing the enjoyably ridiculous "Reign of Fire"... French railway carriage in a fake ruined London.

Finally, a couple of train pics shot on the way home.  Local commuter train, and the very posh double-decker TGV which took us to the Eurostar connection home.