Jaume Plensa exhibition extended until late January 2012

So popular has this exhibition been at the Yorkshire Scuplture Park that it will now run  until 22/01/2012. http://www.ysp.co.uk/exhibitions/jaume-plensa

Everyone I mention it to says it is without doubt the best exhibition there has ever been at the YSP and it`s certainly the best I`ve seen. He has other work near St Helens (Dream), on the BBC Broadcasting House, London  as a tribute to journalists killed whilst covering stories and of course his Crown Fountain in Chicago. Really hoping to see each of those soon as his work had the same impact on me as Gaudi`s work in Barcelona and Manrique`s work in Lanzarote. Blown away  - and I don`t even like art!!! Even if you don`t like art / sculpture  the walk around the  park takes in other great works and the lunch isn`t too bad either. £5 to park now but you cannot complain with works like this on display and free entry.

They have added another room in the underground exhibition (photography allowed!) showing models of his works.

I said we relieve you - don`t relieve yourself!

Windsor Castle

A guardsman is told off for wetting himself on duty.

Just got back from a few days in Windsor. Decided to take in a visit to the castle whilst the in-laws went off on a bus trip. Fantastic place - ideal 2nd home for such as the Queen.  The refurbishment after the fire is superb with craftsmen building in the old style so that the green oak used is cracking just as the original was. It`s the oldest and largest castle that can boast continuous occupation  for over 900 years.

I am afraid I only took the compact to save on luggage space and spent most of the trip regretting not having my trusty D700 so apologies for the image quality here.

Managed to shoot a 6 shot panorama form the top of the Round Tower which you can go up just now (200 steps) and an extra charge.

St George`s Chapel

Alternate days in August the guards come out, visit the Edinburgh Woollen Mill for supplies and then march back in.

Any American readers popping in - it`s not really true about Edinburgh Woollen Mills. In fact they march around the corner to TK Max who hold a much wider range of stock including designer bearskins at well below list price.

Of course small boys dream of being in the Guards.

In fact when you look closely the Guards are mainly small boys themselves!

Had a great time and noticed the little touches of royalty about the lamps and that the Castle had 3 post boxes inscribed Royal Mail. First off it is not royal now is it and 2nd how come I have not got a post box in my wall - not even one.

Up on the Roof - as Carole King would say!

On Sunday I had the pleasure of shooting the celebrations of Hannah and Stephen`s wedding party at Barwick in Elmet Cricket Club. Great story where the couple had ran away and got married at Gretna Green for a quiet day to themselves, then planned this party afterwards to celebrate with friends and family. Took me back to my own wedding when we went for a similar small affair for an easy life and it seems only yesterday ;-)

 Stephen and Hannah looking good!

I must admit my heart sank when I saw the venue! Nothing wrong with it - a lovely little club and social venue( available for bookings) but being a cricket club it was flat ( as pitches usually are I am told) and one of the requests was for a group shot of over 90 guests. Armed only with a 3 step ladder, a crazy notion of having 6/8 blokes lifting an incredibly heavy picnic table for 8 some 20 feet into the outfield and sitting the bride and groom on top like a wedding cake  I thought "Should do it". Of course when everyone has been asked to dress for a wedding the last thing they want to do is lift heavy stuff and a plan B was needed. "If I had a bigger ladder I could get on that garage roof" I heard myself say out loud instead of to myself, with no regard for whether it was really safe to do so. Groom Stephen says "We can do that" and before you know it 90  people are making their way out and a kind guest held the lightweight ladder whilst my considerable (but diminishing by the day ) frame climbed on to the top level and clambered the last few feet onto the roof, pausing only to lie over the edge and reach for my precious camera. As I teetered on the roof remembering my deficient balance organ in my left ear, leaving me prone to vertigo issues and hearing the roof timbers creak, I resolved to keep to the edges for safety. "Wonder if I will be making my first ever claim on my public liability / indemnity insurance" , I mused. Instructions were hard to give as they could not hear me up there but soon I was shooting to a crescendo of high pitched "Eeeeeeeees" from the gathered crown and whilst no prize winner a group shot was gathered safely.

Of course they all wanted to get back to the serious drinking and more than one wag was heard to say "See you" as they jokingly moved the ladder but I was soon assisted down safely and my knees had stopped knocking within an hour.

Great event with some nice little touches / incidentals and lovely friendly people and as usual for these things a range of cute kids stole the show.

But of course  the bride and groom  looked stunning!

As a dyed in the wool geordie with a love for fottball I have  no time for whites when black and white rules. The sound of ball on willow is nothing compared to the roar of 50,000 people casting aspersions on the parentage of another referee failing to call correctly.The view from row zz at the top of the main stand at St James` Park reducing the players to ants on the pitch gives a great vantage point. Yes  I feel  cricket would benefit from taking place in the centre of a large hollow bowl, enabling photos from up on high at the edges and thus keeping scores down with fewer boundaries - I am sure India would agree to this notion when next playing England.

 Of course there were also the usual glamorous ladies and abandoned shoes and bags that seem to turn up whenever drink and good times roll!

Great fun - and next time I do not think out loud ;-) 

 Good luck in your life together with the gorgeous little Matilda to Hannah and Stephen.

Tribute to the doors

So you may well ask - are you nuts or a fetishist?
 I`ve just come back from a week long Western Med cruise taking in Toulon / Villefranche in the south of France,Livorno and Civitaveccia for Pisa and Rome and Naples for a trip to Pompeii. Given my recent under-use of my camera I thought " Wow - great opportunities for some serious photography".

As we set off from Barcelona in thunder and lighting I thought  what would be my favourite bit that I must capture - the grandeur of the Pantheon and St Peter`s Square, the cast models of Pompeii victims  made by pouring plaster into the cavities left by their bodies rotting down in the volcanic lava / ash, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the  great coastal views and sunsets?

No -  I liked shooting doors best and added to my collection of shots of distressed doors from France and Italy. A few examples:

Whilst not strictly meeting my strict brief of derelict doors I gave myself a little artistic license and could not resist this garage door in Villefranche with a plea not to park there.Of course a young French woman parked up as we stood there to go into a shop. Strictly speaking she broke the no parking by day day rule but as she was fully dressed and thus complied with the 2nd bit OK.

Of course I`d be a pretty sad individual if all I shot was doors on this expensive, luxury holiday so I branched out. I shot pictures of doors with windows!

Never knowing when to quit I resorted to windows only!

However this soon just was not enough and I decided they had to have bikes  with the windows or doors  to really work!

 But my favourite was just the bike on it`s own.

"Is that all you shot?"  you might ask. No - I mean I did get 900 or so other shots but in general they were your standard  fayre and the real struggle was getting shots without thousands of tourists in  the way - usually loud Americans. In the American vernacular I guess I could put a few up on flickr so watch out for that. The best thing is that now that my wife Sue has taken early retirement from teaching we need never do a school holiday trip again at rip off prices, suffering from the crowds so my variety of shots can only get better. Then again - there are so many interesting doors in the world .....