Ramping Up…
It’s been a while since I’ve posted any pictures of the waterfront so I thought that whilst I was on the Wirral I’d take a new one – I actually thought I’d managed to get a shot of the skyline without a crane in sight but closer observation of the full size pic reveals two! I suppose it’s a sign that the city is still growing despite difficult economic times and as such is a good thing – it’d be nice to get just *one* pic without any in though!
No monies
This is the first in a series of images that I’ve kicked around in Aperture for a while – the type of image that you’re not sure about for one reason or another – compositionally, post-processing, whatever. One of the tests I do if I’m not sure about an image is the ‘wallpaper test’ – I set the image as my wallpaper for a day or two, gives me plenty of opportunity to look at it and judge whether I like it or not. This passed!
This shop used to be a butty bar type arrangement on Old Hall Street but has fallen into disrepair – I constantly go on about what a shame it is when shops, buildings etc end up in this kind of state but love taking photos of this kind of decay. I’m a contrary bugger.
I realise I’ve not been posting much recently – lots on. I will rectify this in the next week or so, got a fair bit lined up. Stay tuned….
Sprung!
I noticed this tree encircled by daffodils on a walk around in Sefton Park today – there are loads of them in the park, I seem to have missed them in full bloom as they mostly seem to be on the wane but was still a nice thing to see. Looked like a lovely day outside but it was actually freezing!
The Lesson Learnt
I’ve been meaning to get a shot from here for a while and took the opportunity last week – I also learnt a valuable lesson – just because a bollard is in the middle of the road in a quiet part of town doesn’t mean someone hasn’t painted it and not put any kind of sign up. I’ve got a lovely stripy addition to my jeans now….
Apologies to those who have signed up to receive updates via e-mail – due to a server outage at my ISP, several recent posts were re-sent over mail, sorry again. Not signed up to receive updates via mail? Why not?
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.
Echo Wheel of Liverpool III
Last of the shots of the big wheel, for now anyway. Trying to find a different angle of the wheel, this shot was taken from the Liverpool Marina.
The Echo Wheel of Liverpool II
Second shot of the new wheel on the waterfront – still disappointed it’s not the other way round so it’ll be more visible from the Wirral side (the Liverpool One wheel was mostly obscured by other buildings) but no-one ever thinks of the photographers….
The Echo Wheel of Liverpool
One of two shots of the wheel I managed to get before being moved on by Arena security (very politely, it must be said.) The wheel is 60 metres (thanks to Wallacemarino for the correction) high and you’re supposed to be able to see all the way to Wales on a good day – not been on yet so I’ll reserve judgement.
I can’t make my mind up whether this looks better in colour or black and white, so have a look at the mono version here.
Lutyens Crypt, Metropolitan Cathedral
Lutyens Crypt, underneath the Metropolitan (Catholic) Cathedral. Edwin Lutyens original design for the Cathedral would have made it the second largest in the world but the onset of World War II stopped construction (the unfinished crypt was used as an air raid shelter during the war). After the war a lack of funds meant that a new design was necessary and the new cathedral stands on top of the crypt.
This was my first time down in the crypt and it’s a beautiful space. I’m only really familiar with it as CAMRA hold a beer festival down there every year – seems like an odd place for a beer festival? It’s definitely worth a visit, beer drinker or not.
Hats off
Shot from when the QM2 was in town a while back – can’t get enough of the big ships, the cruise liner terminal is one of the best things to have happened to the city in the past few years.
The only problem with this ship was it’s sheer size – everything else that comes in afterwards is going to look like a tiddler in comparison.
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.
More Grafton Street Graffiti
Alternative view of the graffiti from the last post – I wish I’d found this fella before Halloween!
Grafton Street Revisited
Graffiti on Grafton Street – I’ve posted graffiti from this same wall before (one two three), every single time I go past there’s something added or changed, I love it.
Queen Mary II visits Liverpool – 20th October 2009
The Queen Mary II visits Liverpool – she’s absolutely huge!!! This shot doesn’t do her size justice, even with the people in the foreground, she’s absolutely massive. Check out this wikipedia entry that compares her to an Airbus and you begin to get an idea of her size. Fantastic to see ships like this at Liverpool – shame we couldn’t have sorted out better weather for her arrival. Couldn’t decide between colour or black or white so the mono version is here for comparision.
Autumnal Calderstones Park II
Second in series from the very autumnal Calderstones Park – love the streaming light from the low sun at this time of year.
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!
Presbyterian Illustration II – Toxteth, Liverpool
More graffiti on the hoardings of the Welsh Presbyterian Church in Toxteth.
Presbyterian Illustration – Toxteth, Liverpool
Graffiti on hoardings around the Welsh Presbyterian Church in Toxteth. Not had chance to get out with my camera much recently so diving back into the archives. This was taken in April – these boards are always full of graffiti and it is constantly changing.
Victoria Street Reflection
Been a while since I’ve done any reflection shots so here’s one of Victoria Street. The building on the left is one of my favourites in Liverpool, reminds me of the Flat Iron building in New York.
No stopping (Clearway) – Liverpool Airport
A RyanAir flight descending into Liverpool John Lennon Airport obeys the Highway Code.
