England on scrapheap!
I noticed this England flag earlier in the week – it’s on top of a massive scrap heap on the outskirts of Widnes. Anyone who saw England’s first two games might think there’s some sort of symbolism involved here but whoever went up there and planted is a braver man than me – I’ve posted a few pics so you can get an idea of how big it is. Wanted to get it posted before Sunday – come on England! And even if we don’t win, we can at least console ourselves we’re not Italian.
Or French.
Dream, St.Helens
I finally managed to get to see the Dream statue at St.Helens – I’ve been past it on the motorway dozens of times and each time I promise to myself that I’ll go – last weekend I finally did. I was hoping for a nicer day, I’d like to have done some blue sky shots but as it was the weather took a turn for the worse and I’ve had to go down the moody black and white route.
Located on the site of an old colliery, the actual statue itself is very weird – it really messes with your head as you get close up to it as the white concrete surface doesn’t appear to have shape or definition. It’s hard to explain here, it’s best to go and have a look yourself!
York
I know this is a Liverpool photoblog but I do get outside the city boundaries occasionally – these are photos from a recent visit to York, including the obligatory photos of the Minster.
Minimalist
I created a smart album in Aperture for 2009 – it lets me look at the year as a whole, almost as a timeline, lets me see what I’ve been doing all year. It’s cool to look back like that – shows you what you’ve been up to & it also lets me see shots that I’ve not posted for one reason or another so the next few shots will be dug out of the archives for this year.
This particular one is of the interesting sculptures/lampposts that line the beach front at Southport.
Chester Station – Black & White
Went to Chester on Wednesday on the train – Chester station is a proper old fashioned train station with long platforms, big arches and these big pools of light – nice place to take photos.
Southport War Memorial – Lest We Forget
The memorial to the war dead, Southport. I found out this morning that since the end of World War II, there has only been one year when no British service personnel were killed, a terrible statistic. RIP.
British – Southport
Signage on the merry go round outside Silcocks, Southport. This sort of lettering always reminds me of the cartoons in Monty Python.
Southport Air Show 2009 – Vulcan XH558 Bomber
Saving the best until last (wing walkers from the show here, Red Arrows here) – the Vulcan. I missed this last year – I think the weather was too bad for it to fly on the day we went.
Seeing this fly made the whole day for me – I remember seeing these take off from RAF Valley when I was a child, they’re a magnificent sight. The Eurofighter display was quicker and noisier but the sheer majesty of the Vulcan was breathtaking.
Southport Air Show – Team Guinot Wing Walkers
Second post from Southport Air Show (first post of the Red Arrows is here). This lot were cool – bigger stones than me to be doing this kind of thing. I wanted a more cinematic kind of feel to these shots so the processing is quite different. If you go to Team Guinots home page then apparently you can sign up to be a wing-walker – after you, no really, I insist….
Again, apologies, this should be a nice rolling slideshow but I still can’t get it to work. Something to squeeze in over the weekend.
Southport Air Show 2009 – The Red Arrows
So the Southport Air Show rolled around again and as per usual the usual grey cloud rolled in…the odd bit of blue sky but not much sunshine. One year we’ll get a gloriously sunny day! This set is just of the Red Arrows who were in attendance and were a very cool highlight. More to follow as I process through the week. Apologies for the layout of the post – can’t get slideshows to work at the moment, hopefully have it fixed before next post!
Meet Me At The Pier III
High key shot of Southport Pier – wanted to something a bit different with the processing on these shots so I went for it on this one. Quite happy with the effect.
Meet Me At The Pier II
Another shot from the archives – new stuff coming soon. This is the underside of the pier at Southport, again from February. I was cursing the lack of a tripod when I was taking these shots as I wanted to try out the bracketing feature on my new D90 but the wind was that fierce I doubt one would have been much use anyway. Although it looks nice and sunny this was a proper hat, gloves and scarf day. I love winter me!
Giant steps are what you take…Southport Waterfront
Feeling a bit mojo-less at the moment – not really enjoying any of the shots I’ve taken recently so have one from the archives. This is Southport beach in February – very cold, very windy and very barren.
Your Shadow Lay Across My Life II – Talacre Beach
Last in the series from Talacre – with it being such a sunny day, the shadow from the lighthouse was huge. I did think about doing this in black and white but I like the blues in the sky so it stays in colour.
There is a light II – Talacre Beach
Another shot of Talacre lighthouse. The lighthouse actually leans a little which makes it hard to make everything look straight.
White Starfish? – Talacre
I *think* this is a white starfish, not entirely sure, I’m sure someone will be more than happy to correct me! Not my usual type of thing at all but it drew my attention as it was still moving.
Your Shadow Lay Across My Life – Talacre
Talacre lighthouse complete with shadow. It was a fiercely bright day on Sunday, which made most shots awkward but this one easier.
There is a light…. – Talacre Beach
Talacre lighthouse – bit out of the way compared to my normal posts, but I was down there for a reason. Fantastic day to be at the beach and taking photos – apparently the weather is supposed to be like this all week, here’s hoping.
Meet Me At The Pier – Southport
The Pier at Southport, captured at a still time on an otherwise blustery day. I’d love to go back and get this shot when the tide is in.
Abdulahs Dilemma – Southport
Abdulah isn’t going to have a dilemma for much longer it would seem – this bit of the park was almost completely demolished, this bit looked like it was next…
Let’s don’t let a good thing die… – Southport
I really wanted to title this photo “Scream if you want to go faster” but that reminds me of one of the Spice Girls solo ‘efforts’, so I’ve gone for an Elvis reference instead given that it’s The King overlooking the empty fairground. Thanyew, thankyewvehmuch.
No Bumping! – Southport
I recently spent a day in Southport – the Pleasureland theme park is currently in the process of being demolished so I went for a wander around it. It’s got a real Scooby Doo abandonment feel to it – very odd and very sad. I’m not sure if the kart track is being saved but it seemed to be abandoned and unused.
Closing Time – Chester
This photo was actually taken in July ’06 but it seems very relevant given the economic nonsense currently going on. The old fella looks like he’s been credit crunched.
