It would be quite amusing to hear the comments made by unsuspecting travellers that happen upon the Hunter’s Moon celebrations at Langsett. Several in the crowd on 23 October 2010 stated that the fire performance brought memories of The Wicker Man to mind. I decided to believe that the voices in the crowd referred to the film productions of The Wicker Man and not to a traditional Langsett burning of huge effigies filled with livestock and possibly with other offerings.
On the Saturday closest to the Hunter’s Moon you will find a strange spectacle in the Pennine Hamlet of Langsett. At the northern edge of the Peak District a group gather to celebrate in dance and music. The exact reasons behind their actions are not fully disclosed. On their website they claim a heritage which leads back to a certain squire of the manor of Langsett named Sir Rufus Fox. The present day performers all wear fox masks the captain and lord of their revels is known as Mister Fox.
The whole event is well planned and finely orchestrated to supply a superb folk rite. The Waggon and Horses pub becomes filled with many ardent followers as the time draws close. There are several theatrical costumes on show in and around the bar, but there is no mistaking the arrival of Mr. Fox and the dancers when their march across the dam wall signals the beginning of the event. With drums and pipes the torch bearers parade along their route to the performance space. Behind safety ropes we are massed ready to see the flames and feel the heat as the show progresses. With many loud crashes and bangs we are treated to an illuminating spectacle and to musical treats as the ritual dance plays out before us.
A trip through the Shades in and around The Shambles in York. A tour of York is almost like a stroll along Terry Pratchett’s Ankh-Morpork. York is certainly a historical treasure trove that delivers an air of magical mystery.
York stands testament to the fickle fancies of fashion and the practical considerations of change. If there had been less impetus to make contemporary changes then York would not host the structures that give it such a rich architectural collection. If there had been less practical opposition to remodelling the buildings then the layout of the streets and the face of the city would be vastly different. As it is the city has been developed around existing footprints that show the heritage of this site and offer a walk through several phases of development.
The narrow winding streets are straight out of a history book and they are even fitting for the pages of a fairytale. As I wander round York I wonder if this city has had a hand in shaping Terry Pratchett’s Ankh-Morpork. The city of York has some remarkable views and some strange perspectives. At times the material structures present seem to indicate that there is another layer to this place. Even as you enjoy the present day in York it is quite easy to slip into appreciating the days gone by and to wonder on those days that have yet to dawn.
Altogether York gives plenty of reality as it is a vibrant city. At times it also appears to be a working museum that documents our heritage and continually updates the past with the present. York goes beyond being a historic record and an active city the architectural designs and the street layouts can easily lead you in flights of fancy that people the cobbled streets with historic visions. In York you can choose to enjoy the fantastic presentation laid out before you, or you can allow the power of the pictorial present to fuel your fantasy.
There are I am sure good reasons to take away the decaying heads of flowers. My only defence for leaving flowers to wilt and to seed naturally is that I enjoy the full range of floral expressions. I marvel at the vegetative cycle in all aspects as it continually bursts forth in vibrant bloom all around me and also as it dries and withers. The fecundity of the flower is a yearly show of the life we have to lead in the seasons we are given to enjoy it.
These pictures record August in my garden. They were all taken on a single day to generate a concise record of the flowers still in bloom and those that were drying and dying at that stage of the year. The mix of fresh full bloom and dried near mummified seed pods shows the change of the year as we leave summer and prepare for autumn. Not as many photographs exist of flowers as they fade from the peak of their full bloom. I enjoy broadcasting the lesser seen post blooms where we can appreciate the after flowering process. Only once the bloom has peaked and insects have been attracted do the flowers begin to decline and the previously less prominent seed pods begin to dominate the final production of the flower stem.
After the hot rays of summer have coaxed the colour out of the stems the same sun source seems to dry out the vibrant petals and bleaches the brittle remains. This process can be interpreted as a sad end to once glorious blooms. I do not see the sadness instead I focus on the regeneration. The flowers must dry and wither in order that the new seeds can be filled out. The flowers fade but their blooms will return when the summer comes round again and their seeds are given new life to grow and to flower in further beauty and greater joy.
These cityscapes were taken in 2008 as I wandered around this beautiful city. I have chosen to include some well known landmarks alongside some lesser known attractions. I hope that this gives a different view of this well loved city. It is a real pleasure to have a camera to hand in York as there is so much eye candy waiting to be crafted in to photographs. York has something to offer those into tourist style picture taking and those that enjoy using documentary or reportage skills to capture their street photography.
The intricate jumble of the city centre of York has been formed by the constant occupation of the site including transformations from the Romans, Anglo Saxons, and Vikings. The city thrives to this day and has been remodelled for modern living by each new generation that choose to make their homes here. This vast varied reshaping of the structure of the city has left several wonderful peculiarities. There are whole streets that appear to have been saved from an early time and some of the buildings definitely do not match their neighbours.
A great architectural flavour is produced from the mix of times and fashions that are so readily found so close together here. On foot you pass from one apparent time zone into another. You enter into pubs that have high open ceilings revealing aged timber supports or browse through products in modern squared walls with boutique lighting in the many shops. The old and the new seem to flow one into the other until you are no longer surprised to find new interiors in old structures or to discover the old frames and fittings hidden by newly fashioned exteriors. York on foot is a step worth taking.
HD YouTube Film
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4uL5XwlMuA
I have been photographing this beautiful silhouette figure for some years now. The pictures I have shown to date have titles such as the Sleeping Beauty, The Skyline Priestess and the Slumbering Goddess. This Flickr Set is a collection of images taken over one hour on a single evening as the light dimmed and the colours on the horizon grew intense. Just as the last reaches of the vibrant rays of the sun shone out the sky flamed and flickered before the fiery star settled into the west. To complete the picture a flock of geese flew over the full length body of the slumbering figure on the skyline. This autumnal scene was quite stunning. At times I forgot to press the shutter release as I enjoyed the natural light show so much.
The Pentland Skyline Sleeping Beauty is formed by the Pentland hills themselves. The horizon silhouette pictured in these images has not been altered to make the figure appear more lifelike. The Pentland Skyline Sleeping Beauty is a natural part of the Pentland Hills Regional Park which is found in Midlothian and West Lothian to the West of Edinburgh in Scotland. The park offers a habitat to many wild animals and caters for wilderness seeking humans that want to find romantic rugged challenging terrain and easy access points to natural surroundings.
On my journeys I see this figure in several forms. As I move closer and further away she changes her appearance. From certain angles she is pronounced and prominent and from others she is completely lost as the viewer’s perspective alters the pattern of the horizon and her quite distinct human shape vanishes altogether. At times the figure seems to be sleeping and maybe she stares at the stars waiting for the right heavenly signs to cease her slumbers and to rise from her recumbent pose. At others times her statuesque reclining posture suggests that she is a permanent fixture set in place to attract the eye and lead the mind to enjoy her artistic presentation. From certain angles she appears to be pregnant and I can often imagine her as a Mother Goddess figure though I do not believe that anyone has ever tried to carve the features that we can see.
These pictures were all taken over just one hour on 11 October 2010. I was shooting with a Canon 5d mark II. The camera was set to Manual and AV or Aperture value mode to take these pictures. I wanted to use the aperture not just for depth of field but to give the right feel to the photograph. The lenses I used were firstly the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM and then the Canon EF 28-300 f/3.5-5.6L IS USM. These two lenses offered me the wide angle I wanted for the shots which include a frame made by the trees close to the lens and then the 28-300 mm zoom allowed me to capture the skyline figure in greater detail.
To complete the film I chose sound tracks from two earlier open air recording sessions. The bird song and the sound of the wind were recorded on 15 June and 11 July 2010. The sounds were gathered from the foothills of the Pentlands close by the spot chosen to create the images of the Skyline Sleeping Beauty. The bird song would not be typical for the time of day when the pictures were taken. The evening usually sees a quietening of the birds and at the time when these pictures were taken the quiet of the evening was only punctuated by the loud squawks of the geese. Unfortunately I was enjoying the evening light show far too much and did not think to record the geese as they flew overhead and progressed into the pictures, but not on to the soundtrack.
With just a quick set up strum or two to capture the best acoustic settings and some careful microphone placement the record button was pressed to start this film and soundtrack. There were two specialist microphones suspended ready to catch the music and just one camera rolling to record a reference track. In one take Tim had laid down the track that has now been released on the Wyrd Web Wonders YouTube Chanel.
This track is a well known favourite of Folk and Blue Grass musicians. It has been adapted by some Celtic music performers and is also played as a ballad by rock musicians. The continued appeal of Matty Groves is not hard to find in this catchy tune. Audiences are enthralled when the lyric recounts a passionate affair that involves the breaking of marriage vows and the ensuing bloody retribution. Many believe that the tune of Shady Groves shows that the American Shady Grove is a transformation of the traditional English folk song Matty Groves.
In the United States Matty has been lost in the Shady Grove and his tale of ill fated romance does not feature in the song. In some versions of Shady Grove the title refers to the beautiful heroine who is said to be the singer’s love interest and in other versions Shady Grove is an idyllic location where the singers is travelling to. The American folk versions have been so popular that there are said to be over 300 verses in use by the many musicians that have this track at the ready in their repertoire. Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead not only covered this track but he and David Grisman titled their 1995 album Shady Grove to indicate the traditional folk content to be found on that recording.
Tim lists himself as the Aberargie Hermit. Do be aware that the hermitage might be empty at the end of October if the hermit says so long to solitude in favour of a trip to Dunning Glen. On his other forays forth from the Aberargie retreat Tim releases his vocal talents in Edinburgh. If possible I will get a recording made and post a link here soon. Apart from online and at Dunning I have no further details of where you will find Tim next. If you should be lucky enough to catch his tunes or songs then look out for me somewhere close at hand.
The beauty of the Iris plant can be said to be focussed in the eye of the beholder. For the Iris in the eye acts to create the aperture through which we bring our subject into focus. Certain Iris or Flag plants are used to create perfume and to flavour and colour Gin. The techniques to extract Iris Butter can take up to five years to produce the required oils. Do be aware that some Iris plants are toxic.
The Iris can sit right at the edge of the waters and the land. It can clean the waters in which it grows and bring beauty to the banks which it adorns. The plant seems happy to span the watery cusp at the side of lakes and can grow where many plants are unable to take the changeable conditions between the wet and dry. This adaptability and the sheer variety of Iris plants has lead to the link between the Iris plant and the Greek Rainbow Goddess.
Ancient Greeks called the Goddess of the Rainbow Iris. The uniting of heaven and earth by the ephemeral rainbow gave rise to the attribution of this beautiful phenomenon to Iris who was able to freely travel over land or through water. She was able to speedily shift from the height of the heavens to the depths of the underworld. Iris was sometimes seen as link between the material world and the spiritual. She was therefore seen as conduit between humanity and the gods.
These magnificent carvings probably date from the late 12th Century, or early 13th Century. They were found on the Isle of Lewis at Uig bay sometime before 11th April 1831 and 82 were sold in Edinburgh in by Roderick Pirie and T.A. Forrest. Later 11 pieces were bought by Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe from T.A. Forrest and this division remains to this day as the collection of 82 reside with the British Museum and 11 have found a home with the Museum of Scotland. The stories relating to the finding of these pieces are several and contradictory. My favourite involves a grazing cow opening the side of an ancient mound with her horn to reveal an inner chamber. The herdsman that looked into the dark recess saw these figures and ran home believing that he had seen the court of the fey folk. His wife with a good regard of folklore and a mind to consider the value of physical evidence over the ephemeral effects of the other world sent her man back to the mound with a bag to collect the effigies in. On a closer inspection the fey folk turned into walrus ivory figures, but their ethereal beauty still entrances us to this day.
It is possible that these fine artworks belonged some several centuries ago to a merchant who could have been travelling between Ireland and Scotland. The trade lanes of the seas could well have brought these pieces from Norway where it is likely that they were carved. The Norwegian influence in the design of the carvings does point to the unknown carver using artistic motifs from Norway. There are examples of similar pieces from Lund in Sweden and drawings linking the Lewis style to Trondheim in Norway. The ornamental Romanesque style is typical of Trondheim work and a King closely resembling the Lewis chessmen was found amongst pebbles on a beach in 2000 at Bekkvika on the isle of Hitra 80km West of Trondheim. The Scandinavian link also poses questions over the game for which these playing pieces were created.
The Scandinavian Tafl or board games began to become more diverse and attract new names so the old name of Tafl although still used was supplanted by less generic terms to distinguish the new games. It is possible that these walrus ivory pieces were created for Hnefatafl where the King takes a central role on the board and needs to make his way to safety at the edges. The Hnefatafl is often translated as, "board-game of the fist," but the fist may well refer to the King and his supporters at the centre of the board as the playing surface was sometimes called the King’s Table. These beautiful figures were created around the end of 12th Century at a time when Hnefatafl was giving way to chess and it is intriguing to think that these pieces were made by a sculptor who was able to create Hnefatafl or Chessmen and to produce both game pieces depending on the desires of the players. These pieces were produced by a craftsperson capable of excellence. They show careful diligent work and touches of artistic genius.
When discovered in 1831 their passage to prominence shows their innate value. These pieces were of little use and value on Lewis to most of the Islanders and would have been of little value to the majority of people when they were originally carved. They were not considered extremely rare or valuable by the collectors that first acquired them in the 1830’s. When 11 pieces were sold in Edinburgh in 1881 at auction they were described as being discovered in the Parish of Uig on the Isle of Skye. Only once such rare carvings had been able to be seen and to be appreciated by a wider audience was there prominence secured. The beauty of the figures is undeniable, but the historic significance needed to be clearly established. By placing them in a world where such works were rare and highly prized by prominent individuals who wished to show off their opulent lifestyle with gaming pieces such as these we can see the luxury value of this set to a collector. The style of these figures is worthy of note as they were shaped at a time when a new game was demanding new playing pieces, yet the older games were still influential in the construction of pieces. These carvings record a shift in our culture and open up section of history and in so doing these small artefacts make such great statement.
The gallery was low lit to help preserve the light sensitive artefacts on display. All of the display cases were made from tinted glass to filter out harmful light sources. In this reverential setting the Chess pieces took on a mantle of grandiose status which they thoroughly deserve. These master works of the carver’s art are wonders in and of themselves and their particularly early dating sets them above many other examples as miniature statues used for gaming. These chess pieces would appear to be rare survivors of a type of intricate works created for wealthy patrons. The skill displayed in these carving shows us how the prevailing culture had developed a society in which artistic skills could be so highly rewarded that some artists were able to acquire the techniques required to produce emotionally engaging pieces that go far beyond recording their subject matter. The enduring appeal of the carvings is a testament to their ability to intimately communicate with us over a divide of centuries.
Note on lighting for photographic reference
These pictures were all taken using the available light. The light source was set low to preserve the exhibits and the cases were tinted for even more protection. The colours set by the prevailing light and tinted glass have created a look of this exhibition to the photographs. I used light reflections and refractions from the cases, walls, viewers and artefacts to weave some light tapestries over my photographic subjects. The colour casts can be seen more heavily in certain photographs due to the conditions set by the museum, but it is interesting to look at the white printed numbers near the exhibits to see the effective white balance in these pictures. These highly revered figures have been lit from above so several have a halo like quality to their appearance which only goes to confirm their iconic status.
The Lewis Chessmen Unmasked
http://www.nms.ac.uk/our_museums/national_museum/special_exhibitions/lewis_chessmen_tour.aspx
Tour dates
National Museum of Scotland
Fri 21 May-Sun 19 September 2010
Aberdeen Art Gallery
Thu 7 October-Sat 8 January 2011
Shetland Museum and Archives
Sat 29 January-Sun 27 March 2011
Museum nan Eilean, Stornoway
Fri 15 April-Mon 12 September 2011
HD film on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHgl3zr6w4c
