SCIIIENNNCE!!! ...and close-up geological photography.

Today on Ribbon Art and Photography... we have:

SCIIIENNNCE!!! indeed.  Well, of a sort.

It has to be science, there's an enormous and very complex microscope.  But the above behind-the-scenes pic is a little dull, so let's go for some more dramatic angles!

Microscope!

Rock samples in a tray!

And more dramatic lighting!

Two computers running simultaneously?  That MUST be science!

Gratuitous close-up on a keyboard!

OK, enough facetiousness then.  You might be able to tell I (Ben) am typing this up whilst slightly sleep-deprived.  I digress.  When we were back in the West Midlands, whilst I was messing around doing pictures with miniatures on the sides of canals and derelict factories, and wrecking the car out on location shoots, Amy was rather more sensibly undertaking some close-up shots of mineral samples for one of her projects, indoors within twelve feet of the teapot.

With the aid of my Dad's significant collection of geological samples and his microscope, and some laptop computers with focal-stacking software, Amy spent an evening shooting some nice abstract photographs.  On average taking about 20 pics at a time, the images were stacked and the lighting and contrast balanced for each shot.  A small selection is shown below:

This is very much an exploratory and experimental body of work for Amy, and the final fine-art piece these images are destined for will be revealed soon...

(And yes, the cartoon picture at the top is an approximation of how we look, in comic form.  This will be the only time the comics appear on the blog probably, but the soon-to-be-relaunched sculpture/model making blog will have a lot more comic content coming soon.)

Hartlebury Museum

Hartlebury Museum, located appropriately enough in Hartlebury, Worcestershire, was the location of one of our recent little family trips.  This is somewhere I (Ben) went to a few times as a child, and it was a destination for school trips.  With a day to fill on a recent visit, I was curious what the place would be like these days.

Admission fee was very reasonable, and though the place was very quiet it was a slightly manky day well out of the normal tourist season, and the staff were all very friendly despite the quiet.  Entry through a good quality gift shop, and the first area visited was this, the display of Gyspy Caravans.

I've always had a liking for these traditional caravans, and this is the largest collection in the country (a rarity because tradition apparently in the old days was that on the death of the owner, the van would be ceremonially burned, so not all that many survive).  Stored undercover, they form an interesting collection.

Detail of the highly ornate panelling and decorative touches. 

Also in the building were various other wagons, carts, velocipedes and bikes.

Outside, and a proper old phone box.  I know it seems weird liking and wanting to photograph these, but we've both notices there's less of them around nowadays than when we were kids, even the more modern steel and glass ones.

One of my personal favourite subjects to seek out, 'proper' workshops...

The majority of the collection is displayed in a large old manor house, which has some nicely modern touches like the combined atrium/lift in glass, which seems to complement the brick building very well indeed.

Photographed because not only did I study in Stourbridge for three years, but ironically one of the other choices for the day was going to be the glass museum near Stourbridge- or would have been had the cash-strapped council not closed it and laid-off the staff.

Interesting water feature inside...

...and a nice old camera, with a touch of 1920's CCTV with the way it was posed in the room.

Photographed just for the amusing sight of a waiter paddling out to the floating Afternoon Tea.

A minor detail I know, but I loved how the headphones were displayed on such an ornate coat-hook... I love looking out for inventive and quirky stuff like this in museums.

A beautiful, working carousel miniature which had The Childs fixated.

Down in the recreated schoolroom, something else I've always admired, the designs of old, worn school desks.  Something about the history contained in that weathered, chipped wood and polished brass on the inkwells...

We need a staircase like this at home, somewhere to display our 3D work... very nice and eye-catching in brick.

The upstairs rooms on farming, and nursing in wartime, were extremely interesting, the fact there aren't any photos is testament to how interesting -particularly the interactive, dressing-up stuff was for The Childs- was.

The attic is something I remembered very strongly from childhood...

...mainly because of this highly enviable collection of old Hornby tinplate trains in one of the cabinets.  Again, in a future, massive house (well we can dream) a load of these gorgeous old trains whizzing round a track in the loft would be desirable...

An odd one to end on perhaps, but something else I have an interest in are ornate old boxes.  I'd love something like this for model-making or art supplies, somehow it would be more refined and 'special' than a plastic toolbox.

We left via the gift shop, with a few choice purchases.  What can I say about the museum?  We all enjoyed the day out, The Childs had fun, there was a good mix of 'proper' displays and interactive bits and pieces.  But I think the main thing is the fact that somewhere like this is open at all- we had so much trouble trying to find a relatively-small museum we could go to, as it seems most in the area have been closed down as part of the drive to save money by councils.

Dudley Muesum, visited last year, has now gone, the Glass Museum near Kingswinford has gone, the few that remain tend to be quite expensive... I love the fact that Hartlebury is still going.  The staff were friendly, the museum interesting, and there's obviously a lot going on behind the scenes to keep the place changing (new paths being laid in the grounds, for example, on our visit).  In these difficult financial times it is heartening that a place like this is still there, and good luck to them with the future.

Railbus Wendesday- a walk, photos, and sketching

The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway are only operating their steam services at weekends at this time of year, but on the 15th of March they started their 'Railbus Wednesdays' timetable, which was very popular in 2016.  With a day spare and no particular plans, I decided to catch it along the valley to the end of the line, then walk back for a bit of exercise, photographing and sketching.

I had an errand to run in Keighley, but that gave me an opportunity to walk the first leg of the journey back up to Ingrow Station, and photograph the railbus running between Ingrow and Keighley on its first service of the day.  So it was up onto the riverside path which is very pretty, but also deserted and not particularly heavily used.

The railbus passing the farm near the entrance to the path.

Legging it up to Ingrow Station gave me a couple of minutes to snap some pictures on the platform before the railbus arrived, then it was a crowded journey up to Oxenhope.  I was pleased to see the train heavily used- tourists, locals, and enthusiasts alike.  I hadn't been able to buy a ticket at Ingrow Station, but the clippy on the train helpfully got off at Haworth and sorted it for me there.

Leaving Oxenhope Station, I took the path down the side of the Beck towards Haworth, which passes the end of the station.

I haven't done any sketching for a while, and thought I'd use the opportunity to see just how rusty I am.  I set a strict time limit on each sketch, and quickly did a few drawings.

The railbus departs for Haworth and Keighley.  As good a place as any for a bit of history, this is a diesel railbus made by Waggon und Maschinbau of Germany.  The railbus was a popular type of vehicle in Europe, especially Germany, for lighter-used railways and British Railways introduced a number of different designs, five types in all built in small numbers by different builders, to try and find a cost-effective solution for lighter-used lines.

They were a commercial failiur largely because the piecemeal nature of the orders, and the mechanical unreliability amongst other factors doomed them.  However, of the 5 W&M railbuses, there are 4 which still survive, and 2 of them are based on the Worth Valley.  This example is in top-notch order, and popular for the quieter morning services at this time of year (the second example on the line is stripped-down for restoration at the moment).  One 'feature' of the unit though is a very bouncy suspension on traditional jointed track, at speed it bounces around in fact in a way which our youngest finds very entertaining.

Railway history lesson delivered, on with the walk...

Then back onto the path.

I felt a little happier with this sketch, on the way to Haworth where the path squeezes through a stone wall.

Less happy with this sketch, couldn't really get the wind turbine and its movement in the pic...

Then it was onto the ancient bridge near Haworth, just time for another sketch...

...before the railbus returned.

Then it was down the slightly muddy path down the side of the line, towards Top Field.

The ruined farmhouse from the "Observe to Preserve" shots...

Probably my favourite shot of the day, though I wish that horse hadn't chosen that exact moment to move behind the telegraph pole and ruin the composition...

Then down through Haworth (via a stop at the Haworth Station shop) and onto Ebor Lane.

A pic from the top of the wall between Ebor Lane and Mytholmes Tunnel.

Then back onto the walk towards Oakworth...

The path pretty much stops at Oakworth, as the owner of the caravan park in the bottom of the valley doesn't allow a public right of way on his land.  So the only pic I could be bothered with was this shot of the flowers in the park at Cross Roads, up the hill.

Down to the bottom of the valley, and a little diversion onto the trackbed of the derelict Great Northern Railway which ran up to Queensbury then Bradford/Halifax.

Interesting ferns on the embankment, and the remains of the old drainage system.  I rather like the remains of the old industrial sites down here, bits of old brickwork, the abutments of old bridges and so on.

Damems Lane, usually flooded, was looking in better nick, though rumour mill has it that Skipton Properties are wanting to put some new houses hereabouts, so that might be why...

Final shot, and a usual location for me, before it was time to go do the school run.

All in all, not a bad day- its a shame the path vanishes in the middle of the valley, but in good weather it was a nice day.  It was good to see the railbus getting some regular use, and it was pretty well loaded every time it passed.  And top marks to the railway for running it- with a discount card, it made for a competitively-priced alternative to the buses.