Wonderful Water
Water is pretty much everywhere these days, so it goes without saying that I'll have at least a few pictures that would fit a water theme nicely.
One thing that I've always been encouraged to do as a photographer is to "Think outside of the box". Now, that doesn't mean that I don't take pictures in which my theme is pretty obvious - but rather that I will throw in some pictures where my theme is less obvious than it is in other pictures... and my water theme presents me a chance to do just that.
One thing that I've always been encouraged to do as a photographer is to "Think outside of the box". Now, that doesn't mean that I don't take pictures in which my theme is pretty obvious - but rather that I will throw in some pictures where my theme is less obvious than it is in other pictures... and my water theme presents me a chance to do just that.
Playing with natural lighting
It's not that often that I get a chance to play with the effects of natural lighting when I am out on location, so when I got this chance, I grabbed it with both hands!
I was able to achieve 2 effects that I particularly liked within this shot. The first (and most obvious) is the way that the sunlight is playing off the trees in the background. For the other, you have to look closely at the left side of the fencing that surrounds the fountain.
The fencing in itself is a dull surface that bears the effect of water damage, yet, if you look at the letter "p", you can see that it appears to have a shinier quality about it than the rest of the fencing.
I was able to achieve 2 effects that I particularly liked within this shot. The first (and most obvious) is the way that the sunlight is playing off the trees in the background. For the other, you have to look closely at the left side of the fencing that surrounds the fountain.
The fencing in itself is a dull surface that bears the effect of water damage, yet, if you look at the letter "p", you can see that it appears to have a shinier quality about it than the rest of the fencing.
Making wishes
This is a closer shot of the fountain above. The reason that I chose to shoot this tier wasn't exactly to highlight that it is being used as a wishing well... although the shot does that nicely. What I wanted to draw attention to is the shape and detail of the tiers of the fountain.
They are shaped like gold pans - which I find amusing considering that I have no idea as to why pans would be required so much in an area that is widely known for lead mining?
They are shaped like gold pans - which I find amusing considering that I have no idea as to why pans would be required so much in an area that is widely known for lead mining?
One design flaw
The lower tier of the fountain illustrates a flaw in it's design much better than the upper tier does.
Talk in the local area has it that, when the fountain was designed, it wasn't designed with the idea that these tiers should get covered in moss in mind - so the fact that they actually do get covered in moss is supposed to be something of a design flaw that was initially overlooked at the time when the fountain was designed and made up.
Talk in the local area has it that, when the fountain was designed, it wasn't designed with the idea that these tiers should get covered in moss in mind - so the fact that they actually do get covered in moss is supposed to be something of a design flaw that was initially overlooked at the time when the fountain was designed and made up.
at the base
At the base of the fountain is this rock that is supposed to be locally sourced and fits in with the rocks found in many of the other ponds and fountains in the area - fortunately for the council, the moss upon it is there by design as opposed to by accident... which, at least spares them some blushes...
That sinking feeling
Oddly enough, the water didn't look cloudy like this at the time that I took the picture, so I can only conclude that the cloudy effect was caused by ripples on the surface of the water at the time I shot the image.
Don't come any closer than that!
Though the swan is a beautiful animal, it isn't an animal that has made it onto my top 10 list of favourite animals owing to the sheer number of near misses i've had with the bird during my lifetime!
Living by a river as a child, we'd often spend summer days with the older children, watching the narrow boats chugging away to destinations unknown - and better yet, we got to have a better look at them than most people because we lived by a lock, so they had to stop to operate the lock.
Of course, the flip side to this was the swans... sometimes, we'd go down to the only place where we could see the narrow boats from our side of the river to watch them when we couldn't get supervision from an adult or an older child - but the swans used to love to rest on the bank there... and you couldn't see them through the reeds until you were more or less right on top of them and had to run away to escape getting attacked by the bird.
Even today, the memories of the sheer number of near misses that i've had with this bird come flooding back to me each and every time I see a swan.
Living by a river as a child, we'd often spend summer days with the older children, watching the narrow boats chugging away to destinations unknown - and better yet, we got to have a better look at them than most people because we lived by a lock, so they had to stop to operate the lock.
Of course, the flip side to this was the swans... sometimes, we'd go down to the only place where we could see the narrow boats from our side of the river to watch them when we couldn't get supervision from an adult or an older child - but the swans used to love to rest on the bank there... and you couldn't see them through the reeds until you were more or less right on top of them and had to run away to escape getting attacked by the bird.
Even today, the memories of the sheer number of near misses that i've had with this bird come flooding back to me each and every time I see a swan.
the road less traveled
This cheeky picture of 2 little ducks is one that I maybe shouldn't have, since it was one picture that I managed to obtain by carefully picking my way through some foliage along a little used path in an ornamental garden.
Any good nature photographer knows not to cause any damage to flora and fauna... and I kept that principle in mind at all times as I ventured off the intended path - had there come a time when I felt that I couldn't get any further without risking the greenery around me, I'd have turned around and headed back the way that I came.
Having seen this little gap between the trees and figured that it was some sort of maintenance path, I was interested to learn where it went to... I had noticed it a few trips before, but mum always vetoed my idea to follow it and find out. Mum is one of those parents who's wishes you obey - not because she's strict... but you soon learn that refusal is painful, even if you are in your 30's and way beyond the remit of being tossed over her knee and receiving a spanking.
After following the path as far as I felt that I could safely go before going for a swim became a real concern and possibility (I couldn't see the water's edge through the foliage), I stopped and shot the ducks before turning back and heading back to the beaten path.
Any good nature photographer knows not to cause any damage to flora and fauna... and I kept that principle in mind at all times as I ventured off the intended path - had there come a time when I felt that I couldn't get any further without risking the greenery around me, I'd have turned around and headed back the way that I came.
Having seen this little gap between the trees and figured that it was some sort of maintenance path, I was interested to learn where it went to... I had noticed it a few trips before, but mum always vetoed my idea to follow it and find out. Mum is one of those parents who's wishes you obey - not because she's strict... but you soon learn that refusal is painful, even if you are in your 30's and way beyond the remit of being tossed over her knee and receiving a spanking.
After following the path as far as I felt that I could safely go before going for a swim became a real concern and possibility (I couldn't see the water's edge through the foliage), I stopped and shot the ducks before turning back and heading back to the beaten path.
Three for one
I chose to remain on the road more travelled for this one because I couldn't get any nearer to these ducks without scaring them away.
Since we were out with my (adult) niece this day, she went ahead as a "scouting party" and came back with the heads up that this shot was a possibility for me... of course, when I saw just how easy of a shot it would be, I couldn't help myself but to take it.
Since we were out with my (adult) niece this day, she went ahead as a "scouting party" and came back with the heads up that this shot was a possibility for me... of course, when I saw just how easy of a shot it would be, I couldn't help myself but to take it.
Time to go Mainstream!
This little stream was the last thing I expected to locate while I was waiting for the bus!
The stream itself is right on the main road in and out of the little village that it is located in (the road is aptly called Main Road).
What you can't see very well from the picture is that there are people's houses on the opposite bank and this stream serves as Mother Nature's "fence" between them and the wall that I was standing on the other side of.
Another aspect that I liked about this shot is the old fashioned light up in the top right of the picture - it's a little difficult to see at this size, but it is still a fully functioning light and comes on at dusk each night... even though the design of it would lead you to think that it was one of the variety that would have been gas powered at one time.
The stream itself is right on the main road in and out of the little village that it is located in (the road is aptly called Main Road).
What you can't see very well from the picture is that there are people's houses on the opposite bank and this stream serves as Mother Nature's "fence" between them and the wall that I was standing on the other side of.
Another aspect that I liked about this shot is the old fashioned light up in the top right of the picture - it's a little difficult to see at this size, but it is still a fully functioning light and comes on at dusk each night... even though the design of it would lead you to think that it was one of the variety that would have been gas powered at one time.
The Beauty of flowers on a wet day
It's not that often that I go to the effort of shooting flowers on a wet day, preferring to wait until the weather is more favourable for floral photography, but I made an exception in this case because I think that the addition of the rainfall actually makes the red of the flowers stand out that little bit more than it does on a dry day.
Finding Water beside the sea
There's no better place to find water than by the seaside... of course, the ocean itself is a pretty obvious idea when it comes to finding water beside the sea, but I found this fountain instead.
What I like about it, aside from the Jolly Fisherman (the guy on the top) is the fact that it also has the direction and distance to various places around the world set into the floor around the edge of the circle.
As far as this fountain goes, I have a couple of vague memories of it being installed. These are told from the angle of a child on vacation. She had no idea what planning permission was, that you'd need it to build something like this or where to look to see what permissions had been granted. My first being the fencing that they erected to keep the public out of the garden while they did the erecting of the fountain. Looking through the fence, I can see the ring of the well wall in place - but nothing else.
I feel surprised... this thing is going to be huge - but I feel baffled as well "What are they going to do with it?" I thought. It would take several vacations before I saw the rocks added to the circle, then construction seemed to stop again. I began to wonder if the fountain was completed now, but the fencing didn't come down... if the fountain was complete, why didn't they take the fencing down?
In time, I began to hear murmurings about The Jolly Fisherman on the news and I began to think that they must be planning another event where they tour him out... it wasn't uncommon to see or hear about The Jolly Fisherman around town since he is the town mascot - though he has had several makeovers over the years with this one being the least scary makeover to date.
One tea time, the news was on and the camera panned round to show this scene from a slightly different angle (they were a little further up the road from where I shot this picture) and I saw this. I had to admire it, though I wasn't too keen on the Fisherman since he was a yellow gold in colour. However, over the years, he has started to grow on me since he now looks better with the effects of the weather showing on him.
What I like about it, aside from the Jolly Fisherman (the guy on the top) is the fact that it also has the direction and distance to various places around the world set into the floor around the edge of the circle.
As far as this fountain goes, I have a couple of vague memories of it being installed. These are told from the angle of a child on vacation. She had no idea what planning permission was, that you'd need it to build something like this or where to look to see what permissions had been granted. My first being the fencing that they erected to keep the public out of the garden while they did the erecting of the fountain. Looking through the fence, I can see the ring of the well wall in place - but nothing else.
I feel surprised... this thing is going to be huge - but I feel baffled as well "What are they going to do with it?" I thought. It would take several vacations before I saw the rocks added to the circle, then construction seemed to stop again. I began to wonder if the fountain was completed now, but the fencing didn't come down... if the fountain was complete, why didn't they take the fencing down?
In time, I began to hear murmurings about The Jolly Fisherman on the news and I began to think that they must be planning another event where they tour him out... it wasn't uncommon to see or hear about The Jolly Fisherman around town since he is the town mascot - though he has had several makeovers over the years with this one being the least scary makeover to date.
One tea time, the news was on and the camera panned round to show this scene from a slightly different angle (they were a little further up the road from where I shot this picture) and I saw this. I had to admire it, though I wasn't too keen on the Fisherman since he was a yellow gold in colour. However, over the years, he has started to grow on me since he now looks better with the effects of the weather showing on him.
And finally... I'll leave you with a few to think about!
Though you don't actually see a drop of water anywhere in the pictures above, they all tie in directly to my water theme because one is the old public baths (yes, from the days before we all had bath tubs) and the others are all of a (now defunct) drinking fountain.
The second way that they fit into my "water" theme is because they were all taken on a wet day - though that fact is hard to see in most of the pictures above.
The second way that they fit into my "water" theme is because they were all taken on a wet day - though that fact is hard to see in most of the pictures above.