On My Doorstep

 In my last post I mentioned how there are some places and subjects that I would never tire of photographing and I shared some images from my travels around Europe. Without a doubt I would be more than happy to spend days or even weeks photographing puffins or street scenes in Venice, Florence, Vienna or a host of other wonderful places. I also long to visit new locations, inspired by my own travels and by images shared online I know I would get so much pleasure exploring new places with my camera. However I have to be realistic, while there will be lots of opportunities to do this in future there will also long periods where I will have to stick to what is local or familiar.

I am privileged to live in a beautiful place, by the sea but close to varied landscapes, urban landscapes and  lots of wildlife. However when I look through my many files of photographs I realise that I have relatively few from my locality and I am missing opportunities to develop my skills and fulfil my passion here on my doorstep. Perhaps it is familiarity that means I sometimes fail to see the interest in what I see every day and that is a big error because the beauty  and interest is there and for people that I share those images with they will largely be new or unfamiliar so it must be worth me spending more time where I live. It doesn't matter if I go back several time to the same lake, lighthouse or park/reserve there will always be another angle or different light etc. So while I will dream of and look forward to travelling to new places I will also take more time to see what is on my doorstep.

Here are a few images of some of the wonderful places near me.

 

Liverpool waterfront and Albert Dock

West Kirby Marine Lake

Red Rocks

Meols shore

New Brighton Lighthouse

Commemoration

 This might look like something of a photo dump but I have been trying to find time to sort through my shots from the recent 80th Anniversary Commemorations of the Battle of the Atlantic at Liverpool at the end of May, and now I have done I wanted to share the best of them.

On the day there were flypasts from a small selection of aircraft; an exceptionally rare  Supermarine Seafire, a version of the Spitfire designed for flying from aircraft carriers, a Fairey Swordfish which was a submarine hunter that would fly low and slow before releasing its torpedo ( a tactic that left the crew very vulnerable). My grandad worked on these planes when he was in the Fleet Air Arm during the war. And then of course the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight consisting of a Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Hurricane and an Avro Lancaster, always a magical sight to see these legendary aircraft in the sky.

On Tour...

 Walking around the dock I spotted this young couple of visitors to the city, the weather was a bit miserable so I am not sure they were having the best time as they explored some of the sights.

In the first shot they look a little bit tired, and maybe a little underwhelmed and I wondered whether they might have had a slight disagreement as they didn't seem quite together as they passed by.

A little further on I spotted them again, this time they were in step as they crossed the swing bridge and I think this creates a really nice shot.

A short while later I saw them again, this time she was taking a photo of her partner using a cheap disposable camera, which seemed odd given they both had decent smart phones with them. However I asked if they would like me top take a photo of them together which they seemed genuinely pleased about and when I asked if I could take a photo for myself they also agreed. Despite the language barrier they came across as a lovely couple and genuinely pleased with the friendly interaction. I think that comes across in the photo too, which is one of my favourite shots of the day.

Across the World

 This is just a selection of shots from around Liverpool's Albert Docks and Chavasse Park on the last bank holiday. The city is gearing up for Eurovision 2023 and it is bringing people together from around the world in a celebration of music (not that I am in any way a fan of Eurovision) at a time when there is so much conflict and division around the globe.

It is 33 years since I first came to Liverpool and I have seen a lot of changes in that time, I like what has happened to the city and although as I say I am no fan of Eurovision I am pleased that Liverpool was chosen to host it this time round and I am encouraged when I see the way the city has embraced it (despite the disruption and inconvenience) just as it did as City of Culture in 2008.

I Give You the World

 In my last post I said that the next one (this one) would be something of a landmark and that I would have to find something big to celebrate.

This is my 2000th blog post since I started in 2014. I had initially intended to do a daily post and for some time I succeeded in that however I felt the pressure to produce something every day impacted on the quality and so there have been periodic gaps as I have tried to find something new and something worth posting.

I actually have no shortage of images in various files and folders backed up on my PC and different hard drives so I can always find something to post but I always like to find something new and I love to try different things as I enhance my skills in both photography and photo editing.

For my 2000th post I had considered going back through old files and digging something out of the archives and I have taken a few days thinking about what to post. Then I decided that I would go out and get something completely new and I headed off to Liverpool, to the waterfront and Albert Dock and spent a few hours walking round and photographing different things.

At the moment the city is in the midst of Eurovision fever as preparations are under way to host the popular music festival in lieu of Ukraine. There are inflatable birds dotted around the place, flags and signs etc and notably in the waters of the Albert Dock there is this wonderful floating globe, an artwork by Luke Jerram. It is a touring artwork which can be seen in Liverpool until 18th May. It is 10m in diameter and features imagery from NASA. It is quite spectacular, even on a dull day like today. I plan to go down after dark some time to get some pictures of the illuminated earth but for now here is a selection of images from today.

On The Ropes

 One thing I always enjoyed when I was growing up was reading tales of the sea; shipwrecks, desert islands, explorers and such. I grew up near Portsmouth and the maritime history of that area featured in my early education; Admiral Nelson, HMS Victory, and the Mary Rose. It is little wonder then that I feel drawn to the sea and I had dreams about going to sea. I never did fulfil that dream but that doesn't mean I have any regrets about it.

I love looking at boats and I think they often make for interesting subjects for photography, take these images for example of the masts and rigging set against the clear sky. 

Christmas at the Dock

 Here's hoping that everyone has had a good Christmas and is looking forward to a happy and successful 2023.

These shots are along the colonnades at Liverpool's Albert Dock (once home to Granada TV studio and the famous floating weather map). Tate Liverpool is also here now along with the Maritime Museum, shops, cafes and bars. Usually it is very busy along here but on a frozen morning, midweek in December there were few people around and it had quite a calm atmosphere.

Looking for something special

 I don't do a lot of street photography but it is something I intend to do more of and with today being Christmas Eve I thought it was appropriate to share these few images of people doing their last minute shopping, or window shopping perhaps.

The first image was shot from above and the subject was unaware that I was taking his picture but in the next one he was and in the third image also the guy looking at watches also knew I was taking the shot. It can be a little unnerving taking pictures of random people but fortunately on this occasion no one seemed to mind.

Kings Dock, Port of Liverpool

 There is a nice contrast in these images of the historic architecture of the Albert Dock Warehouses (now the Merseyside Maritime Museum) and the modern architecture of the newer developments on the Strand showing how investment in Liverpool over recent years has helped improve the city centre and make it an attractive place to live, work or visit.

Even on a cold day this is a popular place for families to visit and explore Liverpool's rich history, to reflect on the positives and negatives and also to enjoy the sights and sounds of the waterfront.

Cool Metallic Reflection

Firstly, I know I said in my last post that I would share some pictures from inside the Museum of Liverpool, specifically I was going to show some pictures of the cool curves of the spiral stairway, however when I looked at the images this morning I wasn't convinced I liked them enough to share so I have decided to go with something different.

The images above are almost identical except for the fact that one is in full colour and the other is monochrome. The exposure and contrast are slightly different in each image too.

The buildings in this image are along the Strand in Liverpool overlooking Kings Dock. There was a thin film of ice on the water which the bright sun had not managed to melt. The sun reflecting off the side of one of the buildings gives the water a metallic quality which I think is really nice.

I hadn't noticed at the time I took the pictures but the pillars supporting the building in the centre of the shot are much like the pillars which support power station cooling towers.