Lunchtime Photos

[nathanp]

I never seem to get any time to take photographs. In the evening, by the time I've eaten and put my son to bed it's too dark. On the weekend we're nearly always out somewhere and I always seem to have my hands full. That pretty much leaves my lunch breaks at work so I've been looking for interesting areas within walking distance or a couple of minutes drive.

My workplace is in a fairly dull residential area so it's not like I can walk out of the door and into a town/city to photograph. I drove 5 minutes to an area that was heavily industrial but is now an out-of-town shopping area.
On my way back to the car I spotted this path..

So I wandered down and found a few interesting things..

An odd growth on a tree:

A can of white paint that had been thrown at a tree

Then the path opens out (just after passing a 'civic amenity site' or rubbish tip) and there's some evidence of the industrial past in the shape of this building.

It's an interesting building. It has no roof and the inside is filled with a lattice of scaffolding. This picture was taken on a return visit. I walked all around it taking pictures, approached the door and saw a group of guys inside lighting a fire - presumably drug addicts or alcoholics. I didn't hang around but did take the picture above of the smoke rising.

Here's a few more shots of the building..

Just past the building is a cycle path and an old metal bridge over a river. The bridge had some nice details.

These were taken over two trips, both times with a new-to-me Yashica Electro 35 loaded with some old, expired, badly stored Tri-X 400 (it was free!).

 

[zvos1]

Nice shots. It seems like your determination is paying off. btw when do you get to eat? Or is it camera in one hand and sandwich in the other.

 

[nathanp]

Nice shots. It seems like your determination is paying off. btw when do you get to eat? Or is it camera in one hand and sandwich in the other.

Thanks 🙂
It's usually a quick sandwich at my desk, and then out for 40 minutes or so. I'm lucky in that I can be fairly flexible with my working hours and just stay a bit later.

 

[robert blu]

I like the "signs" of a previous life in the abandoned building. A good work which demonstates that if people desire it people can tak interesting pictures everywhere. And if, like you, they are able to "see" the pictures are good.
robert

 

[oftheherd]

Good photos and better determination to relax with photography.

 

[nathanp]

Thanks for the comments. I've been reading The Tao of Photography: Seeing Beyond Seeing which has helped me to relax and be more open to what might make a good photo.
After posting this thread I have noticed that I seem to have quite a few shots with big diagonal lines - weird.

Anyway - another lunchtime...

I had a look over Google Maps to see what else was near my workplace and discovered that John Dilwyn Llewelyn lived nearby. He was married to a cousin of Henry Fox Talbot and invented the 'oxymel process'. Google Maps turned up a picture of his observatory where (apparently) some of the first ever pictures of the moon were taken.

It was a bit disappointing..

It was in the grounds of some council offices, to the side of a big car park. I didn't take many pictures of it because the harsh lunchtime sunlight wasn't very flattering and I couldn't get close enough for any detail shots. It's a bit sad how neglected it looks.

On the positive side, a load of nearby wasteground has been turned into a woodland walk

..and there was a perfect blue sky for testing my red filter

The effect wasn;t as strong as I expected but that might be down to the flatness caused by the poorly kept, expired tri-x. These have had a bit of a gradient & contrast tweak in lightroom.